by E J Pay
“And if I have anything to tell you?” I ask.
“When I want information from you, I’ll ask for it,” he says. He turns on his heel and leaves the room in a flourish of purple cloth. I wait for a moment before turning to Namaah.
“Do you know what is going on?” I ask in our sign language. She averts her eyes and checks the door. A single guard remains posted there.
“He travels to another source of magic,” she signs in return, “one even more powerful than you. He fears that you will turn on him despite your love for Gileaus.”
I would gladly turn on him, I think to myself. All I need is to find a way to make Gileaus turn with me.
“What does he want me to do?” I ask with my hands. Namaah sighs.
“He wants power in all of Greece. In all the world,” she signs to me. “He fulfills favors for others and seeks your help with those favors.”
“What favors? Who is he doing business with?” Someone stirs outside my door and Namaah and I both turn our heads. There is a knock.
“Who is it?” I call out.
“The only other man allowed to visit your room,” Gileaus calls in return. I smile and sigh. Namaah quickly piles the used dishes on the tray and heads toward the door. She opens it and Gileaus takes a broad step inside. Namaah heads out the door and down the hall. My eyes linger on her disappearing form, wondering what she knows.
“I thought you would be more excited to have me in,” Gileaus says as he walks toward me. I stand from my chair and embrace him. Though I am granted more privileges, I am still confined to my room most of the time. When I am at the main house, I stay there unless an event is taking place. Gileaus has earned more freedom. I wonder if that same privilege will ever extend to me.
“I am come to bid you farewell, my love,” he whispers into my hair as he brushes soft kisses against my cheek. I pull from him and look up into his eyes.
“What do you mean?” I ask. “Where are you going?”
“Master Abraxas has invited me to join him on his upcoming trip,” he tells me. Master Abraxas. It is a sound I still don’t like to hear from the lips of the man I love. He has been brainwashed and really thinks he is serving that monster, that we are serving him together.
“Join him?” I ask. “Why does he want you to join him? We are still his prisoners.”
Gileaus stiffens and creases his brows together in disapproval.
“I don’t like it when you say things like that,” he says.
“What am I supposed to say?” I hiss. “That we are here willingly, joyfully even? Gil, Abraxas has had us here under coercion for almost a year. We do not stay here by choice. We do it by force!”
“Athena,” he scolds, “you promised me that if this is what I wanted, you would support me in it.”
“Gil, that was a promise to help the man I love find freedom, to help him become who he wanted to be. You haven’t become anything you have ever wanted. You have only been forced to believe in something that isn’t a part of you. Abraxas is using you, Gil. He has complete control over your life.” The guard outside moves closer to the door. Gileaus lets go of my arms and turns from me.
“I am not his prisoner, Athena,” he says in a voice so low I almost miss it.
“Gil,” I begin, but he cuts me off.
“I am not like you,” he says. I stop in my place.
“What do you mean?”
“Master Abraxas can trust me because I have pledged my loyalty to him. I have been able to come and go as I please for many weeks.”
“Pledged loyalty to him?” I ask. “Did you have to sign some paper that only seals you to him even more? Gileaus! He is using you!”
Gileaus spins toward me.
“I am not the one being used, Athena. You are the one he must force to do as he wishes. I am willing to do what he asks of me. I always have been.”
“What do you mean you always have been?” I ask quietly. My guard enters the room.
“Master Gileaus,” he says. Gileaus shakes his head and turns from me, leaving to follow his new master.
“Gil!” I call after him. My guard stops me, sword drawn across his chest. I look at his weapon, puny in his hands compared to what I can do to him. My eyes flash anger and the guard stands taller. I look out the door and watch my Gileaus disappear down the hall.
Happy birthday to Athena.
Chapter 33
Ispend the next week in my room. Gileaus kisses my cheek before he leaves on the journey with Abraxas. I am frozen, thinking about Gileaus. Thinking about Abraxas. Thinking about myself. What is in my future? Where am I headed? What will Abraxas ask me to do? What does Gileaus expect from me? It isn’t long before I learn the answer to at least one of those questions.
Late one night, I hear screaming and fighting from down the hall. Someone has been captured. That hasn’t happened much since Gileaus and I were taken from Spiro’s estate. I get up from my bed and open my door to get a view of what is happening.
The one guard left by my room glances at me as I step through my door. I peer over the balcony and see a dozen guards bringing in a group of people. I see an old man, an old woman, and three younger women. It is a family. Mother is screaming for her daughters, daughters are screaming for their mother, father is shouting epithets at the guards hauling them in. One of the guards, a stronger one I recognize from my own capture and time in interrogation, has grown tired of the man’s swearing. The guard spins around, his arm held out, and backhands the old man across the face. The old man’s head spins back and his body falls to the floor in a motionless heap. His daughters and wife all scream out to him.
I send tendrils of inquiry to the man’s body and mind. He is not dead, he is unconscious. I reach out to the wife and daughters, calming their fears so they can see that their husband and father is breathing. Their screams turn to quiet sobs as they are led down a hall. The guard who dealt the blow is standing over the old man, his arms akimbo at his side.
“Wake up, you old fool!” he shouts. The other guards mumble something I cannot hear. “Oh, he can hear me!” the guard yells back at them. “He is just pretending. Trying to get us to pick him up! I’ll get him up!” The guard pulls his leg behind him and swings it at the abdomen of the old man. I scream out at the top of my lungs.
“Stop! The man is unconscious! You will only hurt him!” The guard stops midair with his kick, plants his foot on the ground and turns his angry face on me. His dark eyes are on fire and his face is growing red beneath his full beard.
“What did you say?” he growls at me.
“The man is unconscious. You are only going to hurt him. Abraxas will want him for questioning.”
The guard snaps his fingers, points at the old man and jerks his head toward the hall. The remaining guards move to pick up the old man. They carry him down the hall that leads to the dungeons. The angry guard ascends the stairs toward me. My own guard moves to my side, hand on dagger, sword drawn. This is the first time a guard has protected me here.
“What are you doing, you fool?” the angry guard addresses the man at my side.
“My orders are to watch the prisoner,” he responds. “That includes protecting her.” The bearded guard snarls and flares his nostrils.
“Stand down, man,” he barks. “I outrank you and I will not be disobeyed!” My guard shakes his head from side to side, remaining silent. The angry man before us draws his sword. I will not allow my guard to be hurt for protecting me.
I reach out to the man’s mind with all the intensity I have. What he sees is a wide open field, green grass, billowing clouds and soft, white sheep grazing all around him. He shakes his head to clear his mind, but he is nowhere near strong enough to combat me. I keep sending out the light green and pink tendrils of peaceful vision. The guard stumbles around, trying to make his way around the sheep. The sheep bump into him and he pushes them away with his legs, kicking harder and harder. My own guard and I have backed away and watch as this man succumbs to my v
ision. Soon he is swinging his sword, trying to stab the sheep, but every time he strikes one, it pops in a flurry of white and becomes three sheep.
“Woman!” he shouts at me, searching for the person he cannot see. “I’ll have you hanged for this!” he swings his sword and rushes forward, but I am not where he thinks I am. He runs straight into the balcony railing, flipping over its edge. His feet fly into the air behind him and he screams as I pull the vision away from his mind. It is a split second, but it is enough for me to see the fear register in his eyes. He lands on the stone floor beneath us, his own sword beneath his neck, cutting a gash that he cannot recover from.
The commotion raises an alarm throughout the fortress. My guard grabs me by the wrist. I turn my face to him. He is so young. I am taken by surprise at the youth in his eyes. I am not paying attention. Before I am aware, I am surrounded by guards, my own guard still holding me by the wrist. All are quiet. There is a protocol for when I misbehave. These men have practiced and they know what to do. I don’t know the protocol. This is my first act of misbehavior since my chains were removed.
The guards close in around us. Their daggers are drawn, ready to be used in a moment. I don’t need the threat. I need the experience. If I know their protocol, it can help me find a way out of this place. I square my shoulders and raise my chin. We stand still for a few moments until they are sure I will not do anything to harm them. They are prepared to strike me if I do. Not to kill me. I am too valuable.
Hands from multiple guards grab the entire length of my arms and I am led in a group huddle down the stairs. It is a slow process to move so many people at once without falling. As we reach the lower level, I turn my gaze to the dead body beneath the balcony. Only one person is near him. Namaah. She is holding a tray of food for my midday meal. Her eyes meet mine, concern is written all over her face. With my arms bound, I cannot sign to her. She tries to follow the group, but a guard pushes her back.
“No food, woman!” he grumbles. He holds her back while the rest of us head down the hall to the dungeons.
Soon, the crying of the family taken earlier reaches my ears. The daughters have been locked in a cell together. The mother and father are not on this level. We move past the cell and head further into the secret hallways and rooms of the fortress. My eyes and ears and mind are alert. I want to know this place inside and out. We travel further down. A low chuckle reaches my ears as the crying behind me fades. Demetrius. I haven’t seen his disgusting face since I played with his mind for Abraxas.
“What have we here?” he asks as he laughs at our group. “Has Mistress Pearl been naughty? Does she need to be punished?” he rubs his hands together, looking into my eyes with delight. I send him a quick image of his pleading on the ground before Abraxas. His smile falters for a moment. He raises an eyebrow, his nostrils flare.
“You can’t hurt me here, girl,” he snarls. “This is my domain. If you are here, you have been very bad and you are in my power. No questions are asked of what happens here.”
A door behind Demetrius creaks open. Two guards come from the room carrying the captured mother in their arms. She is lifeless. I reach my mind out to hers. Nothing. She is dead. Anger flares within me and I turn my gaze to Demetrius. He chuckles.
“Don’t look at me that way, Pearl,” he mocks. “It wasn’t even my fault. Her guards scared her to death before I could even get down here.” He lets out a sigh. “It’s a pity really. I was looking forward to a husband and wife set. They are much more fun.” He smiles. “But never mind. There are daughters.” I yank against my guards as Demetrius disappears up the stairs behind me. I scream and pull. I will NOT let him hurt those women! I send out visions of snakes to the guards, purples tendrils reaching into their minds, but there are too many of them. The guards I reach fall backward. The rest push me into my cell. Several more guards fall as I reach them with my mind. I may not be able to get them all, but I will not be shackled now without a fight. I get half a dozen guards away from my cell. All of the guards are shouting. More guards pour into the cell. Soon, I am bound and chained to an iron plate in the floor. The chains are so short I cannot stand. The guards rush out of the cell, bolt the door and disappear. The only light I am left with is what sneaks in through the door’s window. The flicker of torches pushes its way into the darkness.
A chamber pot is close enough for me to reach, but the smell tells me it has not been emptied in some time. I sit in my new prison and wait. I do not know how long I will be here, but I know they will not kill me. I am determined to make their lives miserable.
∞ ∞ ∞
I lose count of the days, but I am sure weeks have passed. I do my best to keep track of time based on the timing of my meals. But when I am particularly egregious with my taunting of their minds, meals are missed. The more I hear screams from down the corridors, the more I mess with their minds.
This is one of those days when I miss a meal. I had four guards dancing in my cell when they were supposed to be changing shifts. It was entertaining for me, but after several hours, their superiors arrived. The guards were beaten, I was slapped, and my meal never came. I am getting used to the hunger pains that toy with my stomach.
My door opens and I look up distractedly. It is Gileaus.
“Gil!” I shout when I recognize him. He is to my side in seconds.
“What happened, Athena?!” he asks as he unlocks my shackles.
“I killed a guard,” I tell him. He helps me to my feet, but my legs are weak. Gileaus has to support my weight as he leads me to a chair outside my cell. I am very aware of my appearance and smell.
“What do you mean you killed a guard?” he asks as he sets me down. “What were you thinking?”
“He was beating a man, Gil,” I whisper in anger. “It was an old man. He would have killed him. When I shouted at him to stop, he came after me. I was just trying to keep him away from me, Gil. He fell over the balcony railing and his sword cut his throat.” Gileaus stands erect for a moment, thinking.
“It shouldn’t matter then,” he says. “I’ll talk to Master Abraxas. I’m sure he’ll let you out of here.” His words are flat, unfeeling. The blood in my veins runs cold.
“What do you mean ‘he’ll let me out?” I hiss. “Why aren’t you screaming right now? I was locked in a cell for weeks, Gil!”
“You killed a man, Athena!” he yells at me. “Did you honestly think you would be allowed freedom after something like that?”
“It was an accident and he was after me!” I yell back. “They have been denying me food. I couldn’t even stand up in that cell, Gil! Why are you angry at me instead of for me?!” Hot tears sting my eyes. My nostrils flare with each breath. “None of this would have happened if you were here, Gil, or if you would have taken me with you. Why did you leave me here? You left me for that monster!”
Gileaus stands straighter and pulls his hand away from the chair. Away from me.
“Master Abraxas isn’t a monster, Athena,” he says. “He is helping me make my way in the world. I have been creating a future for us. You promised to support me and when I get home I find that you have killed a man and have been torturing the guards. What would you like me to feel? You are the one who has betrayed me.”
I lower my head, shaking it in disbelief. Gileaus, my Gileaus, feels loyalty to the man who captured us and tortured us.
“Gil,” I whisper, “what has he done to you?” Gileaus huffs and shifts his feet.
“Master Abraxas was good to me on this trip, Athena,” he tells me, “I’m sorry for my harsh words. I won’t lock you back in the chains, but you will have to stay in the cell until I can talk to him.”
I am numb inside and out. I don’t understand what has happened to my fiancé. He is treating me like an ignorant child, not like a man in love with me. He hasn’t embraced me or kissed me once. My joints are stiff as Gileaus leads me back inside of my cell. He brings the chair in so I have a place to sit and he closes the door behind me. The click o
f the lock rings in my ears, stabbing me through the heart.
Chapter 34
Ihave slept for days. I have a cot now with fresh linens and a clean chamber pot. Meals are being brought to me at regular intervals. All of this because Gileaus is home and has pull with my captor. But I have gratitude for none of it. I have been betrayed by the man I love. Gileaus hasn’t been down to see me since the first day he arrived. Various guards have been sent as emissaries to deliver the new goods and to talk to me. I listen to none of it. I don’t care what they are telling me. I don’t care what they want.
A gentle hand shakes my shoulder. I open my bleary eyes. The person is blurry for a moment. I blink to see better and Namaah, my Namaah, comes into focus. She smiles at me and I sit up to embrace her. I cry into her shoulder for several minutes while she strokes my hair with her loving hands. She has brought fresh robes and a basin and vase of water for washing. I cry silent tears as she cares for my physical needs like she has done for years. When I am clean and calm, we sign.
“My Athena,” she signs to me. “I have been so worried for you since you were brought here. I have kept my ears open for news of you. Why do you eat nothing?”
“I can’t,” I sign in return. “Gil…” I tear up again.
“Young Master Gileaus has been trying to get Master Abraxas to release you from this cell,” Namaah assures me.
“Why does he not come to me?” I ask. “Why does he seek the favor and permission of a monster? A monster who captured the woman he says he loves and is devoted to?! Why does he not speak to me of escape?”
Namaah sits still on the edge of the bed. Her hands are folded in her lap. She doesn’t know what change has come over Gileaus any more than I do. She doesn’t know what could change the heart of a young man so much.
Namaah places her hand on mine, stroking the back as a mother would. “Let me feed you,” she signs. “Let me make you strong and we will work together to free you from this place.”