Tortured Silence

by Michael Clement

  “Brynn?” I asked.

  Candace shook her head.

  “Tian,” she answered.

  I looked back at the snoring woman again.

  “Maybe,” I said.

  “She is evil,” Candace insisted.

  “All of my women are,” I replied. “But, as much as I hate it. It is comforting, knowing that she will do anything… and I mean anything… to protect me.”

  Candace stood quietly for a while, absorbing my words.

  “Tian is damaged,” Candace admitted. “No one should enjoy being choked that much.”

  I blushed.

  I had enjoyed it also.

  “And, it will be hard for her to walk tomorrow, for several reasons.”

  I glanced down at Tian’s ass. It was still glowing cherry red. Knowing that I could hurt her and she would enjoy it was liberating to some degree. And… terrifying.

  Knowing when to stop… that would be the real test.

  “She is a Necromancer,” Candace blurted out. “You can never go too far.”

  I looked up at her, wondering how she knew what I was thinking.

  “Your thoughts were written all over your face,” she replied.

  Sighing, I looked away. I was surrounded by women that knew what I thought, sometimes better than I did.

  “She wants to die,” Candace confided in me. “Someday, if you continue, it will be at your hands.”

  I scowled at the zombie.

  “Plus, she still loves Felmorna.”

  “Tell me more,” I prompted.

  “The Lady of Plants wasn’t always old and ugly,” she began.

  “Hush,” Tian insisted.

  Candace’s lips pursed together. Dark thread flowed up her skin and punctured her mouth… again and again, until it pulled tight, sealing her lips together.

  “Enough secrets for tonight,” Tian insisted.

  Then, she climbed on top of me and gave me a reason to be happy.

  While Candace watched.

  - 26 -

  “We have a visitor.”

  I nearly jumped out of my skin. James was standing over me, waiting for a response. Sitting up, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. It was still early in the morning. The Sun hadn’t even come up yet.

  I was going to miss the sunsets.

  Tian turned over and began to snore loudly again. Apparently, she didn’t give a shit about visitors.

  James pointed at the window.

  Outside, perched on a thin piece of concrete was a harpy.

  Intrigued, I walked to the window.

  She looked like a human woman whose arms and legs had been cut off and replaced with a giant raptor’s appendages. Golden feet with sharp black claws clung to the parapet, while she used her colorful wings to keep her balance.

  Beautiful breasts with brightly painted nipples that had been pierced with golden studs grabbed my gaze and held it. Shit, it was hard to look away from those breasts no matter whose body it was on.

  “My eyes are up here, Baron,” the woman snapped.

  Grinning, I looked her in the eyes.

  Then, I noticed a string of silver spoons around her neck. Each spoon was a different shape and design. It almost looked like she had gone to a pawn shop and had just purchased a random sampling. Some were brand new, others had turned black with age.

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  “My Lady wishes to talk to you,” she answered. “I am to be your mount.”

  “You want me to ride on your back, to talk to a woman that I don’t know?”

  The harpy nodded. Behind her, I saw a plumed tail twitch. Its feathers were long and colorful like a parrot's.

  “Don’t go,” Candace warned. “Harpies are liars and thieves.”

  I hadn’t heard her slip up next to me, which bothered me more than a little. Turning, I glared at her.

  Candace had ripped out the metallic string again. Old blood was dripping down her face, exposing the tiny holes in her lips and jaw where Tian had silenced her.

  “Who is your Lady?” I asked, turning back to the harpy.

  “Shi Ezahna,” the bird-woman responded.

  I looked at Candace, who shook her head. “Evil woman. Don’t go.”

  The bird hissed at Candace. “Stupid dead woman. Do not lie about my Mistress. She is a good woman that only wants to help the Baron.”

  Leaning closer, the bird said, “Shi Ezahna can heal your sun sickness.”

  My eyes opened wide.

  Being able to walk in the sunlight again was worth the risk.

  “Alright,” I said. Then, I glanced back at Tian, who was still snoring loudly.

  “Watch over her,” I told Candace.

  The dead woman sneered at me and said, “You will regret this foolishness.”

  --M--

  The harpy’s back was broad enough that I could climb onto her like I was a child riding piggyback on an adult.

  “Hang on,” she said.

  Then, before I was prepared, the bird-woman launched herself off of the ledge.

  It was all I could do not to scream. She didn’t open her wings until we were only a few feet off of the ground.

  Crack.

  When she opened up her wings, it sounded like a gunshot.

  Careening like a cannonball only a few feet off of the ground was a terrifying experience that I never want to repeat again. Slowly, the harpy angled upward, but not before she had to veer around a few dozen trees.

  The view was breathtaking when she cleared the tree level. The sky was still dark, and the moon was out. It made me smile. Something about the moon was comforting. It was a light in the darkness that even a goblin could enjoy.

  The forest went on for miles, and only a few Old World roads pierced its greenery. Then, the town of Ashmouth filled my sight. It was a human town, so even at night, street lights and lanterns were evident. The harpy zoomed over the city until she landed in the middle of the town, in a park.

  Musicians filled the greenery, even though it was deep into the night.

  That surprised me. Humans were generally asleep by now. And, not one of them looked at the harpy in surprise. In fact, several of them nodded to her.

  I climbed off of the harpy’s back and followed her into a tent. Wind chimes tinkled and jingled from the eves. The structure looked like it had been made piecemeal over decades. Some of it was leather, while other parts were homespun cloth and even silk.

  “She awaits you within,” the harpy said, pointing her wing at the doorway.

  - 27 -

  Pulling the flap open, I entered.

  The room was eclectic but warm. It smelled sweet, like cinnamon and brandy mixed together.

  A woman sat in the center of the room on a leather camp chair. A fire burned in a pit in the middle of the room. But, the strangest aspect was the cups. They hung from the ceilings in the hundreds. All shapes and sizes, colors, and conditions. Some were broken and chipped, while others were brand new.

  “Come closer, Baron,” the woman insisted.

  How did she know my new title? I wondered. The harpy had known as well.

  The woman was sitting on several large homespun pillows. An old oriental rug covered the floor. In some spots, it had been repaired and patched.

  Sitting down, I studied her.

  Shi Ezahna looked ancient with wrinkles upon wrinkles. Long gray hair lay coiled in a thick braid that ran down to the floor. The woman was Asian, and once, a long time ago, she had been beautiful. Her kimono was as patched as her rug. Parts of it looked expensive, but it had been repaired dozens of times over the years until now she looked like a rag muffin.

  Dark eyes smiled at me, as Shi poured a glass of tea for herself. Setting it down, she poured one for me also.

  “Choose,” she said, pointing at both cups.

  One was old and worn, but the handle was bigger than the other, newer cup, so I chose that one.

  “Drink the tea, but leave the tea leaves, please,” Shi sa
id in a drawl that reminded me of the mountains. Around her neck, one old silver spoon glittered in the firelight. I could still make out a stylized S on its handle.

  After the cold flight, it felt good to drink the tea. I wasn’t worried that she would poison me. The harpy could have killed me easily during the trip if assassination was her wish.

  We sat in silence for several minutes before she spoke.

  “Thank you for coming, Baron of the Black Mountain. You may call me Isha.”

  How interesting. That was not the name that the harpy had used earlier. I decided to nod. Keeping my mouth shut seemed the best option.

  “I need your assistance,” she began, “and you need mine.”

  Not interrupting, I took another drink of tea.

  “In order to help Brynn Tawret reclaim her name, you must kill her father, the Fell Serpent,” Isha said.

  That surprised me.

  “You did not know what the challenge would be?” Isha said with a toothless grin. “How fitting.”

  Leaning forward, she added. “He is an archmage. Can you kill him in arcane combat?”

  Fuck no.

  I was barely a Journeyman. Killing a Master’s master would be impossible.

  “I can help you… for a price,” Shi offered.

  I pursed my lips and studied her.

  Finally, I said, “What is your price?”

  Isha picked up a tiny silver bell and rang it.

  Instantly, a young woman entered the room. She looked like a younger version of Isha, except her eyes were angry. Dark black hair fell to the middle of her back. She would have been beautiful, except her nose looked like an eagle’s beak.

  “This is my granddaughter, Xiao,” Isha said.

  Sitting down on her heels, Xiao bowed to me. Her kimono was new and made of green silk. A black dragon with silver accents and fire dripping out of its mouth coiled and twisted up and down the left side of the kimono.

  I looked from Xiao back to her grandmother, wondering where this was going. Taking a sip, I waited to see what Isha would demand.

  “You will give her a child,” Isha said. “Tonight.”

  Choking, my tea came out of my nose. Twisting, I coughed and wheezed. My nostrils felt like they were on fire.

  Fuck. That burned.

  Xiao laughed. It was a loud, squawking wail that reminded me of a parrot’s loud screech. Maybe the nose was a raptor’s for a reason.

  Glancing at me, Xiao smiled and then remembered that she was angry.

  “What do I get in exchange?” I gasped, fighting to breathe.

  Isha leaned down and picked up my glass. Then she set it on the edge of the camp stove to dry with the leaves still inside of it.

  “Information that will save you life,” she answered.

  “I was promised the cure for my sun sickness,” I replied. That was worth more to me than information.

  “And,” I said, putting all my cards on the table. “If I fuck your…”

  “Do not swear in my house.”

  The words were clipped and angry.

  Isha’s eyes were alight with righteous fire.

  “My apologies,” I replied.

  Scowling at me, Isha motioned for me to continue.

  “I am infected,” I finally said. “And, Xiao will be as well if I sleep with her.”

  Isha nodded.

  “Information and a cure then,” she said. “For your seed.”

  “Why is my seed so important?” I asked.

  “That information is expensive as well,” Isha replied.

  Fine.

  “Heal me first, then I will sleep with her,” I said. “When the act is done, you will give me the information that you have so that I can defeat the Fell Serpent.”

  Isha thought about that.

  Smiling, she nodded.

  Xiao looked like she was going to explode. Now, not only were her eyes furious, but she was biting her lip so hard that I was prepared to see blood pour out of her mouth.

  Isha surprised me again when she pulled out several clay pipes. Packing each of them, she lit them one at a time and then set them in holders. I could see the herbs inside of them glowing.

  They smelled like pot.

  “We must free our minds in order to continue,” Isha explained.

  Taking a pipe, she motioned for both of us to join her.

  Isha was already puffing, as Xiao and I both took a pipe.

  It was dangerous, becoming stoned without allies around me. But, I wanted to walk in the sun again. So, I did what she asked.

  Isha leaned back on her pillows and drew in a deep breath. Then, she blew smoke into the air. Xiao and I followed her example.

  There was more than marijuana in the pipe. Some other herb was active. Mulling it over, I finally figured it out as the room began to drift away.

  Sunburn.

  It was a drug used by Mages to push their spirits out of their bodies.

  - 28 -

  I sat up and looked down at my body beneath me. My spirit was glowing with a dark black aura. And, the snake on my wrist hissed at me when I looked at it.

  “That is a dangerous spirit,” Isha grumbled.

  Turning, I looked at her.

  Fuck.

  Stumbling back, I prepared to run.

  Some sort of colossal lion dog with huge tentacles for whiskers was looking down at me. It was fucking huge, the size of a house.

  “Do not panic,” the dog prompted with Isha’s voice.

  That was fucking easy for her to say.

  Then, I heard a growl to my right.

  Another monster dog was glaring at me. And, this one looked like she wanted to eat me.

  “Xiao,” Isha scolded, “Do not growl at Bazal.”

  The dog harumphed and licked slobber that was dribbling out of its mouth.

  “We do not have a lot of time,” Isha said. “Bazal look in the waterfall.”

  Waterfall?

  Turning, I saw one to my left. Now, instead of being in the city, we were deep in a foreign countryside. Dark black mountains that looked like huge ant hills dotted the surface. The sun beat down on my skin from high in the sky, and I couldn’t sense the darkness anywhere.

  A raging waterfall plunged into a pool before me. Cold spray hit my face, which felt good in the hot temperatures that were now suffusing my skin.

  In the water’s reflection, I saw two men.

  One was me with blue wizard robes on my body. My skin was free from the Arcane Radiation, so I looked more like my mother. Behind, me were dozens of smiling women. Most of them I knew already, but there were a few that I didn’t. I could sense the power in my eyes... and happiness.

  The other man was a monsterish version of myself. I was wearing dark black armor with spikes sticking out of it. Black and red bat wings spread out from my back, and at my feet, in chains, were my lovers. Except, they weren’t happy.

  They looked terrified.

  And, beaten. Scars, blood, and bruises covered their features.

  “You have two futures ahead of you that burn the brightest,” Isha declared. “Both of them come with immense power and responsibility. Which do you choose?”

  Both men had enemies and territory. And, power.

  The monster had more, though. His domains were on the edge of sanity, where chaos still reigned supreme. He didn’t have dozens of lovers. This creature had thousands.

  The staff of the raptor was gripped in his clawed hands, and no one defied him and lived. Hell itself was terrified of his presence and wishes.

  Turning to the human version of myself, I saw that he had a kingdom, but he was not the King in the Darkness. That was the other man, the demon. This wizard ruled in the light. His wives nagged and bickered with him daily, but his children lived free, and his nights were not lonely. He wasn’t a king. He was just a man.

  But, he also had magic. Spells filled his mind that surprised me. Hundreds of sigils floated infused with spells, awaiting his command.

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