by Nyssa Renay
She hurried over with the crystal pitcher, careful not to spill a single drop. As Eeliyah leaned over to fill my uncle’s cup, Vantaru slid the glass farther across the table with his fingertips, causing Eeliyah to have to lean across him.
“Thank you, my angel,” he said to her with a sly smile that caused Eeliyah’s face to redden. The other shepherds turned a blind eye to my uncle’s behavior, but I was distressed. Eeliyah downplayed the situation as if everything was all right, but I could tell she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with my uncle.
I subtly moved over to the wine station where Eeliyah was refilling her pitcher.
“He’s had six glasses already,” she whispered to me in frustration. “I’m having trouble keeping his cup filled.”
“Do you want me to say something to Shepherd Scullery?” I asked.
“No, not yet. I think I can handle it, but thank you, Vigil.” She flashed me a nervous smile and then walked away to answer another of the shepherds’ summons for more wine.
I quickly finished stocking my cart and turned around to see Vantaru ogling Eeliyah and biting his bottom lip before returning his attention back to the king. I was getting extremely irritated with my uncle’s behavior and was about to say something, but as I let go of my cart and turned toward Vantaru, Scullery dropped a full basket of lemonbutter rolls in my hands, stopping me in my tracks.
“Don’t even think about it,” Scullery ordered with an angry stare. “I can’t stand his behavior either, but this is neither the time nor the place to deal with such things…especially since you’re just a potential. Remember that!” he growled, giving the basket a quick push to reiterate his point.
My face flushed with rage at being told there was nothing I could do to help Eeliyah, yet, I was oddly comforted to know my uncle’s behavior hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Scullery let out a stressful sigh. “Serve those rolls as quick as you can, and then bring Jeral and Phomus back with you to the kitchen. The main course is just about ready.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied, trying to focus on the task at hand and keep my anger in check.
I rushed around the table, placing a roll at each plate, and was surprised when Prince Raxis looked up at me and quietly said, “Thank you.” It was strange to be acknowledged by someone so important. I nodded politely with a humble smile, and finished making my way around the table, purposefully avoiding eye contact with my uncle as I headed back to the kitchen.
For the main course, Shepherd Scullery had lined up three oversized silver dining carts, each displaying a large red roast, fresh from the oven. He placed a thick blackbrass carving knife alongside each serving platter and plunged a piecing fork in the top of each one, motioning for us to claim our carts.
“Now, you all remember how to carve, right?” he asked nervously. It was empowering to see the apprehension in his eyes, as if everything depended on the three of us now.
“Yes, sir,” we said confidently in unison.
“Thank Ein for that!” Scullery sighed with relief. “Vigil, I want you to serve the king and the prince first.”
I nodded and wheeled the cart through the kitchen doors to cheers and applause at the table as we approached.
“Glorious!” King Lexani beamed as I placed a large slice on his plate. “What a feast this is, Shepherd Voronto…and such an eager young man to serve us. Tell me, will these potentials be available to serve my son’s meals each day?”
“Yes, S-Sire. Anything His Young Majesty needs will be gl-gladly provided to him!” Vantaru drunkenly smiled and winked at me as if he was doing me a favor.
“Wonderful!” the king exclaimed.
Oh, great! That’s just what I need right now, you asshole! I thought sarcastically, angrily plopping down Vantaru’s slice on his plate and nearly splashing the juice all over him. I looked over to see Scullery glaring at me, trying to keep me in check. I pushed through my growing rage and hastily made my way around the table, aggressively carving through the meat while trying to stay focused on my task, but it didn’t work.
By the time I’d gotten back to the king and the prince to offer second helpings, the nagging possibility of being ordered to look after Raxis on a permanent basis brought my frustration to a head.
“As I was s-saying...” Vantaru slurred. He swayed in his seat as he spoke to King Lexani. “Your s-son will be safe here, Sire. You…you have my word.” He laughed as he took another deep swig and drained his glass again. Vantaru shifted loosely in his chair as he called for Eeliyah.
She quickly made her way over to the table and began to pour. “Oh, thank you…thank you, s-sweet love of mine,” he whispered.
“Yes, sir,” Eeliyah said quietly as she filled the wine glass, giving me a worried glance.
“This is s-sucha good girl right here.” Vantaru laughed. He put his arm around Eeliyah’s shoulder and jerked her close to his side. The pitcher shifted in Eeliyah’s grasp, and a few drops of the bright red wine spilled on the front of her clean white dress.
“Oh, no!” Eeliyah gasped.
“Ooops!” Vantaru laughed as he swayed drunkenly forward to grab a napkin. “Here, lemme help you, my s-sweet ang…angel.” As I watched, he slowly moved his arm from Eeliyah’s shoulder, caressing her back and pressing firmly into her bottom while he rubbed the stain on her stomach. Her eyes filled with tears, and I saw red.
“That’s it!” I snapped at my uncle. I threw the knife and fork down to the floor, where they landed with a loud clatter as the room went silent.
“What?” Vantaru looked confused.
“Let her go, you asshole!” I growled.
“Vigil, stand down!” Shepherd Diabelle snapped.
Vantaru laughed as he let her go, sending Eeliyah darting toward the kitchen in tears. “Sire, you might wan…wanna rethink havin’ this one helping your boy out, after all.”
I could no longer hold back my frustration or stop myself from what happened next. I charged my uncle, knocking him out of his chair to the floor. I jumped on top of him, wrapping my hands around his neck, squeezing as tight as I could. I heard chairs sliding hastily across the floor, feet scuffling toward me, and voices ordering me to stop, but I couldn’t—I didn’t want to stop. I pressed harder and harder against my uncle’s throat, laughing in my mind as he struggled to breathe. He deserved it. I took one hand from his neck and pulled my fist back, but a blast of white-hot pain interrupted my vengeance as he croaked out a few words and cast a ball of wild red fire under me.
The fireball exploded against my body, throwing me across the room and to the floor, where I writhed in agony. Every cell in my body was on fire.
-33-
“Shepherd Diabelle! Get Vigil out of here at once!” Scullery screamed as he raced over to help my horrible uncle to his feet. “Shepherd Voronto, are you all right?”
Vantaru got up and quickly slapped away Scullery’s hand. “Of course, I am!” he slurred as he stumbled and sat back down in his chair, embarrassed and angry.
“Your Majesty, I deeply apologize for Vigil’s inexcusable behavior,” Scullery said, lowering his gaze to the floor.
“One of yours, I take it?” King Lexani asked Diabelle with obvious disappointment as she stood over me.
“Yes, Sire, but I assure you, he’ll be dealt with severely,” she replied nervously, trying to regain the king’s confidence.
“I should think so,” Lexani spat, looking from Scullery to Diabelle. “I hope this sort of unruliness won’t be a common occurrence around my son while he’s here. Am I understood?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” they both answered shamefully.
For the next two hours, I was forced to run countless laps around the track while Shepherd Diabelle stood silently glaring at me each time I passed by. She demanded I remove my boots, and the track’s red wood chips painfully stabbed my bare feet with each stride. Diabelle had also enlisted the help of two other shepherds to assist with my punishment
. Shepherd Maikai, leader of the Balneal sect, provided a torrential downpour of icy rain that created a wet glaze on top of the track, making it nearly impossible to run on. Shepherd Rewsa, leader of the Tropo sect, cast gale-force winds that whipped the rain against my face and stung my skin.
The three of them stood there watching me run around and around and around. My legs ached and cramped, my lungs were on fire, and my feet were covered in blood, but I didn’t care. Despite the pain, I knew my actions had been justified, and while they would never admit it, so did the shepherds.
Diabelle gestured to the other shepherds, and the rain and wind instantly stopped. She summoned me to her. “Well now; anything to say?”
“You…” I tried hard to catch my breath, “…you know…it was the right thing to do,” I panted.
“Of course, it was…just not by you!” she screamed. “You are nothing here! No one! It’s not your place to decide what’s right or wrong for anyone. That’s our job!”
“Yet, I’m the only one who did anything about it!” I bellowed foolishly.
I immediately felt the back of her hand across my face, the hallowed stones of her rings cutting into my cheek. Shepherd Diabelle furiously grabbed me by my collar, jerking my face within inches of hers. “You will never speak a word about the reasons for your outburst tonight…to anyone! No excuses! No justifications! You will take the full blame for this! Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I surrendered. She released her grip, dropping me to the ground.
“Now, seeing as you’ve thrown away a golden opportunity to be on kitchen duty for the prince—which, by the way, would have given you rare access to the finest food and culinary training the academy has to offer—I don’t see any reason to give you any other opportunities. Therefore, until further notice, you’ll be on mining duty. I think the daily labor might break this little insubordinate streak of yours.” She nodded and took a deep, satisfied breath. “As soon as you’ve…recovered…enough to be cleared by Shepherd Levengio in the medical ward, you’ll report to Shepherd Graldo’s office in the Sanctified Mines.”
Recovered from what? I thought as I did a quick estimate of how long it would take for my feet to heal up without medical assistance…maybe two or three days at most. What was she talking about?
“Now then, Vigil, it’s…time…for bed.” A patronizing sneer slowly spread across her lips, and my jaw dropped as I realized what my true punishment would be.
Shepherd Diabelle had kept me out running just long enough that I most likely wouldn’t make it to bed before curfew. If I was even one second late, I’d be condemned to cross the electrified floor. Even though I was exhausted and sore, the fear and panic forced me to break into a mad dash across the academy grounds. As I made my way toward the dorms, I could still hear her cackle in the distance.
As I came down the stairs of the dorm, not one person looked at me or acknowledged what was about to happen. They’d all heard about my outburst at the royal dinner and how I’d embarrassed our shepherd. I thought being alone was hard before, but now, apparently I was ostracized.
I was scared and out of breath. I braced myself. The floor was already humming with that unnerving blue glow, and I had to move as quickly as my worn-out legs could manage to cross the fifteen-foot gap between the final step and the safety of my bed. Slowly, I leaned back and steadied myself to jump.
Okay, I thought, as my hands and legs shook…three…two…one…now!
I jumped as far as I could, stretching my front foot out to gain as much distance as possible. But as soon as my left foot touched the floor, I felt a surge of power burn into the flesh on the sole of my foot. The energy from the floor shot up and cramped the muscles in my leg, sending me crashing down as another surge scalded the left side of my body.
The smell of searing flesh paired with the intensity of the electrifying paralysis was unimaginable. I screamed in agony. I burned my hands trying to push myself back up, and my arms gave out, causing my stomach, my ear, and the side of my face to bear the brunt of the burning retribution as I slid farther across the floor. I gathered all the strength I had left and planted my right foot down to launch myself up from the floor and onto my bed. I could feel the skin on my toes sizzle as I crashed onto the bed.
Almost immediately, I became dizzy and nauseous, watching pieces of charred skin fall from my body and onto my sheets. My bed was bloodstained, and I vomited violently three or four times before passing out.
When I woke up, I was lying in a small bed with a heavy wool blanket pulled up to my chin. Although I didn’t know where I was at first, the intense burning pain radiating at even the slightest movement gave me a pretty good idea of my location. My electrocution had earned me a bed in the medical ward, just as Shepherd Diabelle had predicted.
I opened my eyes, but my vision was blurry. I could only see wavy shapes and shadows moving around my bed. They were sticking needles in my arms, but the pain from those little jabs was nothing compared to the general state I was in.
The nurses at the medical ward were Tier III interns from Brio sect working under the supervision of Shepherd Levengio. Normally, the nurses were compassionate, caring, and could rapidly heal their patients in the same way I’d seen Sister Marmarti heal Biklish that day in the High Fields. But in a situation like mine, the Brio aides had absolutely no sympathy to give. They were instructed to let me suffer and heal on my own, rather than administer any form of treatment by using the ability of the shepherds. This form of torture was designed to remind me of my indiscretions—most likely at the order of Shepherd Diabelle herself.
“Oh, look, he’s awake. Lucky us,” one female aide scoffed rudely.
“Should I bring him something to eat?” another female voice asked.
“No,” the first one snapped. “Bring me two bags of foundational vitamin mixture and I’ll attach that to his drip. He’s lucky we even doing that for him.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the second voice replied.
Her shadowy form moved away from me, and then she was gone.
The first aide sighed as she stuck another needle in my arm. A wave of numbness flowed through my body as I quickly fell back into a light, yet painful slumber.
-34-
The second time I woke, my vision was a little clearer. I could see the sunshine streaming through the only window in the room, and it bounced back off a familiar face—Ownie. I was happy to see him, but the grimace on his face told me he didn’t feel the same way.
“They told me to bring these to you,” he said, dropping a pile of textbooks onto my nightstand.
“Thank you,” I grunted. My voice was hoarse and crackly, and my dry throat made me cough. One of the Brio aides came into the room and poured me a glass of water, but purposefully left it on a little table at the foot of my bed, forcing me to make an uncomfortable full-bodied stretch to reach it.
I howled in pain as I leaned forward and yelled, “Don’t touch it!” when Ownie tried to help me.
“What? Why?” he asked, startled.
“Because it’s obviously part of my punishment, and I don’t want you getting into trouble for helping me.”
Ownie quickly took a step back, allowing me to fend for myself. Finally, after a few minutes of torturous struggling, I grabbed hold of the glass. I tried to fit my half-burned lips around the rim and wound up dribbling most of the water all over my sheets, my blanket, and myself.
“Look at him.” The aide laughed loudly in front of Ownie as she came into the room to rip the glass out of my hand. “Wow, you Necra boys are looking strong these days!” she cackled before exiting the room, leaving me to stew in my wet linens.
“Damn, Vigil, this is just cruel. I can’t believe Shepherd Diabelle is allowing them to treat you like this.”
I laughed, feeling my body wrack with pain. “It was her idea,” I announced through gritted teeth.
“Seriously?” Ownie asked, somewhat surprised.
I nodded, slowly lying back. “But it’s my own fault, right?”
“I guess,” he offered. “When I said you should say something to your uncle, I didn’t mean for you to try to beat the shit out of him. That was just insane.”
“I know.” I cracked a smile, even though it hurt like hell. “I’ll remember that next time.”
“At this rate, there won’t be a next time. Diabelle is so pissed off, she’s taking it out on the rest of us.”
“Sorry about that.”
“We’ll live,” he laughed, shrugging it off. “I still don’t understand what made you think it was a good idea to attack him.”
I just stared at him in silence for a few moments until he got the hint to drop it.
He sighed somberly. “Well, your uncle’s a prick and everyone knows it. What you did…took a lot of balls, my friend. You’ve definitely earned the respect of the older guys in Necra sect, but that’s about all they can offer. And I’m sorry, Vigil, because after this, I won’t be able to come back here again. There are too many repercussions for being associated with you right now.”
“It’s okay. I understand,” I replied, happy for what little support I could get, even if it was for an assumed motive rather than what truly happened.
“Good luck, Vigil,” Ownie offered and quickly left the room.
For the rest of the afternoon, I drifted in and out of sleep, exhausted by the pain that continued to burn across my entire body. By nightfall, I was wide awake. I just couldn’t sleep anymore.
With a sleepless night ahead, pain still racking my body, and a nursing staff that seemed to take pleasure in my suffering, I felt that now was as good a time as any to get started on my schoolwork, since there was nothing else to distract me from this torture.
I turned my head to get a good look at the stack of books lying on the nightstand. There were four total: