"I will go through anything to remain at my paladin's side. Anything."
"We shall see about that. Because Jaylen is young and he will mess up. You wait."
"I have done this before with Doran, remember?" Zeriel asked. "The Eight-Night War? Yes, I fought in that. I know exactly what punishments paladins and angels face."
"But Doran was a professional. He knew what he was doing. Now you have a sixteen-year-old pretty boy who looks like he should be working in a brothel somewhere with perfume and lace instead of on a battlefield with blood and steel."
"Appearances are not always indicators of what is on the inside."
Tarael grinned. "And what is inside of him? You?"
Zeriel lunged at the angel and punched him hard in the face, sending him to the floor. "You take that back! I'll kill you!" He jumped on Tarael and continued to pommel him mercilessly with his fists. "You disgusting bastard!"
Tarael kicked Zeriel in the stomach then scurried to his feet. He ran at him, knocking Zeriel against the wall and taking a crate of soap with them. With fists flying, Tarael delivered a few heavy hits to his face. Once Zeriel's knees buckled, he backed away and let him fall to the floor.
Zeriel wasn't done yet. He grabbed onto Tarael's legs and pulled, clawing at him as he fell onto his back as well. He crawled on top of him and tightened his hands around the other angel's neck then slammed his head against the wooden floor. When Tarael spit in his face, Zeriel slapped him, but then cried out as Tarael bit his hand and drew blood.
Zeriel twisted his hand in Tarael's long wavy hair then picked up his shotgun from the floor and aimed at him. "I will kill you."
"Go ahead. Shoot me and incur the wrath of Sola. I dare you."
The tent flap opened and torchlight spilled into the barracks as a man in black chainmail entered the room. "Enough!"
Zeriel and Tarael both let each other go then stood at attention as Paladin Disciplinary General Riz glared at them. They were panting and trying to catch their breath as the bruises formed on their arms and faces and sweat glistened on their skin.
"What is going on here? Two angels fighting in the barracks in the middle of the night? These types of interruptions to daily operations will not be tolerated. How shameful. What would Sola say if she was here and found you two doing this to each other? Tarael, I expected more restraint from you. And Zeriel, if you go around picking fights with the Holy Angels, then I will have to ask you to leave."
Jaylen slid off of his bunk. "It's not his fault!"
Zeriel glanced over at him. "Jaylen, don't."
He ignored his angel's warning. "Tarael attacked him. He was defending me. You can't see that? What is wrong with you?"
General Riz snapped at him. "Hold your tongue, Paladin Corrifus."
"I will not! This isn't fair. How dare you do this? You're wrong!"
"I am warning you. Do not say another word."
Jaylen tightened his fist. "Or what? What will you do? I'm not scared of you! You can't hurt me."
"Oh? Well, then let me prove you wrong. Come with us, Fallen Zeriel." General Riz grabbed Jaylen's arm and led him forcefully outside then to a nearby medical tent. He pushed him inside where a healer was mulling herbs in a mortar. "Healer Alen, we have a young paladin who believes that he can speak to me with his disrespectful mouth."
"I see." The healer opened a small box and retrieved a spool of thread and a thick needle. "Just give me the order."
"Sew his mouth shut."
Jaylen looked over to Zeriel for help. "What? No. Zeriel, don't let them hurt me."
Zeriel only shook his head and remained silent.
Jaylen was pushed down into a chair and General Riz held his arms tightly against the wood. "Don't do this, please. I'm sorry. I won't do it again!"
"Every action has a consequence. You will learn what is acceptable here one way or another. Begin when you are ready, healer."
Jaylen whimpered as the needle punctured his lips and the string was pulled through. Tears swelled in his eyes as he strained against Riz's grasp to no avail. He felt the tiny rivulet of blood streak down his chin. He was groaning and writhing in agony as the nine other stitches were put in. Once the healer tied the thread securely, he snipped off the excess string then wiped the blood off of Jaylen's swollen lips.
"Let me get a good look at this." General Riz let go of Jaylen's arms then lifted his face to look at him. "Nice work. These will be secure for a long time. How do you feel, Corrifus?"
Jaylen shook his head as the tears streamed down his cheeks.
General Riz yanked Jaylen to his feet. "Two weeks. I will be there in the morning to feed you whether you want to eat or not. You will be expected to participate just like every other soldier here. And as for you, Zeriel, you and Tarael will spend all day tomorrow scrubbing the barracks on your hands and knees."
"Yes, sir."
"Now, both of you go back to the barracks and get some sleep for the few hours left until morning bell. I will expect all of Jaylen's answers to come from you, Zeriel. Is that clear?"
"Crystal." Zeriel bowed as he put his wings protectively around his injured paladin and led him back outside.
Chapter 4
Zeriel sat on the bunk facing Jaylen as he delicately dabbed the ointment onto his paladin's bruised and bloody lips. He frowned when Jaylen flinched and took a sudden pained breath. "Does it hurt?"
Jaylen nodded his head.
"You should have listened to me. Things don't work here like they do in the civilian world. I warned you before we arrived here that you needed to follow orders. All you had to do was let me handle things. They can't really punish me much. Sure, I can clean things or carry bags here and there, but no one is going to physically hurt an angel. Any punishments we angels get are simply to prove a point and never amount to much. They are more to keep the paladins in line by seeing their angels being ordered around. If I make a stupid mistake, let me pay the price for that mistake. Not you. I stand up for you, not the other way around."
Jaylen took a deep breath then stretched out on the mattress and curled up under the wool blanket. He wanted to sleep as much as he could so the next two weeks would disappear. He knew that all the paladins would be staring at his stitched lips. He was so embarrassed that he couldn't even make it one day as a soldier. What would Doran think if he was able to see his son now? More immediately terrifying was the question of how General Riz was going to feed him. He didn't want to think about what horrors awaited him in the morning.
"Though, I was very surprised at how . . . barbaric things have gotten around here. In all my years serving at Doran's side, I never saw anyone be punished like this. I'm sure we will get answers in the morning. Maybe this was some brutal trick since you showed up late." Zeriel joined him under the blanket and held him to his chest. He kissed the back of Jaylen's short hair. "Goodnight, Jay. It gets easier from here, I promise. Though, I won't lie to you. The next couple of days will be hard. But I will be right here with you."
* * *
Morning bell came all too early. And it wasn't so much a bell as it was a bunch of angry soldiers already in their plate armor who ran through the barracks shaking the bunks and screaming at the top of their lungs like the world was ending. Zeriel stretched his wings as he woke up and watched the soldiers leave. So, they had grown even more obnoxious since he was here with Doran. Good to know. He looked down as Jaylen sleepily sat up then let out a tiny squeal in his throat as the stitches bit into his lips and reminded him that he can't speak. "Did you forget about the stitches?"
Jaylen nodded his head and looked like he was about to cry again.
"Well, sitting here isn't going to make them come out any sooner. Get dressed."
Zeriel helped his paladin get dressed before he pulled his own black clothing on and fluffing his feathers. They only had a few minutes before General Riz entered the barracks and ordered everyone but Jaylen out into the fields. He knew this was about to get bad . . . very bad.
Jaylen timidly shook his head as he looked down at his feet.
"Too bad. It's breakfast time." He snapped his fingers, bringing two soldiers inside. "Get him on the floor then prepare him."
Zeriel watched in horror as the soldiers slammed Jaylen onto his back and held him down. It was clear from Jaylen's face that he was absolutely terrified. "What are you doing? You're hurting him."
"You are to remain silent, angel." General Riz held up a long wooden vine in his hands that he handed to one of the soldiers. "This is a flexible hollow vine tube that we will use to feed him with."
Jaylen was writhing under the soldiers' hands. Then his body seized up and he gave out a pained whimper as the tube was shoved up his nose. Tears pooled in his eyes as the soldier continued to insert the wooden vine down his throat.
Zeriel's stomach turned as he watched the soldiers pour a large glass filled with a thin pink liquid into the hollow vine. "What is that?"
"Nutrients that he will need to survive. This is how he will be fed for two weeks."
Jaylen started twitching and moaning as the liquid was forced down his throat.
Every ounce of Zeriel's fatherly instincts begged him to do something. "No. Don't do this. Please. He's choking."
"He will get used to it."
The thirty minutes dragged on with only Jaylen's agonized muffled squealing and gurgling. He closed his eyes and tightened his fist as the long tube was extracted from his nose, leaving a stripe of bright blood in its place.
Jaylen was left there, chest heaving and blood streaking from his nose. He coughed, struggling to breathe with his mouth sewn shut. His pink face was glistening with sweat and tears. His nostrils flared as he cried, the muscles in his neck tensing as he started hyperventilating.
Zeriel waited as patiently as he could until General Riz and the soldiers left the barracks. Once they were gone, he rushed to his paladin's side and scooped him up in his arms. He pushed back Jaylen's blond bangs. "Jaylen, breathe. You're okay now. You're okay. It's over. They're gone. You have to breathe or you're going to vomit and choke. Just calm down."
Jaylen was crying uncontrollably as he clung to Zeriel and trembled.
There were heavy footsteps behind them and the soft clinking of golden plate armor as Paladin Commander Tyrin entered the room. "What is going on in here? Why aren't you at roll call?"
Zeriel sheltered Jaylen from him. "Please allow him a few minutes to recover."
"Corrifus, what happened to your mouth?"
"You didn't know?" Zeriel asked. "General Riz had it sewn shut last night."
"Sewn shut? Sola's rays! Give him to me." Commander Tyrin helped Jaylen to his feet then gently touched his lips. He sighed as he wiped the blood from Jaylen's nose. "He force-fed you, didn't he? That sadistic bastard. Don't worry. I will see to it that General Riz is punished for this. This isn't the first time he has done this. As soon as I saw the stitches, I knew he had done it again. I hope this experience hasn't tarnished your view of the military, Corrifus. This is far from what is normally done."
The tent flap was forcefully thrown open as General Riz stormed inside. "Corrifus, get your skinny ass out here or I will have your royal cousin flog you in front of every soldier here!"
Commander Tyrin spun around to face General Riz. "He's not going anywhere with you. What the Hell have you done? This isn't discipline. This is torture. I have warned you many times about doing things like this. Look at him, Riz! He's a boy. You are relieved from your duties for the day, Riz. I will deliver a full report of your transgressions to Major Nellison for review. This is unacceptable. These paladins are brave men who have dedicated their lives to the will of Sola. How dare you treat them like criminals?"
"You can't talk to me like this."
"Oh? My rank says I can, General. I am your commander. Now either you leave and don't have any contact with any more troops today, or I will personally hand down a punishment that I deem fit."
"I am trying to mold these weaklings into soldiers!" General Riz shouted at him.
Commander Tyrin shook General Riz by his armor. "They're not soldiers! Get that through your head. If they were Prince Averin's men, then fine. They can be disciplined like this. But they're not. They are paladins, the gentle defenders of Sola. They have proven themselves already in the Divinity Trial. The only thing we are teaching them here is how to work as a cohesive military unit. That's it. They all know how to use a longsword. They know how to follow orders and how to discipline themselves. They don't need you to be abusing them. And you, Riz, you are a shameful excuse for a paladin. The very thought of you treating one of your paladin brothers this way is despicable. Not to mention that Corrifus was a paladin before you joined the Holy Order. In all honesty, he should probably be your superior, but that's not how things work around here. You are a disappointment to Vilyron, to the military, and to Sola. Get out of my sight."
Zeriel tried to not snatch Jaylen back and take him far from this place. "Will you help him?"
"Of course. Paladin Corrifus, come with me." Commander Tyrin held Jaylen's arm to steady him as they walked side by side to the medical tent. "I personally apologize for the actions of my subordinate. I had no idea what he was doing last night."
Zeriel followed closely behind them, very concerned about his paladin. It had been a while since Jaylen had a panic attack, but this could very well turn into something bad. He was afraid that it already had.
Commander Tyrin helped Jaylen into the tent and sat him down in a chair. "Healer Alen, you are to follow my orders and only my orders. Never do this to someone again. Is that clear? General Riz is going to be reprimanded for this kind of action. It is absolutely wrong."
The healer stood up from his desk then bowed. "Yes, sir. I was only following orders."
"Now you follow mine. Take these stitches out gently. I want you to put a numbing cream on his lips first. Do this as painlessly as you can. He has suffered enough."
Jaylen's breathing was still rapid and shallow, but he sat there bravely as Healer Alen applied the numbing cream. He didn't cry as the stitches were cut and removed.
"Okay. I'm done."
Jaylen gasped as he opened his mouth. Apparently the old injury of his jaw that hadn't healed only ached more. Even from feet away, Zeriel heard something pop. Jaylen groaned and clasped his hand to his jaw.
"Do you have a jaw injury?" The healer asked.
Jaylen rubbed the right side of his face. When he spoke, his voice was scratchy and weak. "It was fractured a few years ago. No one could heal it. I think it's just been irritated."
Commander Tyrin snarled. "I swear I'm going to kill Riz. Alen, get him cleaned up and do what you can for his wounds. Then I want you to check out his jaw and see if there is anything you can do to help that. He looks to be in a great deal of pain. If he has a debilitating injury, we can't use him. It could be a liability on the battlefield. Jaylen, after you are released from medical, you will have two hours to recover, all right? Then report to the field for sparring."
"Yes, sir."
Zeriel glanced over at the clock on the wall. "Let's finish up here then go back to the barracks. While you relax for a bit, I have to scrub everything with my best friend ever."
Healer Alen raised an eyebrow. "Sarcasm?"
"Extreme sarcasm."
After a few minutes of tests, Healer Alen rubbed the side of Jaylen's jaw. "Well, I can tell you that your jaw is still broken. I don't know who told you it was fractured, but this is much more than a fracture. The bone in your jaw has been completely snapped in half, but until now, the pieces have been joined by a buildup of calcium. When you opened your jaw so wide after it had been closed and immobile, you broke that. That was the popping sound we heard. Now you have a good deal of swelling. I can give you some pain medicine, but without cutting through the skin and trying to do something that may or may not work and might actually cause more damage, the
medicine is the best I can do."
Zeriel watched Jaylen closely as he constantly rubbed his jaw. "Are there any side-effects to him taking these pills for an indeterminate amount of time? His mother was addicted to drugs and died of an overdose, so I'm afraid that he will be the same way."
"I will write down everything you need to know to take the best care of your paladin, Fallen Angel."
* * *
"It's about time you decided to show up."
Zeriel yanked the bucket out of Tarael's manicured hand. "I would punch you again if you didn't look so much like a woman."
"Or we could punch each other at the same time over and over again." Tarael leaned close and licked Zeriel's cheek. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"You're gross."
"I'm gross?" Tarael chuckled. "You're the one in all black."
"At least I'm not a bloodthirsty lunatic in a dress."
"Hey now. I have killed nearly one thousand demons in this dress. How many demons have you killed? Oh, wait. Only one and you had help. And that was after your poor whiny paladin got gobbled up." He snapped his teeth together as he winked at Zeriel.
"Just start cleaning." Zeriel knelt down and dipped a rag into the soapy water before he began scrubbing the wooden floor. He grunted as Tarael knelt down right beside him and nudged him painfully with his elbow. "Why don't you go over there?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I in your way?"
"Uh, yeah. Back off." He gasped as Tarael slapped him with the soaked rag.
"Ha ha! Take that. Maybe if I keep it up, you'll finally have a proper bath. Sola's rays, I didn't think that Fallen were this nasty."
Zeriel hit him back with his elbow. "Shut up."
Jaylen called out from his bunk. "Would you two both shut up? You're supposed to be cleaning, not bickering like chickens."
"Like chickens?" Tarael snickered as he elbowed Zeriel in the side again. "Bock bock."
"What are you doing?" Zeriel asked, not impressed.
"Making chicken sounds. You should know because you are a chicken. Bock bock bock!"
"Do it one more time. I dare you to do that one more time. You-" Zeriel growled as he stopped talking when some of the paladins came back into the room to grab their bags. The two angels glared at each other with a thousand insults dancing on their tongues, just waiting to be unleashed. Once the paladins had left again, Zeriel took things into his own hands. He grabbed the bucket then dumped the soapy water all over Tarael who screamed and squealed like a little girl.
Angel of Darkness Books 1-5 Page 41