Third Debt

by Pepper Winters

  My cock hadn’t softened all night but I’d refused to satisfy myself.

  I wanted to wait for Nila.

  We can offer each other a small measure of comfort.

  I’d never had phone sex before, but if it granted a smidgen of contentment in our separation, I’d give it a shot.

  My heart fisted.

  Nila’s messages were so selfless. So concerned about Kes and me. She barely spoke of herself, no matter how many times I begged. Last night, when I’d talked to her, only confirmed my suspicions. She’d deflected a lot of her replies. And I fucking hated it.

  She’s hiding things from me.

  After ten minutes of only receiving blankness, I tried again.

  Unknown Number: Call me. I need you.

  No reply.

  No notification.

  Nothing.

  My heart hollowed out, bleeding with every tick of the frustrating clock.

  Unknown Number: Answer me. Are you okay?

  Still no reply.

  Snow flurried on my soul, dragging me quicker toward a horrible conclusion.

  Nila…what’s happened?

  The landline beside my bed jarred the silence.

  The ringing imitated an awful alarm, ripping my eardrums.

  Wrenching the receiver off the cradle, I tossed my cell-phone onto the sheets. “Yes?”

  “Jet…are you safe to talk?”

  Instantly, my body stiffened. Fuck. Sitting up too fast, my rib throbbed. “Jaz…what’s happened?”

  She paused for too long.

  Something’s gone wrong.

  Nila!

  That was it. I couldn’t heal any longer. My body had rested long enough. I was done with this fucking place.

  Swinging my legs over the bed, I leapt to my feet. I didn’t give in to the gushing pain. I didn’t let my body rule me.

  I’m done. I’m ending this.

  “Spit it out, Jaz. Right fucking now.”

  I needed to leave. I was strong enough to kill Cut and steal Nila away.

  Jasmine sniffed loudly.

  “Talk to me!”

  Tears immediately sprung into her voice. “I—I tried, Jet. I did my best.”

  My blood turned to sleet. “What did they do to her?”

  Not the Third Debt. Fuck, if they touched her—!

  Jaz’s voice was water and grief. “They lied to me. They told me I would be present at every punishment. I found out today that wasn’t true.”

  “What punishments, Jaz?” The room closed in. My heart rate exploded. “What have they done?”

  “Bonnie had the elevator blocked for maintenance. I couldn’t get downstairs, Jet. I—” A loud sob escaped her.

  Fuck this.

  “What did they do?! Is she alive? For fuck’s sake, talk to me!”

  “They’ve been tormenting her, Kite. I’m so sorry! So sorry.”

  I had no winter clothing. Nothing to change from the sweatpants and t-shirt I’d been given. I didn’t care.

  I’d run buck-fucking-naked to Hawksridge if I had to.

  “Get Flaw here, now. Have him bring clothing and supplies. I want him here in an hour. Do you hear me?”

  She sucked back a sob. “I’ll—I’ll tell him. Kite…they’ve been using the old equipment. They used it on Elisa in those pictures. You know?”

  I froze to the linoleum. “What the fuck did they use?”

  Jaz went quiet.

  “What did they use, Jasmine?!”

  “The Iron Chair, the Scold’s Bridle, the Scavenger’s Daughter.” She cried again. “I’m so sorry, Jethro. I was there for most of them. I did my best to comfort and support her. But I couldn’t say no. I couldn’t run the risk of them knowing you’re—” More tears.

  Conflicted emotions ran through me. I hated that she couldn’t save Nila. But I understood at the same time. It was too much to ask from my crippled sister. Too much for anyone living in that insane asylum.

  My soul sank further. “What else, Jaz?”

  Her voice shook. “Tonight…they hurt her. I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t. I didn’t even know until it was too late.”

  My heart shattered. “Tonight. Fuck, Jaz. What happened tonight?”

  She sniffed loudly. “They used the Heretic’s Fork. She…slipped.”

  “Shit!”

  The fork was lethal. One trip and it was death. My mind swam with images of the neck brace padlocked around the accused’s throat, forcing them to hold their head high for days. The deadly sharp prongs wedged against sternum and throat, just waiting for tiredness or a fall to jerk their head down and stab them through the heart and jaw.

  “That—that’s not the worst of it,” she stammered.

  My body turned to lava and hate. “Goddammit! What else could they do?!”

  “Part of the Fourth Debt. They—they—” She couldn’t finish.

  No.

  No.

  Fucking no!

  I tore off the hospital wristband and traded patient for wrathful avenger.

  They wouldn’t get away with this.

  Not anymore.

  They’re motherfucking dead.

  “Get Flaw here. I’m coming home.”

  A Few Hours Earlier…

  “NICE OF YOU to join us, Nila.”

  Cut clasped his hands in front of his black jeans. His salt and pepper hair glistened from the sconces around the room.

  Daniel shoved me forward. I tripped on the blood-red rug in the centre of the space. A cough escaped as my eyes danced around yet another never before entered part of the Hall.

  Amber drapes and bronze accents. War memorabilia along with a few glass cabinets displaying Luger pistols and bloodied ribbons from some battle long ago. Dust motes hovered in the air, swirling a little from the heat escaping the fireplace. The low ceiling and dark orange walls made the space den-like and cosy, full of history and artifacts.

  “It’s time we moved forward with the next stage…don’t you think?” Cut sipped his goblet of cognac. “You’ve had time to repay a few of the smaller sins, but my schedule is running behind, and I can’t delay my upcoming surprise any longer.”

  Vertigo tried to tackle me, but I did my best to stand tall. Furious tears froze in my eyes, glinting like daggers but not daring to fall.

  I will not cry.

  Not for them.

  Not for anyone.

  “You’re gonna enjoy the surprise, Weaver.” Daniel laughed, circling me like a vulture. “Gonna go on a little trip soon.”

  A trip?

  Where?

  Why?

  Bonnie shifted in her chair beside the fire. A woollen blanket covered her knobbly knees. “Don’t ruin the surprise, Buzzard. She’ll find out soon enough.”

  Sour mistrust and hate filled my mouth. “Whatever you’re planning, I hope you’ve arranged your own funerals.”

  Cut coughed on his liquor; Daniel burst out laughing. Slinging an arm over my shoulders, he whispered, “You’re becoming so much fun. I like this side of you.”

  “What side? The side that doesn’t give a shit about you anymore?”

  My illness had left me weak but Jethro had made me strong. His messages and assurances that we would have a future allowed me to stand up and be heard, even if it fell on deaf ears.

  Dragging his foul tongue along my chin, Daniel cocked his head. “No, the side that pretends she doesn’t care but she does.” His spicy aftershave polluted the air.

  It was late and I’d believed I’d avoided yet another night in this nest of vipers. When he’d come to collect me, I’d been plotting how to end it. Sitting on my bed, dressed for sleep, I wasn’t thinking empty thoughts anymore. Hidden in my fabric chest was a large piece of black cotton with chalk scribbles on how to kill each Hawk.

  Poison.

  Shooting.

  Bludgeoning.

  I’d explored every avenue, and Jasmine even offered me the use of her personal gun. She’d told me that if Cut died from unnatural ca
uses, the estate and his children’s futures died with him. She told me that his Last Will and Testament pretty much screwed everyone. However, she had faith I could come up with a way to revoke the fine print and somehow save them.

  Our relationship had changed into a mutual liaison. She leaned on me. I leaned on her.

  “Know why we’ve summoned you here, Nila?” Suits of armour watched me as Cut smiled. “Care to guess what you’ll pay tonight?”

  No…

  Jethro…

  “Before we begin, we’re going to have a little ‘show and tell.’” Daniel left me on the rug, heading toward a small table covered with black cloth. “I’m sure once you’ve seen what’s under here, you’ll thank your fucking stars that you have the power to stop us from using them.”

  My heart charged, pumping blood through my veins.

  “What power?”

  “Obey and do what we say and they remain purely ornamental.” Removing the cloth, Daniel grabbed something and held it behind his back. “Know what this is, Nila?”

  I hated that question.

  Every time I’d heard it, it delivered yet more torment.

  I wanted to dismantle the sentence, burn the vowels, tear apart the consonants. I never wanted to hear that jumble of words again in my life.

  Keeping my head high, I didn’t look at him.

  “You’d be best to answer me, Nila.” Daniel came closer, stopping in front of me. His voice hammered nails into my coffin.

  I looked into his demonic eyes, nostrils flaring with anger. My hands opened and closed for a weapon. “No, I don’t know what that is and I don’t care. You’re like a bloody child looking for your parent’s approval.”

  Bonnie chuckled. “Oh, tonight will teach that tongue of yours a lesson.”

  “Take me back to my room. I’m done playing.”

  Daniel laughed, catching my wrist and holding me steadfast. “Not so fast, Weaver.” Stroking my nipple through my white nightgown, he murmured, “Did you forget who called it quits the other night? You were tired. I could tell. The Scavenger’s Daughter would’ve driven you mad if I hadn’t stepped in.” He pinched me. “I was the one who unbuckled the iron and let you go.”

  He’s right.

  His concern for my wellbeing could’ve come across as kind and caring—if he hadn’t also been the one who’d swatted me with willow reed while I was bowed and imprisoned by the awful Scavenger’s Daughter.

  He’d been tasked with teaching me manners after I’d refused to eat with them. He’d been told to make me bleed.

  Surprisingly, he hadn’t.

  He’d been happy just drawing my tears.

  However, according to Cut, I was a spoil-sport.

  The Daughter had been used to crush its victims. Bowing with my head on my knees, the iron bars had been excruciating, slowly tightening with a winch, folding me into fatal origami.

  “What do you want from me? Appreciation? An award for mercy? What?”

  Daniel narrowed his gaze, holding out the item. “What I want, Nila, is for you to play along.”

  I snorted, unable to hide my disgust. “Play along while you torture me? Sure, why didn’t I think of that?” My eyes fell on the object. For once, I had no clue what it was. I didn’t recall seeing it in the torture book that V owned, and I couldn’t piece it together.

  Bracing my spine, I said, “I told you. I have no idea what it is. Hurry up and get it out of my face.”

  He ignored my command, smiling like a Cheshire cat. “Good. Gives me the chance to teach you something for a change.”

  You’ve taught me a lot, Buzzard.

  How to hate.

  How to crave death.

  How to plot your demise.

  Daniel laughed, stroking the roundish brass device with a corkscrew in the middle and petals lodged together with a small circular handle. It was pretty in an old-fashioned, barbaric way.

  “This is a Pear of Anguish.” He shoved it beneath my nose. “Ever seen one before?”

  “I just told you I didn’t know what it was.”

  He beamed. “Allow me to show you how it works.” I recoiled as he held the pear and twisted the small lever at the bottom. Slowly the petals expanded outward, forming a morbid four-leaf flower. “This ingenious device has three uses.”

  I swallowed hard as he kept spreading the petals.

  “Use number one was for liars and instigators. The pear was forced into their throat and slowly opened until their jaw cracked.”

  I shuddered.

  “Use number two was for gay men or priests who broke their faith. It was shoved up their arse and cranked wide until their arsehole ripped.” He laughed, flaring out the pear to full expansion. “The third was for women. Adulterers and nuns who’d lied about being virgins for their God or faithful spouses. It was shoved up their twats, and only once they’d been stretched were they deemed repentant enough to deserve the Judas Cradle or Brazen Bull.”

  I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to imagine the rest of the torture devices. There was too much joy in creating so much pain. I couldn’t stomach it. I’d seen photos of the Brazen Bull—of stuffing a poor person inside a bronze statue and lighting a fire beneath. The victim roasted alive, while the smoke of their charred remains escaped through the nostrils of the bull.

  I shivered.

  His fingers caressed my cheek. “Don’t worry. I won’t use it tonight. Only show and tell, remember?” Snickering, he placed the Pear of Anguish on a side table and picked up a wicked pincher device.

  Cut said, “You’d do well to behave, Nila. One misstep and they become part of the toys used. Got it?”

  I glowered, not stooping to his level with a response.

  Jethro…

  Keep my thoughts on him.

  Whatever they planned to do tonight would be bearable as long as my mind found a way to be free.

  Daniel waved the next piece in my face. “Any clue?”

  I shook my head, hating him more every passing second.

  “It’s called a Breast Slicer.” Daniel opened the pinchers which were formed into two wicked spikes. “This would be stabbed into the outer edges of a woman’s tits, impaling her.”

  My nipples twinged as blood raced faster.

  “Then they’d be ripped out as fast and as hard as possible.” He demonstrated with a quick jerk. “No more tits.” Fondling the awful item, he laughed. “Women had it pretty hard in medieval England. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  That one I did agree with.

  I nodded.

  I expected more tormenting, but Daniel grew bored.

  Tossing the Breast Slicer to clang against the Pear of Anguish, he looked at Cut. “Can I start, or do you want me to do something else first?”

  What’s going to happen?

  Whatever it was, he’d given me fair warning. It would be only fair to use that knowledge for my benefit. My mind charged ahead with gruesome plans. If I remained untethered, I might be able to use the Breast Slicer on him and then ram the Pear of Anguish down Bonnie’s throat. Cut would have to wait—or I could skewer him with a poker from the black marble fireplace.

  Cut steepled his fingers. “You can start, Buzzard.”

  Daniel clapped his hands. “Hear that, Nila? Permission. Fucking sister has done a good job at keeping you out of bounds, but tonight she’s not invited.” He grinned. “She’s also not invited to the secret surprise we have for you. That will just be you, me, and Cut. Jasmine thinks she’s won. But she won’t be coming with us.” His golden eyes darkened. “And that means there won’t be anyone to stop me.”

  Loathsome repugnance ran through my body.

  He’s talking about the Third Debt.

  “Get on with it, Dan,” Bonnie muttered.

  Daniel prowled around me. “Don’t rush me, Grandmamma. I’m enjoying myself.” He gathered my long hair, playing with it.

  I couldn’t unglue myself from the rug.

  “You’re very pretty, Nila. I can see why J
ethro thought with his cock rather than his brain.” Braiding my hair, he inhaled me. “But unlike my broken brother, I can keep a level head around you.” His entire body reeked of greed and gluttony—not on food or money—but power over another’s life.

  My life.

  His hands dropped from my hair, ensnaring my wrists. “Because of that, I don’t trust you. And tonight, it’s all about obedience.”

  I gasped as he yanked my hands behind me, binding them with a rope I hadn’t seen. I squirmed in his hold, wanting to escape whatever would come next. So much for my plan of killing them.

  “Don’t do this.” My voice was heavy with fury. Don’t take me away from Jethro when he’s only just come back to me. To have such love and hope granted and then stripped away was the height of cruelty. I loathed my fate. I despised my karma.

  Daniel laughed loudly, his baritone bouncing off the den walls. “Don’t worry. You have full control over tonight.”

  “You keep saying that. What does it mean?”

  Spinning me in his hold, he stroked my cheek. “I mean that you’ll have a choice of what happens.”

  “If I have a choice, then I choose for this to end. Right now.”

  He chuckled. “Not that simple, Weaver.”

  My wrists fought against the twine. I forced myself to ignore the discomfort and rapidly building fear. My unhappiness didn’t matter to Daniel. He only saw what he wanted—a girl to torture and daddy’s approval to do it.

  It’s all over.

  Jethro had come back from the dead. But it was too late.

  Cut placed his goblet on a side table, standing upright. “Are you ready to begin, Nila? Ready to pay the Fourth Debt?”

  What answer could I give? I reverted to illiteracy. I forgot how to talk because speech never saved me. Only actions would, but I couldn’t do that, either. My arms were fastened tightly.

  Daniel pushed me forward. Cut caught me but I refused to look him in the eye. Instead, I looked over his shoulder—back ramrod straight, chin tilted with defiance.

  Cut’s golden gaze glowed. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Chuckling, he stroked my diamond collar. He bent closer, his breath echoing in my ear. “It’s a new era, Nila. And I can’t wait to share my secrets with you when we get to where we’re going. Tonight you’ll pay the easier part of the Fourth Debt. And later…you’ll pay the rest.”