Irabor added, “And everything to gain. Is she the only one here with a backbone? No one else dares fight for their freedom?”
A few more prisoners began in unison, “We will fight as well.”
One by one, the majority of the prisoners rallied to Irabor’s calls. He proceeded to open their cages with the same key the guard used to open Jago’s room. He fumbled through a few keys before he unlocked each prisoners’ handcuffs. He picked up his pace and rapidly began freeing those who wanted to fight.
“I have gained your allegiance, but now I need the allegiance of the more hardened criminals. I need the murderers to help us. We will need their cold blooded instincts for this to even work.” Irabor stated.
The woman prisoner with the missing hand replied, “those men are dangerous, are you sure you can convince them to fight?”
“Look at me. I will convince them to fight or beat some sense into them,” he smirked.
The woman scoffed, “Okay big man. Oh my apologies, my name is Nadine. You?”
She stuck out her good hand for a handshake, but Irabor grabbed the arm with the missing hand and replied, “My name is Irabor. Now let’s avenge your daughters.” He smiled at her, his large and vibrant smile radiated not just throughout her being, but the other prisoners as well. Nadine nearly cried as she looked Irabor in his eyes, his confidence and charisma warmed her soul.
Irabor, with the help of Nadine and the other prisoners, freed the murderers. He convinced them to fight alongside with him and they did not hesitate. These criminals would rather fight for a chance to be free once more than certain death at the gallows. As this ensued, Ida was face to face with Sultan Selassie and his men. The men interrogated her on the whereabouts of Irabor but she deflected the questions. She tried her best to keep their interests on her but this costed her dearly. The men had punched her, kicked her and whipped her as she lain tied up in the Sultan’s courtyard. Her eyelids were swollen, her cheeks were puffed, and her skin was carpeted in lacerations and blood.
“I grow tired of these games you wench! You think you can trespass into my Palace, kill a few of my guards and insult me! That is enough, we will find your friend eventually, I have men looking right now, but you need to be punished!” Sultan Selassie screamed.
Ida spat blood from her mouth and yelled, “Then come on then! Punish me your Highness! I’m right here!” She smiled, her teeth were blood stained.
Before Selassie could give an order, one of his guards came bursting out the doors, “Your Highness! Abdel is not at his post! He is not in the dungeon!”
Selassie sharply swiveled his head, “He’s not!? Where in the god's’ name is he!? Is Didi still in his room!?
The guard stammered, “I-I never checked your Highness. I was trying to find Abdel this entire time.”
“You damn fool! The second slave could already be down there! Go grab some men and check again! I should not have to instruct you how to do your job!” Selassie barked.
“Yes, your Highness,” he bowed and scurried off with about ten men following him.
Solomon, who sat in a chair beside his brother, Saul, spoke up, “Hurry up you fool! I shall hang you myself if you fail again!”
Saul tapped his brother on the shoulder, “Be still, Solomon. Just pay attention to how Father runs the Palace.”
Solomon pulled his shoulder away from Saul and mumbled, “Why should I, he plans on bestowing the Palace on you anyways.” Saul remained quiet and shook his head, he then resumed studying their father.
Selassie returned his focus to Ida, “My men will capture your friend shortly, so let us give him a spectacle for when he arrives.”
Ida mumbled, “What does that mean?”
Selassie chuckled, “Men, crucify her!”
The guards grabbed her and untied her restraints. She kicked and bit the men but their garments protected them for the most part. Another group of guards laid the cross on the ground while they placed Ida on it. They held her arms and legs against the wooden post as she screamed and riled her body. The men tied her arms down first as they held her legs down firmly. The men then secured her legs to the structure and grabbed for the hammers and nails. Before the guards could begin hammering the nail through her limbs however, Sultan Selassie spoke forth.
“Hold on, I want to do this. I want to look her in her eyes as I inflict my law,” Sultan Selassie said sternly.
“You’re all talk. I know you don’t have the conviction!” Ida screamed.
Selassie ignored her remark and stood over her left arm. He stooped down and placed the nail on her palm, as soon as the cold iron touched Ida’s skin she quivered. Ida stared silently at Selassie, her blood and sweat kept running into her eyes but she forced them to stay open. Selassie stared Ida in her eyes in return, neither wanted to blink first, they feared it was a sign of weakness. The courtyard grew eerily silent as the two locked their gazes, but a rogue bead of sweat caught Ida in her right eye and she blinked. Then suddenly, as if lighting had struck, he drove the nail halfway into her hand with one powerful swing of the hammer. Ida released a sharp shriek, deafening those close by. Her cries resonated throughout the courtyard as Selassie continued hammering away at the nail. Solomon sat and watched the spectacle intently with a wide grin upon his face, while Saul sat expressionless at the sight. Once Selassie finished the first nail, he rose back to his feet and stood over Ida.
“You said I lacked conviction, no?” Selassie said as his guard handed him another nail.
He continued, “You have nothing to say now? You had so much to talk about earlier, but now when there is a nail in your hand you finally shut up.”
He walked over to her right arm, then kneeled and held the nail in her palm, “Maybe now you wish you were a little more cooperative. I actually entertained the idea of just handing Didi over to you two.”
Ida stopped struggling once the Sultan notified her of that, “R-really?”
He smirked, “Yes, for an instant. Didi’s actions are troublesome, as you can see you two are here because of one of them. I grew tired of cleaning up his messes. But you and your friend lack manners just as well. All three of you will die tonight.”
Ida looked away from Selassie, whom then hammered the second nail into her right hand. Her blood curdling scream nearly deafened the Sultan, but he was unwavering and persisted with the hammering. He diligently hammered the nail into her hand, slipping between her bones then into the wood. Blood began to stream from her hand as she tried to acclimate to the nails being in there. Ida whimpered and exhaled faint cries as she tried to gather herself. Her heart was beating at a breakneck pace and sweat began flowing out her pours. Her breathing fastened and deepened as she coped with the pain.
Selassie began, “Do not quit on me now, we are not done yet.”
Ida inhaled deeply then replied, “Please…stop.”
Selassie, with his wide eyes, stared into her fading eyes, “I still need to nail your feet down.”
“N-no, No!” she yelled.
Selassie walked down to her feet and grabbed a nail from a guard. He kneeled down and without hesitation, hammered the nail into her right ankle. Ida could hear the bones in her leg crack under their impalement. Tears ran from her eyes, but her voice was nearly nonexistent. As the nail was driven through her bones, she tried and tried to scream for relief, but her lungs were at their capacity. Each swing of the hammer made Ida heave but not a sound came out. As he rose back to his feet, she began to drift off into a slumber, she began to see Tayo’s smile. She recalled how cheerful he used to be, how his childish charm and heart of gold touched her. Ida became more aware of her situation and knew she had failed her mission, but the sight her memories of Tayo soothed her as she slipped into darkness. Selassie, however, was not going to stand for this. He marched up to her face and slapped her.
“Wake up! We are not finished. One more nail,” Selassie stated but Ida was unresponsive. Her face was expressionless and her eyes were barely open.
> Selassie left her to doze off and walked towards her left foot. He placed the nail on her left ankle and sized up the task. With a strong blow, he hammered the final nail into her ankle. Ida could barely manage to react to the pain let alone scream in agony. But as Selassie raised to his feet to revel in his work, he heard cries from behind him. The whole courtyard turned to face the entrance of the Palace, and to their surprise, a huge wave of prisoners came charging through the doors. A few men of the horde were wielding the swords of Selassie’s guards. Nadine and Irabor led the charge, with Nadine wearing the helmet of one of the guards and wielding their sword. Irabor saw Ida laying on the cross and he nearly lost control of himself at the sight. His heart raced so fast it was hard for him to even tell if it was still beating.
Selassie screamed, “Attack! Attack!”
The guards in the courtyard raced towards the prisoners. Solomon and Saul rose from their seats, picked up their saif's which lay on the ground beside them, and joined the guards in their attack. A guard swung his sword at Irabor, who dodged and punched the guard in his face. He grabbed the guard’s sword and chopped down another guard adjacent him. Irabor looked to his right and saw that Nadine was overwhelmed by a guard. Her attacker had slashed her across her face and kicked her down to the ground. As Irabor readied himself to rescue her, another prisoner leaped over the injured Nadine and jabbed his fingers into the guard’s eyes.
The guard released a gut wrenching cry, which allowed Nadine to get unto her feet and shove her longsword through his neck, silencing him. Irabor continued his charge towards Ida as he slashed men effortlessly out of his path. He was unfazed by each slash that grazed him, but delivered a life ending slash in return to each soldier that stepped forth, but then two men stood before him. Both men were slender with a sandstone complexion, but one dawned a long ponytail, while the other had a short haircut and goatee. They both sported a vibrantly white tunic with a large lion’s head embroidered on the chest.
The one with the goatee began, “Solomon, this must be the other slave. Be careful.”
Solomon chuckled, “Do not tell me what to do Saul, I can handle him!”
Solomon charged towards Irabor, which forced Saul to charge right behind him. The two ran in a crisscrossing weave as they approached Irabor. Irabor stood vigilant to see who would strike first, his eyes fixated on the two men. The two brothers arrived at the same time, Saul to his right and Solomon to his left, and slashed their saif at Irabor. Irabor was able to block Saul’s attack since he held a sword in his right arm, but Solomon’s attack connected with his left thigh. Irabor leaped forward to avoid any more subsequent strikes, but he nearly fell to his face due to his left leg buckling to the injury.
Solomon, with a cynical smile, began, “The bigger they are…”
Saul added with an expressionless look on his face, “The harder they fall.”
Irabor turned around and stood still as he watched the two men. His lungs were on fire and sweat drenched his body. His face and body still ached from his previous encounter with Jago, his forearms were throbbing from breaking the bars to enter the sewage passage, and he was exhausted from this skirmish. Every living creature has a limit, and Irabor was certain he neared his. He looked on passed the brothers and saw that the prisoners were beginning to get mowed down by the better equipped guards. Irabor knew he had to act quickly before reinforcements arrived and all the prisoners were killed, because by then all hope would be lost. Suddenly, Irabor heard a voice scream from behind him.
“You can do it, Sapphire Eyes!” Irabor looked behind him and realized the cry came from Ida, bloodied and nailed to the wood.
Irabor saw that the Sultan was still standing over her with the hammer in hand and a frightened look on his face. Irabor felt a sudden rush through his body, his muscles were no longer fatigued and he felt no pain. His heart raced and his breathing increased. His pupils dilated once more and his scarlet irises widened. His eyes has a slight glow to them once more. Irabor dropped his sword and clenched his fists. He walked slowly towards the two brothers.
Solomon yelled, “Oh, so you have a death wish? Well come on!” Solomon sprinted towards him.
Saul felt uneasy about the situation and shouted, “Hold on, brother!” He raced off behind him.
Solomon eagerly ran towards Irabor and swung his sword with all his might. Irabor stuck his left arm out and caught the sword. But the blade was not caught in his hand, but in his arm. The blade sliced through Irabor’s flesh and bone and got stuck in his thick forearm. Blood began running down Irabor left arm but he was unnerved, he grabbed Solomon’s neck with his right hand and crushed it instantaneously. Saul, whom charged right behind Solomon, ceased his advance and stared in horror as Irabor lifted his little brother’s lifeless body from his mangled neck. Tears began flowing from his eyes and as he released an incredible shout. He sprinted towards Irabor with increased vigor and his sword ready to lance him. Irabor saw the charge and threw Solomon’s body at him, knocking him down.
Irabor removed the sword from his forearm. The bleeding increased so he immediately took off his shirt and wrapped the injury. He turned to face the Sultan who still had a terrified look on his face. He picked up Solomon’s sword and raced over towards them, but the Sultan had two guards protecting him. The Sultan ran as the guards charged towards Irabor. The first guard swung his sword at Irabor, whom blocked the strike with his. Irabor kicked the guard unto his back and drove the sword through his heart. Irabor saw the other guard’s face was filled with fright and he ran off to fight the prisoners instead. Irabor finally got to Ida, whom was barely breathing.
“I will get you out of this!” he screamed as look for a tool to pry the nails from the wood, but he found nothing.
He continued “You aren’t going to like what I’m about to do.”
Softly, Ida responded, “What d-do you mea-” suddenly she screamed.
Irabor had ripped her right hand from the board. Miraculously, the nail passed through her hand without ripping any bones out with it, but it did take flesh and blood. Irabor knew he might not strike gold two times in a row so he pondered another idea. He ran over to her left hand but instead of prying it from the wood, he stood on the plank and grabbed it with his right hand. He then heaved and broke the section of the wood she was nailed to. He raced down to her legs and repeated the same action, freeing her from the cross. He picked up her body and threw her over his right shoulder.
Irabor saw that the front gates were close so he raced back towards the Palace, but ran off to the side to not get tangled in the skirmish still taking place. Irabor bolted through the front doors and turned right down a white tiled corridor. Blood and sweat dripped from them both as he made his way through the passage. Blood and limbs littered the area from the guards Selassie had sent to intercept him and the prisoners. Irabor finally arrived at the dungeon doors and descended down the steps. He raced down the corridors and made his way to the passage he had entered from. He lowered Ida into the passage, but before he could climb down himself, he heard a voice behind him.
“Setting us free was never your intentions, am I right?” Irabor turned and saw that it was Nadine. Her face was covered in blood and sweat with a fresh gash wound across it. The filthy rags she wore were blood soaked.
She continued hysterically, “You used us to save this woman, didn’t you? Didn’t you!?”
Irabor remained silent, then sheepishly responded, “Yes. I am sorry. You can still come with us.”
Nadine mumbled, “N-no, my solace is away from th-this world. You must really love this woman, take good care of her,” suddenly she stabbed herself in her chest and fell to her back.
Irabor reached out to her in horror. He ran to Nadine’s corpse and kneeled at her side. He shut her eyelids and sat quietly for an instant. However, he heard footsteps rushing towards him and saw the faint glimmers of torch lights. He hurriedly descended into the tunnel and pushed Ida through it as he crawled on all fours. They soon came out
the other end of the passage, Irabor hastily threw Ida back over his shoulder and raced off into the crowd. As he ran through the populous, some stared in confusion, while others paid them no attention as they had more pressing issues on their minds. Irabor ran into the alleyways, to stay out of sight of any patrolling guards. Suddenly, Irabor collapsed to the ground and Ida went tumbling. His legs felt like gelatin and his chest felt as if it were to explode. Ida had been unconscious the whole escape, and even after Irabor dropped her, he realized she remained asleep.
“Ida, Ida!? Wake up! Wake up dammit!” he yelled with his weak breath.
He continued as he began to whimper, “I can’t go on anymore. I just can’t!” he clenched the dirt in his right hand, but his left hand was unresponsive due to the injury Solomon dealt it.
Ida remained quiet, so Irabor began once more, “So this is where our journey ends. Avenged Young Tayo’s murder by getting murdered ourselves,” he chuckled.
Irabor’s eyelids began to feel heavy, he no longer felt sore, but his body would still not move. He tried to get back onto his feet, but he had absolutely no more strength to call upon. He lied there and stared at the motionless Ida. He realized how delicate she looked, from her long dreaded hair to her chocolate skin. Although bruised, Irabor could not recall an instant Ida has looked more beautiful since he encountered her. He wondered how such a lovely woman was capable of what she could do, and how he ended up here with her. He then thought back to what Nadine told him. But as these thoughts riddled his minds, his eyelids began to fall. Irabor dozed off, to fade into oblivion. He reached out one last time to grab Ida’s hand, but fell short.
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