The Isle of Torment

by Andrew Hunter

  Tanys guffawed. "That's it?" she said, "You're afraid of being recognized for being different? You think there are whole tribes of people out there, thirsting for vengeance on the fabled maggot-folk of legends?"

  Brynn flinched but said nothing.

  "I'll let you in on a little secret, oh great Haunter of the Dark," Tanys said, waving her hands, "No one believes in you anymore out there. Whatever your kind once was to us, the only ones who remember you now are a few crazy old shamans in stone huts. You could walk down the streets of any seaport, and the worst anyone would think of you is that you could stand a little more time in the sun."

  Brynn's lips moved, his brow furrowed.

  "It's true!" Tanys said, "No one cares about you or your faded race. If you're so worried about being hunted down, just put on a fucking hat. As long as your money is good, they'd still serve you a drink."

  Brynn's face hardened, but Tanys saw the uncertainty behind his eyes. "That's enough!" he said, "The lesson is over."

  Tanys sniffed, falling into step behind him as he marched toward the exit of the cavern.

  Brynn said nothing as he led her back the way they had come. Tanys glanced once in the direction of Ghodn's cage, regretting that her words had cost her a chance to see the tiger again before she left. She followed him to a stone lift that dropped silently into the depths of the delve beneath their feet. He stopped it one level short of Tanys's sleeping quarters.

  Brynn stared into the lightless gloom of the room surrounding the lift disc. He did not move or speak.

  "What is it?" Tanys whispered.

  Brynn glanced at her, a sick look on his face.

  "What?" she asked.

  He let out a breath, slowly and raggedly. "You're going to be the fucking death of me," he said.

  Tanys shook her head, questioning him with her eyes.

  "Follow me," he whispered, "and keep your mouth shut, or it's both our asses."

  They stepped from the lift, Tanys's bare feet moving silently across the dusty black stone. Brynn's soft-soled boots fell silent as well as they neared the dark mouth of a corridor.

  Tanys stifled a gasp when they stepped through an archway and saw two hulking men standing guard on either side of the hallway beyond. They wore black armor with their thick fingers coiled around the hafts of short, barb-tipped spears. Something in their glazed expressions told her that these men would do no thinking for themselves. Brynn paid them no heed as they passed between the two guards.

  Beyond the guard post, a long, curving corridor stretched away, faintly lit by small glowing blue stones set into the ceiling at regular intervals. On either side of the hall, Tanys recognized the familiar barred doors of prison cells like the ones on Vriene's level. These doors, however, seemed larger and farther apart. She chanced a glance through one of the narrow viewports but saw only blackness beyond. Brynn's pace did not slow until they came to a door from which a dim light shown beyond.

  Tanys flew to the door, pressing her face to the bars and let out a small cry of joy before forcing herself to silence.

  Inside the large cell beyond, Berra and Tyll lay naked and sleeping on mounds of old rags.

  Brynn pressed his palm to the doorframe, and the iron door sprung open. He waited in the doorway, casting a nervous glance back up the hall as Tanys darted inside.

  The Neshite sisters woke instantly, each rolling into a defensive crouch, hands outspread. Tanys knew them well enough to notice that their movements seemed sluggish and weak. The grim looks on their faces vanished instantly on sight of Tanys.

  Tyll sprang forward, crushing Tanys with a fierce hug. Tanys cringed to feel the fresh lash marks across the big gladiatrix's back.

  "Took you long enough to find us," Berra said, her voice slightly hoarse. She grinned despite a blackened eye and a red gash that ran across her right cheek. Berra laughed at Tanys's look of pity. "It's nothin'. You should see what I did to the bastard that hit me."

  Tyll released Tanys at last and stepped back, grinning at her sister. "Berra actually shoved the whip up his ass," she said, "I thought that was just something you say to scare people, you know, but, it turns out, you can really do it."

  "So, how are we getting out of here?" Berra asked.

  "You're not," Brynn said, still standing in the doorway, "this is just a visit."

  Berra looked him over. She raised her bushy eyebrows and gave Tanys a withering glance. "I see what you've been up to all this time."

  "Who's the toy?" Tyll asked, nodding toward Brynn.

  Tanys hesitated a moment before speaking. "A friend."

  Brynn leaned out and checked the hallway again. "Say what you need to say," he said, "We don't have much time."

  "Where's Jorva?" Tanys asked, "Have you seen him?"

  Berra shook her head. "I've seen nothin' but a lot o' them since they took us."

  "Naietta and Ghodn are all right," Tanys said, "at least for now, but we have to find Jorva."

  "Then let's go find him!" Tyll said.

  Tanys looked toward the door. Brynn shook his head.

  "Door's open," Berra growled.

  "You wouldn't make it," Brynn said.

  "I'll break you like a stick, boy," Berra said.

  Brynn sneered, his hand going to his axe. "Doesn't matter," he said, "You'll never make it off this floor."

  "You won't have to worry about that," Berra said, taking a step toward the scowling ghast.

  Tanys stepped between them, placing a hand between Berra's breasts. "Not like this," she whispered, "not until I know where Jorva is."

  Berra's eyes moved between Tanys and the open door. "What if Jorva's dead?" she asked.

  Tanys's eyes hardened. "Then we'll make this place a fitting tomb for him," she said, "but we don't leave any of our friends alive in here."

  Berra looked at her sister and lowered her voice. "I won't let them hurt her again," Berra said.

  Tanys steeled her will, shutting her eyes for a moment. "Give me one more night," she whispered, "I'll find Jorva... and then we're getting out of here."

  Berra's jaw tightened. Her eyes went to the doorway again. "You trust him?" she asked.

  Tanys sighed. "He's the only one that's not crazy as a bag of cats," she said, "That's the best I can manage right now."

  Berra's massive shoulders slumped, and she let out a long sigh. "I knew we shoulda walked it," she said.

  Tanys smiled. "Be ready," she said.

  Berra snorted. "Dig us up a couple of blades," she said, "If you're not too busy bangin' the stable boy."

  Brynn stroked his eyebrow with a long middle finger.

  "I'll see you tomorrow," Tanys said, taking her leave of the sisters.

  Brynn pulled the door shut behind her as she stepped into the hall. "What makes you so sure I'm gonna bring you back tomorrow?" he asked.

  Tanys shot him a sultry smirk. "Because you want off this island more than I do," she said, "and because this is the most fun you've had in years."

  Brynn smiled. His hand drifted to the full curve of her right buttock as he walked beside her down the hall. "It's still gonna cost you," he growled, giving her cheek a little squeeze.

  "Plenty of time for that, once we're away," Tanys said.

  "Yeah, but what if we all get killed?" Brynn asked. His fingers lifted up under the ragged tail of Tanys's shirt and slipped between the seam of her pants and her skin. "I'll be out my pay."

  Tanys grabbed a handful of his crotch and squeezed, almost gently, feeling the growing hardness there. "We can play it as we go," she said.

  Brynn gave a groaning chuckle as she kneaded his manhood between her fingers. "All right," he said, "what's your plan?"

  "Do you know where they're keeping my friend Jorva?" she asked.

  "The dwarf with all the ink?"

  "Is he alive?" she asked.

  "Maybe," Brynn said, "He was unconscious, but alive, when they brought him in. Seems he's now the property of the Mirrormage."

  "Who?”
/>
  "The Mirrormage is some sort of sorcerer. Looks like a man with a polished silver mask, wears a lot of black. Weird creeper, but keeps to itself mostly. Even Vriene leaves it alone. I don't know what it wants with the dwarf, but it's probably not good for your friend."

  "Where do I find him?" Tanys asked.

  Brynn sighed. "I'll take you tomorrow morning... after I fuck my time's worth outta you, 'cause that's probably the last anyone will ever see of you."

  Tanys pushed him back against the wall and leaned close. She grabbed the collar of his shirt with both hands and ripped it open down the front. She paused to admire the toned muscles of his chest for a moment before her smoldering eyes lifted to his.

  "I think I'll take my time's worth from you right now," she said.

  Brynn tore his gaze away from her to glance up the hallway. "If we get caught down here..."

  "What?" Tanys whispered, her hand going between his legs as she planted wet kisses on his chest, "They'll bind us... torture us... make us beg for mercy?"

  Brynn shuddered. "Ah, fuck it!" he gasped as Tanys's fingernails raked over the thin fabric that strained to contain his bulging cock. He reached out his hand and pressed it against the frame of a nearby cell door. The iron door swung open, and a witchfire lamp flared to life within the room.

  Tanys pulled him away from the wall and shoved him through the door. She grinned at the sight of an inclined table in the shape of a large X standing in the center of the small room. Leather cuffs at the corners of the wooden frame seemed perfectly suited for ankles and wrists. Racks of cruel devices lined the walls of the room, leaving little mystery to its purpose. She steered Brynn toward the table with her hand on his ass.

  "Oh no," Brynn laughed, spinning to put Tanys between himself and the rack, "Let's not forget which one of us is the prisoner here. Think of how it would look if someone walked in on us."

  Tanys gave him an evil look, then relented. "All right," she said, letting him back her toward the table, "I surrender." She lifted her hands in submission.

  Brynn grinned. He pulled the curved axe from his belt and hefted it between them, laying the sharp edge between Tanys's breasts. She lifted her chin to avoid the hooked point of the axe blade.

  "Strip," he said.

  Tanys's lips curled back in a tense sneer, but she did as he commanded. Her breasts bounced free as she peeled the shirt off over her head. She stumbled back a step as he lay the cold edge of the axe blade against the hot skin of her left breast.

  Brynn chuckled. "Faster now, slave," he said, his voice dropping to a comical mockery of a taskmaster, "you don't want to make me angry."

  Tanys unlaced the fly of her trousers and slipped her thumbs inside, shoving them down over her hips. The movement proved awkward as Brynn lifted her chin with the hook of his axe as she struggled to step out of her pants. He licked his lips as he admired the way her breasts swung pendulously as she bent over.

  Tanys stood straight again, facing her captor with mock defiance. Something about him excited her in a way she had never felt before. Perhaps it was the danger of being caught. What would Vriene do to them both if he found out? She imagined Brynn, trapped in the burning circle of Vriene's demon ward, stripped and writhing in the grasp of the shard demon. She imagined herself there as well, struggling as the monster had its way with her. Was her little game worth the risk of that?

  Brynn's axe head lowered, pressing into the shallow hollow of her navel, pushing her back as she stepped free of her crumpled trousers on the floor. She felt the frame of the X table on the back of her leg and she turned to find herself against it.

  The base of the X frame rested on the stone floor of the torture chamber with its top inclined halfway between the floor and ceiling. Tanys took a deep breath and resigned herself to seeing it through. The growing need of her body drove out all reason from her mind. She leaned back and laid her naked wrists into the worn leather cuffs above her head.

  Brynn laid his axe onto a nearby table and moved to secure the bindings at her wrists. He leaned against her body, hips smiling lips nearly brushing against hers, pulling away each time she tried to kiss him. He cinched the leather cuffs tightly, and Tanys bit her lip, swearing with her eyes that she would make him pay for it when the tables were turned.

  Brynn stepped back, admiring his handiwork. He looked down then up again and grinned. Tanys gave him a pleading look, but he paid her no heed. Brynn pushed the toe of his boot between her ankles and gently kicked her legs apart.

  Tanys sagged in her bonds, her weight now resting on her bound wrists as Brynn stooped and fitted her ankles into the cuffs at the base of the frame, securing them tightly. He stood again, slowly, his hands caressing the creamy skin of her inner thighs as he surveyed her captive body with his eyes.

  Tanys's muscles tensed, testing the bonds. She silently cursed him for taking the game a little too seriously. A little shiver ran through her body as she realized she would not be able to break free. She was completely at his mercy now, and her skin flushed hot at the thought.

  Brynn took a few steps around the table, reaching down to adjust the front of his pants where his manhood throbbed, trying to escape. His eyes went to the rack of torture devices that hung against the wall. Intrigued, he plucked a long pair of hooked tongs from the rack and studied them.

  "Nasty, don't you think?" Brynn said, holding them up for inspection. He stepped forward and laid the charred jaws of the tongs on Tanys's bare breast. She glared at him as he opened the jaws wide enough to cup her breast between the tiny iron spikes and gave it a little squeeze.

  "Ouch!" Tanys said, "Stop fucking around!"

  Brynn withdrew the tongs and tossed them aside. They clattered loudly on the floor. His attention was already on to the next thing. He pulled a long, probe-like rod from the wall and held it up. The silvery bulb at its tip seemed polished from much use.

  "What do you suppose this thing does?" he asked. He pressed a small metal catch with his thumb, and suddenly the silvery bulb sprang apart into three sections at the tip, spread more than twice as wide as its original diameter.

  Tanys paled at the sight of it.

  "Ugh," Brynn said, "Hate to have that thing shoved up my nethers." He tossed it aside as well.

  "Are you done playing with the toys?" Tanys sighed.

  Brynn laughed. "You've got something else I can play with?"

  Tanys groaned, writhing in her bonds.

  "Yeah, I guess maybe you do," Brynn's voice trailed off as his hands fumbled with his trousers.

  Tanys gasped as he slipped inside her. She gnashed her teeth in rapture as he thrust again and again. Her hips lifted from the table as she tried to push him deeper inside. Sensing this, he backed off a little, torturing her with just the head of his cock, dipping in and out as she moaned and twisted in her shackles.

  He stepped in, driving deep, and Tanys climaxed with a sobbing groan. Brynn took both of her breasts in his hands and squeezed, pushing her down against the table as he slammed into her over and over. Tanys cried out, riding the mingled pleasure and pain and feeling her body begin to answer again with another shuddering orgasm.

  Brynn snarled, dragging red welts down her chests with his fingernails as he arched his back and exploded inside her. His hands clamped on either side of her hips as he buried himself all the way inside, pumping until he gasped for breath.

  Tanys's body quivered still as the climax of her passion spent itself, lingering long after Brynn's swollen manhood had pulled free of her trembling sex. "Gods!" she cried out at last, "Do that again!"

  Brynn laughed. "I'm not sure I can, girl! I think you've broken me."

  "You're not going to leave me lying here, unfinished, are you?" Tanys said between panting breaths.

  "You're gonna have to give me a few minutes," Brynn laughed, leaning forward, resting his hands on his knees, with his trousers around his ankles. His member hung, limp and pulsing between his legs.

  "Don't worry, boy," a cold
voice called from the doorway, "Well take over from here."

  Tanys's heart pounded. Two pale-skinned ghasts, dressed in leather aprons stepped quickly into the room. They carried glowing metal rods in their hands and wore cruel smiles on their scarred faces.

  Brynn went for his axe, but his tangled trousers caused him to stumble. He cried in pain as the bigger of the two jailor's glowing rod slapped across the back of his hand, singing flesh. The hulking jailor stepped between Brynn and the axe with his fire rod pointed at Brynn's chest.

  The other jailor, a sickly, skinny ghast, moved quickly to Tanys's side and held his rod an inch above her naked belly. She gritted her teeth against the heat of it and stared up at the thin, sneering ghast that leered down at her. "He's brought us a fresh plaything, Haaste," the nearest jailor said, "We should thank him."

  Haaste jabbed Brynn in the shoulder with his rod, scorching the fabric of the beastmaster's shirt and eliciting a fresh howl of pain and rage. "He didn't say, you're welcome, Krell," Haaste sniggered, "I don't think he likes us."

  The Jailor named Krell waved the fiery rod up and down the length of Tanys's body, illuminating her skin with its ruddy glow. "She is sweet!" he said, "She will take some time to finish. Send the boy away. Tell him he can pick up the scraps tomorrow... if there's anything he still wants."

  Tanys spat in Krell's face, and Brynn lunged for Haaste's wrist. Haaste turned his shoulder and grabbed Brynn by the throat, slamming him back against the rack on the wall, knocking a few implements of torture off onto the floor. Brynn struggled for breath, his hands clawing at the jailor's sinewy wrist. Haaste gave him a twisted smile and brought his rod up between Brynn's legs, giving the underside of his dangling balls a solid tap with the burning metal shaft.

  Brynn screamed, but Haaste choked him to silence. Brynn's eyes rolled toward Tanys and fluttered as he fought for consciousness. Krell stepped back from Tanys's side and wiped her spittle from his face with his free hand. He smiled and licked his fingers with his long tongue which Tanys now saw had been surgically split down its middle. She cried out in revulsion and rage, shaking the table with her attempts to pull free of her bonds. Krell smiled patiently as he watched her writhe.