Within

by Aaron Bunce

  “Wait…no no no, I never meant to, I didn’t…I wasn’t. I’m not better than,” Dennah sputtered, but his face hardened. There would be no reasoning with someone like him.

  His lips curled up into a triumphant smile, and in a flash his hand was around her throat, squeezing her windpipe shut.

  “They were just women…some of them girls. No one will miss them!” He held the lock of women’s hair in his teeth and held up a knife. “They screamed at first, but by the end, they were begging me for more. They promised to love me, to hold me close to them…and then I stuck them with this.” He waved the knife around, before tracing her jawline with the sharp tip.

  “They screamed, they moaned, they cried, and then…nothing. They should have known better,” Banus whispered, and Dennah couldn’t suppress a sob.

  Banus laughed. It was a cruel, harsh bark of a noise. He slid the knife down until she felt the blade’s cruel point against the tender skin of her belly.

  “Pick her up, it's time I taught this mouthy pigeon dove some manners.”

  Blain and Tandon Breener set down their torches and grasped her under the arms before pulling her roughly to her feet. The orientation change and sudden movement made Dennah’s head spin, and she instantly started to gag.

  Banus was on her so fast she couldn’t even flinch. The air in her lungs rushed out as he punched her heavily in the stomach. Dennah’s face turned red, and she slumped in the two men’s arms, wanting nothing more than to fall to the ground and roll up into a ball.

  Dennah choked and gagged, sputtering for breath as Banus unhooked the remaining leather straps of her armor and pulled it free, letting it fall forgotten to the ground at their feet.

  Before Dennah could breathe again, Banus punched her again, and without any armor to protect her, she felt everything. The foul little man leaned in, letting his cheek come to rest on her should, so he could whisper directly into her ear.

  “That one was for me nose.”

  “Let’s gag her, Banus,” Tandon said.

  Dennah finally managed to gulp down a breath, followed by another.

  “Nah, let her scream,” Banus said, tossing his knife between his hands, “no one’s gonna hear her in this storm.”

  “The others will not stand for his! Teague will…” Dennah raged.

  “Oh…really?” Banus mocked, “he doesn’t care about you. You’re just a woman, no…a girl. He wants soldiers. He wants men. What are women good for except pleasing men?”

  Banus took her shirt and cut down its length with his knife. She felt the tip of the blade drag against her skin as he ripped and tore at the cloth.

  “Stop it, don’t touch me…get off me!” Dennah cried and screamed, but it was too late. Banus pulled the ruined tatters of her shirt aside, taking in her breasts and naked form beneath.

  “See that boys? That’s more like it. Women…they don’t need to wear clothes. It just gets in the way.”

  Banus slid his fingers up and down the curves of her body, his tongue hanging grotesquely out of his mouth. Dennah cringed and tried to repel from his touch, but Blain and Tandon holding her still she had nowhere to go.

  “Please stop…I’m begging you!” Dennah cried, growing desperate, but Banus slapped her across the face.

  She felt the heat swell on her face as her mouth filled with coppery blood. She wanted to curse him, but that wasn’t enough so she leaned forward and spat in his face. Banus didn’t look angry, nor did he curse, or strike her again. He just smiled.

  “You see…” Banus said, bending over and using her torn shirt to wipe his ruddy face, “you should have taken it when I offered, girl…now I got to take it from you. Take it all.”

  Tandon and Blain lifted her off the ground and carried her off to the side of the barn. Dennah wrenched her body, kicking her feet and thrashing from side to side, but she could do little more than sway the two men.

  She screamed, words pouring from her mouth in an unintelligible stream of anger, hatred, and fear. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. He was going to rape her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  Where is everyone? Tadd…Folkvar…Frenin, someone has to notice I’m gone! She thought, her mind spinning in dizzying circles.

  “Fuck you! I’m going to kill you. I’ll break your nose again, I’ll break all of your noses!” Dennah raged as they tossed her roughly onto a pile of stacked hay bales.

  She rolled from side to side but Blain appeared at her side and held her down. Her feet floated off of the ground, her weight grinding the prickly chutes of hay into her skin, her butt sticking in the air, like a child waiting for a spanking.

  “NO! Don’t do this. Stop,” Dennah pleaded, but Banus silenced abruptly, clamping his hand over her mouth.

  “Shhh,” he whispered into her ear, “shh. I just want you to know. When we’re done with you we’re gonna see that little boyfriend of yours, and we’re gonna do to that murderer what they should have done from the start. But don’t worry, we’ll make sure he knows what we done to you first. Before I let him die.”

  Banus disappeared behind her, and she felt him saw through her belt with his knife. He stripped her bare, the cold air falling over her skin. Her lips shuddered, but not from the cold, but the host of curses flooding through that she couldn’t spit out.

  The bristly ropes dug deeper into her wrists and ankles. She refused to give Banus any gratification, so she bit her tongue. She wouldn’t let him defeat her, no matter what he did.

  Everything around her started to spin, and Dennah felt incredibly small. She fought down the sick feeling in her gut, trying to force her thoughts away to someplace safe, someplace far, far away.

  * * * *

  Julian snapped awake. Sharp pains radiated through his chest and ribs, sending shivers down his body with every aching breath. It was odd. He couldn’t seem to feel anything below his waist.

  There was something around his neck, something hard and cold. He noticed when he turned his head to look around, the sharp edges of the metal biting painfully into his skin.

  I am still dreaming. It has to be a dream. It has to be, Julian thought as he tried to rationalize his surroundings.

  His arms hung loosely at his sides and felt dead. He couldn’t reach up to investigate the collar, or scratch the itch on his nose. He walked, yet he did not consciously tell his legs to move him forward.

  A line of people trudged on ahead of him, and another column of people matched their pace at his side. They all wore metal collars too. Some of them stared blankly ahead, while other bobbed along, deep in slumber.

  He didn’t recognize the forest, but they were surely still in the mountains. The sky was gray and listless, and the frigid wind whistled around him, smelling heavily of pine trees. With no sun in the sky, Julian couldn’t judge the direction of their march, but his best guess was north.

  No chain or rope tied him to the person in front, or behind him, yet they all moved along in perfect columns, maintaining spacing and pace as if controlled by a shared will. Julian looked down as best he could. He was stripped of all armor and weapons and wore a simple outfit of heavy burlap. The coarse fabric stifled the cold winds as it whistled by, but grated irritably against his skin.

  How did I get here? And who are all of these people? Julian thought, but his mind felt horribly blank.

  Julian walked for a time before visions flashed back to him. He remembered the cave, the cages filled with people lining dark walls, and the man in the mask. Spider!

  Why didn’t he just kill me? Did he trap all these people too? But before long Julian was able to fill in some of the gaps. He remembered Sky coming to his aid, their battle with Spider, and Tanea. Julian instantly spun his head around, searching for her in the crowd.

  She was in one of those cages. Or was she? Julian thought, still confused. He couldn’t make sense of it all.

  Is Sky alive, somewhere in this procession of slaves? Julian worried.

  “Pssst,�
�� he hissed, trying quietly to get man’s attention ahead of him.

  His throat was dry, and his tongue felt swollen and numb in his mouth. Julian swallowed painfully and tried to wet his mouth, but even that felt beyond his control.

  “Water!” Julian croaked. His voice was weak, the words barely escaping his cracked lips.

  “Water!” he called out again, this time a little stronger.

  Julian heard a dry twig snap behind him.

  Someone is coming, he thought. He fantasized about fresh cold water on his dry, chapped throat, but heard a loud crack and felt white-hot pain on his back. Julian wanted to spin around, to throw up his arms and protect himself, but his body ignored him.

  “Water!” Julian cried out defiantly, “I need a drink of water.”

  He heard the whip whistle in the air again just before he stumbled forward, the skin on his shoulder splitting open. The gnarl barked and growled angrily.

  The gnarl appeared at his side, the bladed tip of its whip slapping the ground. The creature came forward, shaking the weapon in Julian’s face threateningly, its red-rimmed eyes burning with hate.

  “I just want water, please…just a drink,” Julian said softly, feeling broken and small.

  The gnarl raised its arm, swinging the whip back and preparing for another strike. Julian turned his head and closed his eyes, anticipating the pain, but it never fell. He opened his eyes and found that the gnarl had backed away into the woods, its whip held at the ready.

  Someone walked up from behind him, holding a large water skin. Julian turned to look at the woman, but the collar bit into his skin.

  “Shh, I have water,” she said, raising the water skin up to his lips.

  “Tanea,” Julian gasped as water splashed over his face, down his chin, and on his cheeks. It felt gloriously cold and wet and instantly soothed the hot, dry ache in his throat. He swallowed down a gulp and then another.

  He could have drained the entire water skin and still wanted more, but she pulled it away, turning to look behind her. She wasn’t wearing a collar like Julian’s and looked relatively unharmed.

  “What’s happening? Are you okay?” Julian asked in a low voice. He was starting to sound like him again. Tanea looked at Julian, before glancing around nervously.

  “Tanea are you okay? They haven’t hurt you, have they?” Julian pressed. He wanted to reach out and hold her, but she shied away as he spoke.

  “What’s wrong? Have they done something to you?”

  “I…I….I, don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not her…I’m not her!” The woman cried suddenly, tears welling up in her eyes.

  Julian watched in horror as the woman turned to run away, her gray hair pulled up into a messy ponytail. The gnarl with the whip barked something at her, accentuating its point by cracking its whip against the trunk of a pine tree.

  Julian didn’t understand. One minute she looked like Tanea, and the next she was an old woman. Am I seeing things?

  The gnarl growled again, incensed by the woman’s sobs. It grabbed her by the arm and tossed her to the ground before snapping its whip just over her head.

  “You son of a bitch…I’ll kill you if you touch her!” Julian roared, his face growing hot.

  He wanted to pummel the ugly brute with his bare hands until it stopped moving, but they refused to move. The gnarl responded to his threat by picking the woman off of the ground and pushing her back down at its feet. The slaver, froth dripping from its mouth, kicked her hard in the side.

  “Get away from her! I’ll rip your heart out,” Julian stormed helplessly as the creature continued to batter the woman.

  Blood trickled down Julian’s chest as the collar cut into his neck and chin. But he didn’t stop fighting against its crippling influence. He would never stop fighting.

  The woman cried and moaned, holding the water skin above her head defensively as the creature raised its whip to strike. Julian watched in horror, but before the bladed weapon could fall a shadowy figure appeared behind the gnarl, emerging like a living shadow.

  The gnarl’s arm came forward, but the whip did not. The slaver, so consumed by its rage, spun on the spot, eager to savage the one inhibiting its punishment. All of the anger bled away in an instant, and the creature fell over into a quivering bow, submissively lowering its head.

  Julian recognized the mask, a simmering fury burning inside. Spider issued a low command and the slaver scampered away on all fours, retreating like a scolded a dog.

  Spider picked the woman off of the ground and returned the water skin to her hands, and then gently pushed her off in the other direction.

  “I’m going to kill you. You son of a…” Julian hissed, but Spider cut him off.

  “Oh, Julian…I surely thought you would’ve wanted to see a friendly face. Especially one as lovely as Tanea’s,” Spider said, taking up a stride and walking next to him.

  “Stay out of my head!” Julian spat angrily, refusing to turn away and break the smaller man’s gaze.

  “How long has it been since you saw her? How do you know if it was really her?” Spider asked. Julian’s lip curled as his festering anger gave way to more confusion

  “What if she was here, before us right now? Do you think she would beg? Would she plead for your life? Would you let her take your place, Julian? She does seem to care genuinely for you, you know,” Spider said with a small, hoarse laugh.

  “You don’t know the first thing about us,” Julian said quietly.

  “She always looks so happy, especially when she is tending to the sick and needy. I particularly like her ginger hair and the faint freckles upon her cheeks. But she truly lit up when she was around you, Julian. You gave her the spark she needed. I can feel her, and smell her on you. I don’t know what kind of connection you have, but I can sense it…even now. She is your weakness,” Spider said, keeping pace.

  How did you? They would never let something like you into the city,” Julian stammered.

  “You people have proven more easily manipulated than I ever imagined. You see what you want to see, and nothing else. She was quite generous with her gifts when I visited her. All she saw was a wretched old homeless man. How was she to know?”

  Julian bristled at the idea that Spider had been close enough to touch her.

  “And you, you looked so heroic the day of the first attack, charging down the city towards the sound of battle. Eager to satisfy your thirst for blood,” Spider said.

  “How…” Julian’s voice trailed off as Spider chuckled.

  “I stood beside you for all that while. We manned that gate together as the people walked by, none wiser to who I really was. Not even you, Julian. Not even you. Did you even notice when I disappeared? I don’t think you did,” Spider said.

  Julian’s blood ran cold. He remembered the soldier standing next to him that day, the man that disappeared before the mayhem struck. The thought that Spider had been close enough for Tanea to touch him, that she had healed him, turned his stomach.

  Their strong walls, patrols, armed soldiers, none of it mattered. Their safety was an illusion. Julian felt as if the ground would drop out below him at any moment.

  “They have an interest in her, you know. I think we both know that she is much more than she appears,” Spider said, but Julian’s throat closed off. His voice was gone.

  “Our people have such limited magical lineage…beyond the divine healing of clerics or curses within the dark sects,” Spider said and paused for a moment. “I think something profound is awakening inside her. I felt it…something even my masters seem to fear.”

  “If you touch her I’ll kill you?” Julian finally managed.

  “I could have taken her anytime I wanted,” Spider nodded, giving Julian only a passing interest. “We can take your city at any time. You saw the trees cut down in the grove. The ruts dug deep in the ground. We have been planning for a long time now. We must simply snap our fingers, and all of your mighty defenses will mean nothing,”
Spider finished triumphantly.

  “You will never breach the wall, you don’t have an army large enough,” Julian whispered.

  “Oh, but we won’t have to. Those mines that you passed, they were cut down into the very bowels of Mt. Bahlman itself. We built machines to finish what the dwarves started all those ages ago. When we are ready, we will break through the ground, and our soldiers will flood into your city. Your men won’t even have time to rally. It will be over before it begins,” Spider said excitedly.

  Julian sputtered, struggling against the horrible truth of Spider’s words. He remembered the mine and the enormous clearing in the grove.

  “I will stop you,” Julian said, but his conviction was weak.

  Spider laughed casually. “No Julian, you won’t…you can’t. You belong to me now.” The masked figured nonchalantly walked up the line, abruptly ending their conversation.

  Julian watched him walk away, trying to swallow the horrible truth. He longed to raise his hands and claw at the accursed collar strangling him.

  His eyes focused and unfocused on the back of Spider’s head. The mottled flesh around his dark mask had been fused to the metal itself, leaving him burned and disfigured, just like the soul trapped inside.

  Julian thought of all the people in Craymore, moving between their daily tasks, unaware of the threat burrowing beneath their feet. If Spider was telling the truth, and they were using the mines to tunnel up into the city, there would be no way to fight off even a small force. And thanks to the attacks on the city, the Steward moved even more of their troops away from the old city.

  If they managed to get even two score soldiers inside the old city’s walls, they could lower the gates and effectively lock the soldiers out, Julian thought, a cold sense of dread settling over him.

  Julian realized that Tanea wasn’t safe at all. No one left in the city of Craymore was safe, and there was nothing he could do to warn them. Julian had to break free. He had to do whatever it took to get back in time.