by Tom Hansen
He returned the motion, even bowing slightly and opening the door for her.
Her nerves were shot as she went through the door. She didn’t know what to expect.
Inside was a small room, like one she’d encountered when she and Synol looked for the records.
Left, right, or center?
Ynya chose center.
She opened the door and was shocked to see a familiar face as she walked through.
Joanne, with a woman huddled over her left shoulder.
The Inscriber.
White hot rage filled Ynya’s vision as the memory of all the pain that woman had caused her filled her mind.
The Inscriber turned. “What is it? I’m almost done–”
She didn’t finish her sentence, because Ynya shoved her knife into the woman’s throat.
Blood spurted from the woman’s opened neck, spraying Joanne, who looked on with a mixture of horror and confusion.
“Joanne, I’m so glad to see you.”
Joanne looked at the Inscriber’s body as it slumped to the ground, a wild and shocked look in her eyes.
“It’s alright, I’m here, Joanne. I know they’ve been torturing you for a while now. I know where Tyrain is. Are you well?”
Joanne’s wide eyes took a moment to process everything, but they slowly came to focus on Ynya’s face.
“Ynya?”
Ynya pulled her hood back, exposing her wild red hair. “I’m here for you Joanne. She won’t hurt you anymore. Do you know where Synol is?”
Joanne shook her head. “I heard her screams, but I haven’t in a while.” Her face was white as snow, a stark contrast to the bright red blood splattered on her torso and chin.
Ynya helped her friend stand. “Come, I’m getting you out of here, but we have to find Synol.”
Joanne nodded, still a little delirious.
Ynya felt bad for her sudden attack. No one should have to be party to that sort of violent death, but I couldn’t risk the Inscriber alerting anyone.
They were all short on time here. They needed to hurry.
Joanne was wobbly, but she stood on her own. “You said you know where Tyrain is?”
Ynya nodded. “Yes, behind the barracks there are some loose bricks. You can find him there.” She wiped the blade on the woman’s shirt, cleaning off most of the blood. “We need to find you a soldier’s uniform. It’s our best chance at getting across the prison and getting to everyone. Once we get out of here, I don’t know what is going to happen.”
Joanne nodded. She couldn’t stop staring at the dead woman on the floor.
After putting her hood back up to hide her hair, Ynya grabbed Joanne’s hand. “Come, let’s find Synol and we’ll figure out what to do after that.”
Ynya peeked her head back out of the first room.
Still clear.
She decided to go right this time.
It led to a small hallway with four doors along the back wall.
Ynya paused outside the doorway and listened.
First door was silent.
She debated opening it to peek in, but thought it best to check all the rooms just in case.
“Wait here,” she whispered to Joanne, “I’m going to check each room for sound first.”
Joanne nodded, taking a step back through the doorway into the front room.
Ynya crept along the hallway, pausing at each doorway, listening.
Outside the third, she heard the tell-tale sounds of soft crying.
Synol.
She would recognize that voice anywhere.
A quick glance back to Joanne, who watched her from the doorway, and Ynya moved to the fourth door. She wanted to make sure all rooms were empty before barging in to free Synol.
No sound.
Ynya only had one room to deal with.
She nodded to Joanne with a smile, then slowly opened the door.
Ynya stopped just as she entered in.
It was the same wooden room she’d been in with the Warden.
Synol sat in the same wooden chair. Leather straps around her wrists and ankles pinned her to the chair.
No one else was in the room.
“Ynya?” Synol’s eyes lit up for a second as she recognized her sister.
“Syni.”
Ynya was across the room and embracing her sister in a heartbeat. “I’m here, Synol. I’m here and I’m never going to leave you again.”
Ynya worked at the straps to undo Synol from the chair. “Where are all the guards? I expected you to be monitored more than you were.”
“I only had the one. She left me a few minutes ago when the Inscriber came for her.”
“What did they do to you? Are you okay?”
Synol stared out the doorway, not looking at Ynya. “At first, when they took you and I both away, they tried to break me, but I resisted.”
Synol grit her teeth as she stared out the door. “Ever since the storm hit, he’s been playing mind games with me, telling me that he’s torturing you.”
She looked up at Ynya, a tear streaking down her face.
“I thought he was out torturing you when I didn’t give the right answers to his questions, or when I didn’t play his stupid games.”
Ynya cupped Synol’s face, her heart breaking. “I escaped during the storm that Finny created.”
“Finny?”
Synol’s lower lip trembled, and her face scrunched up at the name.
Ynya fought to keep her composure. Simply saying the name was enough to send her over the edge, but she needed to keep her mind focused. She worked on the next strap.
“Finny is here. She’s the one who caused the storm with her magic. They have her to the south.”
Synol let out an audible sob, and Ynya paused to embrace her sister. “I know. We are going to get her after this, I just need to find you and Joanne a soldier’s uniform.”
“Joanne?”
“Yeah,” Ynya turned to indicate the hallway. “I found her in the first room getting more ordinals inscribed. She’s waiting for us out there.” Ynya popped off the last hand strap and knelt down to work on the third.
“Ynya.” Synol’s voice had a new edge. Love and anguish had been replaced by genuine terror.
“What?”
“Joanne is my guard. She’s one of them.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ynya barely registered the motion, but she felt it.
Joanne tackled her from behind, throwing her away from Synol.
Ynya’s head hit the wall, followed by her shoulder. Pain shot up her arm from the blow.
Her eyes swam and filled with tears. She struggled to stay upright and turned to face her attacker.
In a heartbeat, the silver dagger stuck Ynya three times. She crumpled to the floor, a mass of bones and meat.
At least she didn’t have to go through her magic disappearing again this time. It had already been gone so long she almost forgot what the burning heat in her chest felt like.
“And thus the elusive mage returns back to my den. I’m sorry I didn’t have a buffet ready to receive you.”
Joanne grabbed Ynya and yanked her to her feet, pinning her against the wall.
The Warden stood in the doorway, leaning casually against the jam. “I have to say, the colors look good on you. I can’t wait to finish your training so that we can get you both into proper uniforms. Perhaps you can replace Kalda after killing her so unceremoniously. I think your red hair would look very good against the white outfit, don’t you?”
Joanne tossed Ynya onto the wooden table.
Synol moved toward her sister but Joanne shoved her back into the chair. “Stay where you are.”
The Warden loomed over Ynya. “I do need to thank you for telling us where the final two prisoners are. I’ll send Joanne to go collect them shortly. But first, I think it’s time we stop all the games and get down to why you’re really here.”
He put a gloved hand on Ynya’s chin, turning her head back and
forth while he inspected her.
“The Frost Queen needs more Skarmyord, and we’ve lost too many lately. Your little fight with one didn’t help either, Ynya. I intend on replacing what you’ve taken from me.” He turned to Synol. “Plus, siblings tend to all be about the same when it comes to the process, so that means I’ll get myself two for the price of one.”
He shoved Ynya’s head to the side, forcing her to face the wall.
“Leave her alone!” Synol exclaimed. She grabbed the silver blade from Joanne’s scabbard, and head-butted the surprised Skarmyord, knocking her over the table and into a heap on the ground.
Synol swung the blade at the Warden, causing him to jump back.
He laughed.
“Silly little girl, you think you can defeat me with a simple knife?”
He stepped back as Synol lunged again. “I’ll show you how much fun it is!”
Joanne regained her composure and kicked, knocking the blade from Synol’s grasp.
In a flash of silver, a dagger punctured Synol thrice again. She crumpled to a heap on the chair.
Only this time, it wasn’t Joanne who did the stabbing, it was the Warden.
He flashed a grin while he pulled a handkerchief from a pocket and polished his blade. “You forget that I’m Skarmyord as well, dear girl. All that time spent with me and you never figured it out? You never made the connection?”
He sat down on the table next to Ynya. “You have to understand that you are not going to win here. You have no power, and every time you think you do, you are knocked back down into the gutter once again. There will be only one winner in the war that is coming, and you should feel lucky that I’m helping you find the winning side.”
He stood, replacing the handkerchief, then frowned at Joanne.
In one swift motion, he backhanded her.
A sickening crack of bone filled the air. She flew backward and hit the wall, splintering the thick wood planks.
“Skarmyord are ready at any time to serve, they do not drop their blades, or misplace them.” He took two steps over to her, and kicked downward with his heel.
Another sickening bone crack rang through the small room.
Ynya’s stomach wrenched at the sound. It was a good thing she couldn’t move, or she would be throwing up.
“And you NEVER allow someone to take your weapon from you!”
He turned, letting out a long, slow breath through his nostrils. “I’m sorry you girls had to witness that. I normally run a tight ship around here, but lately it seems that rules are being viewed as suggestions rather than critical to the health of the army. I think it’s time that a new, stricter policy be enforced, and I think you three will be the perfect examples of what will happen if you do not obey. Every step of your change will be lauded for everyone in the camp to see. Two prisoners completing their Enlightenment and transition into Skarmyord, and one Skarmyord who will learn her place and understand how not to let your guard down.”
He pulled his handkerchief out once more and coughed into it. “It’s clear to me now, like it should have been. For too long, we’ve been lax with our regimen. That needs to end now.
“If we are going to get our little experiment prison back into shape, it all starts with discipline. It’s time to expedite your training. How ever long it takes, regardless of how much pain I have to inflict on you, you both will be wielding blades soon, so I want you to prepare. We are just getting started here.”
He turned, yelling out the door. “Guards! Take all three to the Translator. It’s time we put them all straight through the Third Enlightenment.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
The fifth serum broke all her bones, even the ones she didn’t know she had.
Her jaw elongated, adding teeth and bite strength.
Her elbows and knees broke and re-knit backward, like an animal’s.
Long, terrifyingly sharp talons grew from her fingernails, tapering to a fine point.
Her torso expanded, giving her more muscles and strength. Strength to do the Frost Queen’s bidding.
Her legs were longer now, with taut muscles for sprinting and jumping. The talons on her back legs were not as long as the ones on her front legs, but they were thicker. Better for digging.
Better for crushing bones if they needed.
Each time she metamorphosed, the incredible agony washed over her once again. She couldn’t remember a time when she did not hurt. The torment was so intense, she begged for it to stop, even for a moment. Just a moment of rest is all she wanted from the overwhelming torment raging inside her body.
He stood over her, watching, waiting.
Every time she begged, he frowned.
He would not stop the pain.
He formed her into something greater, something the world had never seen. She had to endure the pain. She would be his greatest creation.
She begged for just a moment once again. Just one second to breathe fully. Her chest ached so much. She didn’t think that she couldn’t handle the pressure any longer.
His face scrunched and got red. He was angry.
“If you aren’t strong enough to handle it, then you will disappoint not only me, but the Frost Queen. I will not stop this for you or anyone else. I would rather see your mind and body break than give up now.
“The pain will never go away. You were born in it, raised in it. You’re formed into a creature of pain, and you will never forget it. If I let off now, even for a second, you will remember your old life, and I cannot do that. Even a moment of reprieve, might give you enough hope to give up. I refuse to fail!
“Her Majesty will never forgive me if I gave her anything less than perfect. Give in. Give in to the serum. Feel it fill your body with strength, with ferocity, and malice. Love the pain, for your world will be consumed by it. You will never leave it.”
She knew he was right. When she finished her transformation, she would live with pain every day.
He turned to address his new assistant. “I must leave. Watch her and keep the straps tight.”
Despite his command, the assistant stood by the door, shaking. Her eyes never left 2201.
The assistant understood. The assistant would leave too.
<>
It was the voice.
The voice never left her.
The voice sung to her in her darkest times.
The voice cried alongside her with every bone snap, with every severed artery that had to be mended.
<
2201 understood. 2201 had spent her entire life captured. She spent most of her time strapped to a table or chair.
<
The Frost Queen needs me to help in her war.
<
The war to kill any that stand in Her way.
<
I never stood in Her way.
<
I know that name.
<
I saw a girl with red hair. She was the only one who didn’t cower before me.
<
Nonsense!
<
Leave me be. I serve the Frost Queen. I never had red hair. I am claws and sinew. Still, she remembered Ynya showing her the tuft of fur when Mama wasn’t looking.
<
He did not. I have always been like this.
<
You don't know any of this.
<
The Frost Queen needs me.
<
Leave me alone. I have a purpose. I will serve, and I will become great.
Finny was silent for a long while, so long that 2201 felt the pain creep back into her mind. Without Finny to talk to, she had nothing in her life but pain.
Finally, just as 2201 was beginning to think Finny was gone for good, after hours and hours of nothing but increasing pain as her bones broke and re-knit, Finny spoke once again.
<
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ynya stopped trying to struggle against her bonds as they carried her past the Pit.
As one, the prisoners turned their heads, staring at the two sisters as the guards carted them south, toward the Translator.
It wasn’t just the prisoners who stopped, the guards in the camp did as well.
Ynya remembered when she first entered the camp, when the door to the white building opened. She remembered prisoners and guards alike, stopping to pay respects to the limp bloody body as it was carted off, never to be seen again.