by K. L. Bone
I turned towards Inquisitor Verayt who handed me a thin devise that resembled a wand with a small, flat piece of metal in the shape of a rectangle at the end. I took the piece carefully from Verayt and moved slowly. The metal on the opposite end glowed red with the searing heat from which the device had been removed. I took the device and moved the wand to where Savrick could see what I was holding. “Take a look,” I advised, “you really do not want this to touch you.”
When he failed to respond, I took the devise and moved my chair closer to his upper left hand. I aligned the heated metal with the center of Savrick’s nine fingers. I slid the metal under the nail of his finger, allowing the heat to touch the delicate skin beneath. Savrick’s scream pierced every corner of the room. I removed the metal. His breathing was ragged. The smell of burnt flesh singed the air. “Are you sure you do not want to talk?” I asked.
It was Verayt that Savrick addressed, not me. “You allow a child to do this?”
Verayt shrugged, “What can I say? The Lady outranks me.”
“Are we ready to talk?” I cut in.
Silence followed. I slid the metal under another of Savrick’s fingers and then another, offering no respite. “You have six more to go, unless you would rather talk a while. All I want is just a few answers.”
I moved the heat to the other hand and this time, held the heat above the skin, but did not touch it. The skin began to quickly turn red and as I watched, began to boil before my eyes. His scream was ear-splitting. “Here,” Verayt moved forward and handed me a set of ear plugs which I put in gratefully. I put down the device and was then handed a small bottle of boiling water. I slowly turned the bottle over and let three drops of the boiling water drip onto Savrick’s bare chest. He screamed again. I let more water fall and his skin blistered everywhere that the scorching water touched. I poured the water on his feet in a running stream. The smell was horrific. I fought not to gag as I turned back to the screaming creature.
“Are you ready to talk to me yet? I want the name of the Sentiles next target and I want it now!”
“No,” he whispered. “You can kill me, but I will not tell you.”
“Kill you,” I repeated. “Trust me; killing you is the last thing on my agenda. You and I are going to be spending lots of time together over the next few months. You might as well learn to talk to me.”
When I was met with only more silence I said, “It’s been a long day for our first visit so I will tell you what I am going to do. I am going to nod to these men standing around us and the ropes that are stretching out your arms are going to begin to tighten. It will not stop until you either give me the information I seek, or your arms have literally been removed from their respective sockets. The choice is yours.”
I nodded towards the men and my proclamation was carried out. They started with one of Savrick’s right arms, pulling his arm farther and farther toward the wall until the arm literally began to be pulled out of the socket. He moaned as the ropes tightened and then began a series of never-ending screams as it dislocated from the socket. “Three more arms to go,” I said. “Tell me the next target and I will tell them to stop.” He just screamed, tears rolling down his face. “Finish it,” I told the men.
They complied. It was horrific. Savrick coughed blood through his screams. The men moved quickly to help ensure that he would not drown in his own blood. “I am going to hand you over to our physicians now. They will reset the bones and ensure that you make a full recovery. In a few weeks we shall meet again and I hope that the next session shall find you in a more talkative mood than you were tonight.”
I walked out of the room a little too quickly and Lord Kavra followed. When the door closed, I started to take off the black robe, but my hands, so steady only moments ago, did not seem to be working. “Hot,” I said. “It’s too hot in here.” I tried harder to get out of the robe but my fingers kept failing to find the zipper.
“Here,” Kavra moved forward, “let me help.” He moved my unsteady hands. He undid the zipper that ran down the front of the robe and helped me to step out of it. He took my arm and moved me towards the stairs. We walked quickly down the various flights and burst through the last door far too fast. I was almost running by the time I reached the outer door. Evening had descended over the strange moon leaving the air cool as it surrounded my hot skin. I drew deep breaths, allowing the cool air to ease through my lungs. Breathing slowly became easier as my pulse slowed to a normal pace inside my chest. I stared at the ground for several moments before finally looking up at Kavra and saying, “I’m okay now.”
He nodded and said, “Don’t worry, it will get easier. You should be very proud that you made it through the entire session before feeling this way; most don’t the first couple of times.”
I nodded, feeling steadier with each breath of the cool, crisp air. “Tell you what,” Kavra said. “Why don’t we go back to the house and pour you a long bath. Then we can spend the evening playing cards or watching a movie of your choice. What do you say?”
“Sounds good to me,” I replied.
“Also,” Kavra added, “Tomorrow I have a surprise planned for us. Someone I think you will be most interested to meet.”
“Really? Who is it?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Kavra said with a smile.
Chapter X
I spent most of the next day relaxing in the large pool located in the center of Lord Kasar’s castle. It was huge, four feet deep in the shallow end and thirty in the deep. It had several waterfalls constantly recycling the water pouring into the pool. There were different types of slides and several diving boards. It had been years since I had been able to play in the water and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. About four o’clock Lord Kavra informed me that I was to get ready for dinner out on the town. “We are going to a very elegant restaurant. Perhaps you should wear your new dress.”
“Okay,” I replied excitedly before walking quickly to my room. I slipped into a hot shower and then had a maid come in to dry my long hair. She curled my dark hair into hundreds of tiny ringlets which she pulled up around my face but allowed the ringlets to hang loosely in the back. The maid held out the blue gown of satin which I stepped into carefully. She tied the lace corset back as the gown synched tightly against my slim figure. The gown was cut low in a v-neck and the sequins glistened in the firelight of the room like the twinkle of a million stars dancing across a night sky. A pair of sapphire earrings were added to my earlobes as well as a diamond necklace from which hung a beautiful large stone.
“It must be thirty carets.” I said incredulously.
“Forty-five,” Kavra was suddenly standing behind me. “You look exquisite my dear, absolutely exquisite.” I blushed slightly as I thanked him. A touch of rouge, blue eye shadow, and a deep red lipstick finished the creation. My god, I looked at least sixteen!
Kavra was dressed equally splendid in a black tuxedo over a white dress shirt and bowtie. His shoulder-length blond hair had been pulled back with a golden band. He offered me his arm and said, “Shall we go to dinner?” I nodded happily and we walked outside.
The sky was an array of colors as the suns began to set, displaying an artwork of reds, yellows, and purples which were beautiful to behold. At the end of the driveway a long, white stretch limo was awaiting our arrival. We climbed inside and began the drive from our private resort back to downtown Dehart Kavas. We passed by tall building after tall building until we finally reached our destination near the center of the city.
The limo dropped us off in front of a large gold building that must have been forty floors high. Kavra escorted me slowly up a small flight of stairs to stand before a pair of large, glass doors. The doors opened as we approached and I was whisked into the large building and into an elevator. The operator asked, “What floor?”
“Seventeen,” Kavra replied. “We have dinner reservations at the Dehartran.” The man nodded and hit the button. The elevator raced upwards and a few moments later, sto
pped as the doors opened. We exited onto the marble floor and walked towards a small booth where two men waited. “Reservations for Lord Kavra.”
The man glanced down at the list and then back towards us. “Of course, my Lord, the rest of your party arrived a moment ago. Please follow me this way.” We walked through another set of glass doors and entered the large dining room beyond. The lights were dimmed and candlelight covered every table. The linen napkins were black and disappeared against the black tablecloths. The plates were white with golden edges and crystal wine glasses sat to the side of every plate. We walked almost the entire length of the room before finally reaching our destination; a table set for four with two distinguished looking men already seated wearing matching attire to Kavra’s. Both men stood from their seats at our approach.
“Lord Kavra,” one man said with a smile. “How good of you to join us.”
“It has been a long time, my Lord,” came Kavra’s reply.
“And who is your beautiful companion?”
“Chrissalynn,” Kavra addressed me, “It is my honor to introduce to you to Councilor Revdran and Councilor Vektor, reigning members of the Setian Council. Councilors, this is Lady Chrissalynn Kasar, daughter of Lord Edward Kasar and my escort for the evening.”
Startled at the announcement that I was standing before two members of the council, it took me a moment to remember to drop into a small curtsy. “It is an honor, my Lords.”
“No, my Lady,” Councilor Vektor said, “the honor is ours.” He moved forward and kissed my hand softly before moving back my chair and motioning for me to sit.
“Thank you,” I said softly as he pushed my chair closer to the table and then proceeded to once again take his own seat. The waiter arrived and passed out menus. I chose a few selections native to the home planet which I had never had the opportunity to try based on Lord Kavra’s recommendations. The first course was a salad covered with a light blue dressing that had a sweet, buttery taste flavoring rather bland vegetables. Blended in the salad were thin strips of beef. “Tell me, Chrissalynn, are you enjoying your trip on Setianta? Is it your first time on the home planet?”
I answered their various questions excited to discuss all the beautiful things I had seen. The Councilors listened quietly, seemingly charmed by my youthful enthusiasm.
“Tell me,” Councilor Revdran asked, “have you been down to the actual land yet?”
“No,” I replied, “but it looks absolutely beautiful! Especially the ocean.”
“You like the beach?”
“Oh yes! Running my fingers through the waves and the taste of the ocean breeze; there is nothing quite like it!”
Councilor Revdran laughed softly, “The only person I have ever heard speak so fondly of the ocean is Lord Kasar. You must indeed be his daughter.”
“He likes the ocean?” I was surprised.
“Yes,” Kavra responded. “He loves the beach. We used to go all the time when we were younger.”
“My father used to take me…” my voice trailed off.
“Water from the ocean is the purest form of our Setian pools,” Councilor Vektor said. “It is considered somewhat sacred.”
The talk was interrupted when the waiters brought the second course. It was called “spark,” a type of Setian fish I was informed. It was of medium thickness and tasted a little like swordfish, however, it was the color that made it unique.
The spark was bright blue with swirls of yellow and orange embedded in the center of the filet. It was by far the most colorful fish I had ever seen. As I worked on my second course, the three Lords changed the conversation to some of the most recent news from various battlefronts. I listened quietly as I focused on my meal.
“The trests are giving us some trouble,” Councilor Vektor informed the other men. “Their planet is covered with some of the best shielding technology ever encountered and they are hiding behind it. We can get some traders through, but only for a limited amount of time and despite our best efforts, we cannot seem to get spies into the secure areas. Two of our best were caught last month attempting to break into the shielding facility. After that we decided to recall the rest of our troops until a better strategy is devised.”
“How did they catch our spies?” Kavra asked.
“Reports say that the trests have devised a type of setian-scan which all members must pass through in order to reach the inner military or political buildings. So far we have been unable to devise a practical way to fool these scans.” Councilor Vektor shook his head in frustration.
A thought occurred to me as I listened to their concerns. “Don’t the trests live near Palta?”
“What?” Kavra moved his gaze to me.
“The trests,” I said again, “they are from the Eurken system, near Palta, right?”
Councilor Vektor nodded.
“Don’t they have lots of pets?” The two Councilors exchanged a glance before nodding, yes. “Infest their semnas.” Everyone stared at me. “Their pets! We could infest their pets. They go everywhere and I bet they don’t have to go through the scans to get there.” Silence followed, then I shrugged, “Lord Kasar lets me take mine everywhere.”
The men managed to suppress their laughter to a soft chuckle. “Ah, how I have missed children,” Councilor Revdran said softly.
“Such creative minds,” Councilor Vektor added with equal amusement. I stared hard at my plate embarrassed by their laughter when Lord Kavra pulled me towards him and into a light hug.
“Don’t worry, Chrissa, we aren’t laughing at you. We just aren’t used to having such a fresh point of view. So come on, smile for me.” I looked up into his face as he ran a hand through my dark hair. “What do you say we see about ordering some desert? It is my understanding that they have their desert flown in directly from Jereitinal!”
“Jereitinal!” I repeated, suddenly excited.
“Yes!” Councilor Vektor piped in. “Directly from the sweets capital itself.”
“Do they have the pudding thing?” I asked, naming Kavra’s favorite.
“But of course,” said the waiter who had walked up behind me. Desert was served promptly we laughed through most of the evening. As we were about to leave, Councilor Vektor addressed me. “Chrissalynn,” he said.
“Yes, my Lord?”
“I wanted to say that I have had a most pleasant evening and have enjoyed your company. During your stay, I would very much like to grant you one request of your choice. Is there anything you want that it would be within our,” he motioned towards his fellow Councilor, “power to give?”
I looked at the Councilor for several moments considering the various conversations that had taken place throughout the evening. Finally, I nodded and said, “I would like to walk down to the beach and take a small vial of water from the ocean, so that in a way, the water will always be with me.”
The Councilors looked at each other seemingly surprised. Then a small smile slowly spread across their face. “Of course, my Lady. You have our permission to take a vial of water from our beautiful oceans. It would be an honor.”
“Thank you, Councilor Vektor, Councilor Revdran,” I said softly. With that, I turned in my beautiful gown and walked from the room, back down the elevator and was whisked once again into the waiting limousine. We drove through the city streets lit up with beautiful lights in an array of colors from pinks to blues to gold.
“You did wonderful tonight, Chrissa,” Kavra informed me. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Yes, very much,” I replied. “The Councilors are amazing.”
Kavra nodded, “Yes, they certainly are.”
When we arrived back at Lord Kasar’s castle, Kavra escorted me inside and led me down a series of hallways. Soft music was playing in the background. “Come, let me show you something.” I followed Kavra through several more halls until we entered a grand ballroom. Angles were painted along the domed ceiling, their golden wings forever frozen as they rose slowly towards the heavens. Their dar
k hair seemed to flow behind them. Their dark eyes stared intently, some towards the glory of heaven and others down upon their onlookers, as though they could see straight into our souls. The instrumental music grew louder as we entered the ballroom. “May I have this dance?” Kavra asked, holding his hand out towards me.
I accepted his hand and he whisked me onto the dance floor. We swayed slowly to the music.
“The angels are so beautiful,” I whispered.
“Not nearly as lovely as you.” The light of the flames from the candlelit chandeliers sparkled across the sequins on my gown; surrounding us with an array of colors as we danced across the rainbows under the watchful gaze of angels.
“This is a dream,” I whispered through the soft music.
“No, Chrissalynn, this is your dream come true.” I put my head against Kavra’s shoulder. I closed my eyes and for one moment, let the music take me to a place where nothing else existed.
Chapter XI
I spent the next few days between my studies and playing. Somewhere between the torture studies and flurry of parties, dinners, and explorations I even managed, begrudgingly, to complete a few interstellar math assignments. The weeks seemed to fly by until the day I received a call from the high inquisitor informing me that my patient was once again ready to receive company.
Kavra and I left the residence around three o’clock that afternoon and took a small ship to the nearby moon. I once again entered the building and was helped into a long black robe. Savrick was already tied onto the rack this time, the ropes once again pulling tightly on his freshly healed limbs. “Hello, Savrick,” I said entering the room. “How are you feeling today? A little better I hope.” He said nothing. I put white gloves over my hands as I reached for something out of Savrick’s line of vision.