by Daul, Amanda
He remained at the top of stairs, his small, cruel eyes gleaming with joy at the sight of her capture. “I must say I am rather surprised to see you here so suddenly. The last time I took away something you cared about, it took you months to act. Foolish. Though what can I expect from such a miniscule, impotent person.”
The General began to descend the staircase, as slow as Arissa thought was humanly possible. He would take one step and then stop, as if he was pondering his next choice of words as he continued to watch her.
“I think that you will notice by now that I have won, dear Arissa. I have taken everything from you. Your devoted husband. Your freedom. I have taken your morality and your spirit. And now I have taken over your own home! Which, by the way, I have been gracious enough to pay for all these years,” he projected, so that every person in the room could clearly hear every word. “What do you plan on doing now? You're defenseless. Weak. Everything that I love in my enemy. It makes my job a lot easier.”
Finally, Arissa spoke to him for the first time in months. Her voice was tense and gritted as she spoke, remaining still as stone and her head bowed beneath her cloak. “You haven't won yet.”
The General stopped suddenly, as if surprised to hear her speak. “Oh? I haven't? Because it seems to me like I have. You have no way of escape. The only way you're going to be leaving here is in a wooden box.”
He was blocking Arissa’s view of Cayl, but at the sound of his twisted words, another crunch and mutter sounded from behind the General. His eyes were on her, scrutinizing, hoping to see a flicker of pain in her eyes.
Arissa gave him nothing to be glee about. She remained emotionless, having left her sentiments far behind her. They could only cripple her now.
The General descended the rest of the stairs before speaking again. He moved slowly, and it felt like he hadn’t blinked since she had first seen him exit the shadows.
Cayl was visible again, but they had roughly yanked him back onto his feet, holding his head up by a fistful of hair so that he had to watch Arissa. His eyes were wide and frightened, as well as severely livid, burning like green fire.
With only a slight movement of his hand, the General called ahead two soldiers from the row behind Arissa. Wordlessly, they efficiently knocked her knees out from her, landing hard on the polished wooden floor of her home. One grasping each forearm, the way they were with Cayl, the General motioned to them again, and in a swift, fluid motion, the hood was shoved off her head and the black mask she had improvised was ripped off.
Strands of her black, silky hair were caught around her face, her dark eyes ablaze as she stared into the General’s inhuman eyes. His cocky grin melted into a serious pondering expression, as he took out his silver handgun, similar to the one she had just seen the man in the Governor’s manor with.
On the outside, Arissa appeared blank and weak, completely given up on any chance to live. Even with Cayl’s angry shouting in the background, it seemed she didn’t respond to anything.
However, deep within where her soul was aflame with hatred and anger and revenge, she yearned for the chance to kill the man before her. She wanted him to suffer and to feel a fraction of the pain that she had felt because of him. She would get that chance, she just had to be patient. And pray that everything went according to her plan.
His lips curled as he spoke to her. “Goodbye...Arissa.”
She never stopped glaring into his malicious eyes, even when he pressed the cold, blunt tip of the gun barrel to her forehead.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It wouldn’t end like this. Arissa had faith. Not in the General, of course, but in herself to remain strong. She had faith in the universe, that had been so cruel yet so gracious to her. Someone as terrible as the General couldn’t get away with the things he had done, and Arissa might very well be the only person who could do a damn thing about it.
Still, the cold metal pressing against her head was troubling. She hadn’t exactly thought it would come to this yet. Regardless, she never broke the eye contact. He needed to know that she was just as strong as he was.
The manor was completely silent, except for Cayl’s furious shouting in the background. Nobody seemed to pay any attention to him.
Arissa felt sick to her stomach, the waiting, the tension was unbearable and she was only now beginning to feel unnerved. Another moment and she might begin shaking.
The General’s eyes were wild and crazed with desire to pull the trigger. But in the next instant, something in his expression softened and she felt the pressure against her forehead ease slightly. Her eyes twitched with terror, but she never altered her expression.
His, however, turned suddenly thoughtful as he broke their eye contact, dropping his gaze and his gun from where it had been positioned for the last twenty seconds. Arissa wanted so badly to spit out a mouthful of bitter words for him, but this was unlike him to step down from an execution, especially one he would enjoy so immensely. Something was going on in his mind, and she already knew how terrible it was going to be. When he looked back at to meet her gaze, he was smiling.
"This is too easy. I want your death to be bigger than this. I want everybody in the nation, in the entire territory to see and hear about how weak you were before I mercifully obliged you...with death. They will know the truth."
He spoke directly in her face. She hadn't noticed until now, but Arissa had been holding her breath for so long that she now felt lightheaded. Her heart beat raggedly and uneven, her breath nearly shaking. Still, she summoned her strength to speak spitefully to him.
"The truth. You're too much of a coward to ever tell the truth. You are nothing but a fraud. When I came to you that day, you thought you had done me a favour, you thought you had done yourself a favour by getting me contained, isn't that right? Now I'm going to tell you something, General. You are going to regret lowering that weapon. I am going to make you wish that you had shot me on the first day we met. I am going to kill you and I am going to enjoy every...lasting...second."
Arissa struggled to free her arms but, luckily, the soldiers didn't put up much of a fight. She rose to her feet, holding her head proudly high and her black cloak still streaming around her in waves as it fell to the floor. When she was at her full height, she didn't flinch when the General got in her face trying to intimidate her, without luck.
His face was red with fury, his bloodshot eyes darting viciously between her own as she spoke calmly. Arissa noticed his finger twitching on the trigger of the pistol that he held at his side, but refrained from raising it again.
Her words had cut, she could clearly see, and he was trying desperately not to lose his temper. What he had in mind must be awfully important for him to be portraying such self-control.
"Take her to the hill like we discussed," he spat out through grinding teeth to the soldiers behind her. Without a word, they each snatched up her arms again, forcing her roughly to turn and march from her own home. The soldiers that had formed an organized crowd behind them parted as she was escorted through.
As much as she wanted to, she didn't dare turn to see what had happened to Cayl. It was essential that she remain detached and powerful in front of the General. Using Cayl against her would work too well and Arissa hoped she could stop this before it came to that.
The moment they were outside, a blindfold was tied tightly around her eyes and she realized it was her mask she had used earlier, only now she was left blinded. The soldiers secured her hood around her face again and from then on, she was completely dependent on them. She couldn't see and she could barely hear what was going on around her. As far as she could tell, she was tossed into some sort of crate after they fastened her hands tightly behind her back. Whatever she was in began bouncing and jostling a moment later and she realized it was a carriage. But where would they be taking her?
The General had mentioned a hill. As far as she knew, there was no place in Daer that was generally referred to as that, although she realized it could be
something new, or a code for something completely different. When it came to the General, Arissa didn't underestimate anything.
It seemed forever, but she was sure it had only been a few miles before they stopped. Her back was already beginning to ache from the awkward position she had been in, too cramped to even right herself. Again, the soldiers took her from the crate and when her feet hit the ground again, she was surprised.
Her boots didn't impact with the soft, yielding dirt like she had expected. Instead, her footsteps sounded loudly underfoot, as she was standing on some sort of wooden platform. She casually tapped the floor again with her heel and indeed, it was a hollow, wooden structure. But where in the world she was, she had no clue.
They walked a short distance with her, occasionally shoving her forward for the fun of it. They seemed to enjoy it when she nearly tripped on the lengths of her cloak. Several times, she was ordered to keep her head down. A moment later, she heard the roaring and excited shouts of many people. It wasn't a happy sound, but wherever the crowd was, they were definitely upset about something. The din kept growing louder as she walked and seemed to be shifting, as if she were walking among them.
Then it hit her. She was on display.
She had seen this several times before, although she had never known the exact reason behind it. At several executions she had witnessed, if the General had taken a serious dislike for the person, he would make a public show of it and have the execution in front of the city square in Daer.
It made sense now. He had wanted so badly to kill her at her house, but his need for fame outweighed the desire. At the moment, Arissa was one of the most infamous people in the territory. Her story was not a common one and maybe that was the reason behind the focused attention that had always seemed to be on her.
The soldiers stopped her and it sounded like she was directly over the angry crowd. Her hands were briefly loosened, only to have them reattached to a vertical bar that was icy to her skin. Again, her head was shoved down as not to reveal her face yet.
This was all a game to the General. She heard his voice from nearby, explaining to the crowd the basics of what was to be believed. To be honoured enough to live among his land, there were certain rules and the most important of those rules was that he knew what was best for the people and for his territory and what they were about to see was a warning of what would happen if anyone was to disobey him.
Simultaneously, her blindfold and hood were torn off again and the entire crowds erupted into a chorus of shocked gasps and enraged statements.
Arissa was tied to a pole on a small wooden platform. Each of the four sides tapered down to meet the ground with soldiers blocking the paths of the civilians. She was perhaps twelve feet off the ground, but in plain view of any one of the thousands of people in the crowd. Arissa had never seen a gathering this big in Daer before, but she was confused about why they were so angry. She was a dangerous criminal and she worked for the General. That was enough reason for everyone to hate her and to look forward to her execution. But these people seemed enraged.
There was a similar platform built to her right, which was where the General stood. Arissa whipped her head around to glare angrily, her lengthy hair catching around her face. The sun was nearly down and her bronzed skin shone with perspiration and the fading sunlight.
Cayl stood behind the General, tied in the exact same way as Arissa, to the same type of pole. He looked like he had already been beaten badly.
Arissa didn’t listen to what else the General had to say. She tried to remain calm, but now she was beginning to feel panicked.
Finally, he stopped talking and within a moment, he had left the platform with Cayl, appearing on another that was no more than ten paces ahead of them. The three platforms formed a triangle. He has his handgun gripped securely in place and a wicked, burning grin on his face. Very slowly, he took aim directly at Arissa.
The cries and desperate pleads of the crowds rose, as the throngs of people began swirling viciously. There were still two soldiers flanking her sides as well as the two behind Cayl. Of course, they wore the usual, military helmet and shield that completely blocked their faces from being recognized. It was why all the soldiers appeared the same to her.
She tried to strain against the ropes, but it was too well knotted, she was stuck. However, she would not go down without a fight and she refused to believe that it was over. As impossible as it seemed, she would find a way out of this.
Seeing as the General had not yet even pulled the hammer of his pistol to fire yet, the last thing Arissa expected was to feel the intense sensation of pain as a bullet ripped through her, directly below her collarbone.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Arissa gasped sharply from the blinding pain and felt her knees buckling, waves of sickness washing over her. The screams of the panicked crowds around her grew more and more distant in her ears, and she was barely aware of the other shrieking noise that she hadn’t been expecting.
A horse’s wild and deep whinny split the air from nearby. Arissa was slumped to her knees, trying to turn her head in the direction she had heard it, but it was too painful. She must already be delirious, because there was no way that she was seeing Raze charging across the open streets behind the livid crowd. People dove out of the way in every direction to avoid the charging horse.
Meanwhile, one of the soldiers behind her leapt forward and grasped her wrists, pulling out a knife and began sawing on the ropes that bound her. Arissa was occupied trying to keep breathing in time to her ragged gasps, but when she whipped her head back to see the soldier who was helping her, he leaning close enough to speak to her.
“Arissa, you’ll be okay. We’re getting you out of here right now. Cayl’s already safe. Just breathe.”
Arissa’s vision was tilting and swirling before her. Suddenly her hands were freed, and the soldier was helping her to her feet.
It felt like she was trying to focus her attention on six different things at once, all while trying not to hyperventilate. Blood had completely soaked the front of her shirt and her cloak, and she felt even more woozy as she attempted to stand.
So many questions plagued her. Who had shot her? Why was this soldier helping her when he should have been trying to arrest her again? Where was the General? Where was Cayl? Why was Raze suddenly charging up the ramp of the wooden platform she was on?
The soldier helped her onto her horse, giving her brief instructions to ride north until she found a group of people hidden in the forest, waiting to help her. She didn’t have time to ask or say anything else before Raze shot off into a blurred streak, quickly leaving behind the crowd of enraged Daer settlers.
Arissa melded close to Raze’s withers, just trying to remain conscious, but the pain was growing so intense that she found it harder to open her eyes each time. She was cold. The wind bit her cheeks as it tore through her cloak, causing it to snap furiously in the wind behind them.
It seemed like an eternity of enduring the painful jostle of each stride that Raze took, but eventually she felt him slowing, and even though she could no longer keep her eyes open, she heard voices. It wasn’t the intense screams of the revolted crowds, but the softer, calmer voices of only a few people. The next thing she felt was her entire body going slack as she fell completely under the dark spell of pain, but she never felt the impact of the fall.
* * *
Nearly a week later, Arissa still felt like she could go back to her bed and sleep for another twelve solid hours. The throbbing pain in her shoulder was still present, but dulled considerably thanks to one of Yasmine’s brewed teas. The steady rhythm of her rocking chair was soothing and so relaxing that her eyes threatened to close again, but she wouldn’t allow it. She had waited too long for this moment.
While she was waiting for Cayl to return, Arissa thought back to what had happened the day of her planned execution. After falling unconscious from Raze, she had awoken in the camp that she had been directed to. It was m
ade up of nearly fifty people, at least seventy percent of which were militia soldiers. At first she had felt herself beginning to panic, until Cayl had appeared at her side, gripping her weak hand and calming her. He explained to her that they were in a secret camp that had been made by a group of military soldiers who were tired of seeing the General get away with what he had. They had decided to turn their attention to finding a way to overthrow him, but they needed more people on their side first. It was why they had built this temporary camp, until they could gather a group large enough.
The camp was made up of quickly, but sturdily built shacks that were better put together than most of the houses in the cities. They had been constructed out of vertical logs, with a layer of greenery wrapped around the outer edge to camouflage the buildings into the forest. They were fairly good size, perhaps enough room for three or four people to live in and there must have been at least twenty five of them.
Even Arissa had never travelled to this part of the territory because it was in a valley. It was such a treacherous place to get to that nobody had any reason to trek there. The only visitors they were likely to get were the wild animals that occasionally passed through.
Arissa had only seen the outside of the camp once, when she and Cayl had left, escorted back to their home outside of Daer. It was nearly an hour ride from the camp.
Even though the details were fuzzy from her drug-induced rest at the camp, Arissa recalled how Cayl and another soldier she had gotten to know, Trax, had explained to her several of the missing puzzle pieces she had not been able to find.
Ever since news first broke about the Governor’s murder, this clandestine group had taken immediate action to protect Arissa. They had known, that given her past and her history with the General, she would be the key to getting to him and unlocking his power and leadership. Several things began to make more sense to Arissa as they continued telling her about what had taken place.