Second Born

by Lance Wilson

  “Doesn’t he scream just beautifully” Lady Ebon says and then goes to his other arm.

  “Indeed my Lady” the orc replies,

  Tears stream down Attonnan’s eyes as she traces a crease in his other bicep making a burning sensation move through his whole body. Once the full length of the crease is outlined in a bright red and purple blister she nods to the orc Attonnan watches as the orc smiles and begins to turn the crank, another notch and the blister bursts on it’s own. The one that was already open ripped open even further, Lady Ebon and the orc begin to laugh as they hear Attonnan’s shoulders dislocate. Attonnan only screams in pain his body now dripping with sweat, blood pouring down his arms onto the floor.

  “Another two notches and he’ll be quartered” the orc says calmly but looks at Lady Ebon

  “We do not want that, so one more, but lets make it worth it” she says and smiles.

  With the claws of the glove she slowly reaches down tell the claws are just below the belt, and then with one quick movement the front of his pants are ripped open showing his young immature manhood. She only smiles, the muscles on his legs and hips are just as tense as the ones on his chest and arms. Slowly, slower then any of the other she traces the crease just above his manhood in a V like shape. This time the blister is not red but the black green that he has seen before. He screams, his eyes fly open in tremendous pain, she seems to keep her claw on him forever but then when she lets up, he can smell the putrid scent of rotting meat, his rotting flesh. Then with a nod the orc pushes the crank another notch and that blister burst just like the others and an oily dark green liquid pours out filling the room with the smell of rotting flesh. Attonnan can no longer scream his voice is horse and the pain is too much. The other wounds split open even further pouring more blood on the floor, the new wounds on his arms, the wounds on his back, his shoulders now completely out of socket, she is even sure she heard the legs pop out of socket from his hips. His body is white as a sheet and pouring with sweat, dark circles under his eyes. All he can do is whimper, whimper and cry and pray for it to end. The orc and Lady Ebon let the table stay stretched fur a bit before she nods one more time and the orc lets loose a lever making the table spring back to the original length. For a few seconds all anyone could hear is Attonnan crying, his sobs echoing the room. Lady Ebon smiles and drags her finger along the arms coating it gently with blood then puts the finger to his lips.

  “There is nothing a sweet as young elven blood. What other things can we play with as he heals from this” she says calmly and looks over the devices in the room.

  The orc only lets Lady Ebon walk around the room. She wanders for a bit and then comes to a device that gets her attention. It looks like two cogs, one going horizontal and the other vertical. There are some straps to it and a chair for a person to sit.

  “What is this lovely device?” Lady Ebon asks calmly as she walks around the device letting her finger trace around the cog lying on its side.

  “I’m not sure of it’s name, but I do know it’s purpose, it crushes limbs, either quickly or slowly pending on the person on the crank” the orc said calmly and looks over at Attonnan who is now as white as snow.

  “Sister Elana, heal the dislocated bones, but nothing more would you” Lady Ebon says and smiles at the orc.

  Attonnan barely notices as the woman walks over and gently places her white-gloved hand over his shoulder. The shoulder bone slowly places itself right. Smiling at her work she does both shoulders and then the hipbones. Once he is healed the orc undoes the straps holding him and then checks to see if he can stand. Attonnan only drops to his side, too weak and too broken to stand.

  “Another time perhaps” Lady Elana asks looking at her sister.

  “Oh no, I’m sure he has many good screams left in him” Lady Ebon says and nods to the orc.

  The orc smiles and picks up the broken Attonnan. He walks him over and then sets him on the chair; Attonnan does not give any resistance. The orc then straps his arm down on the cog.

  “Fast or slow” the orc said smiling at Lady Ebon.

  “Slow I want to see it work, especially what it does to the body” she says and pulls up another chair close enough to watch.

  The orc only cranks the lever a full turn before she sees exactly what is about to happen. The cogs interlock and the arm that is strapped in is right there the other cog has to go, to go in that slot it will crush the arm. She smiles as he slowly lines it up to the arm. She can see the cog line up and then the orc gently smiles at Lady Ebon who nods to give him the go ahead. The orc slowly continues to the turn the crank. Attonnan screams as the cog prices his skin, pummeling the muscle, then snaps his bones like they were brittle wafer bread. Attonnan’s scream is high and long blood sprays around coating both cogs on both sides.

  In the middle Lady Ebon holds up her hand, the cog is in its slot and she cannot see the other side. She looks at Attonnan who is pale, his eyes are sunken in, and his eyes are red, tears streaming down his cheeks onto the floor.

  “Is his arm severed” Lady Ebon says looking at both ends.

  “Not hardly, just crushed the muscles and maybe bits of bone might be holding it.” The orc says calmly

  “Give me your knife then” Lady Ebon says and watches; as Attonnan’s eyes get huge he knows what is about to happen.

  The orc gives her a huge double-edged dagger. Lady Ebon tests its edge; it’s not the sharpest but not the dullest either. She walks around on both ends and looks over the tattered, shattered torn limb of Attonnan. Then calmly she slides the tip of the blade where two of the bones had severed. She smiles wide as she slides the blade further and further into the arm, sliding it deeper and deeper, Attonnan cries out in pain, pain and sorrow. Once the blade is all the way down and through the arm she begins to pry it back and forth making the bones crunch and the muscle tear. Attonnan stops yelling in pain but only sobs a silent sob. Tears steam down his face and on to the floor, blood stops spraying but are still flowing; Attonnan’s completion goes whiter and whiter. Lady Ebon continues to pry then finally Attonnan’s arm comes loose where the cogs meet. Attonnan falls to his side sobbing silently; he can no longer bring himself to cry out, to scream about how much pain he is in.

  “Lady Ebon, I must insist that we stop here. Any more and he will die” Lady Elana says walking to her sister.

  “But his cries have gone silent. I would like to hear him cry out one more time” she says and lets out a sigh.

  “He has lost far too much blood already, as for the hand, I’m sure I can repair it, but it will be hard, keep going and I’m not sure what permeate damage you could do, and what would Lord Fuma do then, this is to be his new pet not yours” Lady Elana says and smiles at her sister knowing full well that although Lady Ebon may out rank her, since she is only the healer, her sister wouldn’t dare anger Lord Fuma Hojo

  “Vary well, heal the hand, but not the cuts, let them bleed it won’t kill him for that” Lady Ebon says growling at her sister

  “I have to heal the wounds, and infection.” She says and glares right back at her sister

  Lady Ebon only growls but walks out of the room, the orc continues to crank the cog until Lady Elana can fetch the severed hand. Slowly she kneels down next to Attonnan who is still sobbing, she pulls the arm with the severed hand and attaches the two of them, then a mist appears around them, taking her hand away from each piece she looks down, there is only a thin hairline scar to show that the hand was once no longer part of the arm. She then begins to work on the cuts on the back and the blisters made, each own only becoming a scar. Once that is done she looks to the orc who only nods to her and leaves the room. She leaves him on the floor, let him get a good nights sleep before the next day, the next day the real training will begin, this was just a taste of punishment.

  Attonnan sleeps for what like seems for days. As he begins to wake h
e takes a deep breath and lets his mind wander. He feels his hand on his wrist, it must be a dream, this is only the day before the ketonmen, they didn’t torture him, his father is in a meeting and all his family is well. It had to be a nightmare, nothing so horrible can happen. Then it hits him; the smell of sweat and blood. So it wasn’t a nightmare, this really is happening. He pulls himself into a tight ball and begins to tremble. What has he done that was so wrong that he deserves this? Tears stream down his eyes and he cries in his tight ball. All he wants is for this to be over, for it never to have happened. Attonnan is brought out of his own thoughts as a huge foot comes cascading into his ribs. He winces and lets out a yip of pain.

  “Get up you dog… . Lady Elana has need of you” the orc says and kicks him in the ribs again.

  The orc wonders what kind of tortures Lady Elana has in store for Attonnan. Lady Ebon has always relied on the glove of pain, but Lady Elana is more sinister then her sister even if at first glance you would not think it. Most of the time she seems like the kinder gentler of the two but this is far from the truth. He kicks the elf once more and watches as he only curls into a tighter ball. The orc gives up on trying to get Attonnan to move on is own and picks him up throwing the elf over his shoulder. He walks for a while for then drops Attonnan onto a hard wooden table. The orc watches as Attonnan doesn’t even struggle anymore, he is broken, but that doesn’t mean the ebony hand is done with him. Letting out a sigh of boredom the orc pulls Attonnan out of his ball and then begins to strap him to the table, each of the limbs strapped down to a corner of the table with padded leather cuffs. Once the orc is sure that Attonnan is secure he walked and pulls a smaller table over to the elf. It is then that the two sisters of the ebony hand walk in and smile. Elana smiles at the tools. She lets her nimble fingers drift over each one, gently touching and caressing it as if they were old friends the tools are of all shapes and sizes… . but all of them have one thing in common they are all things meant for pain. Elana smiles to see that Attonnan has already been prepped for this. He is wearing only a loincloth. The orc had stripped him and cleaned him as he slept. Attonnan only sobs he isn’t sure what is about to happen he only knows that it will hurt. Elana smiles as she lets her thin fingers drift over the tools once more. Smiling she gently selects a sickle; it is slightly rusted where she has let the blood rust the blade. She smiles and lets the cold steel lay on the flat of the blade. She chuckles and watches as his skin begins to tremble at the touch of the blade. Attonnan’s mind reels as he feels the cold steel drift down his body. He feels it slowly press against his chest, then move slowly down tell it reaches the naval. She is going to cut him; he can feel it in his bones. But how much, and how deep. Smiling she brings the blade back to his neck, then slowly down, right where the neck meets the breast bone with a gentle hum she digs the tip of the sickle into his flesh. Droplets of blood form on his skin like tiny rubies. Attonnan trembles and lets out a whimper of pain. He can’t even bring himself to cry. He feels the sickle move past the skin and cut deep into his muscle, he cries out in pain. Elana’s breath quickens as the cuts, her heartbeat doubling, even tripling. Attonnan screamed in pain as the edge moved down his body allowing his innards to be seen to all. Attonnan pulls at the shackles cried out loud not caring weather they heard or not… Not caring that tears flowed openly in front of his enemy. This was something he had never imagined even in his worst nightmare. Slowly she cuts across the chest then the belly. Without words she smiles and begins to peel back his skin. Then she nods to the orc who slowly walks over and with a hammer and some small tacks he tacks the skin to the table. This is the first time he has had the pleasure of watching her work. Attonnan screams seeing the blood rush down his body soaking deep into the wood on the table and dribbling down to the floor. No longer having the strength to pull against the chains he only lays there sobbing, whimpering, there are even times the orc can swear he can almost hear words come from him. Nothing much, just ‘no’ and ‘please’ words that these blood soaked walls have heard a thousand times before.

  “Stop… please stop… make it stop” Attonnan whimpers out as the last tack it tapped into the blood soaked wood but he knows that his cries fall on deaf ears.

  A huge wrenching burning pain rips through is body as he feels Lady Elana’s hand reach over to the table and pulls a small knife that looks much like a small saw. She then places it right below the sternum and begins to saw right down the middle. Attonnan can feel the pulling and grinding of the blade but the sawing itself causes no pain. There is still however the burning pain from the cut and the pulling of the skin. His chest jerks and bobs as she works the saw through the sternum. His eyes are cut tight and tears stream down his face. He hears her place the blade back on the small metal table. Then with a bit of a shock he feels her slide something right where she had just cut, it is a kind of thin metal thing. He feels her slide it and then, he hears a kind of crank and listens as his ribs crack and snap as they begin to separate. He can hear his own heart now, not like he used to, not in his ears, no, he can hear it case the sound is no longer blocked by skin or muscle, it is right out in the open now. He refuses to open his eyes, the last thing he wants to do is see what she has done to him. Elana smiles to see her work, the tools hand made by a dwarven smith, her own design. She can hear him whimper and watches as he trembles head to toe. But that is not enough for her, she wants to hear him scream and she will. Slowly now that the spreader is in place she reaches into him and began to pull out organs, not cutting them loose but pulling them out of his body nonetheless. Carefully she removes them taking all the care that a healer would in placing them back in. Attonnan can hold it in no more and with all of his power he screams in pain and pulls against his chains, as his body raises against the table he feels the his flesh rip as the tacks keep it held in place. Lady Elana smiles and tilts her head listening to him, pleading for them to stop. She does no such thing though, and continues to remove his inner organs leaving those that do not have the ability to come out without cutting it. Looking him over she makes her next move. Slowly she reaches at the small table and pulls a tiny razor sharp blade. She then takes a piece of leather strap, hammer and nails. She then lays the strap over his arm, just above the elbow. Smiling she nails the strap to the table. Once she is finished she looks at the thin blade in the light as it glimmers and flashes silver, she can even see her own reflection. Gently she takes it and places it right at the wrist, then slowly savoring the moment she slides it down the arm making sure only to cut the skin, all the way down to the joint. Then slowly she cuts across the wrist, making sure to only cut skin, she goes slowly this is a delicate area, one slip and she could cut a vain and he would bleed to death before she could do anything about it. Once the cut is made she moves down to the elbow joint and cuts gently across that. Making a perfect ‘I’ shape. Just like with his chest she takes the skin and peels it back, then tacks it down to the wooden table. Attonnan screams as he has never screamed before as she is doing this, his voice echoes through the room and he is sure that they can even hear it down the hall, maybe even to the thrown room. Once the skin is tacked down she takes a thin blunt tool, the edge is thin as can be but blunt. She slowly slides it under the muscles, each time making Attonnan scream even more. She moves it under the first muscle and slides it to where it connects, then, with a quick yank the muscle pulls it right off the bone. Attonnan wants so badly to scream, but all he can muster up is a whimper and more tears. One by one she works the muscles pulling each one away from the bone. Once she gets a clear view of the bone she puts the tool back on the table. Slowly she lets her hands move over the tools tell she comes to a small chisel, and a small hammer. Looking at the two arm bones she picks the larger of the two and places the chisel right at the joint. She lays it just into the nook of the bone, and then slowly she taps the hammer. Then, quickly she makes a quick strike making it right through the bone dislocating it from the joint. She then pulls the chisel out of that joint and
moves it to the lower joint where it connects to the elbow. Just like the last time she places it into the nook, a few light taps to set it in place, then another quick strike to pop the bone from it’s socket. She then lays the chisel and hammer on the table. With ginger hands she reaches down and removes the bone from it’s set place.

  “We shall wash this and bleach it. I think I shall carve it into a flute” she says looking at the bone as she turns it and moves it around in her fingers.

  “My, my Lady Elana, your cruelty knows no bounds” Lady Ebon says shocked and in awe at the skill and precision in which she has been torturing the young elf.