by Blooding, SM
I’d been drugged.
I shook my head, trying to clear it.
The roar of a motor rumbled past. My head rolled back as I tried to follow it.
Something buzzed, flickered, buzzed above me. I tipped my head, but couldn’t make anything out, even though I was able to pry my eyes open a little. Everything was fuzzy. People walked past, giving us a wide berth. Something metal floated near my head, a red light shining over my face. I flinched away, my hands rising to bat at it.
The two men at either arm shook me. “Now, none o’ that nonsense. It’s just a scanner. Memorizin’ your face, it is. Won’t be able to move around the city none without her ladyship knowin’ about it, now. No. None o’ that.”
“Connely, you talk too much.”
“Shut up.”
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Ah, the poor daft man’s talkin’ some sort of gibberish, he is.”
My head fell back as I pried my eyes a little wider. Was there literal glue holding my eyes shut? The man wore a long coat and a round black hat I’d never seen. “Gibberish?”
“He seems to understand well enough.”
The other man grunted.
Another motor whirred passed us. I peered at it. It was a carriage of sorts, with four wheels and no beasts to pull it. I watched it putter by, not quite sure if my eyes were playing games with me.
“Almost there, lad,” one of the men said, staring down at me. “Now just be good and mind us and everythin’ll go smoothly, like as right.”
My eyes drooped closed.
“Now there’s a good lad.” They stopped. There was a metal click, and then they shoved me onto something padded and leather. “There you go now.” They shoved my feet in after me, draping me over something not quite as padded.
Arms drew me close.
“My queen, he’s bleeding. Sorry abou’ tha’.”
“He’ll be fine,” Nix said, petting my cheek.
I curled my lip and tried to rise. I didn’t care how medicated I was. I didn’t want to be petted by that viperous snake. The fog felt like it was starting to lift.
Her grip tightened.
I didn’t give up. I struggled to pull myself to a sitting position as the world moved and vibrated around us.
She wrapped a leg around my torso and pinned me in place. Pain filtered through the fog, pushing it further back as her hands gripped my face. She stared at me for a long moment.
I couldn’t see much, just her lips.
“You can fight me, Synn, but you will lose.”
We breathed each other’s breath.
“How old are you, young Primus?”
“I’m not a Primus.”
She tipped her head, a slight smile gracing her lips. “How old?”
What was she asking? If she could keep me? If she had to find a way to kill me? “Seventeen.”
Regret flitted through her eyes as she settled her shoulders in resolve. “You must choose, Synn.” She turned to stare out the window, her grip on my body remaining firm. “I wasn’t born to this, you know. I came from the Great Families. But the Hands took me after my Family disowned me for bearing a Mark that was not their own.”
Why was she telling me this? “Who?”
Her dark eyes met mine. “Shankara, Family of air, daughter Marked by fire.”
My eyes flared. She obviously had Ino blood in her.
She nodded at the recognition and turned back to the window. “When I came to power, my first act as queen was to wipe out the entire Shankara Family.”
“But there were people who weren’t a part of that decision.” An act like that could only be chosen by the circle of Elders.
Her expression hardened. “I was shunned, Synn, for something beyond my control, but my queen,” she turned her attention back to me, tracing her claw along my cheek, “took me in, showed me kindness, taught me to be powerful.”
I shook my head. A powerful monster.
She scoffed and looked away. “I will bring all the Families to their knees. No one will be turned away for being different.”
“No,” I whispered. “They’ll be burned for no reason.”
“There was reason, Synn,” she growled, her eyes leaping with ferocity. “I’ve allowed elders to live before, and each time, they have fought against me. I will not jeopardize the safety of my city for the sake of,” she bared her teeth, “appearing fair.”
“You’re a monster.”
She brushed my cheek with her hand, calm resettling over her expression with each caress. “Will you come to me peacefully, Synn? Or will you fight?”
I raised my chin. There was no choice. “Fight.”
She snarled, pushed me to the floor, and turned to stare out the window. “As you wish.”
The motor car stopped and the door opened. Nix stepped out, her gold gear crown glittering in the pale light of the blue sun, Sang. She allowed one of her soldiers to assist her out of the car. “He is to be purged, but first, I believe it is time for a public display. Gather the traitors. Let’s remind the people of this city why I rule.”
CHAPTER 5
BEATEN, BREAKING, BROKEN
Hands pulled me out of the vehicle, two men dressed in black and gold with crossed wands in a circle of flame embroidered on their chest. They took me up a flight of stone stairs, my feet working sluggishly to assist. My mind was clearing, but my body still felt like it belonged to someone else.
Nix led the way, her black and red skirts swishing with the graceful movements of her hips. Her high, metal collar twinkled in the sun. The large building was crowded with people, all wearing uniforms; some in blue and silver, others in green and gold, more in black and gold, and turquoise and silver. The four Houses of Tarot.
I was in so much trouble.
She took us toward the back. Everyone made a path for us, watching us with guarded eyes, showing reverence to Nix as she passed. On the outskirts of the people immediately around us, I noticed a flurry of movement. People were running in the same direction we were headed.
Nix walked through a large double door and we were flooded with sunlight. I hadn’t even realized the interior was so dark. Sang was high in the sky with her white sunlight, bleaching out everyone around me.
I was on a high balcony with the four queens.
The Queen of Swords stood, her blond hair tied in an intricate knot under and around her silver gear-work crown. Her dress was the palest blue I’d ever seen. She glanced at me, her blue eyes like ice as she returned her gaze toward the crowd.
The Queen of Coins sat in a chair. Her green and gold dress fell around her as she supported her head on her chubby hand.
The Queen of Cups leaned against the wall on the far end of the balcony, her brown hair tied in a long braid. Her dark eyes scanned the crowd far below, her figure full under her turquoise robes.
Nix stood out like a dark and monstrous sky cat as she slipped her hands into long, black gloves.
The crowd several stories below us in the metal and green courtyard fidgeted as they watched the queens high above them and the pyre setting center stage.
Nix walked to the front of the balcony and raised her black gloved hands. “Gentle people of Sky City!”
Silence filled the air.
The guards pushed me to my knees beside her.
Her voice soared, bouncing from the smooth metal buildings that surrounded the courtyard, amplifying her words. “We have before us a grave situation. People from our city have rebelled against us, speaking words that endanger the well-being of the Hands.”
The people stirred.
The Queen of Coins sat up straight in her chair, brushing her rumpled dress.
“We have done everything in our power to protect you, to keep you safe, to allow you the freedom of discovering new and wild technologies. We kept you alive, offered you a new life.”
Two individuals were pushed through the crowd toward the pyre.
The crowd stayed as far away fro
m them as they could.
Nix’s expression relaxed, a gleam of cunning victory in her eye.
My heart raced. “What are you doing?” I asked quietly. “They said words? And for that you’re going to burn them?”
She turned to me, cupping my chin where I knelt at her feet. “You will learn, Synn Primus.”
I clenched my jaw and pulled my chin out of her grasp.
My arms were twisted behind me as the men behind me forced me to my feet.
I let out a roar, trying to shake them off.
“Look what I have brought you today, people of Sky City. The greatest, most powerful Mark we’ve ever seen.” She ripped my shirt from my body, baring my Mark to any who could see.
A gasp echoed through the crowd.
“He does not yet understand why he should follow, why he should obey.”
What was she doing? Dread filled my chest.
“He fought me to protect a handful of Umira children. Umira,” she scoffed, raising her hand, her eyes gleaming as she watched me.
The Umira children were brought out to the square.
Fear fluttered through the crowd.
“Don’t do this!” I watched in incredulous horror. What kind of monster was she? Who could do this? “They’re innocent!”
“Now, yes, but they are pawns, Synn.” She turned to me. “Submit and I will save them.”
The air left my chest. How could I refuse? I could find a way, save them, escape.
Her expression closed as she raised her face to the sky. “By the power vested to me by the Hands of Tarot, our protector, I cleanse our great city.”
Fire leapt from the dried flax of the pyres.
I couldn’t watch, couldn’t just stand by. I didn’t know how to call my Mark, but I didn’t need to. They were children. Children! They were being burned alive for what reason? What reason?
My Marks rose in fiery ropes, lashing without control. The men holding me fell away.
Intrigue sparked Nix’s eyes as she took a step back and reached into a bag on her belt.
The courtyard below was silent. The only thing that could be heard was the popping of the flax.
Dust settled over me, filling my eyes with grit. The world tilted and tipped. The stone floor rose to connect with my head.
Nix knelt beside me, brushing my hair out of my eyes, watching me with interest. “They felt no pain, Synn. It was a quick death, but you must learn your place. When you fight me, those you love will pay the price.” She rose and disappeared from my line of sight.
Rough hands grabbed me and something was shoved over my face as I was dragged up a flight of stone stairs, my feet fumbling to assist. The pain in my feet, in my entire body, had finally reached my brain. The men who held my arms jerked, tugging me onward. We went through a large, loud room and then down a long flight of stairs. We could have been heading into the bowels of the earth for all I knew. There were several large doors and the clanking of metal.
And then I was thrown into a room. My feet crunched on stale flax and other objects that were quite solid. I gained my bearing and ripped the cloth bag off of my head as the door slammed followed by the clank of the lock.
I could see nothing. I rubbed at my eyes, but still there was nothing. I reached out my hand and felt for the door, along the wall, my feet defining the space. I was in a cell. I slid to the ground, rested my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands. What was I going to do now? What was Nix’s plan? What options did I have?
I must have slept because when I woke, my head was clear and my eyes had adjusted. I could see outlines of shadows among the darkness. A pale light filtered around the door and I could see a narrow window at the bottom of the door.
I spent the next hour or so getting familiar with the cell. There was a blanket. It smelled like piss. I put several twisted branches of the dried sea flax together and fashioned a broom, clearing away the debris. The air tasted like metal and death. Not new death. Musty. Metal and must.
Water drained through a hole in the ceiling and dribbled down the corner.
I found a long piece of metal, but it was dull. I stood, held the metal in my hand and ran through the warm-up exercises my father had taught me long ago. My movements were slow and sluggish. The pain of my Mark was still fresh and my muscles ached, as did my head, but I didn’t allow that to stop me. Then I imagined Nix’s guards surrounding me, and I fought my imaginary enemies.
My arm was sore from where I’d been shot, but in the darkness, I could see nothing. I just had to work the soreness out.
I was left alone like this, drinking the dribbles of water that came down from the ceiling, eating the slop that was sent through the narrow slit in the door. I practiced with my fake blade, keeping my mind sharp. My body was growing weaker. The pain receded, but the food was not enough to sustain daily activity. It was enough to keep someone alive. Just barely.
Days, possibly weeks later, the door opened and a man wearing black leather walked in. He brought in chains and cuffs. I fought him, but weakened as I was, my efforts were useless. My hands were bound and I found myself hanging from the ceiling. The light coming through the door brought tears to my eyes.
He spent hours? days? weeks? beating me, feeding me, leaving, and then beating me some more. Whips, belts, ropes of flax, knives, bats, fists.
With both of my eyes swollen shut and my entire body filled with pain, he pulled me unresisting from the ceiling, released me from the chains and left me.
I waited.
And waited.
No one came.
I lost the ability to rise. It took all my strength just to lean over to get a dribble of water from the wall. The narrow slit stayed still; no food came.
He hadn’t asked any questions, hadn’t demanded any answers. What had he wanted? I spent my days staring into the blank nothingness.
Waiting.
Remembering.
The feel of freedom, of wind in the sails, floating on a fast current, nothing but the stars high above me. The sound of Father’s laughter, Oki’s giggle, Zara’s screams of frustration.
When the door opened again, the light immediately blinded me. I raised a shaking arm to shield my eyes, my shoulder sore from being dislocated and reset. After my eyes adjusted, I saw the man I’d shot on the deck of the queen’s ship.
He knelt in front of me and dropped a plate of food.
It smelled like dung and dirt. But it was food. My hand twitched.
He tipped his greasy head, his black beard short and pointed, his mustache curled at the ends. “So you’re the new pet.”
I just wanted him to leave so I could eat. If I could just eat something, I could get enough strength to fight back, and the next time that door opened, I could make a run for it.
He took my chin in his hand and brought my face into the light, staring in intrigued disgust at my chest. “She’s going to have a lot of fun breaking you.”
The only thing I could do was to meet his gaze with my swollen eyes.
He let me go and nodded. “Better you than me.” He stood and walked to the door. He stopped and turned to me. “Be careful, El’Asim. Never allow her to get too close.”
That wouldn’t be a problem.
His hand gripped the door frame. “She will and you’ll lose who you are.”
Then he was gone.
My starving body could refuse no longer. Bathed in the darkness I’d become accustomed to, I grabbed the plate of food and shoveled it in my mouth. I tried to slow down, but found I could not. The first few bites of the horrid trash they’d given me went quickly. I didn’t really want to savor it. There was nothing worth salivating over.
I finished it and then lay back, waiting for my body to turn it to energy so I could get up and practice again with the metal.
My stomach clenched and twisted.
I clamped my hand over my mouth. I couldn’t throw it up. I wouldn’t. I needed—
Too late. I heaved and heaved and heaved.
I knew I hadn’t eaten that much.
My skin grew clammy. If I’d been more hydrated, I’d probably have been sweating. Shadows swam before my eyes.
What had they fed me?
I collapsed against the wall and then slid to the ground. It took all my effort to just breathe. In. Out. In. Out.
The door burst open and Queen Nix hurried through the burning light. She took a cool wet rag and wiped my face, drops of water seeping between my cracked lips and into my mouth. “Synn, you silly boy.” She clasped my head to her breast and rocked me. “End this. End this now.”
I shook my head. I didn’t have the energy to do anything else.
Her hand ran down my arm, gathered my wrist and raised it. “Is this what you are now? Are you content with this?” She let my hand fall.
I felt no pain as it connected with the cold floor.
She slapped me. “You are more than this, Primus. Better than.”
“No,” I croaked.
I don’t know how long we stayed there like that. My eyes drifted closed as the world spun.
“You cannot win, Synn,” she whispered. “You shall be mine.” She rose, leaving me on the floor. “Bring him to my chambers. We’ll see if there’s anything in the boy worth salvaging as a man.”
Oh, what hell had I fallen into?
CHAPTER 6
WHAT GAME IS SHE PLAYING?
They took me to a large bathing chamber where I was doused and scrubbed until my skin bled in spots. There must have been something in the food. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the fog. My body was on fire, leaving me chilled. My limbs were heavy, and I needed help just to raise my head.
How pathetic.
Light sparkled off the water, sending reflections all along the pale blue walls and ceiling, sending shooting pain through my eye sockets into my brain. The men had set me up in a bubbling pool of hot water, my head perched on the edge. I didn’t know where they’d gone. It only mattered that they had.
I soaked in the heat like a man starved.
Part of me wanted to escape, but I knew I could not. It irked me, with what little energy I had. Sorrow no longer fueled me. Grief, anger, rage were all useless. I’d exhausted all of that just to keep myself going. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the rolling heat of the water, waiting to see what was next, hoping, praying, wishing it would just end.