by Paul Heisel
#
It was early morning and Owori wanted to appeal to Suun one more time, a last effort to convince her to give up the Most Favored belt. She hoped the night of sleep gave Suun perspective, perhaps enough to change her mind. The corridors were cold as she walked – this part of the palace was poorly heated because it was rarely used. Owori meandered through the silent corridors, noting the occasional conversation behind locked doors. The hallways were empty because of the late celebrations, and Owori figured few would be up this early on a day of rest before the final contest. She arrived at the room. The door was partially open. She knocked, then after no reply pushed it open. She would wake Suun up, have breakfast with her, and convince her to hand over the Most Favored belt.
The room was empty. Void. Everything had been removed, including Suun and her roommate. Owori stepped inside and closed the door, sweeping the area with her sharp eyes. There were smears on the floor – blood had been wiped away hastily. Owori went to the hall, closed the door, and went to find out what happened. One good thing about being the Emperor’s Fury, there wasn’t a thing that went on in this palace that she couldn’t find out about. It took about an hour talking to her Dragonguards and soldiers to confirm what she thought happened. She discovered that in the dead of night a group of men from Shisaru had left the palace with a wagon. The guards hadn't found anything out of the ordinary other than the time, rarely were wagons searched before leaving the palace – they were searched on their way in. They had claimed they were taking items that were needed back to the Shisaru family manor. The guards described them as five men, dressed as nobles, wearing warm black robes. According to the guards, they had come and gone several times before. One of them had an injured leg that they hadn’t noticed before, another, an injured arm.
She left a message for Feln, giving it to Qio who she could trust not to read it. Owori left the palace on horseback for the Shisaru manor house, dressed in a warm black robe indistinguishable from what the nobles would be wearing. Underneath she had her form-fitting black clothing. On the way, she formulated a plan, guessing they didn’t lie about their destination – why would they? Urgency drove her forward, as did the notion that both Suun and Feln’s lives were now at stake. When she was close enough to the manor house to walk, but far enough away that she could still leave her horse in a convenient spot, Owori blinked. She could remain invisible for long periods of time now, and as she made her way through the slush covered streets, she wondered if anyone could see her. It was cold and steam appeared where she was breathing, footprints were left in the slush. During the bustle of the morning, no one paid any attention. The sun was out and it was warming up, she hoped it would be warm enough to melt away the snow.
Approaching the front gate, she watched the guards and noted their patterns. They walked routes around the front, always having one guard at the gate. She waited until a carriage was leaving, slipped by the guards, and headed toward the manor. The manor was larger than the Xialao family estate, had four stories, and had wings on both sides of the main structure. It was made of stone blocks, looked old and weathered, and had a pitched red tile roof stained black from the elements. The roof was covered intermittently with melting snow. Wisps of smoke went up the numerous chimneys and steam came off the roof where the heat was escaping. Icicles hung down, only to meet timely deaths as poor servants on the roof hacked the ice off, at times taking a tile shingle with it. It was a mystery why they didn't let them melt naturally. Another group followed with new tiles and tools, repairing the damage. Owori headed for the front door, wondering if anyone would notice the door opening and closing. She thought better of it, went around the side and looked for another entrance. The kitchen was always a busy place, and when she found it, she went inside without incident. Now she had to find Suun, if she was still alive, if she were here.
One thing she had learned from her short time at the palace was that detainees were kept away from the general population. The Emperor’s palace had a dungeon deep beneath the structure, holding cells like the one she spent time in, and more comfortable ones like the room Feln was in. In each case the areas were away from the normal functions of the palace. This accomplished several things – visitors couldn’t hear the screams of what went on, if a prisoner escaped they couldn’t get to the main part of the palace, and no one could wander into it accidentally. That’s what she was looking for, a part of this manor put aside for prisoners. She suspected it would be in one of the wings.
The manor house was busy with servants. She didn’t see any of the Shisaru nobles up and about, good she thought, less congestion would make it easier. The area she was looking for wouldn’t be high up, unless there was a separate tower, and she didn’t see one upon her arrival. What intrigued her was how calm she was for the situation. If she found Suun and the other girl, then she would have to find a way to leave with them. The solution to that eluded her. She would have to figure that out when the time came. Besides, she would have to find them first. She began her search, moving deeper into the wing of the manor.
Ten minutes later she came across a room different than the others. The gaudy décor of this area gave her pause and it looked out of place. It was a trophy room, filled with cured heads of animals and beasts alike. She had seen hunting lodges before, like the Emperor’s, but nothing as prolific as this. The room looked unused and unfrequented, and the dead animals gave it a gloomy feel. In front of her the hallway ended, and across from the trophy room to her left was a closed door, a pantry. She went down the hallway, curious why the hallway suddenly ended. She discovered it had been built to look like there was a dead end, when in fact it jogged to the right, then to the left into another hallway. Ahead of her were two guards in front of a door, both were armed with shortswords and knives, ready for close combat. She could see no locking mechanism on the door. This was what she was looking for. She had two choices – she could create a diversion and lure them away, or she could kill them. The latter would be more useful, but could cause additional problems for her when their bodies were discovered. A diversion it would have to be.
Owori went back into the trophy room. There was a huge head of a beast with massive antlers hanging over a cold fireplace. She wiggled it and wrenched it until it came loose, broke it off the mount, and helped it crash into a glass case near the hearth. Glass shattered and the contents of the case, old knives and sheathes, clattered to the ground. All of it made a terrible clamor. She blinked just in time as one of the guards came into the trophy room with his knife ready. Only one guard arrived, so they were smarter than she thought. She went by him and to the door, where the other guard waited.
“One of the heads fell off the wall,” the guard said as he came back.
“Go find a servant to clean it up,” said the other. “I’ll wait here. Be quick about it.”
The guard turned. Owori used her magic discreetly and tripped up his feet. He landed headlong into the wall, his hands coming up just in time to keep him from crushing his head on the wood panel. The other guard moved from the door. Owori opened the door, slipped through, and closed it carefully. The sounds of the guards berating the other for being clumsy ended. Soundproof.
Directly ahead there was a hallway with doors on each side set at regular intervals. An open area was on her left with another guard who was dozing in his chair. Luck was on her side. The open area had basins of water, stacks of white towels, and functional wood cabinets that were closed. Down the hallway were the other doors, each had a smaller portal at head height that looked to be a hatch or peephole. Prison doors. The walls were lined with wood, dinged and scraped, by what she didn’t know. She started down the hallway and peered into the first portal.
She saw a dormitory with four men sleeping. They were sprawled on the floor. They looked battered and beaten, starved and malnourished. She walked down the hall, moving slowly. In front of her a man emerged from a room. He was tall and moved with grace, was wearing robes that had blood on them. Blo
od was on his hands as well, the scarlet blending into the tattoo on his arm. Fury. She let him pass by and went to the door he came from. Behind her she could hear him waking up the guard and scolding him for sleeping. There were splashes of water. She opened the peephole and looked inside. The man in the room came toward the door, aroused by the peephole opening but no one being there. Owori had no other choice. She pulled the door open, found the surprised man, and lunged. She was visible now, knocking him senseless with an elbow strike before he could cry out or defend himself. He slumped to the floor, blood spilling from his nose. Owori shut the door, put the simple bar across it, and turned to the grisly scene before her.
It was a torture chamber. Suun’s roommate was dead, hung by her hands and feet from a wooden device, face toward the floor and obscured by her blood matted hair. Her skin had been flayed, flesh cut, and portions of her mutilated with sharp knives. Owori knew it had been painful. What wasn’t covered with blood was milky white; she had bled to death. There was splatter on the walls, she presumed, from blows. Next to her was Suun. She was hung in the same manner, naked, with cuts and bruises all over her body. Where the other girl had been flayed and tortured, Suun had taken a beating. Her flesh was swollen and her hands and legs were white from lack of circulation. Her dark hair was matted with blood. To the side there were two trunks – their possessions from the room – open with the contents strewn about. There were letters and clothes ripped and cut, all searched for secrets. With crank of a winch, she lowered Suun to the ground. She was alive, but Owori didn’t know for how long. With one of her sparkling Dragonblades, she cut away her bonds.
Before entering she anticipated finding Suun imprisoned or captured, but not this – a victim of cruel torture. It looked as if they weren’t finished with her, which meant Suun hadn’t cracked under the pressure. It also meant the man’s partner would be coming back. Owori dressed Suun as well as she could, then bound and gagged the torturer. Her anger was simmering and it wouldn’t be long before it boiled over. She had seen horrific scenes of death in the past, but nothing compared to this. All the instruments and items in the room were designed to restrain, inflict pain, or kill a prisoner slowly. Owori pulled Suun to the side, trying to wake her, but nothing worked. She was going to have to carry her.
The door rattled.
“Open up,” a voice said.
Owori moved swiftly to comply, not wanting the door to be locked from the outside or the small peephole to be opened. Up went the latch and she pushed the door, and a hand came into view. She grabbed and yanked with all her might, falling backwards and the Fury coming along with her. She twisted him around on the way to the ground, then bright light dazzled her eyes and pain flared into her shoulder. She wrapped her legs around him and got his neck with her arms. She squeezed him until he was unconscious. With calm that belied her churning insides, she closed the door and put on the small bar.
The lightning had charred her robe and unitard, leaving a burn on her shoulder. It hurt and she knew it would be more painful once the adrenaline subsided. The injury would have to wait. She had to figure how to get out of here without bringing the whole manor house down upon them. If that happened, neither she nor the unconscious Suun would survive. At least she had time. The torture these two Furies were dispensing took time and privacy, and she doubted anyone would check on them to see how they were faring. Owori decided retribution was in order. She pulled the two Furies into position and re-tied their arms. What amazed her was how easy it was to hoist them into the air with the wooden device.
#
Suun drifted in and out of consciousness and she became aware of her roommates cries and pleas. They were asking her questions about what family they worked for and why they were spying on the Sode family. Her roommate sobbed and screamed while they tortured her, pleading with them that she knew nothing of what they were talking about. The two Furies took turns inflicting pain and using the instruments, and it was clear to Suun they had done this many times before. They had beaten her with a heavy leather stick; it was obvious they thought she was the spy and were making an example of her roommate to show what they were going to do to her. Throughout the ordeal she stuck to her story of being a girl from Emesia. She had fake letters from her family, a partial diary, and trinkets that a woman away from home would take with her on a long trip. It was all convincing and the frustration they showed was proof enough. They ripped through her clothing and tore up the papers, searching for secrets that weren’t there.
It was over, her life, but she wouldn’t give in no matter what they did. She knew she was dead. Even if she gave them what they wanted, they would kill her – they couldn’t afford to let her go. She realized she should have killed them in the palace. It was her curiosity, her pursuit of information that slowed her enough and allowed them to capture her. She understood that within the Sode family were numerous Furies. What she didn’t know was what that meant. Or what they were after.
Hung this way she was numb; she wasn’t sure if they realized that their hanging contraption imparted mercy upon their victims. Had she been in a chair and bound or chained standing to a wall, she would have felt more pain. Still it was more than she could withstand, and soon she would lose consciousness. Her roommate, poor girl, was innocent, and there was nothing she could do to save her. She was a victim and Suun regretted her decision to use her roommate to investigate the Sode family. How could she have known, though, that it would end up like this? She lifted her head, her swollen eye couldn’t focus, but she could see well enough to witness the brutality. She could see them working on her again, cutting and slicing, repeatedly asking who she worked for and why she was trying to spy on the Sode family. One of the degenerates cut off the nipple of her left breast. She screamed. Blood flowed.
“You’re sick,” Suun muttered with what little strength remained.
One of them picked up a short club, it must have been the leather cylinder filled with sand that she was so familiar with, and hit her across the temple. Suun saw more stars. More blows hit her, now along her inverted back – sending waves of pain to all but the numb areas.
“Sick,” she managed one more time, spitting.
More blows came and her vision darkened, then all went black.
#
Owori made sure the two Furies, hanging by their limbs, were tightly gagged so they wouldn’t be able to call for help. Suun was still unconscious despite efforts to wake her. A plan was forming and Owori went into the hallway to begin it. She blinked, testing her magic reserves, and considered going to each of the cells to see how many prisoners were here. She abandoned that plan, though, fearing discovery. She knew there were four starving souls in the first cell and they would become part of her plan whether they liked it or not. She thought about their fates and decided giving them a chance to escape was better than certain death. With a cloth, she gathered instruments and weapons, rolling them silently together in a tight bundle. She went down the hallway, dropped them by their door, and strode into the guard station. With one strike from behind the guard was unconscious. Invisible again, she opened the cell door, unrolled the weapons and made enough noise to rouse the four prisoners.
She had to trust her instincts and knowledge of human nature. Given the opportunity, the prisoners would try to escape and fight their way out of the prison area. In the confusion, she would get outside and leave with Suun. If only she would wake up, at least they could attempt to look like they belonged and wander out of the manor house. Carrying a body over your shoulder wasn't subtle. She looked over at her Fury prisoners, hoping they were terrified. The two Furies were conscious, their fearful eyes flashing as they bucked about and tried to get out of their bindings. Sparks were coming from the one Fury’s fingertips, so Owori took the leather club and knocked him unconscious. The other struggled, his muffled yelling unintelligible, blood flowing from his nose into his gag. Owori bent down and said to him, “I better not hear anything about what’s happened here. You’re
fortunate I need to leave, otherwise I might be tempted to repeat on you what was done to that poor girl.”
He thrashed about and yelled into his gag. Blood came flying out of his nose in a spray as he tried to breathe.
With Suun over her shoulder, limp and nearly lifeless, Owori stepped into the hallway. The four scraggly prisoners armed themselves and were talking softly about escape. She went behind the open door, observing them as best she could. Suun wasn’t heavy, but she wasn’t an insignificant burden. The load would tire her quickly. The prisoners opened the door and stormed the two guards outside, striking and attacking with all means. There were shouts, surely loud enough to bring others. Owori waited, fortunate that no one noticed her and Suun – yet. The four were winning the battle by sheer surprise and left the guards either dead or unconscious. The prisoners had wounds and were bleeding, but they didn’t delay. One collapsed to the ground dead near the downed guards, blood flowing from his wounds. The three rushed out of view, disappearing around a corner. At least they were being quieter.
Following the hallway, she went past the trophy room where two servants were coming out of hiding. They just stood there, staring and holding their brooms and disposal containers. Owori walked on by and as she did she heard a scuffle ahead. There was a call for arms and a bell starting ringing. Discovered already? Shades! Owori backed up, opened the pantry door across from the trophy room, and went inside.
“What are you doing?”