Beast of Zarall

by E B Rose

  Valnar picked up the sword. At the end of the hallway, Beast’s First Word faded and the sounds of struggle began.

  “Valnar!” Beast yelled. They shut him up with a smack. Beast growled fiercely; chains rattled. When their blows landed on his flesh, he groaned. “Valnar!” he yelled again, his voice rang with fury and plead.

  Valnar stood there until he couldn’t hear the sounds of Beast’s resistance anymore. Then, he set off to find the guest wing. He needed to pray.

  36

  BEAST

  Beast was shivering.

  The room was chilly, but the cold wasn’t the only reason he trembled. They’d stripped him of his clothes. He was on his hands and knees, chained to the stone floor by his wrists and ankles. A muzzle was strapped around the lower half of his face. His mouth was behind iron grills that had gaps between them. They prevented him from biting, though he could still talk.

  The men had left after they’d prepared him. Master Vadithas hadn’t arrived yet. Despite not having any windows, the room was bright enough. A dozen oil lamps hung on the walls. Five man-sized mirrors, positioned around where Beast was chained, reflected the light to each corner in the room. Beast avoided looking at his reflection.

  Beyond the mirrors, two wooden tables stood against the wall. From where he kneeled, Beast couldn’t see what was on them. He didn’t want to anyway.

  He fixed his eyes on the floor and controlled his breathing. He could survive this. He knew how. As he inhaled and exhaled, his heartbeat slowed down. “Not my body...” he whispered. “This is not my body...”

  Beast’s eyes were flat now. His body was an object and it didn’t belong to him. What happened to it didn’t matter. His mind - his thoughts - were his and it was all that mattered. He found the escape door he was looking for inside his mind, and he took it. He abandoned his body - not my body - in that cold room, and went not to a happy place, but to a dark place.

  “You know,” Keder said smugly, “that phrase: It’s not my body, it’s their property. I’m pretty sure it was intended to make you feel less human. It’s amazing how it soothes you instead. You use it as an escape tool.”

  Beast walked over to the demon’s cage. The water in the flooded cave was almost at his waist level now. The black smoke inside the cage hung still in the air.

  “Help me,” Beast said.

  Keder tortured him with his silence. He spoke lazily: “Do you remember what I told you last time you were here?”

  Beast hung his head low. He remembered. “Please. I’ll drink the water. Get me out of here. I’ll do anything.”

  “Anything?”

  Beast took his hand to his chest and held the tooth-like necklace tightly. “Not that.”

  “I know.” The black smoke fluttered and swirled back and forth. “I told you, not to trust Lygor. I told you, next time you came here, I wouldn’t help you.”

  “Please...”

  “Besides, I really want you to experience this. This is going to be an excellent lesson for you.”

  “Just get me out of those chains. Please...”

  “No. I believe in you. You can survive this.” He paused. “You did before, didn’t you?”

  A movement rippled the water in front of Beast. He flinched back. A dirty white object floated from the bottom to the surface. Beast stared at the pillow. The sweat stains were exactly like he remembered.

  “No...”

  “What was it he kept saying?” The demon mused. “Keep your hands on the pillow? Yeah, that was it.”

  The putrid smell of sweat and tobacco filled the cave. Beast covered his mouth. He couldn’t look away from the pillow.

  “How old were you?” The demon continued torturing him. “Ten? Twelve? Must be around that. He didn’t like any older.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “It was part of your training, wasn’t it? One of the many ways he taught you of your purpose in their world.”

  “Stop.”

  “I live to serve; I breathe to please. I think it’s time you get a refreshment of that lesson.”

  From far away, Beast heard a door creak open. He sank under the water, and fell hard on the stone floor.

  When he saw Vadithas closing the door behind him, panic climbed in Beast’s chest.

  “Lion of Zarall,” purred Vadithas as he strode over to him. “Ever since I heard of what you’d done at Switchblade, I’ve been dreaming of seeing you here.”

  Beast tugged at his chains without much hope. He could barely lift his hands off the floor.

  “The purebred who disobeyed.” Vadithas kneeled beside him. He casually put his hand on Beast’s shoulder. “That look you gave me today in the study... Yes, that’s the one, right there. I’ve seen it in free men dozens of times, but never in a purebred. So exciting.” He shivered. “Can’t wait to remove that off your face.”

  Vadithas grabbed Beast’s head and tilted it to the right, to examine his tattoo on the left side. After squinting at it for several seconds, “Prihjtivaviula,” he said with perfect pronunciation.

  Waves of excruciating pain rocked Beast’s body. He struggled, then succeeded to take one breath in, and then another. He swam against the pain and pushed himself off the floor on his hands and knees.

  “Interesting,” Vadithas said. He sat quiet, resting his chin in his palm. “Your Wording has weakened,” he said, troubled. Nodding to himself, he stood up and walked over to one of the tables.

  It was almost time to escape. Beast returned his gaze to the floor. It took longer, but he closed his eyes and slowed his heartbeats down. He searched for the escape door hidden in his mind. Master Vadithas could torture his body - not my body, it’s their property - all he wanted, but he wasn’t going to touch Beast’s mind.

  “You’re one of Astaldo’s,” Vadithas said as he worked at the table. He opened the lid of a small, clay pot, and poured some powder from a jar. “Master Astaldo is one of the best. He raises exquisite purebreds. Remarkable, truly.”

  Beast kept his eyes closed. Not my body... he thought calmly. He was almost back at the flooded cave.

  “There is only one thing I criticize in his work, though,” Vadithas continued. He added some dry moss in the pot. He opened one of his drawers and took a flint and steel out. “He teaches you that stupid phrase: Not my body, it’s their property.”

  Beast’s eyes flew open.

  Vadithas struck the flint against the steel until the dry moss was lit aflame. He closed the lid on the pot quickly.

  “I understand what he intends to teach,” Vadithas said with a grimace. “I really do. The only problem is; it also teaches the slave to dissociate from their body.” He opened another drawer and took out studded leather gloves. Putting them on, he picked up the hot pot. “It allows you to escape from the experience. But, if you’re not here in the present, how are you going to learn?”

  Beast regarded the pot as if it was a deadly weapon, or a gruesome torture device. He had a terrible feeling about this. When Vadithas kneeled beside him, Beast strained his chains, leaning away.

  Vadithas held the pot under Beast’s face and opened the lid. A sharp-smelling, grey smoke rose from the pot. It infiltrated Beast’s mouth and nose. He coughed, turning his head away from the smoke. His eyes watered.

  “I want you to forget about that phrase,” Vadithas said as he returned the pot back to the table.

  Beast coughed and hacked. The smoke tickled the back of his throat. He blinked, trying to clear his eyes. Something was wrong with his vision.

  “Tonight, it is your body. All yours...”

  No, not just his vision. All his senses. It felt as if he’d been blind his whole life, and just gained the ability to see. He’d been deaf all this time, and had just received a pair of ears. All his senses were heightened, overstimulated. His body was fully awake. Aware.

  Vadithas took the gloves off and tossed them at the table.

  “Tonight, there’s no escaping.”

  Beast muf
fled a scream - the sound he made stabbed his ears. He closed his eyes, but it only sharpened his other senses more. He desperately searched for his escape door in his mind. He could neither slow his heart down, control his breathing, nor focus his thoughts.

  “Everything I’ll do to you; you’ll be right here to fully experience it.”

  “No,” Beast croaked. He shook his head madly. “N-no... No... Not my... No...”

  Vadithas started undressing.

  VALNAR

  Valnar took his cloak off and left it on the bed.

  He examined the room he was given. Master Vadithas’s guest rooms were more luxurious than the rest of the manor, if such thing was possible. He took in the exquisite paintings on the wall, soft carpet, a tub of hot water on the corner, where carpet was replaced by varnished floorboards with a grill to drain the water.

  Most important of all, his room had an adjoining door to Lygor’s, and he could get to the prince within seconds, if there was need.

  He took his armour and clothes off and relaxed in the tub until the water cooled off. The dinner was exquisite. Best one they’d had since leaving Kaldoria. His stomach was so full, he could hardly keep his eyelids open. He couldn’t go to sleep though, not yet.

  He climbed out of the tub reluctantly. He dried himself with towels that felt as soft as a woman’s bosom. While they dined, their belongings were brought from the inn they’d stayed in the city. Valnar’s bags were neatly stacked against the wall, and the armour he wore on the road was polished thoroughly.

  After dressing in his shirt and breeches, Valnar pushed the bath tub against the wall. He took some chalk out of his bag and drew his prayer circle on the floorboards. He picked up his two-handed sword, still wrapped in layers of cloth. He walked over to the circle, then stopped.

  BEAST

  Beast’s skin was crawling everywhere Vadithas’s hands touched. His sense of touch was not localized. Every input travelled through every corner of his body. He felt it all.

  Not my body, he thought desperately. He fixed his eyes on the smooth, stone floors. The flooded cave was there somewhere. If only he could focus... He could still escape from this.

  He whimpered and squirmed. The chains held him. He was soaked in sweat. He wanted to flay his whole skin off his bones everywhere Vadithas’s warm breath assaulted.

  VALNAR

  Valnar scowled at the prayer circle. He shuffled his feet towards it, but couldn’t bring them to cross the chalk line. He scratched his head. Confusion crawled inside his heart. What was happening to him?

  He paced back and forth in the room, each step feeding his agitation. He couldn’t go to bed without praying. He just needed get inside the circle, kneel in front of Kiejain, and...

  Valnar put his two-handed sword down with his belongings. He pulled a chair and sat next to the circle.

  And what?

  Was he going be grateful for their achievement today? Or, was he going to ask for forgiveness? And why would he do that?

  Why?

  BEAST

  Every sound was deafening to his ears. The strained whimpers that he couldn’t hold back scratched his ear drums. Vadithas’s grunts made him want to bury his face under the ground. The worst was the steady sound Vadithas’s sweaty skin made as it slapped against Beast’s.

  He howled just to smother that sound.

  VALNAR

  Valnar laid with his eyes open. He’d been tossing and turning in his bed for nearly an hour now.

  He threw the cover off himself and sat up. In the dark, his hands fumbled on the bedstand and lit the oil lamp. Looking at the prayer circle in the corner evoked guilt in him. He climbed out of the bed and sat on the chair, scowling at the chalk lines on the floor.

  Guilt led to suspicion and doubt, which led to a growing fear.

  Why couldn’t he walk inside the circle? Was his heart wandering away from his gods? Or, was Kiejain not allowing him in his presence anymore? Why?

  His elbows on his knees, Valnar took his head between his hands as he fought his panic.

  He wanted to howl.

  BEAST

  Under the sour odour of sweat and Vadithas’s putrid breath, Beast could smell Astaldo’s tobacco. He hadn’t seen the breeder in nearly ten years, but he could feel his presence in the room with them. Astaldo was always with him. Sometimes he believed he was never going to wash Astaldo’s smell of tobacco off his skin.

  Now, the smell of Vadithas’s decaying teeth were soaking deep under his flesh too.

  VALNAR

  Valnar got dressed. He left his armour, but buckled his long sword around his waist. He hurried out of his room.

  He found his way through the bright hallways and reached the large, front doors of the manor. As soon as he walked outside, the pleasant odour of night jasmine greeted him. Under the light of the stars, he walked through the vast garden, the smells taking the edge off his worries. One of Vadithas’s men, and another slave with a blank tattoo, stood watch at the front gate.

  “Where’s the nearest temple?” Valnar asked.

  The guard blinked as if the knight spoke in another language. “Temple?”

  “Temple of the Twelve?” Valnar said impatiently. Was everyone a heathen in this manor?

  The guard described, and Valnar strode into the dark streets.

  BEAST

  Vadithas walked over to the tables. He poured himself a glass of water. Then, he made a mixture for himself from the herbs and powders at the table and drank it.

  He picked up a metal tray - objects on it clanked too loud - and put it down next to Beast.

  “If you are a good slave and please me, I’ll let you choose one,” Vadithas explained. “If not, I’ll choose one I like.”

  Beast glanced at the tray. He was shuddering and breathing heavily. The objects on it weren’t any torture tools he’d seen before, but he could tell they weren’t designed to give pleasure. His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach.

  “I’ll kill you,” Beast growled with a trembly voice. “I swear on sand and steel, I’ll murder you. I’ll come after you.”

  Vadithas tutted. “That’s not how a good slave behaves.” He tapped his finger at Beast’s nose. “You know the rules about speaking without permission.”

  Beast tried to bite him, but the muzzle didn’t allow it.

  “Well then,” Vadithas said. “I choose.”

  He did.

  “Stop!” Beast whispered. His voice cracked and trembled as he yanked at his chains. “Stop. Stop. No! Stop...”

  He didn’t.

  VALNAR

  The temple looked like a shack in comparison to Vadithas’s manor. It was a stone building with a pair of steeples that looked like they hadn’t been maintained in decades. The temple’s state elicited pity in Valnar. In a wealthy city like this, the Twelve Riders’ house should have been taken better care of. He decided to donate them some money before they left the city.

  The blue paint on the wooden doors were peeling. They opened with a deafening creak. Valnar closed the doors behind him, trying to be as quiet as he can. There were two candles burning at the entry area; one was about to go out. Valnar found more candles on a tray nearby. He replaced the melted one, then he lit another for himself. He carried his light to the next room.

  The main hall had high ceilings. The light of his candle barely touched them. The statues of twelve gods and goddesses, as they rode their dragons, looked down at him along the walls. Valnar found Kiejain’s.

  The god was depicted wearing his full armour. He was sitting on the largest of the dragons; black Karaalev. Valnar placed his candle in front of the dragon’s front claws. He kneeled, made himself comfortable.

  He prayed all night.

  BEAST

  “Good,” Vadithas said. He patted Beast’s head, caressing his hair. “Good slave.”

  Beast held back a whimper and a sob. His stomach heaved with nausea. His body - his body - disgusted him.

  Vadithas pushed a curly
lock of hair back from Beast’s sweaty forehead. His touch sent shivers down his spine.

  Beast threw up.

  “Now,” Vadithas said when he was done. He put one hand under Beast’s chin and turned his head so he faced the tray. “I’ll let you choose the next one.”

  Vomit dripped down Beast’s muzzle. The smell numbed his nose, burned his eyes. A painful knot formed at the back of his throat as he looked at the objects on the tray.

  “What do you wanna play with next?” Vadithas sang. “You choose, or I will.” He traced Beast’s eyes and pointed. “Is this the one you want?”

  Beast couldn’t find his voice, so he nodded.

  “No, I don’t accept nods. You need to say it. Is this the one you want next?”

  Beast summoned his voice, but it didn’t sound like his. It was weak, trembly, and miserable. “Yes, Master.”

  Vadithas picked up another object next to it.

  “No...” Beast whimpered. “Not that… No...” Despair twisted his heart as he watched Vadithas. How did he fall for this? How did he ever forget: what he wanted never mattered.

  Vadithas forced Beast’s head down. The slave buried his face in his chained arms. Tears started falling.

  VALNAR

  “You’re praying to the wrong one.”

  Valnar flinched. He hadn’t noticed he wasn’t alone. He looked around and spotted a homeless drunk at the feet of Zaon, the god of roads and travellers.

  Although part of him disapproved the man’s ragged appearance and the wine bottle in his hand, he reminded himself every man had the right to seek the Twelve’s guidance, regardless of their attire.

  Ignoring the drunk, Valnar returned to Kiejain’s statue. His candle was melted halfway. He must have been praying for hours; his neck and knees ached from sitting motionless. Yet, his heart was still heavy. He kept praying for Kiejain’s forgiveness, but he didn’t feel like the god was hearing him.

  Maybe it was because Valnar didn’t know what he was asking forgiveness for.

  “You stink of remorse,” the drunk said. “Which means, you’re guilty of something. And everyone knows, Kiejain is not the forgiving type. Haven’t you heard of the Haari?”