by E B Rose
He did. His body wasn’t burnt and damaged here, wherever this place is, but he knew how he looked in Earthome. He’d seen it in Valnar and Lygor’s eyes.
He closed his eyes, sucked a deep breath in and dunked his head under the water. He wanted to escape from Keder’s tirade, but somehow, he could still hear him.
“Open the cage. I’ll give you the front seats as I destroy Earthome. Name anyone and I’ll let you have them.”
The necklace was floating in front of him, tugging towards the cage gently. The old, grey animal tooth had a silvery spark in it. Once again, Beast wondered what kind of animal the giant tooth belonged to.
“What are you waiting for? Do you have any reason to save Earthome? After everything they’ve done to you?”
Although the cage was halfway under the water, the water couldn’t get past through the silver bars. Beast’s eyes were drawn to the padlock hanging outside.
“Olira promised to help you. Then, on the first opportunity she got, she sold you...”
Beast needed air. His head emerged out of the water and sucked a lungful of air. He found that his feet didn’t touch the ground anymore. He flapped his arms and kicked his legs to stay afloat. The water was rising steadily. Beast did his best to delay drowning while Keder kept talking.
“Lygor promised your freedom. Then, he let men fuck you, so he could make new friends. He agreed to put you in a fight you can’t win, just to impress them. He even put that helmet on your head with his own hands!”
Beast was getting tired now. The water was cold and welcoming. He could unlock the cage and let go of everything. He wasn’t going to get his own freedom, but he could give the demon his. He could finally die and maybe find his way to Farhome, see Saradra again.
“And now, they’ll put you aside and replace you with another slave to fight at Twilight of Infinity instead of you.”
“No...” Beast glared at the black fog inside the cage. It looked thicker, almost tangible. Beast’s hands balled into fists and he started sinking.
“Yes!” Keder continued victoriously. “They will even call him Lion of Zarall.”
“No!”
“He will win his freedom. The freedom that was supposed to be yours!”
“No!” Beast sank. The water filled his mouth and nose. The cage was completely under the water now, but it still looked dry inside.
“Some random purebred will win his freedom, simply because he looks like you.”
Anger raged inside Beast. The necklace pulled towards the lock violently. The leather straps cut the back of his neck.
“I can stop all that. Just unlock me and I’ll burn everyone, like they’ve burned you. You’ve got no reason at all to spare their lives.”
The demon was right. Beast wanted them all to burn. He could let this happen.
All he needed was to unlock that cage.
“Yes,” the Demon Lord agreed. “I will take your revenge. I will punish them all for...”
“Revenge?” Although he was under the water, Beast could still form the word.
“Yes!” Keder said eagerly. “It is what you want! What you’re feeling right now is called vengeance. You want them to be punished for what they’ve done to you, don’t you?”
Beast considered the question. He tilted his head to the side as he said, “No,” thoughtfully.
“Yes!” Keder insisted. “They harmed you and you want to harm them back. I can make that happen. Just... Open. The. Cage!”
Beast shook his head. “I don’t want revenge. I don’t want them punished, or Earthome destroyed.”
Beast reached and grabbed the animal tooth. It felt warm in his palm.
“I want my freedom.”
He wanted it with all his blood and flesh. He wanted it violently - and the necklace reacted. It heated up and pulsed, only once.
“No!” the demon roared. The black fog expanded and spread to every corner of the cage, as if seeking for a gap.
The animal tooth started sucking the water. Keder’s furious roar went on. Beast closed his eyes. He felt air against his face. His feet touched the muddy ground again. He could feel the pull of the necklace and hear the water rushing in. He staggered, fell on his knees, and held the necklace with both hands. The animal tooth lit up with a blinding white light. He was holding a whirlpool in his hands, the necklace being the centre of it.
The pull went on for what felt like years.
When it was finally over, the demon was quiet. Beast was panting heavily. He put a hand on the ground to steady himself and was surprised to find dry sand instead of mud.
Beast looked up. The black fog was still inside the cage, but the cave looked a lot different now. It was completely dry, with no hint of the black water. There was also more light now. He could see the walls of the cave. The space wasn’t as big as he thought. The ceiling - and the demon living there - was still concealed by shadows though.
The animal tooth felt damp and cold in his hand. It glistened wet.
When Beast stood up, he noticed shapes moving along the walls. They lit up in flames one by one and Beast recognized the demon hounds. They approached him slowly, surrounded him. The flames flickered on their bodies and liquid fire dripped down their teeth. Beast shivered, remembering how his skin burnt in the fire pit. He was developing a strong distaste against fire. He would have cowered in fear, if it wasn’t for the comforting coolness of the necklace.
“We both know you can’t harm me here,” Beast challenged the Demon Lord, when one of the hounds snarled at him threateningly.
Keder tried one more time. “We both know they won’t give you your freedom. Just unlock the cage.”
Beast smiled. “You’re right. They won’t give me my freedom.”
He looked at the sand. He’d spent his entire life on sand like this. It felt eerily natural under his bare feet.
“I’ll take it myself,” Beast declared.
He dropped on his knees, held the animal tooth in both hands and stabbed the sand with it.
The demon started chuckling.
Beast wasn’t sure if he was right. He knew this was the way out. He’d sank down under the ground every time he woke up from these nightmares. The Earthome was below him and he needed a door.
He suspected the water was a part of the demon; when Beast drank it, Keder was able to take control of him briefly. Now, the necklace held it all and Beast held the necklace. He controlled part of the demon’s power.
He pushed the animal tooth down deeper under the sand. Keder was laughing frantically and the hounds were howling. Beast’s arms were buried up to his elbows now. The sand felt cooler as he went deeper, but it was still dry. He kept pushing until he heard the sound of a fabric ripping, followed by a deep rumble.
When the sand in front of him started moving, Beast pulled the necklace back out and jumped back. A second whirlpool was formed on the ground, this time sucking the sand in. Beast raised his arms to protect his face from the flying clusters of sand. A black hole appeared in front of him. He staggered backwards as he watched the sand being pulled inside the hole.
The Demon Lord roared with laughter.
Beast tripped on his own feet and fell backwards. The hole was growing, approaching him rapidly. He crawled away on his back. When the hole reached the width of a horse cart, it stopped.
The hounds had retreated back towards the walls. Beast stood up and patted the sand off his clothes and hair. The demon was finally calming down.
“Do you know what you’ve just done?” Keder asked. He could hardly contain the humour in his voice.
Beast stepped closer to the hole and glanced inside. He saw nothing but darkness. “Yes,” he answered confidently. He pulled his lips back to show a savage grin. “I’m taking my freedom.”
The demon scoffed.
The hounds were watching Beast carefully. He swallowed; his stomach twisted with the rush of a fight. He wasn’t sure what he was doing. He only had a vague idea, a hypothesis. He didn’t
care about the consequences. He had nothing to lose.
“Go!” Beast commanded to the hounds.
The demon dogs snarled eagerly. They stepped closer to the hole, glanced down, snarled more, but didn’t jump in.
Beast pointed inside the hole and repeated his order: “Go!”
The hounds jumped up and down with excitement, paced around the hole. They growled and howled, but still didn’t go in. Beast hissed in frustration.
Keder started chuckling again.
“Why aren’t they going?” Beast demanded to know.
“Do you think it’s that easy?” Keder mocked. “You’re missing a very important ingredient. Something to transfer them across to Earthome.”
Beast’s eyes narrowed. A small voice told him not to go through with this. That this was a bad idea. Beast reminded that voice the state of his hands and the fate that waited for him. He had no choice and nothing to lose.
He raised his chin up and asked: “What do I need?”
45
BEAST
Beast opened his eyes to a world of pain.
A man was talking to him, telling him to take it easy. Beast thrashed his arms and legs. His whole body was burning. A hand pressed on his mouth to muffle his screams.
“I know you’re in pain, but I need you to stay quiet for a moment. Please!”
Beast’s heart was racing so fast, it ached. He was gasping rapidly. Air didn’t seem to reach his lungs. His one eye saw nothing but a flurry of light and shadows. His body was burning. He was back in the pit! The flames were tearing his skin off his bones. He had to climb out. He swung his arms wildly. He hit soft flesh and heard a grunt.
“Fuck! I’m so sorry for doing this. Padlociatius.”
Beast’s struggle died, but the pain didn’t. He sank down into the flames. The fire was eating his flesh and he couldn’t even move a muscle to save himself. Tears wetted the bandages around his right eye. His chest hurt, as if a bear was sitting on it. He wanted to die.
A strong arm helped him sit up and supported his head. Fingers parted his lips open. He felt the coolness of a glass vial against his lips. Then, a bitter liquid slid down his throat. He coughed some out, but swallowed the most.
Beast started feeling the effects in mere seconds. He was still paralysed, but at least the fire wasn’t melting his skin. He wasn’t in the fire pit anymore. He enjoyed the softness of the bed, the coolness of the sheets and the intoxicating peace of painlessness. His vision cleared, though he still saw everything as if looking through a narrow tunnel.
“Pemitoin,” Beast sighed once he could move his lips again. He blinked his good eye and saw the last face he was expecting to see. “Ink?”
Ink grinned. “Can you get up?”
Beast sat up on the bed with Ink’s help. His skin still felt tender when he moved, but it was tolerable.
“Can you walk?”
Beast found he could. He stood up. Ink supported him from under his arm. He expected to see Valnar or Lygor around, but Ink was alone. “What...?”
Ink’s face hardened. “What’s being done to you is not right.”
Beast blinked. He heard Keder’s words in his head. Was he really being replaced? It wasn’t hard to believe. He knew the fate of damaged slaves too well.
“I’m leaving,” Ink said. “And I’m getting you out of here with me. Come on.”
Beast was dumbfounded. All he could do was to stare at the Kaldorian prince.
“Come on,” Ink repeated, nudging him towards the door.
Beast shook his arm free. He stepped away from the Kaldorian, as if he was a dangerous animal. “Why?” Beast whispered. “W-why would you help me?”
Ink pressed his lips together. His scowl made him look like a confused child. “Because it’s the honourable thing to do. Because Chinderian slave system makes me sick. Now, let’s go.”
“Wait.” Beast touched his throat, remembering the side effects of the last time he was given pemitoin. “Pemitoin will...”
“I know,” Ink interrupted. He took out a small vial from his pocket. “I’ve got the antidote too. For when the aftereffects start,” he said, before pushing it back into his pocket. “Now, do you want your freedom or not?”
Beast’s insides turned upside down. It was part excitement and part fear. He shuddered. He was going to escape. He couldn’t help but remember the night Saradra suggested they run. Was he this terrified back then?
“Are you okay?”
Beast was glad the bandages were hiding his face. It must have been pale as the sheets. His legs felt like they were made of heavy lead; they wouldn’t move. Ink looked at him with concern. Even the thought of escape was enough to choke him.
Hunters always find you, the demon mused in his head. Beast remembered his breeder Astaldo’s demonstration with a real Hunter. Then, he looked at his bandaged hands.
“Fuck Hunters,” Beast muttered under his breath.
“What?”
“Nothing. Let’s go.”
*
The hallways were empty.
They could hear the sounds of the feast at the other end of the manor and guessed everyone must have been there. The feast was the perfect diversion to escape. The lack of foot traffic worked in their favour. Yet, Ink seemed nervous every time they turned into another empty hallway.
“Where are we going?” Beast whispered. His voice came out gravelly.
Ink gestured him to be quiet. When they got to a stairway, Ink climbed up, rather down. The stairway lead to another corridor. Ink stopped in his tracks, almost causing Beast to bump into him. Ahead of them were the first two people that they came across since leaving the room.
The two men were dressed in Vadithas’s house guard uniforms, though Beast didn’t recognize their faces. They were talking with hushed voices.
Ink continued walking with a slightly fast pace, as if he had an urgent business to attend. He kept his gaze forward. Beast trailed after him.
Vadithas’s men got quiet when they noticed Ink and Beast. They stood straight, maybe a little tense.
“Gentlemen,” Ink nodded as he walked past them.
The men returned his nod, though they remained quiet. Beast felt their gaze drilling his back when they left the men behind. He was expecting the men to yell and attack after them, though it didn’t happen.
Ink paused and looked behind when they turned the corner and were out of the men’s sight. Beast looked at him expectantly.
“That was weird,” Ink said. “Wasn’t it?”
Beast shrugged. He thought he saw sweat on one of the men’s forehead, but he couldn’t trust his vision to know for sure.
Ink shook his head and continued on.
They walked through a door at the end of the corridor and stepped into a small corner room with large windows. The walls were empty and the room’s only furniture was a table with several chairs. The windows revealed a large section of the manor’s gardens and there was a large bell hanging from the ceiling. This was a watch room.
Beast flinched when he heard a muffled groan on the side. A pair of Vadithas’s guards were laying on the floor, their arms and legs tied securely behind them. Their mouths were muffled with a cloth which was tied behind their heads. They glowered at Ink and Beast and they growled through the cloths.
Judging from the way Ink didn’t give them a second glance, Beast guessed this was his doing. The Kaldorian must have been planning this escape.
Beast was so confused, it disturbed him. Why was Ink helping him escape? Why did he care? Beast remembered how the Kaldorian bought Jessur, just to save the man from being tribesmen food. He acted as if how slaves were treated was not normal; should not be normal. Beast wondered if there was a place out there where there were more people like Ink. How would it feel to live there?
Ink climbed up the wooden ladder against the wall. He fidgeted with the hatch on the ceiling and pushed it open. Beast stood in front of the ladder, thinking how he could climb with the bandaged st
umps that were his hands. He hooked his elbows around the ladder and climbed up carefully. Ink helped him with the last few steps and pulled him up on the roof.
The manor’s roof was made of red brick tiles. The angle was steep in the middle, but it flattened towards the edges. Ink gestured Beast to crouch down and led him along the side of the manor.
“I’ve got some ropes and a hook to get down on the other side,” Ink explained. “There’s a blind spot on that side. Can’t be seen from the watch rooms. When we get to the garden, we’ll be out in the open, but we can...”
“Ink!”
When they heard his voice, they both froze on their tracks. Ink closed his eyes and sighed quietly. Then, he inhaled like he was bracing himself against a blow, stood up, and turned around.
Valnar stood just outside the hatch, several feet behind them.
OLIRA
Olira was busting.
The room they locked her in had no windows and its only furniture was an old, stained mattress. There was a tray near the door with an empty plate on it. The water jug next to it was almost empty. Her last meal was served what felt like a day ago and Olira hadn’t left the room since she was allowed to use the privy three meals ago. She needed to go.
She banged her fist on the door repeatedly. “Open the door. I need to use the toilet!”
She was responded with silence.
Something important was happening. She could sense it. Dienus had been in a good mood since he’d killed that poor slave, Jessur. After Lieutenant Quinner’s death, Olira was terrified that Dienus would take her to the woods again. Nobody would have stopped him if he had. She was embarrassed and disappointed with herself to feel this way, but Jessur had been a distraction to Dienus and kept his attention away from Olira.
When they had arrived Calae a few days ago, they’d disguised themselves and entered the city in small groups. They had been staying at an empty townhouse ever since. They’d boarded up the windows of the smallest room and turned it into a cell for Olira. She’d been expecting Dienus to come to her cell and finish the job he’d started in the woods, but the prince seemed to have lost all his interest in her. From what she’d been hearing from the men, Dienus had been spending his days and nights with purebred flames at pleasure houses. Olira couldn’t deny her relief.