Gods of Shadow and Flame

by M. H. Johnson

  And with only a single final glare from their prince, each of them was left to their fates, writhing and suffering in their isolated chambers without a friend in the world.

  "My lady, what did you do to us?" Ithop whispered as Jess paid him her first visit later that evening. She gazed almost clinically at his growing agony, sensing how the endless period of anxious suffering in utter darkness, dreading the horrific fate that he feared awaited him, had stretched him to the breaking point. A gentle touch assured Jess that her fibrous ropes and hardwood chair would not snap under pressure, even should they be struck with the struggles of a dying man.

  Jess turned to gaze at her prince, also attending, presently eyeing Ithop as if he were muck upon his boot.

  “You have been poisoned. All four of you,” the prince snarled as the bound man begged and pleaded his innocence. “Silence! I did not give you leave to speak!” Josh coldly waited until the man's whimpers and cries abated. “Your pain will not end.”

  The trembling man sobbed in despair.

  Joshua smiled coldly. “It will burn through you, you know. The black poisons you were fed. You will scream and writhe as it etches its way through your flesh, perforating your bowels as you choke on blood and bile and collapse in death. But only after a full day and night of ever growing agony.”

  Ithop turned pale, trembling with torment and horror booth. “Oh please, my prince. If only you knew the pain! Mercy, I beg of you.”

  “And mercy you shall have.” Ithop's hopeful gaze was met with an icy stare. “To one of you. The one who confesses everything.”

  “My prince?”

  It was Alben who spoke then, having slipped in quietly behind them, paying silent witness. “You shall each be given a bell. When you are ready to confess all your ties to Vardelos, every detail of your association, all your co-conspirators, the masterminds pulling all of your strings, then and only then shall one among your number be chosen. The man who gives the most complete confession shall be escorted to the nearest ship leaving Erovering's ports, belly blessedly free of pain, with thirty silver talons to his name. The second most complete account shall be stripped of all rank and privilege and exiled as well, as poor as he was on his naming day, but with a body fit and hale enough to begin life anew, to make something of the pathetic folly your existences have become.”

  Alben's smile grew cold. “That is the sweet. The bitter is this. The third-most complete confession shall be tried and executed for treason. And the last man to ring his bell? He shall be allowed to writhe and die in these chambers, screaming in agony, utterly alone. He shall receive no burial, but rather shall be burned as refuse, his ashes scattered to the winds. No ceremony of supplication for him, for we already know about your infernal ties.”

  Ithop broke down and sobbed, his face a rictus of horror and pain in equal measure.

  Alben gave a sad shake of his head. "It is true, then. Don't deny it, your every gesture is a tell. And what a fool you are. How could you have possibly thought that any amount of enticement, any bribe for your honor and soul would be worth even an hour of the agony presently rippling through your bowels? Do you truly doubt that the horrific anguish you feel now is but the least of the torments you shall face when you slip into the bowels of Hell?"

  Alben gave a sad shake of his head as Ithop began to writhe and struggle against his bonds, giving vent to awful sobs, though whether from horror, agony, or despair, Jess could not tell.

  Offhandedly, Alben tossed a small silver bell into the man's desperately clenching hand.

  Ithop rang it immediately.

  Alben gave a sad shake of his head. “Not yet. You shall wait as I give these instructions to all of your fellows. When I give the command, only then may you ring.”

  “And you had best think hard on what you will say!” the prince snapped. “For if your story does not match your fellows, then we will know you made it up on the spot. Tell every detail you can think of, Ithop, about all the players in these dark games you are involved in, and you had best hope your fellows will do the same, lest you'd all prefer to die in these rooms, screaming your last, before your agony continues unabated in Hell.”

  "My prince, I will tell you everything, everything! I swear it!" Ithop choked the words past his pain with a desperate gasp.

  Joshua nodded coldly. "See that you do. Every damn detail of every scheme you witnessed. Every fact you have. If you do so unstintingly, you may yet survive to see the dawn a free man." The prince abruptly snarled, his face a mask of fury. "Though I would be as happy to run you through myself, should I sense the slightest lie!"

  "Never, my prince!" Ithop sobbed as the three of them left the chamber, shutting the door firmly behind them, repeating their performance with all four lieutenants, the scene playing out near identical in all cases.

  The moans and cries had grown visibly louder by the time they had finished.

  “How long?” Joshua quietly asked.

  Jess smiled. “A day of unspeakable agony, all symptoms gone by the third if they do not die of thirst. Tended to by the most novice of healers, they will all live.”

  Alben grimaced. “General Eloquin always favored the steel fist over the silken glove.”

  Jess nodded. "He was the best teacher I could ever have asked for in mastering the arts of warfare."

  “All kinds of warfare,” Joshua acknowledged, even as he rang the bell in his hand.

  Several breathless seconds passed, and suddenly the jangle of bells being frantically rung could be heard from all four chambers.

  Joshua flashed a dark smile. “Let us root out the heart of this vile corruption, shall we?” With papers in hand, they made their way to the first chamber, Jess feeling a curious thrill at finally being able to seize the Vor, and turn the table on their enemies.

  She could feel Twilight's tail swishing with excitement as he made his presence known to her, having flown effortlessly up to his favorite perch. "A good old fashioned interrogation. How exciting! Let's see how far our nemesis's tendrils of influence extend this time, and how many heads deserve a good lopping off.”

  Jess chuckled softly, stroking her purring familiar. “Good kitty.”

  Late evening had turned to darkest night as their interrogation proceeded, the screams echoing down the corridors dismissed as irrelevant by smiling guardsmen to concerned nobles who asked, confessing in whispered tones when pressed that it was nothing less than the spirits of those who had sought to betray the Druid who had given them all such sanctuary, the lost souls of those men who had been cut down, even as they had tried to butcher a score of noble lords and daughters. Hacked into bloody pieces by a Midnight Delver, boon companion of the queen of that very garden.

  In all cases the lord or lady speaking to the guard would smile and dip their head, suddenly having no further questions save the sincere hope that young Jessica was enjoying her evening before hurriedly making their way to their own apartments, a smug Twilight happily informed Jess when she wondered later about the ramifications of their rather grim evening.

  "So we need fear nothing on their account, my mistress," Twilight assured. "Those sycophants are more eager than ever to remain on your good side, considering how many of their number you have saved, and how terrible your wrath can be when crossed." Her familiar flashed a knowing grin. "Your mastery of balm and blade alike is a ruler's greatest asset. I have no doubt that working together, you and Malek could seize the throne any time you liked."

  Jess blinked and coughed at that, glaring at her smugly grinning kitty, even as a concerned Joshua gently patted her back, Alben and the dean both having eyes only for the detailed confessions they poured over even now.

  “Not funny, Twilight,” Jess scolded.

  Twilight smirked, but forbore to comment.

  “My dear Jess, are you all right?”

  Joshua's gentle gaze, focused so intently upon Jess sent her heart racing. She could feel the most absurd smile creep up to her lips, even as her hand brushed
his rough cheek, seemingly of its own accord.

  Her Joshua had been so hard, so cold to those screaming, pleading men. Showing not the slightest iota of mercy, until each and every confession had been rendered in full. Her prince had wisely concluded that the very agony the lieutenants were suffering left their minds too weary for deception, too terrified of the consequences, should they be caught lying, knowing how easy it would be for their captors to leave them trapped in endless pain, to writhe and scream their last, but a taste of their damnation to come.

  Jess's gut knotted with remembered disgust, recalling the utter desperation of their bested foes, how anxious they had been to please, like beaten dogs begging and fawning over their keepers, hoping for mercy, scraps of kindness.

  Yet the hard-eyed prince who had overseen their torments now gazed upon her so tenderly.

  To have seen such hard steel underneath the silk of his gentle manner only made her want him all the more. To love a man fierce and terrible, a mirror of her darkest side, was just her destiny, she mused, even as she found her eyes utterly locked upon Joshua's gentle gaze, felt the soft touch of his finger upon her lips.

  “Jess.”

  Just one word, the most endearing smile soothing his gentle reproof. She turned then, realized she had been about to kiss him, even as a politely blank-faced Alben and a smiling dean looked on.

  Jess flushed and dipped her head, suddenly wanting to flee the room.

  “Jessica, is aught amiss?” This from the gently concerned dean.

  Jess gave an embarrassed shake of her head. “I'm fine. Forgive me. I'm just feeling ever so slightly distracted.”

  Alben nodded solemnly. “Interrogations are never easy to bear, for those who are not completely hardened to it,” he assured.

  “Oh, I don't know,” Twilight grinned. “I thought it was rather tame. No maiming, no flashy torments, just withholding the cure with threats of endless suffering if they dared lie in their confessions, and the knowledge that only honest accounts would match and earn them their succor all but compelled their capitulation. Took all the fun out of it, really,” Twilight sighed.

  Jess frowned at her familiar. “You don't really mean that.”

  Twilight shrugged. “Anyone who crosses you or those you love deserve a most fitting end. But what matters is that these signed confessions were all taken separately, all match, with the king's own pet inquisitor paying witness and signing his mark to each of them. And if you want to pity these blasted fools so willing to betray the very soul that gave them such succor, did they but remember, well, I could never fault your mercy, my queen.”

  Jess nodded sadly at that, gently stroking her purring cat.

  “And if you could see to securing me some delicious fishies, such would be the mark of a wise and just ruler indeed.”

  Jess smiled at the dean. “If you could have one of the guards bring up a plate of poached fish, that would be wonderful.”

  Echobart blinked, then smiled in sudden understanding, ringing his own bell. “Of course, my dear professor. How silly of me to forget.”

  Alben grimaced, frowning at the documents. “If these reports are true... by all the gods. All our agencies. All our departments. Each of them compromised.”

  Joshua nodded. “And the head of your own order. The damned head. Literally. In league with diabolists.”

  Alben glared furiously at the document he was holding, slamming it to the table, as explosive a gesture as Jess had ever seen from him.

  Joshua locked eyes with the inquisitor. “I never did say thank you, Alben, for the services performed on my father's behalf. On my behalf.”

  Alben sighed. “I was doing my duty, my prince. Not all of us are traitorous bastards like these four. Some of us actually want to see the kingdom prosper while purging it of corruption, with a minimum of horror and bloodshed.”

  Joshua nodded. "Nonetheless, at least I know of one inquisitor that I can actually count on. One who serves the Crown, whose honor is not for sale."

  Alben glowered at the documents still. "They were planning on snapping your neck even when they ran Jess through, burying you both in the woods, had you been so foolish as to insist upon coming with them while Jessica was to look for the VonBurg woman." Alben turned to gaze at the prince. "Thank all the gods you did not, though again I feel the need to criticize you most strongly for not keeping your own full quartet of bodyguards with you at all times whenever you travel, even within the capital. They could well be your only defense against all the damned serpents within our mist."

  Joshua chuckled ruefully. “A mistake I shall do my best never to make again, having fallen into the habits of a commander taking his troop's trust for granted, a foolish move indeed when I am, whether I like to acknowledge it or not, a piece with some value upon the board.”

  Echobart frowned. "Seeking to kill you and Jessica both, if they could get away with it. Pinning your disappearance on her, looking for any pretext to burn our dear professor's garden to the ground and sunder its links to Faerie, even now that Ulric is back amongst us once more. Too bad these fools don't know about whatever schemes Ulric is at risk of falling prey to.

  Alben nodded. “Such would have been useful. Yet the names and faces they gave us, of men they recognized wearing their dark robes of sacrifice together. All of them officerial in rank, even amongst the tax collectors. The gods only know how much gold they've managed to funnel into their own coffers.”

  Jess said, "It also explains how Franken was able to get Crown liens placed on all those writs of debt that so many of my fellow lords tremble under the weight of, even now. Officers in the tax bureau, the very head of the inquisitorial order, all working in concert to see me dead and Joshua killed, or falsely accused and tried. All so that they can clear the way to the throne for themselves."

  “Well that sure as hell won't happen!” Joshua snapped. “I will see each and every one of their heads on a bloody pike before this month is done!”

  Twilight chuckled softly. “I knew there was a reason why I liked this one, Jess. You should marry him and start your empire together immediately.”

  “Twilight!” Jess hissed.

  “What? Ulric has the heart of the Queen of Faerie and a realm of endless dream and wonder as his plaything. I have no doubt she will make his days as joyous and sweet as heaven itself, hoping for a strong and beautiful son or daughter to warm her heart and hearth with innocence and laughter, once Ulric's time has passed. Frankly, I'm surprised Ulric even found the time to come home, for all that it proved most propitious for vindicating yourself, of course.”

  “Jess?” Joshua, gently squeezed her shoulder, his gaze filled with heartfelt concern, hot fury instantly abated. For some reason his gaze made her heart race. She felt herself flush and looked away.

  “Twilight approves of your sentiment, my prince. He favors the old way of handling traitors.”

  Alben flashed a grim smile. “And just how old is your familiar, Lady Jess?”

  Jess shrugged. “Old enough to know the value of a good public disembowelment to assure exceptional dedication and compliance amongst administrative and domestic staff alike.”

  Alben shook his head. “Sounds like something from the era of the Red Queen.”

  Jess nodded. “Exactly.”

  Joshua chuckled. “Well, I would sorely hate to disappoint your most esteemed adviser. Rest assured, my Jess, I will not allow those vermin to threaten my kingdom or my people! The halls will run red with their blood, every serpent burned out of his nest, by the time I am finished.”

  Twilight exchanged a solemn look with a suddenly concerned Jess.

  “Do you think he will go too far?” Jess whispered.

  Twilight grinned. “Personally, I think it's a fine idea. But if we are playing the game in full earnest, best we take additional steps to protect your favorite piece upon the king's board.”

  Jess blinked, then smiled. “By all means. If our Hound is willing, he would serve as a most perfe
ct bodyguard against all our foes.”

  Joshua tilted his head curiously, even as Alben paled.

  “Jess?”

  Jess smiled up at Joshua, gently stroking his cheek once more, even as he caught her hand, and she refused to feel ashamed, witnesses or no.

  “Had I the powers of Shadow I had been blessed with before sacrificing it all in Faerie, I would stand by your side, my prince, ready to ward your person against all blows, seen and unseen, when you declared your presence fierce and bold, declaring open war against all your enemies.”

  She gazed down sadly at her belly, still healing from two near-fatal wounds. "But my own fragility is all too evident. So I am hoping you will at least allow my brother-in-arms to stand by your side in my stead, to defend your person from all foes, so that my heart may rest easy, knowing you will be safe."

  Joshua smiled thoughtfully, even as Alben paled.

  “My prince,” he said, then stopped, frowning.

  Joshua gazed solemnly at Alben. “Yes, honorable inquisitor Alben?”

  The man gave a small smile at that, shaking his head. "I cannot deny that the man's very presence chills me to the quick, over a dozen men falling to his terrible blade, perhaps a score. The remains so gruesome we can hardly be sure. Yet that being said, his gaze was that of a most devoted soldier indeed. His terror at witnessing Jessica's horrific wound, how desperately he had channeled magics that I fear have no place within this fragile world to save her. She had been cut completely open by Franken's vile blade, far worse a wound than a simple thrust."

  Joshua paled at that.

  "His devotion to Jessica is beyond question." Alben paused, his gaze almost apologetic. "He does, however, have a reputation for being a most dangerous wild card within any deck. His present master keeps him on a tight leash, for the former Squire is anything but the disciplined young man he once was, before becoming infected with the Delver's taint. He is now like a wolf who growls at anyone not of his pack. Most people are terrified of him, which serves the Guild well enough, so long as he is kept in check."

  “Malek is not that bad!” Jess snapped. “He would die for me, and I for him!”