understand her rage. Marduke may still be alive, but he is severely altered. And as there is only ever one soul-mate for each of us, hers has evolved into a different species. And this does not please her.
She turns her head around to the boy and gives him a withering look. Her mood is foul. The boy’s eyes shift from Lathenia to Marduke, and his hands start to shake. She points to the wheel and the boy turns it easily.
Marduke looks impressed. ‘It took two of the wren.’ And to the boy he says, ‘You grow stronger each time we meet.’
With praise lavished upon him the boy increases pressure on the wheel. The rack stretches my limbsbeyond endurance. ‘Hold it there,’ Lathenia commands. ‘Now, Arkarian, you will tell me everything you know.’
‘I’ll tell you nothing!’
‘Is that so?’ With needle-sharp nails, Lathenia scratches the side of my face from eye to jaw.
The pain, as my face slices open, goes through to the back of my eyes. I turn my head away. She grabs my jaw, yanking it back. ‘Where is the opening to the ancient city?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘You lie!’ To the boy, she nods. He inches the wheel forward. I fight not to scream out. I will not show any weakness!
‘The opening, Arkarian!’
Stubbornly I keep my lips closed.
Air hisses out from between her teeth. The boy tightens the wheel. Pain sears through every one of my limbs. ‘Tell me where the weapons are kept!’
Continuing to keep my thoughts hidden from Lathenia grows harder with each turn of the wheel. Pain robs me of my ability to concentrate. To focus. Trying not to visualise is getting too hard. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Are they locked in the vault in Veridian?’
‘I know not!’
She turns away, giving me a precious moment to collect my senses. But when she returns she has a metal wand in her hand. I watch, as she takes the tip of the wand and heats it in one of the burning torches on the wall. She returns and holds it between my eyes. ‘Tell me everything you know about the weapons. Everything!’
I think about what I know of the weapons, or what I have learned about them from Lorian. Thoughts of their power, their ability to slay the soul-less, skim across my brain. No! I stop myself quickly. Don’t think! An image of the chest they are safely contained in, its intricate pattern of golden lace, forms before my eyes. No! Stop!
She realises what I’m doing and screams. ‘Do you dare presume to withhold information from me?’
‘Maybe I’m stronger than you think.’
Her silver eyes flare wide for a second and she steps back. My simple statement seems to have startled her. But why? Surely she doesn’t really suspect I’m stronger than … what?
‘Don’t think yourself so clever, Arkarian. Give me what I want, or I will push this hot poker straight through your heart.’
I don’t doubt for a second she would do it. But I get the feeling she didn’t go to the trouble of bringing me to this other world to kill me at the first chance she got. At least not until she gets some useful information out of me. ‘Go ahead.’
She raises her arm and holds the burning tip directly over the skin that covers my heart. ‘Who has the key?’
Her question throws me. As far as I understand, Lorian thinks Lathenia has the key. I scramble my thoughts and attempt to play the innocent. ‘What key? I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
But my game only serves to make her angrier. ‘The key to the treasury of weapons! The key that cannot be handled by human hands!’
So neither side has the key, and neither side knows where it is! Unbelievable! When I get out of here, thisinformation will be of great interest to the Tribunal. I stare at her with a puzzled frown. ‘I honestly don’t know.’
She slams the poker into the ground. It explodes, disintegrating into a shower of sparks and metal fragments. She keeps her face turned away, as if she needs time to contain her emotions.
She turns her head around to the boy and gives him a withering look. Her mood is foul. The boy’s eyes shift from Lathenia to Marduke, and his hands start to shake. She points to the wheel and the boy turns it easily.
Marduke looks impressed. ‘It took two of the wren.’ And to the boy he says, ‘You grow stronger each time we meet.’
With praise lavished upon him the boy increases pressure on the wheel. The rack stretches my limbsbeyond endurance. ‘Hold it there,’ Lathenia commands. ‘Now, Arkarian, you will tell me everything you know.’
‘I’ll tell you nothing!’
‘Is that so?’ With needle-sharp nails, Lathenia scratches the side of my face from eye to jaw.
The pain, as my face slices open, goes through to the back of my eyes. I turn my head away. She grabs my jaw, yanking it back. ‘Where is the opening to the ancient city?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘You lie!’ To the boy, she nods. He inches the wheel forward. I fight not to scream out. I will not show any weakness!
‘The opening, Arkarian!’
Stubbornly I keep my lips closed.
Air hisses out from between her teeth. The boy tightens the wheel. Pain sears through every one of my limbs. ‘Tell me where the weapons are kept!’
Continuing to keep my thoughts hidden from Lathenia grows harder with each turn of the wheel. Pain robs me of my ability to concentrate. To focus. Trying not to visualise is getting too hard. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Are they locked in the vault in Veridian?’
‘I know not!’
She turns away, giving me a precious moment to collect my senses. But when she returns she has a metal wand in her hand. I watch, as she takes the tip of the wand and heats it in one of the burning torches on the wall. She returns and holds it between my eyes. ‘Tell me everything you know about the weapons. Everything!’
I think about what I know of the weapons, or what I have learned about them from Lorian. Thoughts of their power, their ability to slay the soul-less, skim across my brain. No! I stop myself quickly. Don’t think! An image of the chest they are safely contained in, its intricate pattern of golden lace, forms before my eyes. No! Stop!
She realises what I’m doing and screams. ‘Do you dare presume to withhold information from me?’
‘Maybe I’m stronger than you think.’
Her silver eyes flare wide for a second and she steps back. My simple statement seems to have startled her. But why? Surely she doesn’t really suspect I’m stronger than … what?
‘Don’t think yourself so clever, Arkarian. Give me what I want, or I will push this hot poker straight through your heart.’
I don’t doubt for a second she would do it. But I get the feeling she didn’t go to the trouble of bringing me to this other world to kill me at the first chance she got. At least not until she gets some useful information out of me. ‘Go ahead.’
She raises her arm and holds the burning tip directly over the skin that covers my heart. ‘Who has the key?’
Her question throws me. As far as I understand, Lorian thinks Lathenia has the key. I scramble my thoughts and attempt to play the innocent. ‘What key? I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
But my game only serves to make her angrier. ‘The key to the treasury of weapons! The key that cannot be handled by human hands!’
So neither side has the key, and neither side knows where it is! Unbelievable! When I get out of here, thisinformation will be of great interest to the Tribunal. I stare at her with a puzzled frown. ‘I honestly don’t know.’
She slams the poker into the ground. It explodes, disintegrating into a shower of sparks and metal fragments. She keeps her face turned away, as if she needs time to contain her emotions.
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