Page 47 of Hidden Sacrifice
The land here was almost marsh-like, with long expansive shallow pools of water and the occasional long willowy stalks that grew up from it. Candles held in jars were lit along the sides of the path for whenever the fog closed in too tightly, and we couldn’t see the road under our feet.
Coming out the other side of the near blinding fog, our view slowly getting more apparent, we came upon a town. There weren’t any cars in this realm, and I sat transfixed for a moment as the people hurried around trading out of large wagons. There were even people riding in on horseback.
There was also a lot of leather and simple cotton going on.
“You know, in the cosmic period, they aren’t too far off from the human realm. A couple of hundred years isn’t even a blink of an eye,” I said to Jax in defense of his earlier statement.
Jax turned slowly, staring at me before saying, “they have magic.”
Then it clicked. I looked back at the people again, noticing how dirty and skinny they looked, like many of them hadn’t had a decent meal in their entire life.
“You said there are non-magical souls here, too, right?” Maybe that explained some of the poverty despite the magical ability to innovate.
“The very few powerless humans have taken control over the realm. Because they are so rare, they have been deemed special in the eyes of their deity. All magic use is strictly controlled. Entire species have fallen near extinction under the rule of powerless humans. So, all in all, I think it’s terribly under evolved.”
Jax wasn’t usually my bookworm type, and I wondered if something made this place particularly special to him.
“So, you don’t want to see their history museum of torture. I wanted to see who knew more, you or Jace?” I was baiting him, and we all knew it, but Jax had been in a grumpy ass mood since the moment he got up. Jace’s eyes lit up, and Jax gave a competitive stare back. See, I knew this would be perfect.
* * *
People may be starving on the streets, but the Sanctity Under His Eye building held a vast museum of items, scrolls, and spellbooks. Justice used a spell to cloak us as our party slipped inside.
The entire collection was housed in a circular tower with several levels. Magical humans and elves walk around with either blue, green, or brown robes. I figured the different robes corresponded with their powers. Each of them had at least one book with them, if not an entire stack, as they sat with silent tense focus.
Wafts of emotion bounced off my shield, all of them hopeless and sad. The souls in here may be dressed better, but they were no better off. If I were them, I would hope for a quick death and the chance of being reborn in a better realm.
Even with their magic, the poor souls couldn’t sense us as we passed like ghosts through the rooms. We worked from one floor to the next, but we headed down while most of them moved upwards. The lowest floor was far below the surface. Hewn stone walls surrounded us as the air turned colder. A large wooden door secured with wide metal bars sat at the end, our destination.
We were the only souls this low under the tower, so Justice broke the spell as we studied the door. A large metal lock secured a thick metal chain that secured the metal bolts. Easy enough.
I grabbed the chain in my palm, letting the metal heat against my skin until it turned into a puddle in my hand. The rest of the chain slid free. The lock hit the floor with a loud clang. A light push broke the beams free, and the door swung inwards with a groan.
Using a fireball to light my way, I stepped into the room. A torch was held in place on the wall. With a snap of my fingers, I ignited it too. As I walked farther into the room, I noticed torches at recurring intervals. I snapped those into life as well.
Familiar arms wrapped around me, snuggling me close into his chest as I melted into his arms. Justice.
“Do you think they’re going to like it?” I whispered, feeling slightly unsure that this little adventure would be as fun as I wanted it to be.
“Fox, any time we get to spend with you is one of the best days we have ever had. But even if this isn’t everything you imagined, it will be an adventure we got to experience together. Stop worrying so much.”
I released a deep breath as I basked in the calm of my mental shield, and Justice blanketed me with the peace of his own. Jace, Jasper, and Jax spread out throughout the room. This one did not have stacks and shelves of books. This room had toys.
Old, weathered ropes frayed into their knots for the rest of eternity, or until this place burned down. Old, petrified blood clung to rusted metal pieces as they hung on display with little plaques and descriptions.
“Ripper. The last known use of the Ripper,” Jace translated, “was only ten years ago. It was attached to the dick of a heretic. When this little lever is pulled,” Jace pointed to the smoothly curved piece that looked like a gun’s trigger. “The dick was shredded.” Jace read, his tone going entirely flat as the words sunk in. He reached for his dick protectively as he stepped back from the piece as if it would jump off the walls and attack him.
“That’s got nothing on this one over here,” Jax said, standing in front of a glass case. “A heretic’s hands are placed inside the box. Crank this handle. Spiked sides press in from both sides to permanently disfigure the hands of the guilty, so they are unable to cast magic ever again.”
“I don’t know if that’s worse than dick spaghetti gun over here,” Jace said, looking back toward the Ripper like he wanted to be sure it was still hanging on the wall where he left it.
“They still use this,” Jax said, making Jace turn his head in horror.
“What the fuck is wrong with this realm?” Jace muttered, tucking his hands in close to him. If Jace had been born here, he could have suffered this fate. If he dies one day, he could reincarnate here. If any of my other boys die, they don’t get to come back.
“I’m confused. Is this the date?” Jasper asked, looking around the room.
“Yeah, this is our adventure for the day. I figured a little bonding over who’s tortured who over the centuries. Something fun, something different.” I had hoped they would all get to bond.
