Page 6 of Prisoner of Darkness and Dreams
I can’t deny that the idea of leaving this relentless pain behind me is oh so tempting. But I have to think beyond the husk of raw nerves and flayed flesh they’ve reduced me to.
I picture the purge in Otscold, the screams of my friends’ parents as their children were cut down by the clerics. I see the fear and pain of the rebels after the Temple’s attack the day we arrived in Tread. Yes, I’m in agony now, but if I were to give Caledon what he wants, that agony would be increased hundreds—thousands—of times. It would destroy the Hand’s safe havens and the towns and villages that dared to shelter them. I can bear this torture if it means no one else has to go through the same horror.
“It won’t work, Caledon,” I say as firmly as I can manage, though my head is spinning. “There’s nothing you can do to me that would make me give them up. Unlike you, there are people I care about more than myself.”
Caledon smiles, as if I’ve just given him everything he wanted.
“That is what I’m counting on, foolish girl,” he says.
I frown, growing dread edging out some of the pain. I don’t like not knowing what he means. Then he calls one of the clerics back in and speaks to them in a low voice, his tone calm and sweet once more, and my dread thickens. Whatever he has planned, I can tell from the anticipation and excitement written all over his face that it’s going to be bad. Very bad.
Several long minutes later, a tall man is pulled into the sanctuary and forced to his knees. He’s thin and disheveled, his clothes filthy. He must have been the Temple’s prisoner for some time.
My heart stops when he lifts his head to show his freckled face.
Kit.
The first boy I ever kissed. My best friend’s brother. The person I thought I’d lost along with his parents months ago. He’salive.
Fresh tears spring to my eyes, and I’m sick to my soul as I realize the only reason Kit is alive is so Caledon can use him against me.
“Ana?” His voice breaks as he says my name. His eyes are shining too. There’s no telling whether he’s more shocked to see me at all or to see me like this: splayed out and bloody on the altar.
At least seeing so much of me exposed wouldn’t throw him. It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before. There was a time when he knew every inch of me. And I knew every inch of him. It wasn’t a passionate affair, but it was a loving one all the same. He was my first lover.
I have no idea how much of that Caledon knows. But he knows enough to have a glint of triumph in his eyes, along with something more. He can see my terror—and he’s enjoying this already.
“It’s okay, Kit,” I say, trying to force a weak smile. “It’ll be alright, I promise.”
“More lies, Miss Angevire,” Caledon says chidingly,tsking like a disapproving schoolmaster. “Because of you and your wickedness, this boy has been corrupted. And now he must be cleansed.”
“No!” I shout and buck against my bindings as Caledon lays his hand on Kit’s head.
“It’s in your power to stop this, Morgana,” Caledon says, his grip tightening. “Whatever agony he’s in is because ofyou.”
The thrum of magic fills the air, deep and powerful, and Kit starts to scream—a high shriek that pierces my ears like a knife.
“I can’t, Kit,” I shout, tears spilling down my face as I meet his panicked eyes. “I’m sorry, Ican’t.”
Even if I told Caledon everything I know, today would still be the day Kit dies—there’s no way around that. Even if I could buy his life at the price of my brother and his comrades, I know, Iknow, Kit wouldn’t want that. But it doesn’t make it any easier to hear his agony.
Kit’s screams become more ragged as he spasms uncontrollably under Caledon’s touch. Caledon looks toward me, waiting to see when I’ll crack—when watching Kit’s suffering will become too much for me to take. He’s insane and sadistic…but he’s also patient.
“I can keep him like this for days, Miss Angevire,” Caledon says. “No respite, no relief for either one of you. He’ll hover between life and death, a gibbering shell who has forgotten anything in the world exists except for pain—until you repent and tell us what you know.”
I can’t look away, but when blood starts to pour from Kit’s mouth and his eyes roll back into his head, I know I also can’t watch this any longer. After mere seconds of the cleansing, I already wished for death. How can I leave Kit in this state? But what can I do to help him?
“Stop, stop please!” I beg.
Caledon doesn’t lift his hand, but the screams ease off into whimpers as Kit slumps against the ground.
“Tell me what I want to know,” Caledon states—calm, cold, and implacable.
My blood beats in my ears. I need something—anything—to give Caledon. A bargaining chip that won’t cost me more of the people I love.
“I’ll tell you about my power,” I say quickly. “I’ll tell you how I became so powerful, and what I can do with my magic, if you just let me go to him. Let me hold him.Please.”
Kit has started to convulse now, limbs violently smashing against the marble. I try not to lose focus, even as tears roll down my cheeks at the sight of it.
