Earthrumbler

Chapter Nine: Breaking Point

“I will? Oh, Uncle, you are far too cute. I’ll not do anything of the sort.” My mother clenched her fists together, but kept her voice even.

He opened the cell door. “I’ll kill her if you don’t.” The impatience in his tone was impossible to hide. “So, grab her and we’ll set off.”

“You kill her, and I’ve no reason to be obedient. Try again.”

He gritted his teeth together. “I’ll whip her.” He exhaled, trying to calm himself.

She laughed. “Why, Uncle, that would set off your entire purpose of making me dunk her. You could just do it yourself.”

He slammed her into the wall. “I’ll whip you then. I’m sure this’ll not crush your pride like last night.” When her face twisted, he yanked her garment off her shoulder. “We can always repeat if once wasn’t enough for you, Athena. I know what sex does to women. It makes them weak.” His fingertips grazed across her chest.

“Shall we start now?” My mother asked, dropping her garment to the floor.

My gaze dropped to my feet.

“Allow me to set something straight in your head. Now that you’ve captured me, you’re unlikely to ever lay another mark upon my daughter.” A sharp smack filled the air. “You may intimidate a child with a slap, but you’re going to have to try harder on me.”

I backed up, creeping toward the wall for comfort. Determined to rip open my chest, my heart slammed against my bones.

Poseidon raked his nails across her throat. “Athena, you’re scaring the poor thing. Look at her. Why, she must have had that same look when she was a child.” He pressed her cheek, forcing her to look at me. “Oh, I must have forgotten. You never saw her as a child. I can only imagine that; leaving your only child so you could go off and wallow.”

Her face tightened. It became pure ice. “If you wish to whip me, then go ahead. I’ve no reason to fight you.” She outstretched her arms. “Go ahead, coward.”

His hand wrapped around a coiled black whip at his waist. In a sudden jerk, he flicked it. It struck across her face.

Blood, not quite crimson in color but more favoring a glistening metallic orange, poured down her cheek. She didn’t even flinch. “Do it again.”

I gasped. My stomach turned over. The feeling worsened when he struck across her bare chest. My trembling legs held out long enough to guide me to the wall.

 Her face curled into a feral grin, completely twisted. Blood coated her teeth. “Again,” she ordered. Poseidon carried it out silently; the lash landed across her neck. She didn’t gasp, but her thick swallow told of her strain. “Hurry it up, old man.” The woman before me wasn’t my mother. It was impossible. She was unstable, the complete opposite of my mother. “Hurry it up! Don’t I deserve it? Have I not taken everything from you, Uncle? Go on! Whip me! Why is there no joy in your lashes? No pleasure in your strokes? I thought you hated me. So hate me, Uncle. Prove it!”

With a fierce pull backward, he whipped her legs, layering endless lashes on her thighs. The crack of the whip was the only noise in the room. Her face remained stoic. The blood oozed from her legs and dripped onto the floor.

Poseidon still said nothing; it sent my heart into spasms. Waiting, my lip quivered. A sharp sting fell across my chest. He faced me with his whip in hand. “Well, Athena, how does that feel?” His eyes burned in fury.

She made no move to comfort me. She wouldn’t.

I forced myself to gaze into the empty pupils of Poseidon’s eyes. My hand pulled my shirt closed; it stained a dark scarlet color with the blood. No one said anything. We were all waiting for my mother to speak. The only noise she offered was the steady drops of blood trickling off of her knees.