Iron of the Innocent: Mistress of Agony (Vol 2)

Chapter 16: The Mask

274 I.C.
Sacren
Black Sword Kingdom
Central Black Sword
City of Maegon

Nim stood alone outside of the former enemy's command tent, quietly watching the carrion birds eat the dead flesh of the fallen and defeated. The overwhelming stench of decomposition swirled when the air dared to move, and the flies were thick among the corpses. Her eyes lifted to the rise on the west and looked over the encampment of the Dark Vale armies remaining at Maegon. Other Dark Vale commanders were tasked with overseeing the retreating, disarmed enemy forces being escorted from the lands and to the return of Black Sword captives.

Looking to the east, Nim considered the walled fortress city, noticed the defenders peering toward her from their battlements, and sniffed toward them seeking a scent of their fear. The screams of the enemy wounded, when dragged inside the tent behind her, carried to the city for a full night and day. Silence finally gripped the space between the camp and the city walls for the last couple of hours.

Nim adjusted her fitted, black leather armor, and her dark cloak hung loose behind her. Her red burning eyes followed the city's defenders for a few moments, and were easily seen by them across the dark landscape. She stood watch as did the large black dragon that rested on the hill with its body curled around the command tent. The beast feasted on the fallen prior to resting, its massive head to Nim's left and its tail stretched out to her right. Its fiery eyes with the black slit pupils burned low and were mostly closed, but she knew it was very aware of any movement around them. None dared approach without leave.

Turning, Nim walked toward the entrance of the command tent and paused. A deathly stillness hung in the air, and a slight smile touched her lips. Opening the flap, she stepped inside, and despite the darkness she could see clearly. The entire tent was filled with bodies, broken, twisted, and in various degrees of dress. Or the lack thereof. The largest concentration was in the center. The big pile of corpses stood in contrast to the rest of the tent. An open path led from the door to the heaped mound of carcasses.

Walking slowly, her eyes rested on the one sitting on the pile. There was an obvious effort by someone to make a place to sit on the heap, and the one sitting rested his back against the mound while the bodies beneath acted as chair and cushion. Beneath the black cloth that covered his eyes, his lids were closed. And other than the black cloak that covered his seat, he was completely naked sitting on the throne of flesh.

Nim's eyes roamed over his skin, normally pale and gaunt, clinging to his muscles and bones with black veins beneath, but now there was a difference. While the black veins remained, they appeared thicker, and his skin was the color of healthy, blushing flesh. The muscles beneath his skin, while defined, did not appear sickly as before, and they bulged slightly, rich in blood.

His long, black hair hung loose about his face, and the light touch of hair on his jawline, chest and body was marred by splattered blood. Nim's eyes roamed down his tight abdomen to his manhood between his spread legs. Her eyes took in the soft flesh of his full scrotum, following his length that rested over it, remembering the pulsing warmth before death stilled his heart.

As she approached the piled bodies positioned into a mockery of a throne, she came to a halt several paces from Kaedres. "My lord, have you finished?" she asked.

At first, there was no distinct sign of movement or acknowledgement from Kaedres. When his lips parted, blooded spurted out, mixed with shadow, dripping down his chin. "Yes," he said, his deep voice full of contentment and satisfaction. Warm blood oozed from every orifice as he shifted, following already dried trails of the crimson fluid. "I have never been so satiated." His eyes opened slightly, the intense red light soaked through the cloth covering them. "Their terror, their blood, their essence tasted... there are no words."