Fractured Crown (Book 1: Terra)

Chapter 38

The man who answered wasn't the one in charge, Iris realised, moments later.

No, the Commander, according to the man standing before them, was currently elsewhere and didn't bother with matters of little importance – such as a random, teenage girl Caspian had captured.

Iris's eyes wandered to the frail and limp body in the middle of the darkened room. She had never seen Grandpa Sage before, but she took an educated guess that the elderly man tied to the chair and bleeding out couldn't have been anyone else. Sage didn't look her way, and his body was slouched to one side as if he could barely hold himself up. His eyes were swollen and shut, and Iris tried to see if his chest was rising, if he was still breathing, but the man who answered the door stepped in her line of vision and was beginning to close the door on the two of them.

"I work in the east wing, as Border Patrol," Caspian replied monotonously. "I need to speak to Commander Eli."

The man had almost shut the door in Caspian's face when he replied, "I told you, he's busy."

"Too busy to see the Terran Princess?"

The man halted, and Iris went rigid as he slowly, ominously, opened the door again. Iris resisted the urge to cower and glance away as he began to step towards her. Instead, she focused on his mud-flecked boots, nervous to meet his gaze. What if he figured out what they were up to?

The man grabbed her arm and inspected the Terran birthmark.

"How?" he demanded quietly, almost as if he was whispering conspiratorially.

"I found her sneaking about in the woods," Caspian stated simply.

The man caught Iris's gaze, and he tilted her head upwards with a meaty finger as he scanned her over. Iris watched his eyes flicker and scan over her stained, ripped attire and unruly hair. Finally, he leaned towards her and dared to take a whiff of dirt, sweat and grime.

"I..." she squeaked, not having to try very hard to play the role of petrified. "W-what is this place?"

The man didn't respond, only scrunched his nose in disgust and leaned away from her stench.

Iris's eyes darted towards Sage and she let out a small whimper. "Who is that? Are you torturing him? Are you going to torture me too?" She retreated backwards, only to have Caspian grip her arms tighter, and she let out a yelp of pain. "P-please don't hurt me!"

"Shut up!" the man barked, and though his tone made Iris jump, she supressed her own smile. It was working. He was buying her act.

"Tie her up, then take the old man to another room. I'd say he's worthless to us now that we have this gem." He gave her a smile that made Iris shudder, and any remaining feelings of pride disappeared, replaced by fear and nervous energy. "I'll go get Eli."

Iris yelped as Caspian shoved her into the room. She writhed in his grasp, making an effort to squirm away as she shouted profanities at him. The man grabbed a rope from a pile in the corner of the room and dragged it towards her. He then grabbed a bloodied knife from the rusty, metal table beside Sage, and Iris tried not to gag or think how many might have bled from that particular torture device. The man sawed through the thick ropes binding Sage, which was apparently the only thing holding him upright as well, because Sage slumped further down the chair once he was released, unmoving even as the man roughly shoved him off the chair. Sage only flopped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, eyes glued shut. Fear pricked at the back of Iris's neck. Was he even breathing? What exactly had they done to him all this time? Iris wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to the latter.

The man then left the knife on the table and said to Caspian, "If she tries to run... take your pick. Just leave her alive, for Eli." He gestured with a glean in his eyes to the rest of the weapons laid out in a neat row on the table, and Iris cringed.