Desert Siren

Two

The wagon lurched to a stop, sending Jayza sliding across the floor. The chains halted her flight, snapping taught and almost wrenching her arms from their sockets. She painfully inched her way back to the pole, ignoring the splinters the rough planks sent into her palms. Gingerly grasping it, she pulled herself up, blinking several times to try and clear the dried gunk that glued her eyes shut.

Hours had passed since the massacre at Kif Aljar. Jayza had cried until no more tears came. After, she huddled miserably, her head hung between her knees. Eventually, she had slid onto the floor, curling into a ball and placing her hands under head. At some point, exhaustion had taken over and she had fallen asleep, her dreams haunted by the horrific images that were seared into her brain.

Awkwardly bending over and raising her hands, she wiped her eyes then looked out of the wagon. Blinking several times, she inched forward, trying to get a wider view. There was nothing behind her but desert and road. The Raptors seemed to have disappeared, so she slid back on the floor and curled on her side, closing her eyes again. As far as she was concerned, the General couldn't hurt her any more than he already had so why bother moving. When she felt the wagon dip as a body entered it, she remained still, flinching involuntarily as the footsteps came nearer.

"Jayza, if I undo the manacles on your legs, do you promise not to run?" The General's voice was rough, sounding like he had spent the time after leaving her shouting, but he spoke softly as if he was worried about startling her. She remained silent. It didn't matter if she promised not to run. Eventually, he was going to start questioning her again and she would still refuse to answer, which meant another horror would be inflicted on her. Answering him now would only encourage him to continue pressuring her to give him the information he so desperately wanted.

The General sighed, squatting alongside her body and producing a key. Unlocking the leg irons, he pushed them to the side, then unlocked the manacles on her wrists from the chain attached to the pole. Holding out his hand, he silently offered to help her rise, surprising her. She looked up at him, thinking this was some kind of trick, and was further surprised at the slight softening she saw in his features.

"I won't hurt you, girl." His voice was quiet and he left his hand hanging, inviting her to take it. "My mission is to deliver you to the Emperor alive and in reasonably good shape. If possible, I was to get the information he wants out of you. But your refusal to give it to me, even after witnessing the abuse and death of your family and friends, tells me that the only way I will be able to extract it is by torturing you. Something I find myself reluctant to do."

Jayza stared, surprised at his confession. He stared back, his ice blues eyes devoid of emotion. She hesitated for a moment, then her face became hard once more.

"It won't work." Her voice was flat, and her mouth set in a thin line. She sat up and scooted as far back as she could. "You can try and convince me you're looking out for me, that you don't want to hurt me any further. But I don't believe it for one minute, General Enyo. You didn't become the Golden Eagle by being soft." She worked up a small bit of saliva and spat in his face.

Fire bloomed in the General's eyes, and he raised his hand, preparing to strike her again. Jayza glared defiantly and he slowly mastered himself, lowering his arm as his mouth curved in a smile.

"I need to stop underestimating you." He chuckled as he wiped the spit from his cheek, absently wiping it on his pants. "Your comment about the lack of slaves should have told me you can think. Something I did not expect an illiterate member of the Ta'njar to actually know how to do."

Jayza almost responded to the insult then slammed her mouth shut. If the General, and by extension, the Emperor, thought her illiterate, then she would let them go on thinking that. The less they actually knew about her, the better. She remained silent, waiting to see if he was going to hurt her anyway.