Ashbringer

Chapter 5 - The Black Hornet

Vered stumbled through the dark streets, looking for a food stall or any place where he could find salt, struggling to breathe, his stumbling worsening as the collar tightened its grip on him.

"Move and you die," Growled a gray dog as he slid up behind Vered and pressed a knife to his throat. "Take off your clothes and throw them in the bin." He instructed as another one in a cloak stepped into view with a basket. Vered grit his teeth and considered fighting, but he knew he didn't stand a chance. Unbuckling his belt, he let his sword drop to the ground. "All of it," The dog snapped.

There was a sharp blow to the back of the prince's head and he blacked out. When he came to, he found he was chained up naked in a dingy shack. The air was cold; it had to be late at night. He tested the chains but found he couldn't break them.

The night passed slowly and a feeling of helplessness and vulnerability crept in as the realization that he couldn't escape sank in. A few hours later, the dog in the black cloak returned with a bucket and sponge. His chains were made achingly tight, keeping him from being able to move as he was given a scrub. The dog didn't speak while he worked, even when Vered tried to question him.

The sun rose into the sky and Vered found himself being led out to the market where he was chained to a post. People would stop to molest and examine him, but no one came to save him. The hot sun scorched his nude body. When he asked for water, a muzzle was slapped over his face, and "Shut up." Was the only reply he was given.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," Came a voice, one Vered definitely didn't want to hear. Xanthos smiled as he ran his fingers between Vered's legs. "To think fate would hand you to me so easily," He said, playing with him. Vered growled and fought against the chains, his mind screaming, but his mouth held firmly shut.

A handful of gold was turned over, and he was soon being led away to Xanthos' private residence. Vered fought against him as best he could, sliding in the sand, but there was no hope. Instead of a dusty shack, Vered was taken to a grand palace filled with slaves. He was thrown into a cold basement filled with blocks of ice and frozen and rotting corpses, left to languish for hours before Xanthos returned with a whip. "I'm going to break you, turn you into an obedient bitch," A wicked, sadistic smile spread across Xanthos' face. "Scream for me."

* * *

"I'm going back for him," Khiro's soft voice caressed Rebecca's skin, rousing her from sleep, and the dreams that tormented her.

"Don't leave," She whined, turning over and grabbing at him.

It had been a week since Vered had gone missing. Most assumed he had simply run away in shame. Yoshi was too angry with his brother to do anything, and the king wanted nothing to do with Vered, to the Queen's grief.

"I don't want to," He said softly, brushing her cheek with the back of his wing tenderly. "Vered hasn't returned, and I fear he's befallen the same fate as you. He and Clarice risked everything to get you back; we can't just leave him to die like this! As far as I'm concerned, he's a hero. I plan to fly to Vivanse, where I'll hopefully find a group of mercenaries who can take on the lower city."

"Vivanse isn't safe either," She said. "Please, Khiro, rethink. Stay with me. I don't want to lose you, too."

He sat back with a heavy sigh. "I know. You're right, of course. Suppose I could send someone else to hire a party, but that would cut into the cost, and I wouldn't be able to vet them beforehand." There had been a subtle change in the white bat over the week. He had matured, his face hardened, his voice without a tremor. Rebecca, on the other hand, hadn't regained her vibrance, the strain on her was visible, both in fear and in pain. She rarely ever left her room, and never without Khiro. She recoiled at any touch from friends or family, and her once soft eyes kept the glaze that she had left that horrible place with. She stared through people now, as if she couldn't see them. Khiro was the only exception.