Sand & Stone

Chapter 14: Revenge

"Did you really think I'd let that fly?"

-Admiral Sparrow after pillaging the Empire coast in retaliation to the Empire building a navy

Anna sat on the small cot in her cell, her hands resting in her lap. She stared at the wall ahead of her, her eyes distant. I leaned stiffly on my cane as I stood in front of her cell wondering why there were no goddamn chairs in the dungeon.

It had been three days since she had finally decided to make a batch of Brute's Brew, she hadn't given up the recipe fully though only the ingredients. It had been a long and expensive list of mostly lethal compounds. I remembered reading about dozens of them inside books of poison and assassination, how they combined to produce Brute's Brew was a mystery and something Anna guarded closely, insisting to make it herself, on this she would not compromise. It made sense, I'd kill her if she gave me the recipe.

Getting Brutus to consume the brew had been simple. I had it spread over food and he ate it. The guards had to serve him with a pole and even that was a risky job.

I remembered Brutus in that cell. His body was covered in wounds and bruises, most self inflicted. He was marked by a wild and frenzied look in his eyes, as if he were consumed by a primal rage. His pupils were dilated, making them seem like bottomless pits, and they seemed to dart back and forth erratically, unable to focus on any one object. The whites of his eyes were tinged with red, giving them a bloodshot appearance. His brows were furrowed and his jaw was clenched tightly, making his features seem even more distorted and menacing. He seemed almost possessed, his gaze intense and relentless, as if he were searching for something to consume. When he had reached out from the bars straining attempting to grab me I saw his flesh squirm under the skin. He looked like a monster.

At that moment I could tell he was on death's step, his mind was gone and he was driven by primal urges, ones not fully his own. Anna knew it too.

"How did you know?" her voice sounded weak, tired.

"Know what?" I asked.

She cast a glance that suggested she wanted to slap me "That I would make Brute's Brew before he died."

I studied her for a moment, trying to read the emotions behind her question. Her eyes were red rimmed and tired, her normally confident posture slumped in defeat. I wondered what the right words were to make her mine.

"I didn't know for sure," I admitted, "but I had a feeling you would. Based on what Brutus told me."

Anna let out a bitter laugh. "And what do you know of me?" she asked, voice brittle.

I stepped closer to the bars, ignoring the sharp pain in my leg as I leaned in. "I know you're a cruel woman who knows things. I know you want everyone to know that too. I know that the strength Brutus exhibits has never been seen, it goes beyond human, his feats will draw attention. I know that if he died no one else would get to know his feats, what or who made him so. I gave you a choice between both you and Brutus dying nameless or both you and Brutus living. In your shoes, I know what choice I would make."

She looked up at me with a mixture of sadness and fury in her eyes. "You made me betray him."

Still dangerous. Good.

I leaned back. "Yes, and from what I hear the Emperor is not a forgiving man. There will be no way back to him after this."

Anna met my gaze for a long time before finally getting up and walking close to the bars, the shadows flew across her face like a crows in the sky. "So then cripple, if you were in my shoes now, what would you do?" I could tell from her voice this would not go forgotten, one day she would try to kill me... but not until her legacy was secured.