Queen of Light (The Light-Bringer Trilogy, #3)

Twelve

Watch, said the demon. Watch as my counterpart gets what he deserves. Enjoy it.

He watched as several armed guards dragged Jason out of a cell. He wore a forest green tunic and trousers, his honey blonde hair grazing the tops of his ears. But something was different about him. His clothes hung more loosely on him, his cheekbones were more prominent, and his blue-grey eyes were sunken. There were still healing bruises all over his arms and face. But his neck... there was a bruise there in a perfect line just under his jaw. Almost like someone had attempted to execute him by hanging.

He didn't suffer from a botched execution, the demon purred. He tried to do it to himself.

He watched as Jason was led into a sterile white room. There was a basin filled with water in the centre on the room. Four people looked on as Jason was forced to his knees in front of the basin, a guard tying his ankles together with rope.

Jason glared at one of the men. The man had a shock of black hair and dark almond-shaped eyes. There was nothing but hatred and pain and fear in Jason's eyes.

"Anything you would like to tell us, rebel?" asked the woman in the middle.

"No."

She nodded at the guards. "Put him under."

Jason's eyes widened as his head was forced into the basin of water. He thrashed against the guards' hold on him. Water sloshed everywhere from his thrashing. The guards lifted his head, and Jason gasped for air.

"Are you sure that you don't have anything to say, rebel?" the woman said.

"Go. To. Hell!"

His head was pushed back under the water. He was kept under longer this time. Jonah looked away and bit his lip. Jason's thrashing ebbed before he stopped and went limp.

Jonah looked back at the boy and blanched. "No," he whispered and started towards him. "No. Let go of him!"

The guards let go of Jason. He took the boy out of the water, his lips blue.

"Get help!" he barked, laying Jason down on his back. "He's turning blue! The Morning Star is going to die unless we help him!" Jonah put one hand over the other repeatedly pushed down on the centre of Jason's chest. "Come on, Jason. Come back to us." His voice lowered to a whisper. "I know that you want to die. But you have people who love you to go home to. You are not going home to Maia in a coffin."

As if on cue, Jason gurgled and was rolled onto his side. He coughed and heaved as his body expelled the water in his lungs.

"Stay on your side," said Jonah. "You almost drowned."

"No," Jason breathed, anguish and desperation tainting his voice. "No." He began to shake, and he realized that Jason was crying. "Why can't you just let me die?"

He felt the demon touch his shoulder and he stiffened.

He deserved it, it said. He deserved everything that happened to him. I will show you more, and you will learn to like his suffering.

The setting changed as another memory took its place. Over and over and over, the demon showed him memories of his counterpart's suffering.

And slowly but surely, he learned to enjoy other's suffering.