Iorrjaer

Chapter 43

Allen and Allin were struggling to get Shanna up the stairs. Not because of her resistance, but because, even between them, she was just a little too heavy. And, she was playing up her adaption of being a wet noodle. Even between the two boys, her dead weight was almost too much for them to handle.

Victor was head of them and impatient. Once he had entered the ziggurat, his demeanour had changed - usually, he was calm giving his sons a wide berth and did not pay much attention to their ineptitude. Now, he was snapping at them for merely being present.

They were so close to their destined moment that Victor could feel Kêdêmel's presence growing. He did not want to miss this opportunity. He had put too much at risk for this to fail because of his sons. His reputation was on the line; he and Granna had sacrificed the entire town for the cause of bringing Kêdêmel out of exile. An idea that had come to them when the first Tengu emissary had arrived. An idea that had been so crazy, so out of their league of understanding, that it seemed almost too lucrative to pass up.

Just imagine the perks! Being the ones that successfully aided in the release of an exiled deity would surely bring divine favours.

Besides, he had spent too much money and energy trying to get to Khico to grant him, and the town, autonomy from Ockburt. He had hated the prospect of being under Ockburt's shadow when he took the job of mayor and it had been one of his main focuses upon taking the job. His efforts to buy his way out were spent and he was now in increasing debt with the Bank of Khico - an entity that was notorious for its unorthodox collection methods.

When the Tengu approached him and his mother, it was at a time of desperation and their offer was too good to pass up. They offered a way out. A means to not only get out from under their shrinking ceiling but also a way to come out on top! The prospect of being so powerful that money no longer had meaning, gave him the nudge the Tengu needed. He fell totally to their lies and falsehoods that he was willing to burn everything down just to see his investment succeed.

Watching his sons struggle to carry a slender girl between them was enough to push his little remaining patience for them to its finality.
"Get a move on!" He barked at them and his sudden tone made them stop and hang their heads. "We don't have time to waste! Get moving! Get her up here. Now!"

They kept their heads down and Victor rolled his neck. He watched them start to remove themselves from Shanna and he started down the steps and caught her arm before she was free. His sudden grasp shocked her and she looked up to him in horror. He immediately knew that his son's hesitation was an attempt to defy him. To give her a chance to get away before she met her ultimate fate.

She had been whispering to them. Begging them, under her breath, hoping that he would not hear her. She was pleading for them to kill her. To kill her before they reached whatever they were being led to. The fear in her eyes told him that she was aware of what she was being brought to and that she had been searching for a way out for a long time. Granna had kept her in line but now with Granna preoccupied, she was free to pursue her desire.

"It's too late to run." He said indifferently. "You cannot escape." He tightened his grip on her slender arm and he felt her bones give to his strength. He was surprised by this and was not sure if it was his own strength or that of the ziggurat's augmentation. He liked the feeling. He liked how it put fear into her eyes.

He was still disappointed in his boys but he marched back up the stairs and dragged Shanna along with him. It was almost too easy to drag her along and that made him even more disappointed in his sons.

"Come along." He said to them, "You are not free from this, either."

They kept their eyes cast down but started to hike the stairs once again. The interior of the ziggurat was huge; filled with dwarven carvings from centuries before. They had not paid much attention to them as they had been distracted by Shanna and her pleadings. She had started begging for her life when they were still outside and when they had first gotten inside, her pleadings had increased.