Pursued - Entire book

Chapter 51

He didn't know how long he'd been knocked out, but as he woke, Klair grimaced at the intense strain on his arms and legs. He was spread -eagled across the ground of the workshop with his feet and hands tied to posts impaled into the hard earth of the high-walled back work yard. The fingers of his hands were wrapped tightly in cloth.

A groan drew Klair's attention to the figure staked next to him.

It was Bejja

He felt a hot pressure on his chest and raised his head. He saw something shinny resting beneath his open shirt. It burned. If he could move, he would shift it off him but he was drawn so tight and felt so weak the only thing he wanted to do was sleep.

His body felt so strange, but why? He closed his eyes but a slap on the face jerked him to wakefulness.

A familiar figure loomed over him holding a hand full of the same funny wires that knocked him out. Constable Trenny grinned at him. Klair's eyes widened but then he relaxed. Trenny would stop whoever...

"Glad to see me?"

"My friend, Bejja has been tied up. Please help him. I think a man named Floren—"

Trenny shook his head. "No, it wasn't Floren. He was a good man until you nearly killed him and scared him away." The Constable thumped the cords pulling at Klair's arm.

Klair winced.

"You look a little uncomfortable."

"The wire on my chest—it hurts," he admitted. "And the cords—" Klair stretched out his senses, trying to draw magic to him but didn't feel the customary fullness within his chest which he attributed to his powers. He only felt an intense void within him. He tried to contain a growing sense of panic but forced his voice to remain calm.

"Please check on Bejja first, I'm okay just check—"

The Constable lowered the collection of wires to rest them on Klair's chest. He felt a increased burning, numbness encompassed his entire frame and an intense weariness overcame him.

Klair passed out.

Consciousness slowly returned with Trenny still squatting near him. He wasn't certain how much time passed.

"You don't seem too worried about your friend if you keep falling asleep on me, Klair. It seems like you're not very committed to your—" he slurred the word "partner." One thin wire remained resting on Klair's chest. "We'll see if you're as loyal to Bejja as you were to Tarrant."

Klair fought to keep his heavy eyes lids open. The metal burned like a hot coal on his chest. The metal sapped all his strength preventing him from doing anything about it. Making him realize with a shutter, this is Sheenay. The metal Poral said would take away his powers.

And it had done so, quite effectively.

"Look at you..." Trenny continued. "You were always a bit of lazy bones. If you really want to sleep go ahead. I'll explain to your friend you were too busy to help him."

"What are you doing?" Klair's voice was a mumble. "Why are you here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Trenny countered. "I wanted to return the favor of what you did to me in Merrsain. Thanks to you, I have to start over. I learned enough about you to know you'd eventually show up here. Loginna told me of your obsession with Bejja. Wondered if there was something more between you than..."

He chuckled darkly. "Guess we'll never know will we?"

A groan rose from the ground next to Klair and he looked over at his mentor, gagged next to him.

The high walls of the work yard offered little chance of a customer discovering them. Only one lamp flickered its full flame to illuminate the area around them. Klair strained against his bounds but felt so weak he offered only a slight flex of his neck as he tried to rise. For the first time he wished he could access his magic. He felt so empty.

You said you never wanted to use it again remember?

What could he do without it?

"Your argument is with me. You don't have to involve—"Klair suddenly bellowed at the top of his voice, "Help! Emson!—"

Trenny rewarded his efforts by dropping the collection of metal on his chest and blackness consumed him.

*****

Klair woke up later to muffled screaming

He turned to his side to see Trenny leaning over Bejja using a knife to cut his friend's arms and legs.

Gagged, Bejja's cries were muted.

Klair tried to yell but he was also gagged. He jerked his arms and legs trying to free himself and winced in pain as his efforts turned frantic. He yelled louder trying to get past the gag. He blinked against the blur in his eyes.

Trenny silently watched him with a smirk until Klair tired out and the Constable resumed his work.

Klair tried to yell and plead as tears coursed down his cheeks.

Trenny finally looked up from Bejja and grinned at Klair. "You're not much help are you? He's dying and all you can do is lie there." His blade made a mark and Bejja's body jerked with eyes wide with terror and pain.

Klair continued to yank on his arms and legs but to no effect as he ignored the bite of coarse ropes chomping into his wrists and ankles. His voice turned horse from efforts of yelling at Trenny. The Constable glanced at the piles of metallic strands resting on the ground between them. "I should suggest to the Seiun Priests to use Sheenay metal. Make arrow tips and that'd take care of the Kapawn quickly enough. It certainly knocks you out easily."

The knife glistened in red as he waved it at Klair. "So help your friend already."

"He's innocent!" Klair tried to yell but the gag only muffled his words. Tears dampened the earth beneath his head. All he wanted to do was sleep.

Could he do nothing?

"Let him go! I'll do anything y—" his words were inaudible but certainly the man knew what he was saying but simply ignored him.

Trenny sighed in resignation as he casually scratched his whiskered chin. "Well if I can't convince you to make an effort, perhaps this will." The man lifted a short whistle to his lips and blew.

Klair choked against the whistle's shrill.

The Constable grinned. "Ahhh, a little sensitive, are we?"Trenny stood up, waked over to Klair and squatted down. He leaned closer to him and blew again. Klair tried to scream from the pain and Trenny only laughed. "Had I known doing this to you could be so fun, I may have done it a lot earlier. Remember how much fun we had when I caught you and Tarrant with the wine? Those blisters were a memento. I should've done more back then. I admit much of the pleasure is because there is such a personal bond between us. You should have done recompense with Maken. He would have been easier on you."

He moved closer and began cutting lines into Klair's chest. Blood pooled along the cuts.

Klair tried to move, couldn't and winced instead.

"I've learned of Kapawn sensitivity to the senses when using magic. Was that why you squealed so loudly with the lash? Your powers makes your lot a bunch of weaklings, doesn't it?" The man glanced at the opened backdoor of the work area that must have been opened since Klair had last been conscious.

"I've been training the dogs for several six-days. They should be here shortly."

Klair widened his eyes. Was he referring to the dog packs roaming Petta? I should have fixed their aggression, Klair realized. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What had the constable done to turn the dogs feral? They used to be pets hadn't they? What was Trenny doing?

The pant of dogs gave the answer as a bunch of them padded into the room.