The Lefko Trilogy

Chapter 4

Sotan allowed one strangled cry to escape his throat before he snapped his mouth shut and grit his teeth against the pain.  When the heated blade withdrew, his breath labored and another notch in his skin let blood seep down his spine.  His ears buzzed but the sound of hot coals shifting cut through as the burning knife was replaced among their blazing embrace.  A deep ache ran through him; each muscle in his body trembling.  Iron shackles held his arms aloft and kept him facing the cold stone wall.  He remained painfully blind to his surroundings; the rough shale was all his tired eyes could register. 

Strong fingers tore into Sotan’s dark curls before jerking his head back roughly.  His breath stuttered and he forced his eyes to focus on the inverted image of Amon.  “You can avoid this pain.”  An auburn strand fell into his twisted features.  “You can keep yourself from this torture.”

Sotan sneered, “The cost is too great.”

Amon shoved his head away in disgust.  Sweat dripped into his indigo eyes, stinging them and bringing scalding tears into his vision.  “Nothing you do will keep us from succeeding. She will die.” 

“Then why am I still here?” The words spilt from Sotan’s lips, revealing the one thought that kept his endurance from shattering.  Darkness pooled into his torturers eyes. 

Fear gripped him as Amon growled coldly, “Shall we tend to your wounds?”  The Xokito shoved Sotan’s head away.  The chains held the boy tightly as he struggled against them.  Behind him, he heard the disturbance of liquid as a cloth intruded its shimmering surface and left behind stormy ripples.  The course stones under the Xokito’s feet hissed as droplets struck them, leaving a path of dark burns in their place.

Sotan struggled against his bonds, ripping a tight laugh from his torturer.  “Don’t fight!” the man mocked. “After all, you’re willing to endure anything to protect your princess, aren’t you?” 

The cloth licked Sotan’s spine and burned against his raw skin.  A blood-curdling scream forced its way out of his throat as acid seeped off the dirty linen into his skin, pulling flesh away from the muscle below.  His vision flickered weakly and tears leaked freely from his eyes.  “Stop!” he begged, “Please, no more.”  The words caught painfully in his chest, but the searing fabric receded, leaving remnants of scalding liquid tearing paths down his back. 

“Tell me what she can do,” Amon demanded.

Blinking against the pain, Sotan gasped for air, struggling to focus on the stones below his knees.  His torturer’s foot impacted his bruised ribs bluntly, throwing him forward and causing him to convulse in agony.  “Tell me!” the Xokito bellowed.  Deep, indigo eyes met angry, green ones defiantly as Sotan refused with a feeble shake of his head. 

Furious, Amon backhanded the boy and watched his head droop limply to his chest.  “Get him out of here,” he growled. 

Two guards rushed from their position by the heavy iron door.  They unclasped the shackles biting Sotan’s wrists, peeling the metal away from the blistered skin.  Loud footsteps echoed in his brain as his torturer stormed out of the room.  The men gripped his arms and forced him to his feet.  Unable to bear his own weight, Sotan collapsed to the stone floor.  He felt the anger emitting off the guards in sharp waves.  Instinctively, he tensed, preparing for another damaging blow.  Heavy hands impacted his limbs, inducing immediate panic.  His tortured body thrashed against their grips, violently tearing out of their reach. 

The men shouted profanities, attempting to control the situation.  Sotan resisted more.  He clawed at the floor, pulling his broken weight away from their clawing fingers.  They caught his limbs again, pinning him down as he let out an animalistic roar.  Eyes blazing, he lashed against them, flailing madly.  A loud snap was heard, and one guard was flung away, crying out in agony.  His arm dangled limply by his side, the joints twisted grotesquely.  Sotan bucked against the second guard’s vice-like grip on his ankles.  He felt his foot connect with hard bone and greeted the man’s yelp of pain with grim satisfaction.