Sapphire Bones

Credence

Updated: March 29, 2019

L

Tomes from the ten-story bell tower, centered in the Council courtyard, shook me from the deepest slumber I allowed myself to fall into since arriving. Without Peter to devote his entire days to discovering ways to get me to crack, I faced loneliness and bitter silence that filled my ears with a desperate ring I couldn't shake. The new mercenary in charge of my care hadn't shown any violence yet but I kept my distance when she let herself into the tiny cage. It barely held me, let alone the woman who visited often. Despite her lack of emotions, she kept a sliver of humanity – although I knew it didn't matter in the long run. Her sense of humanity faded every day, and the person the Council wanted her to become shined through a little louder each time I saw her. Sure, she stood at my side, hand around my wrist to keep me in place while I recounted the bloody deaths of my family, but the mercenary's job wasn't to hold and protect. No, her job was to keep me alive and complicit until my trial. After that, it was up to the Council judges and court to decide my fate.

I didn't hear the cage unlatch; my ears were so full of cotton in the form of ringing bells that nothing else could've possibly inch through the canals. The lock dropped to the ground with a quick clang of metallic zing and the door swung open on hinges in desperate need of cleaning. I winced toward the wall, hands up in defense in case Jeffries returned for more of his own version of fun. But his tobacco smell didn't hit my nose like last time. My body shook, trembling for the oncoming horror to ensue but the steps that trudged into the room were softer and gentle as if the floor beneath was a living thing. Being alone for so many days quaked my memory of any patterns of people's steps. It was the only way to figure out who came into my cell. I couldn't stop my mind from erasing the single chance to decipher people.

"L, it's just me," my new mercenary said before entering. Her steps were small, fragile against the concrete floor. I softened my posture once she revealed herself, and let my spine rest from the strain I placed on it whenever someone came into the cell. "I'm sorry for startling you," she came closer but the steps ultimately stopped. I turned to look up at her but I knew the mercenary refused to meet my gaze. I couldn't see her but I knew. She cast her eyes elsewhere, never at me. Margette fixed my injured eye but I was still left with clouded irises, a surefire way to know who I was and what I'd done to deserve complete blindness. If I were the mercenary I wouldn't be able to look either; I could only imagine the sight to be too horrifying to forget.

I didn't answer. The mercenary slumped to the floor in front of me, hands on my knees. Her fingernails scraped alongside the bare skin just above my kneecaps. I didn't pull away, her hands provided a warmth and comfort I needed. But I couldn't return the favor. Peter taught me that; never touch your mercenary unless directly instructed to do so.

"Something happened," the mercenary started. "Something happened and I think you have a right to know. The other mercenaries... they don't think so but I know you're innocent. You deserve to know this," She sighed deeply and took her hands from my knees, immediately igniting a cold flame on my skin where she touched. I craved her touch back but my throat was too dry to ask, to even think about asking. I turned my head up even though I wouldn't be able to see her. The absence of her touch hit my skin with frost. I shivered but kept my gaze as close to her as I could.

"L they repealed the law," the woman gulped down a mouthful of saliva after she spoke. The room froze. My lungs stopped, and my heart pumped through my chest, breaking the already weak ribs along with it. I bit back a yell until my canines dug an incision through my bottom lip. A trickle of blood fell into the crevice between teeth and cheek. The metallic taste forced a gag into my throat but I held it down. I knew death was closer than I realized, but this propelled me forward toward my end quicker than I originally planned.