Covenant: Exodus

Chapter 41

Tarrin walked slowly down the steps of the rocking boat into the area where they held the prisoners. The smell from down there always made him feel slightly sick, but he pressed on. He had come down almost every day since they had left Noah and his people to bring Namaah water and something small to eat. Jakon had not been pleased, had said that this showed weakness and that she would comply if she were starving to death, but Tarrin had convinced him otherwise. There was nothing that would make Namaah go against Noahim, of this Tarrin was certain. She would die before giving them information. He had tried to take the information himself from her, to read her mind, but Noah must have taught her to protect herself against this type of invasion, and no one had been able to penetrate it. His hope was that his mercy would weaken her defenses enough to allow him entrance into her mind. Then they would have the information that they needed.

As Tarrin entered the room, he heard a deep, guttural voice talking quietly and saw a large man, one of the tattooed brutes from the desert that had joined them after they had conquered their land, standing inches away from Namaah. His hand was firmly holding her between the legs, and he was hissing at her, "Maybe I can get you to talk," he spat, "I know that I can get you to scream...you are quite a beautiful woman..."

"Please," Namaah almost whimpered, "please just leave me alone."

This only seemed to excite the man even more, "Yes...beg me..." he said in a low growl. He leaned in even closer and licked her cheek. Namaah struggled against the chains that held her arms above her head and bound her feet together, swaying slightly as she tried to get away from the huge man. "You will beg me for more once I am done with you...I saw your pathetic husband...he could not stop us from stealing you away from him...a man so weak clearly cannot please a woman. I will be sure to tell him how much more you enjoy my company as I slit his throat." This elicited a small laugh from the other three men in the room.

Namaah's eyes grew wide, and anger flashed across her eyes, "You are nothing more than a coward." She spat, "Noahim is one hundred times the man that any of you are. You are pitiful...weak...you are...," but her words were cut off as the big man raised a fist and slammed it into her gut. Namaah gasped for breath, tears pouring from her eyes as the man pulled a knife from a sheath at his waist and pushed the rusty blade into her cheek.

"For that," he said, "I will make it last even longer."

"Enough!" Tarrin shouted as he walked up behind the man. "None of you are to touch this woman again, is that understood?"

"Leave us be, boy," the huge man said sneering and flexing his muscles, looking down at Tarrin, "This does not concern you."

"If I say it concerns me, it does," Tarrin said violently, "Maybe you are too new to know who I am. I am Tarrin, leader of the Army of the Gods, second in command only to Jakon." As he said this, Nala stalked in from behind him and bared her teeth menacingly to the men, emitting a ferocious growl.

The man looked between Nala, Tarrin, and Namaah, and then looked over at the other three men, each equally as large as him that stood at the side of the room. He gave a small nod and the three men all instantly drew swords from their sides and began to advance on Tarrin. The big man momentarily smiled at Tarrin and was preparing to say something when Tarrin held up his hand, palm facing the advancing men. All three of the men froze in place as Tarrin turned his attention back to the big man, "You dare attack me," he spat at the man. He gave a small, almost evil grin and pushed his open palm toward the three men that were frozen in place. All three shot backward at inhuman speed and slammed into the wall of the boat. Blood filled the air as their skulls collapsed on impact. The men crumpled to the floor...dead.

"Now," Tarrin said as he advanced on the big man, who was staring with wide eyes at his fallen comrades, "as for you." Tarrin lifted his hand and pushed out toward the big man, who instantly fell to his knees as though a weight were pressing on him. "I want you to tell everyone on this ship, every man that came from your army, that if they disobey my words, they will cease to exist. Do you understand me?" The man simply nodded his head as Tarrin continued, "Good, and as a small reminder for you...," he said as he took the knife from the man's hand and cut a deep gash in each cheek. "Now go, before I change my mind and send you to be with your friends. And know this, if any more harm befalls this prisoner, by any hand...even those not your own...I will cut your heart out."

The man stood, eyes wide with fear, and ran up the stairs and out of sight. Tarrin turned to Namaah and sighed. "I am sorry that happened to you," he said shaking his head and looking at her for the first time since entering the room. The tears she cried had made tracks through the dirt on her face, and a small line of blood was trickling from the wound the man had inflicted with his knife. "Here, let me get that...," Tarrin said holding his hands up to heal her cheek.

She turned abruptly away and said savagely, "Do not touch me, with your hands or your gift."

"I am trying to be your friend," he said, sounding almost wounded, "Do you have any idea what those men would have done to you? I have seen their handy work myself many times...trust me, you would be better dead than left to the whims of men like these."

"Then kill me," she said quietly, "I will never give you what you want."

Tarrin stared at her for a moment and said, "Why do you love him? Why would you choose to die, rather than just give Jakon what he wants?"

Namaah seemed caught off guard by the question and looked as though she were about to answer, but then simply looked to the floor.

"I brought you some food and water," Tarrin said. "If I unlock your chains, will you try to attack me?"

Namaah actually laughed at this, "And do what? I have no gift; do you mean to tell me that you are afraid of me? What could I possibly do to you Tarrin? You are a coward."

Tarrin did not get angry. Instead, he simply held a hand up and the shackles binding Namaah fell to the floor. Her arms came down, and she sank to the floor rubbing her wrists and ankles. The feeling of relief was so great that she thought she might burst into joyous laughter. "Thank you, Tarrin," she said meekly after several moments, "thank you."

Tarrin regarded her curiously and then stood to leave, but as he walked away she said, "Why do you follow Jakon?"

Tarrin stopped and without turning around simply said, "Because, like your feelings for your husband, I believe that Jakon is the one."

"It is not too late for you," Namaah said, a note of pleading in her voice. "You have mercy in you, that is why you stopped those men, you can still rejoin the side of good. Help me escape, come with me to the new Atla...please..."

Tarrin still stood facing away from Namaah and said nothing for several seconds before responding, kindness in his voice, "I already stand on the side of good Namaah, it is you and your people that are evil. I have no desire to live in the new Atla...we will make the entire globe our new Atla...and Jakon will rule it all. I will not help you escape. You will give us what we want, eventually...and know that if you try to starve yourself, Jakon has ways of keeping you alive...painful ways...but they work. There is no escape from this...help us or this torturous existence is your life. I will see you soon," he said and, without a glance back, he continued towards the stairs. As he climbed the first one, Namaah saw his hand at his side raise slightly and gasped as the chains from the floor sprung back up and around her ankles, the other chain flying through the air and back through the rusted metal eye hanging from the ceiling hoisting her back into her standing position...tied up and helpless. A choked cry escaped her as a tear ran down her cheek, the salt stinging the place where the man had stabbed the knife, and she prayed that Noahim would find her.