Celadon

Celadon Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Lyle hung from his regular spot on the wall, his small, frail body covered in thick cuts, dark bruises and splatters from his own blood. By his bare feet lay several empty cups that had once been filled with water, but that precious liquid was now spilt, soaking his feet with the water he desperately wanted to drink.

A snake slithered by his feet, the scales sliding against his legs, winding up them further and further in an attempt to scare the poor boy.

But it was not working.

Lyle couldn't feel anything any longer, his emotions were long gone after hours upon hours of torture and threats, the tearful brown gaze of Nat glaring down upon him as the whip was brought down again and again.

"Brighter!" Nat ordered as the thin leather struck his bare back hard, a star held in his right palm above his head. The light flickered slightly, dulling at the harsh pain that was struck as blood bubbled up to the surface. "Make it brighter, Lyle!" He ordered once more, bringing the whip down again.

Lyle had tried to comply. Really, he had. He'd pushed all of his might into making the star as bright as it could be, but he failed to make that happen, the light simply flickering lightly before disappearing completely into his palm, the cave once again pitch black.

"Bring it back, Lyle, or I'll have to beat you worse." Nat warned, although his voice was slightly gentler than before. Lyle's eyes were half lidded now, struggling to stay open with the pain that rushed through his every moment, paralyzing him to the core. "Please, Lyle, I do not want to hurt you anymore." Nat whispered, avoiding Maria's harsh gaze as she glared at him. Maria knew very well that Nat was not doing this because he wanted to, he was doing it for his little sister, little Lissa who was currently at the main base in chains, only given stale bread and water until Nat finally completes his mission on getting Lyle to join them properly. Getting Lyle to want to kill his twin brother.

It was not an easy feat, Maria knew that also. Lyle was strong minded although he appeared to be quite a frail boy, but he was struggling against the control that Nat was trying to get of him. Lyle knew what they were trying to do and was doing everything in his power to not fall for it.

But Lyle's resolve was getting weaker and weaker by the day.

He was beginning to give in, to try and follow what Nat told him to do. He tried to make the star brighter, and he struggled to send the red hot beam through the heart of the human shaped dummy they often brought a long with them.

They were trying to train him up to kill.

That was one thing that Lyle had always hated, people who used their Myst to kill. It was a no brainer for Lyle, he just couldn’t do it, he couldn't take another person's life for personal gain.

But Maria and Nat were already three quarters of the way to beating that out of him. They were also pretty smug about that fact.

"You are almost ready to meet the boss, Lyle. Just a few more hours then you'll be ready." Maria told him as she walked over to where he hung, gently caressing his face with her long, pale fingers. "He'll be so proud of your progress, you know. He'll be happy that you've come so far."

Lyle looked up at her with bleary eyes, unfocused and confused as lines of blood trailed down his back from the earlier beating. "Your boss?" He asked sleepily. "Who is that..?"

"Well, Lyle," she began. "My boss is your father."

"I do not have a father," Lyle countered, his brow furrowing slightly. "Mother and father died when I was small, I think.."