Legacy of the Golden Wielder

Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

The days turned into months, and the months crept into years.

In the five seasons Aadi had spent there, word had spread of his singing. It also became common knowledge that whatever crew he was in would get their work done. It wasn’t long until every man and boy wanted Aadi to be in their group for the day. This in turn had made him a leader of sorts. The men looked up to him and constantly came for advice on different matters.

“I wish you would have been in our crew today,” said Linius after a particularly hard day at the mines. “Three of the men were too tired to finish their two buckets. They were forced to go with no food.”

Aadi lay back down on the hard ground and gazed at the ceiling. He hadn’t seen the sun in ages. Despite his optimism, he sometimes wondered if he would ever see it again. Or Ishani. Not one day passed when she wasn’t in his thoughts.

“Va’siel to Aadi,” said Linius, waving a hand in front of him.

“Oh, sorry. What were you saying?”

“I was saying that many in our group did not get to finish their two buckets.”

“Why don’t you sing then?” Aadi asked.

“Me?” Linius pointed at himself.

Aadi nodded. He couldn’t believe that in all this time he’d never thought about that. “Yes, from now on you will sing too.”

Linius scratched his head apprehensively. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I don’t know how to sing.”

“Neither do I,” Aadi countered.

Linius nodded. “You’re actually pretty good.”

“If you’re not good, it will be even better. That means the men will have something to laugh at. Don’t you see? The purpose of singing is to get their spirits up. This way they don’t lose hope.”

“Still with that dream,” came the sickly voice from behind him. The lock in the cage rattled as the warden pushed the key in. After the lock snapped open he barged in and took Aadi by his chains. “Hurry up!”

He led Aadi out of the cage. A guard slammed the cage door shut.

Without being told, Aadi got on his knees and took off his shirt. There was no use waiting for instructions. The warden had repeated the same routine, every month, for the past five years. The whips to his back came in quick bursts. But he did not cry out or shout. Seasons ago, he’d learned to drown out the pain to the point where he had become numb to it.

“Are you ready to admit that you will never leave Kilead Keep?”

“No.”

“I thought you might say that,” sneered the warden. “Get Worthless.”

Aadi’s eyes widened as the guards stormed into the cage and forced a trembling Linius beside him. “No, he has nothing to do with this. Leave him alone!”

Padstow marched up to Aadi and struck him across the face. “You do not make the rules here. I do!” He faced his guard. “Remove his shirt.”

“Leave him alone!” Aadi repeated. He was burning with rage. He needed to break free and help his friend. He got to his feet, but before he could take a step, something hard hit him on the back of his head. He crashed to the floor. Groggily, he watched as the warden whipped Linius.

Every whip was followed by his friend’s soul-churning screams. Minutes later the beating stopped. The guards let go of Linius and he crumpled, facedown, to the ground.