Lovely Dark Things

SEVENTEEN (ISELEN POV)

Helien drops her arm with a quick movement and the boy's head rolls down the stairs cleanly cut thanks to the sharp knife, the sound like a bubbling fills my mouth with bile while the head bounces between the sorceresses' feet but the Priestess keeps her eyes fixed on me all the time... and she triggers something inside me. Damned elven bitch, I won't give you the satisfaction of watching me breaking down. It's pretty clear that's what she wants... or maybe this is a warning, a way to tell me this is how the poor human will end up when I'm not useful anymore and the Queen withdraws her protection. Okay, I got the message... But you won't see me on my knees, crying and begging... Bitch!

This is the toughest test I'll face in Baalberith and I'm determined to pass it even if it's just to fuck up this psycho's plans. I clench my jaw to hold back my nausea and my knuckles turn white when I grab the railing as if my life depended on it but keeping my eyes fixed on Helien and even raising an eyebrow defiantly. I try to breathe through my gritted teeth so the stench of putrefaction doesn't fill my brain, feeling that I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The Priestess frowns and waves her hand abruptly for her minions to drag a new victim to the altar while I do my utmost to stay on my feet when the second head rolls down the stairs again and the entrails of the young girl splash all over the place... I can't hold on much longer, I think I'm going to throw up... The smell...

"It's getting late, Iselen. We have an appointment at the Black Guard headquarters to talk to the head of the shipyard..." Ruby smiles at her mother and grabs my coat, pulling my body back to the corridor, walking away from the blood and the stench of dead bodies piled up.

"So soon?" Shurien pouts charmingly but her eyes sparkle with amusement and she doesn't stop us, she has what she wanted after all: a stupid human traumatized. These witches have made their point very clear, I don't belong here, I'm not a dark elf and won't last long here, no matter how useful the Queen thinks I am, no matter how much I work and fight for survival, my place is down there with the victims begging for my life. Sooner or later my head will roll down the stairs too for the greater glory of the God of War, Blood and Murder... Unless I'm smarter than they are, smarter than the Queen, smarter than all the dark elves...

"Hold on till we reach our bedroom..." The cold breeze on the bridge manages to clear my mind and the smell of sea washes away the traces of blood and death scent stuck to my skin and clothes. I don't recall having said goodbye to Shurien or what the hell Ruby's told her but I feel relieved when her father's guards follow us again down the stone corridors of the castle. Quiet, dark, cold, austere but clean... sublime, I prefer the Queen's home to the Temple. The sound of a door closing startles me and I suddenly realize that we're back to our apartment. "You can now..."

"I'm sorry," I cut her off running to the bathroom. One second later, I'm kneeled down and vomiting the breakfast, my stomach clenches hard and I'm barely able to breathe between heaves, my head is killing me and I believe I'm going to pass out or maybe die... Her strong arms enclose my chest and she whispers sweet nothings in my ear while cleaning my face with a wet towel, my sobs echo through the room when she drags me again to the couch in front of the fire and hands me a cup of herbal tea. Minutes tick by while the assassin holds me tight and rocks me like a baby, in fact, her kindness snaps me back to reality... dark elves are never sweet.

"Do you feel better?" Ruby looks almost worried while staring at me.

"I'm sorry," I whisper rubbing my face with my hands. "It won't happen again, I almost ruined everything."

"It's okay," the assassin smiles faintly and brushes my wet hair away from my forehead with another sweet gesture that sends a shiver down my spine, this time of pleasure. "I guess that this show my mother and her friends have staged can be a shock for a human, even more for someone who has lived a sheltered life like you... I don't understand it, you're supposed to be a military history teacher... Have you ever lived through a war and seen corpses on the streets?"