A Pawn of the Devil Part 3
Sharp pain woke Sarah up. It seemed to be coming from every part of her body. She tried to move her arms and find where it was coming from but she was tightly bound with her own rope. Wiggling her feet let her know that her legs were also tied. Movement to her left caught Sarah’s attention and she tried to see what was making the sound. Everything was still blurry but a humanoid shape hovered over her midsection.
Pain flared again. A stabbing sensation just above her navel spread upward. Warm liquid that could only be blood pooled up and ran down both sides of her waist. She screamed as loud as her vocal chords would let her. Deep in her numbing mind she knew no one could hear her or, much less, save her. Whatever, whoever, was doing this to her would get away with it. How she could think of this while the object tore deeply into her skin, raking across each rib bone was beyond her.
Sarah screened until her throat was raw and no sound would continue to come out. Yet, she still tried. Each slice went deeper and deeper. The one doing all the torture never went above Sarah’s shoulders. They did touch everywhere else. It must have been a man because he started humming some unknown tune in a clearly male voice as if he was not skinning her alive.
Hours, minutes or days flew by as the cutting continued. Eventually, she felt herself slipping away. Did she really want to die? Yes, she did. Whatever came after this had to be better. There was no hope. There was no other end. Sarah welcomed the blissful darkness as it enveloped her. As she lost consciousness, she smiled.
Ice cold water splashed across her body jarring her awake. With a loud groan, she realized she was still alive. “Well, crap.” Her voice came out as a croak. Her sight was clear now and Sarah realized she lay on the same platform she had passed searching for an exit. Chains shackled her to the stone wall behind her. Thick cuffs cut into her ankles, blood dripping down her feet, even after being splashed with water. Other than the restraints, she was completely naked.
Holding a bucket in front of Sarah stood a man. His nearly seven-foot-tall frame barely contained any fat or muscle. His back hunched over slightly. A maniacal smile nearly cut is face in half, but these things weren’t what startled Sarah. It was the fiery glow in his eyes, the needle-sharp teeth showing through cracked lips and a darker than black aura encircling him.
All that had happened before waking up drenched in icy water came flooding back. Sarah gasped quickly searching her body. Her hands ran over smooth skin, clearly untouched by any kind of weapon. The only blood still dripped around her ankles. This wasn’t possible. She vividly remembered the pain and screaming. Her mind tried to snap. It must have been the smell causing her to hallucinate or maybe a terrible nightmare. “Who are you? What is happening here?”
The man laughed sending chills over her skin not caused from the cold. “You are now my student. I am now your god. I am called Xaphan.”
“Student? I don’t want to be your damn student. Let me go! Now!” Sarah pulled at her chains. They wouldn’t give but she still tried. It only made him laugh harder. Seeing that there was no point, she finally gave up. “Why are you doing this?”
Xaphan seemed to float instead of walk closer. He dropped his bucket causing it to roll back towards the lake. “It must be done. Culling the herd must happen and you, my dear, must be my weapon.”
“No. I don’t want to be your weapon. Please, let me go.”
“Want? What you want is not important. This shall happen. I must mold you.” One boney hand reached towards Sarah. The smell of rotten eggs wafting in the air. She recoiled instinctively. Long talon like nails caught her long sandy blonde hair. With all the tangles and knots, his nails caught in them keeping her in place.
“Tsk tsk tsk. You must be hungry, my dear.” Letting go of her hair, he walked around the platform and out of sight. When he returned, he handed her a stone plate. On it was a single chunk of bread. Her stomach betrayed her by growling loudly. “See? Hungry. Eat. Then we shall begin.”
“Did earlier happen for real?” Sarah indicated towards her body.
“Why yes, yes it did. You take pain very well. I must say, I expected more screaming.” Xaphan chuckled, clearly impressed with himself.
“I don’t understand. My body isn’t cut. I don’t have any wounds at all, no blood.” She felt her mind trying to snap again but shook her head. She was stronger than this.
“Magic, my sweet. Magic. You died and I brought you back whole. That had to happen for this process to work. I do so enjoy my craft.” With that, he strolled off into the darkness, humming the same toon as before.
