The Price of Blood

Chapter 19: Bird in a Cage

For the umpteenth time in three weeks, Victoria awoke to her face pressed against the floor of her very own dreadfully dark and dank prison cell of Fort Vaegar. Her wrists were bloodied and raw from the shackles around her wrists, as were her ankles. Thankfully, she could hear the Elitre and their master scurrying down the stairs to check on her. She sat patiently, awaiting her release by attempting to blow the loose strands of hair from her face.

Lucaese gave her a warm smile as he spotted her sitting upright. His enthusiasm around her never failed to make her blood boil. It was as if he was an innocent stranger attempting to make friends, all manners and pleasantries. "Ah, there she is. We were beginning to fear you might not come back to us."

"How long was it this time?" Victoria asked as Ludus unlocked her cell and removed the shackles. Closthe and Electra came to clean and wrap her wrists and ankles in fresh linen strips, not that Victoria would need the bandages for very long.

"Two days, this time. You'd made such great progress over the last week that I was certain this time would go smoother. Perhaps we pushed too hard." Lucaese held out his hand. "But it's nothing to worry about. We'll get it right."

"You sound so sure of that," Victoria groaned as he pulled her up to her feet. Every muscle ached profusely, crying out in protest at the slightest movement. Lucaese all but had to carry her out of the cell, not that he seemed to mind. He kept his arm wrapped tightly around her, taking the stairs one step at a time with her.

"I am sure of it. I can feel the old god within you, slumbering. We simply have to communicate with Lord Attan in a way he'll understand." Lucaese let her go into Ludus' iron-clad, unfeeling hands as they reached the door leaving the prison area of the fort. He took one of her hands and raised it to his lips. "I'm afraid this is where I must leave you for now, my dear. The daylight is fast approaching. I'll see you this evening."

Victoria said nothing as he walked through the door. Her head was pounding, and standing was agony on her aching feet. The patience to suffer silently through interactions with an egotistical megalomaniac was not something she possessed at the moment. Without protest, she followed Ludus and her sisters out into the courtyard. Quickly, they made their way across the stretch of lawn to the main building of the fort. The guards were busy changing shifts, with the mindless thralls taking their masters' positions for the daylight watch. Others were busy arranging tables and chairs around a raised stone platform, or clearing debris and stray stones from the grass.

Once inside, Ludus let her go, taking great delight in watching Victoria hobble and limp her walk of shame through the fort to her room at the top of the east tower. "Twelve loyal soldiers died because of your latest outburst," Ludus said.

"I was wondering when you'd inform me of the most recent casualties. What's my total at now?" Victoria asked her. At least the two of them understood each other. Lucaese's inability to accept that she was not the eldritch abomination he so desperately desired for his own means grated on both of their nerves.

"I lost count after the first hundred or so," Ludus said flatly. "Do you not find it odd that your beast form does not match the descriptions foretold in the old prophecies?"

"I do find it odd. So odd that I am still wondering why you do not simply dispose of me and try again. Surely one of you three would make a better host than I?" Victoria still couldn't fully believe that Lucaese was completely okay with how many of his soldiers she had slaughtered. Clearly, the Elitre felt the same.

"I'll let you in on a little secret," Closthe said in her ear once they found themselves alone at the foot of the stairs to the east tower. "His Lordship has begun to think you sabotaged the summoning. Whatever demon you harbor within, it is not Attan. We were serving Lady Azra before Lucaese was even born. You are not Aemani. Eventually, His Lordship will understand this as we do. He has not yet seen the full extent of your demonic rage, as we have."