Shaper of Stone (The Shapers Book 1) (8 page)

This was my doing. I asked to have
these people released, and now they were my responsibility. I needed
to make things right.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry
that you are trapped here. That we are trapped here. I want to help
you. I can help you if you let me. We need to work together.”

A plain looking woman in her mid
forties stepped forward and asked, “Why?”

I wasn’t sure, but I think I
swayed on my feet. It was hard to tell with the way things were
spinning around me. I wiped my forehead to try to keep the blood from
running into my eyes.

“Someone has to stop the bastard
who did this to you.”

The woman stepped forward, placed her
hands on my shoulders and steadied me.

“We will see young man. We will
see.”

-o-

Counting the older woman, there were
only seven of them. She led me through her people into the building
where Garit had tried to get them to go earlier. I was wrong to think
of it as a building. I meant it was a building, but it was in such
poor shape that it was little more than a shack divided into a series
of rooms. They looked like stalls from a stable. In each of the rooms
there were two wooden frames for beds.

That’s it. That was all there
was. It was only a little better than the cell I found myself in
earlier.

The woman helped me sit down on one of
the bed frames. We were not alone. Garit stood nearby. The rest gave
him ample space in the crowded room.

“Garit,” I said, “Thank
you. Are you okay?”

The guard hardly looked bothered by the
beating. He shrugged his shoulders, “I’ve had worse.”

Talia appeared at my side and started
to probe at my head while giving me orders, “Sit still and let
me see how bad you are hurt.”

“I’ve had worse too,”
I said with a nod to Garit. I immediately wished I hadn’t as my
brain felt like it wanted to slosh from one side of my head to
another.

Talia finished her examination and
wrapped a bandage around my head. ’Going to have a goose egg
there, but you’ll be fine. One of the rocks opened a cut, but
it has already stopped bleeding.”

I gingerly touched the bandage and
decided that for now I would be alright. I got to my feet and took a
deep breath, trying to steady myself.

Taking Talia’s hand, I thanked
her then said, “Talia, I want you to make sure everyone here
has something to eat and drink.”

I then walked over to Garit and placed
my hand on his shoulder, “And you, my friend, can you find
bedding and clothes for these folks. Anything that they need to make
this place more comfortable.”

“I can help with that,”
said the bald man who was comforting Talia earlier. “I’m
Hahns, the caretaker around here.”

“Great! Thanks a lot!”

“No, thank you Sir. From what my
wife tells me, you’re the first person to stand up to Lord
Vatrale. You’re a sign of hope for any of us here. No one has
ever left here alive. Only The Master and his personal guard. The
rest of us are going to die here unless something changes.”

“No one else is going to die
here,” I promised. Now I just needed to figure out a way to
keep that promise.

-o-

As everyone went off to complete their
tasks, I found myself alone with the woman who led me into the
building. We kept our voices low as we talked so as not to disturb
the others.

Her name was Shira. She had survived in
the pit longer than anyone else. Her husband had been a student of
Vatrale. When he disappeared, her son was taken, and she was thrown
into the cell, isolated from everyone.

That was over eight years ago. Her
imprisonment changed four months ago when she was taken from her cell
and thrown into the pit. Another to be drained by Vatrale. At least
fifty people have died since she was placed in the pit, and none of
the others lasted half as long as he she had.

The draining sucked their will from
them. They could act and were aware of what happened around them, but
they lacked the desire to do even the simplest tasks. Many of those
who died starved to death. Not from a lack of food, but because they
simply couldn’t exert the effort to feed themselves.

Those who survived the longest shared
something of a group mentality. If one ate, they all ate. When one
slept, the others followed. She wasn’t surprised that they all
attacked. It wasn’t that they were violent. They were just
conditioned to act together. The man who threw the first rock was one
of the newest prisoners. He was also one of the bodies left behind
when the guards rushed in.

I talked to Shira and the others for
the rest of the night. Her story was unique in that she knew Vatrale
before she was abducted. The others were bought from slavers,
captured while traveling on the road, or attacked in an alley after
having too much to drink. They were taken alone, and no one had ever
met their fellow captives before.

Talia, Hahns, Garit and the other
guards worked for the mine before it closed. That was about three
years ago. When it shut down, they were asked to stay. It seemed like
a good idea at the time, but within a few months they realized that
they had become prisoners there.

Anyone who left the compound would be
found several days later at the foot of the gate. Not all of them,
just enough so that the others could clearly identify the body. It
didn’t take too many failed attempts before those who remained
decided it was safer to stay in the compound.

Almost a year ago, Vatrale showed up
with a group of mercenaries and reopened the mine. They worked the
pits for several months before the first prisoners arrived and were
taken below. More souls kept going into the mine, but no one ever
came out.

That was until four weeks ago when they
emerged with an unconscious body on a cart and whisked him away.
Hahns only got a glimpse of the body as it was loaded on the wagon,
but he saw enough to recognize the man when he saw him again.

I was that man. The way back to my
world must be in the mine somewhere. Someplace that Vatrale hasn’t
shown me yet.

-o-

As soon as I woke up, I realize that
Vatrale was back. From the pull in my stomach, I guessed he must be
in the house. If he wasn’t in his room, he was in the common
area.

Well, at least when I’m awake he
won’t be able to sneak up on me. At the moment, I was happy to
find any advantage. Then again, I probably couldn’t sneak up on
him either.

I dressed and headed out to face him.
Vatrale was seated at the table in the common area. Standing behind
him was a lizard man. It was Carvis. The last time I saw him he had a
crossbow bolt in his chest and was covered in blood. I didn’t
see any sign of his wounds. Whether he was a fast healer or Vatrale
was able to speed up his recovery I didn’t have a clue.

“Hey there Carvis. You’re
looking much better than the last time I saw you.”

The lizard man showed me his teeth.
Yeah, just as scary as ever.

“And you do not, Devin. What
happened to your head?” asked Vatrale.

I still had the bandage wrapped around
my head. Somehow telling Vatrale that I was attacked by the people he
released to me didn’t seem like a good idea. I did the next
best thing, I lied.

“Ah this,” I said as I
touched the bandage, “I was out exploring yesterday and I
wasn’t watching where I was going. I tripped and fell. Nothing
too bad.”

“Indeed. I’m sure that is
what happened, and it was no way related to the two prisoners who
were killed yesterday or the guard who was struck down. I expect you
would like me to think that they are simple coincidences.”

“Well, since you put it that way.
Yeah, that would be nice.”

“Devin, you must realize that I
know everything that goes on here. Even if you cannot see me, do not
doubt, for I am watching you. In the future when I ask a question, I
expect you to answer honestly and completely. You will not like the
consequences should you lie to me again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Lord Vatrale.”

“Excellent. Now finish your
breakfast and join me outside.”

Vatrale pushed away from the table and
strolled lightly to the door with Carvis at his side. After our
little talk, I was not in the mood for anything to eat. I got up and
followed them out.

Outside a squad of ten lizard men
waited in front of the house. Huddled at their center were the seven
people from the shack. Tali and Hans had found food and clothing for
them, but they still looked pale and sickly.

Vatrale walked down the steps and
approached the crowd. He stopped a few feet from them and waited for
me to join him.

“Devin, these are the ones
responsible for your injury. Tell me, who instigated the attack?”

“He isn’t here, Lord
Vatrale. He was killed along with another man.”

“Then we will have to pick our
example from the survivors. Someone must be punished if you wish to
keep these people in line. Who shall it be?”

“Punish! No way! It wasn’t
their fault!”

Vatrale actually grinned as he turned
to look at me. “What does that have to do with it. Pick someone
or I will select them all.”

Before I could open my mouth and pick
myself, he raised his hand to stop me, “Don’t think of
martyring yourself. You are a lord to this rabble and above them.
Throw yourself on the pyre if you must, but know that their suffering
will be far greater than yours.”

My mouth suddenly went dry and I could
feel my heart beating against my chest. No one here deserved to be be
punished.

“I will count to three, then the
choice will be mine,” said Vatrale. “I didn’t
witness the event, so to be fair I’ll just punish all of them.”

“One.”

What was he going to do to them? He’s
psychotic. I didn’t want to even think about what he would do.
A guard walked behind the crowd. He carried a whip. It dragged on the
ground behind him whispering a promise of pain.

“Two.”

The guard snapped the whip, an
exclamation point to Vatrale’s count down.

When did I start sweating? I wiped my
forehead and noticed that Shira has stepped away from the group. Her
eyes locked on me. As soon as our eyes met, she nodded her head. Was
she volunteering?

“Thr...”

“Stop!” I yelled. “I
pick her!”

I pointed to Shira. She didn’t
flinch as I made my choice. I did. I turned away, unable to face her.

There were gasps from the people
gathered around. They didn’t know I had no choice. That it was
going to be one of them or all of them. I hoped Shira knew, not that
it would make it any better if she did.

I should have found a way to stand up
to him.

“Her? You pick her? So be it,”
said Vatrale.

He raised his arm and a column of stone
erupted from the ground. The force of the stone breaking through the
surface projected bits of dirt and grass into the air. The prisoners
closest to the column were struck by the falling debris.

There were a few cries, but they were
from surprise. No one seemed to be hurt by the display.

“Carvis, secure her to the stone.
She is not to be touched or spoken to until I return.”

“As you command, Lord Vatrale,”
answered Carvis as he stepped forward to do as he was ordered.

“And, for the rest of them, get
them out of my sight.”

Garit appeared at my side and
whispered, “I’ll keep them safe.” He began to herd
everyone back into their quarters before the other guards could
become involved. He spoke softly to the prisoners and they followed
his directions. The few who hesitated fell into line when Shira
motioned for them to follow him. It looked like I wasn’t the
only one who thought of her as the leader of the weary group.

Carvis turned Shira away from the
others. When she faced the stone he pulled her forward until she was
leaning over it. He then tied her hands and feet together so that she
could neither stand nor move from her position. When he was done, he
drew his dagger, slit her dress and pulled it from her shoulders. Her
back and shoulders were left bare.

A few of the prisoners glanced at Shira
while Garit lead them away, but not one looked in my direction. He
kept them moving, gently nudging any who might be tempted to get out
of line.

The guard with the whip approached and
snapped it in the air. The crack echoed through the compound. This
time Shira did flinch. I wanted to turn away, but this was my fault.
I needed to face the consequences of my choices.

“Hold!” ordered Vatrale,
“Leave her. As long as there are no further problems today, we
may spare the lash.”

He spun and headed to the mine entrance
without looking back. Over his shoulder, he waved for me to follow,
and like a lost puppy, I fell into step beside him. It took a few
seconds before I felt steady on my feet and my pulse was under
control. At first I thought he might be playing a cruel joke, but as
we moved further away I realized that nothing more would happen to
Shira.

“You aren’t their savior
boy, and now they know that. I trust there won’t be a need for
a second lesson this evening.”

I considered telling him he was crazy,
but kept my mouth shut instead. He made his point and for now I
needed to play along.

-o-

Carvis joined us as we descended into
the mine. He lead the way through the tunnels until we reached a room
carved from the earth. It contained a metal table with one of those
nerafpan orbs hanging above it. There was also a cushioned chair
here.

It was similar to the room where his
other student had been trapped, except for the addition of the chair.
I wondered if I was going to end up like him.

“Boy,” Vatrale started.
“You are going to spend one day out of five here. You will be
filling these orbs as quickly as you can.”