Shattered (17 page)

I bit down on the yelp of pain that wanted to escape, knowing ful wel it would only be received with bitterness and more anger.

“If I tel you I can handle this one, I can handle this one. I’m not some rookie Magical One who needs to have his hand held by you novices. Now get the hel out of here or I’l make arrangements to have you al go out onto the field with her.” They glanced at one another, their eyes wide with the fear of his threat. Only one of them dared gaze my way, the disgust in his eyes speaking plainly of what Brent intended to do with me. As the others left, he remained.

re not to“Our concern is not only for the rules that need to be adhered to, Brent,” he said. Clearly nervous about the confrontation, he nonetheless held his ground. “It’s for your own good. You’ve been reprimanded

before

for…

shal

we

say,

inappropriate

behavior

towards

the

female

prisoners. One more sanction and you’l be the one going out onto that field.”

“Thanks for your concern, buddy, but I know what I’m doing.”

With a defeated shrug, the last remaining Magical One left and the venomous glare in Brent’s eyes took on a whole new meaning.

“It’s always a shame to send out onto the field a lovely young girl who has not yet experienced what it is to be a woman.”

He was so large, so tal , so powerful and I felt immensely weak and frail. What kind of magic could I conjure up to keep him at bay? Grouping any kind of cohesive thought was difficult, never mind the concentration needed to do any proper magic.

Brent pushed me up to the wal and pinned my hands above my head.

No, I thought with growing conviction. I’m not going to let this happen. Throw me to the dogs if you wil , but I won’t al ow you to touch me in that way.

He pressed closer, his chest brushing against mine.

Begging for mercy would serve no purpose, perhaps even heighten his excitement. And talking any kind of sense was useless; the last Magical One to speak to him about the consequences of his actions had made that abundantly clear. No, my only way out was to find a kind of magic that would stop him, that would cripple him.

He inched closer, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled my scent. “Even after solitary confinement, you smel enticing.”

you smel enticing.”

His lips brushed along the length of my neck and I wanted to scream.

“There’s no point in screaming now,” he whispered hungrily into my ear.

Alarmed that he’d read my thoughts, I knew I had to work harder to bring myself out of the lul my captivity had brought on. If nothing else, I had to block my thoughts and keep him from seeing what I intended to do.

“Everyone screams around here, especial y you females. Your scream would only melt into the hundreds of other screams that echo through these hal s every day.”

Once again he pressed his lips to my neck, kissed over my ear and slowly brought his lips across my cheek. Repulsed by his touch, I turned away, refusing him access to my lips.

“I don’t have time to wasteught on.,” he grunted. Releasing my hand, he clamped his fingers on either side of my face and turned my face to him with a firm yank.

My freed hand fel limply to my side, momentarily useless as he pressed his lips over mine, the acrid scent of him, the putrid taste of him bringing out something feral and wild from deep inside me.

Shutting my eyes, I closed off from what was happening to my body and dove deep within myself, seeking the powers I knew I had, the powers that were dormant. Brent’s presence flowed off to the background, but I knew I had to find my strength fast.

A flash of light pierced my consciousness, bright and colorful, fil ed with hope and joy. For a moment I feared I’d died, had reached the heavens.

“I’m here with you, Kama.”

Torrid’s voice came to me just as surely as if he stood beside me.

“Don’t give up. Fight.”

The sound of his voice, the confirmation that he was alive gave me the added incentive to fight Brent off.

“They’ve weakened me beyond anything human.”

“You’re not just human. The power is stil within you. The powers your father has passed onto you. You just have to re-awaken it.”

In the distance, I felt the pressure of Brent’s touch as he prepared to rip the few shreds of clothing I stil had on.

“Your heritage gave you the power to overcome this, to overcome anything. Everyone needs you, Kama. You have to save yourself in order to come and save everyone.”

His words of encouragement were like building blocks to the strength that slowly pulsed through my veins. The weak and limp hand at my side came back to life, but I knew it was stil too frail to do anything against the bulk that Brent pressed against me.

My only way out was magic.

“A knife,” Torrid suggested.

Remembering my last attempt to conjure up a knife, I hesitated. If I erred again, if the knife appeared in Brent’s hand instead of mine… My mind raced with the consequences and for a long moment I froze with fear.

“See your hand. See your fingers,” Torrid ordered, his voice firm with the conviction of my abilities. “The knife needn’t be large or heavy. Wrap your fingers around the handle and see the blade that wil penetrate your capture’s skin just enough to al ow you to flee.”

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I envisioned my hands, my fingers, my thumb, but not the frail little hand I’d seen as I’d emerged from my cel , but the strong and vibrant hand of the young woman I was. Coupled with the vision was a glimpse of Brent, weakened by his own hunger for flesh.

My confidence grew and the moment to act was quickly upon me.

“Now!” Torrid commanded.

The cold handle of the knife awakened my hand and I quickly grabbed a firm hold of it, relieved it had appeared just as it should. Unsatisfied with the length of the blade, however, I added another two inches.

Just as Brent backed away, his eyes in a dreamy pool of lust, I raised my hand, the blade of the knife shimmering with the glow of freedom.

A curious crease lined his brow as he caught a glimpse of my weapon, but the fog in his head didn’t al ow for any kind of immediate response.

Dazed, he brought his gaze to my eyes, just as I plunged my knife into the base of his neck as deep plunged my knife into the base of his neck as deep as the knife would go.

Blood squirted out, gurgling with the sounds of death, but stil his eyes remained locked on mine.

The dark sheen of his skin turned ashen and his hold of me weakened. The realization of what had just happened final y struck him and he brought his hands to the deeply imbedded knife.

Panicked by his imminent death, he pul ed out the knife, al owing the blood to flow even more freely. Stumbling back, his eyes widened with disbelief.

The tiny little waif, weakened by days of starvation and neglect had just cut down one of the largest and fiercest Magical Ones.

He fel back against the far wal and sunk to the floor, his eyes wide, his mouth gasping for that last breath of air.

Strengthened by my victory, I sought a way out before the guards returned to fetch me, but there was only one way out; the very corridor al the guards had used to leave.

I inched to the corner and glanced out into the hal and was dismayed by the long line of Magical Ones that stood waiting; waiting for Brent to finish having his way with me.

“There she is!” one of them cal ed out.

“Get her!”

Cornered, I had nowhere to go, nowhere to run. They rushed towards me and the feeble protective wal I quickly erected did nothing to impede them. Within seconds they were on me, two holding each arm and two more grabbing each leg.

Squirming, kicking and screaming, I tore grried to escape them as they led me to the field, to the hungry dogs that awaited their next victim.

“No!” I shouted into the vast horrors of the Coliseum.

“I love you,” came Torrid’s anguished voice. “I wil always love you, Kama. Stay strong.” Everything went black. Everything went silent.

My connection to Torrid had gone dead.

The time was upon me and I tried to be brave. My initial screams of horror and hysteria ceased and I remained calm as the guards prepared me.

Stoic, they probably thought of me as I stood erect, ready to face my death, but it was determination that kept me so calm.

I was General Adar’s daughter. My destiny did not have me dying at the hands of Magical Ones. It did not have me being torn apart by animals. Though I didn’t yet know how I would escape, I just knew that I would.

“This one I’m going to enjoy watching,” one of the guards commented. “She thinks she’s special because of her heritage. Let’s see how special she is when the dogs get to her.”

“Too bad General Adar can’t be here to watch it.”

I turned a cunning eye to them. “When my father learns of your part in this, I hardly doubt you’l be as brave as you al are now. It’s so easy to talk like a tough guy when you’re throwing a young and helpless girl into a ring of death, but wait and see how you are when faced with someone a little more chal enging.”

They al turned to me, surprised to hear me speak at al , or simply surprised by my threat, it was hard to say. Either way, they didn’t like it.

“Hurry up, and let’s get this over with. She’s late going in as it is.”

Two Magical Ones flanked me and took hold of my arms, prepared to lead me through the gate.

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I straightened my shoulders and stepped forward before they could begin to guide me in. “I want to go in on my own.”

They simultaneously cocked their brows then turned a questioning glance to the other guards.

“Fine,” one of them said as he crossed his arms over his chest and gazed at me with open interest. “Let her go in on her own. This’l make for quite a show.”

“I bet she pees her pants once she sees the dogs,” one said with a snicker.

“I’l wager she faints dead away,” another countered.

“No,” the man with the crossed arms said. “I think she’l go in there trying to prove something.

Only when the dogs pierce their fangs through her skin wil she utter a cry.”

I turned my gaze to the gate and marched on.

Cheers roared al around me as I emerged on the sun drenched field; cheers of hate, cheers for blood. Some threw pebbles while others sprayed me with a slimy and greasy substance.

I didn’t cringe, sidestep what was tossed at me or glance anywhere other than the center of the ring. If anything my brave and stoic stance upset and infuriated the audience al the more. They would have preferred I cry and scream, that I resist and run away. I refused to give them the satisfaction of such a reaction.

As I reached the center of the ring, I brought my gaze to the skies beyond the Coliseum wal s.

Sunlight, fresh air… even if it did carry the odor of war, it was far better than the stale air I’d breathed in my cel .

I raised my chin to the breeze… and smiled.

The crowd gasped.

A break in the clouds, in the ever fal ing protective Force Field gave me a glimmer of a world far away; a world of peace, of serenity. I concentrated on the distant world, on the joy I’d felt while in that world. I wanted to go back.

The dogs were brought in, growling, snarling and foaming at the mouth as they tugged eagerly on their leash. Other than a disinterested side glance, I paid them no mind. My heart and my soul were already in that other world, already in a fragrant field of wildflowers.

A clink of chains indicated the release of the dogs. Their paws thundered on the dry earth, churning up a cloud of brown dirt. Their snarls of hunger came closer and closer, as did that distant field of wildflowers.

The il usion split before me, the "48" alihorror of the Coliseum, the bliss of a peaceful world.

Intensified by the warmth and bright rays of the sun, my heart soared with al the possibilities of this new world as it opened up more and more. The spitting world as it opened up more and more. The spitting and hateful crowd around me faded into the background and a burst of fresh blooms came forth.

Stil pounding their paws to the earth, the dogs continued their race towards me, but the snarling had ceased.

This was the power of the Magical Ones, I thought. This ability to create such an il usion. No one had ever seen the Coliseum before because it had never truly existed. It had been conjured up to frighten and intimidate this new batch of rebels in Arcadia.

I had the power, I realized, the power to change that il usion, to destroy the Coliseum and create the vision of the world that I wanted. I was a Magical One, a djin, the daughter of the most powerful one, and one who had the magic of Catchers, too.

I placed my hands out, my eyes and face opened to the sky. Arcadia was built on the il usion of a perfect town by Catchers and Magical Ones.

Now that il usion had been shattered, it was time to shatter the il usion of the Coliseum. “So the lamb and the dogs became friends,” I said.

Whimpering and whining, the dogs came to my side, licking my hands and playful y jumping up to me for a bit of attention and affection.