Circles, Chapter 2.2

Circles

Chapter 2.2

Into the Maze

Verdant opened her eyes. She hurt ... everywhere. She reached for magick and screamed as pain flooded her body.

"No, no, no," a man said. "You're collared, sister. No magick for you."

When the room stopped spinning, Verdant turned her head. Forrest sat on a chair across the small strangely shaped room from her.

"You volker," she said.

"Sticks and stones," the Mage said.

She could feel the collar around her neck. She ran her hands along the metal. She felt bracelets around her wrists. "You would use iron against a fellow Mage. What are you?"

Forrest sighed. "I'm a Mage on the winning side, Clarissa."

"Don't call me that."

Forrest waved his hand. "Yes, yes, yes, we're all Mages here. We give up our names and families and personal bonds when we become Mages. Except we don't."

Verdant struggled to sit up. Her vision dimmed. She sank back.

"Slowly," Forrest said. "The shield backlash was nasty. Oak was a powerhouse. As unyielding and stupid as his name, but a powerhouse nonetheless."

She swallowed. "He was a better man than you."

"Perhaps I'll improve," he said.

Finally she sat up. She was on a narrow bunk. Her robes had been taken, and she was only in her underclothes. She refused to cover herself. She would not be embarrassed by things she couldn't control. She could feel and hear a low humming. "I'm on a dirigible."

"Yes," Forrest said. "The Imperial Airship Sky Favor."

"Why?"

"As the lone survivor of a nest of traitors, you're being taken back to stand trial for treason and then executed in a manner befitting your crimes." He made a mocking face of dismay. "As an example to others." He flicked a particle of dust off his robe. "Probably there will be some torture, also. An attempt to gather more information on your rebellion."

"I'll never talk," Verdant said.

"Yes, you will," Forrest said. "By the time they finish, you will be babbling." He laughed harshly. "Trust me, I know."

"How can you do this?" she asked. "We were your friends."

"Never friends."

"Then at least your colleagues."

"Not even that," Forrest said. "You and Argent think you know what's going on. You think you're rebelling against a corrupt Empire. You think the Emperor is mad. You think the Silver Folk will come to your aid. You think the Maze..." He stopped. "The sheer volume of misinformation you carry astonishes me. You've been misled, fooled, tricked."

He rose and walked slowly toward her.

"Time for you to learn a few things, lovely Clarrisa," he said. His magick pinned her to the bunk. "Time for you to learn who's your master."

She couldn't move. Couldn't escape. She twisted her face into a smile. "Then come on. This is the only way you'll ever have a woman."

He stopped but only for a moment. He smiled. "I wonder if you'll think of Argent."

"Burn in hell," she said.

"Probably," Forrest said. "All in good time. But before then, we're going to have a good time."

Verdant clamped her lips shut and promised herself no matter what he did, she wouldn't cry out.

Copyright 2011 by Stephen B. Bagley. All rights reserved. No copying without prior express written permission from the author. Thanks for reading.

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