Even Hell Has Knights (Hellsong) (43 page)

Arturus stood unsteadily.

She moved down into the pool, onto the first step, so that she was just slightly shorter than he. “Have you ever kissed a girl before?”

Arturus shook his head.

“Relax, Turi. You learn this one by doing. Kiss me.”

He leaned forward slowly, unsure of himself. He felt her wet breasts pushing into the clothing at his chest. He opened his mouth, just a little at first, and then wider from her coaxing. He was unsure of how to move his tongue. He pushed his forward, but she kept it back, and he made sure not to push it so far again. He felt her tongue moving inside his mouth, or rather, he realized, inside the space their mouths created together. He kept pace with her. It was a slow thing, the kiss. And as the motion became second nature, he felt his blood surge. His world had collapsed into that tiny space they shared.

He was breathing heavily, he realized, through his nose. She felt so small beneath him. So exquisite. So soft.

The feeling did not last.

She came out of the water and was suddenly taller than him. He had to lean his head back to keep kissing her. His neck felt horribly vulnerable. She seemed stronger than him, too, pushing him back across the stone floor. He hit a stone wall and could go back no farther. She was all about him, protecting him—loving him or hating him. He couldn’t tell which and didn’t care either.

He felt safe. She wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Maab would
keep him safe.

She stopped, suddenly, their lips still touching for one last moment, and then drew back.

He was out of breath.

She filled his vision.

Whoever I kiss, ever again. I will always think of her. I will never be rid of her.

Someone else entered the room. Screams of pain were coming from that direction. The slaves there were in terrible agony. More laughter, too, from the Little Ladies. It all seemed so distant.

Maab leaned down and kissed him again. Her touch was so soft, so gentle. He felt like he was a delicate thing in her arms. Of course she had to be gentle. She would break him otherwise. This time she finished by sucking his lower lip.

“Have you been toughened at all?” Maab’s voice was a whisper.

Arturus shook his head, unsure as to what that meant, but harboring a terrible suspicion.

“Not even a little?”

He shook his head again.

“A shame,” she smiled. “I’ll spare you.”

She turned to the person who had entered the room.

“Kayla, I like this one. Mark him as mine and return him to his priestess. Maybe we’ll have him baptized in the next few years.”

The priestess bowed low. “This way, serf.”

Arturus fought not to look back as he followed the dark priestess out of the chamber.

He failed.

Maab was sitting down on the stone bench, looking towards her upraised foot.

Kayla led him down a corridor, passing the room where they had imprisoned him previously. There were two soldiers standing there.

“I’ll be done with him in a second,” she said. “I’ve got to mark him and then take him back to the serfs.”

The soldiers nodded.

She brought him in and removed a black dagger from her cloak. “Take off your shirt, serf.”

Arturus did as he was told.

“Hmm.” She smiled. “Strong little fellow. No wonder she likes you.”

The priestess stepped forward, dagger raised. Arturus had the terrible fear that it had been treated with rustrock.

What’s she going to do?

“Don’t flex your arm, it will take longer to heal. I don’t want you bleeding any more than you have already. Look at you! You’ve left blood everywhere.”

Arturus looked at the ground where they had walked. The wounds on one of his feet must have re-opened and they’d been leaking through his sewn up boot. She began carving a symbol into his arm. The pain was nothing compared to having the legs of the spiders removed from his feet.

“You take pain well little fellow,” she said. “That’s good in one of Mithra. Definitely necessary if you are to be worthy of a priestesses.”

She likes me.

Suddenly the entire society seemed backwards. Like Harpsborough, except that the girls
were the way the boys were supposed to be, and the boys were the way that girls were supposed to be.

Just in case I can’t escape, I better be ready.

He imagined Alice, or Molly, and thought of what they might do in his position.

What does this woman want to hear?

“I think you’re the prettiest priestess,” he said, quickly, as if on impulse.

The look of pleased shock on the girl’s face encouraged him, so he continued.

“I might never be worthy of you.”

She shook her head and looked him up and down. “In a few years, you better. You think you can do that for me?”

He nodded.

“I promise I’ll be gentle on you,” she said, half distracted by the work she was doing on his shoulder. “I have a mean reputation, but I’m kind to the sweet ones. I only break them
who ask for it.”

Arturus swallowed.

She stood back from his arm and dabbed at it with a cloth. “Looks good.” She cleaned her dagger and sheathed it in her cloak.

She wrapped up his arm with a cloth strip and tied it off. “And,” she said, whispering into his ear, “Maab’s city is very close to mine. She has taken three of my mates for her own, and regularly borrows from my lot. So see that you qualify for me. Of course, she breaks her men every time.”

Arturus could not disguise the shudder that ran down his spine, so he did his best to pretend it was one of desire, not of horror.

“Get your shirt back on, young man.”

Arturus did as he was told, being careful not to move the bandage on his shoulder as he pulled his shirt sleeve over it. He put his grey cloak back on, too, which was wet in places from Maab’s bath water.

“Here you are, soldiers,” Kayla said, leading Arturus back out of the room. “Keep him safe.”

She smoothed his cloak and ruffled his hair.

“Good for you,” one of the soldiers said, “you’ve been marked. A few years and you might be one of us.”

Arturus nodded seriously.

It had better not take me that long to escape.

He wondered, though, if he could even survive out there in the wilds of the Carrion. Galen had told him that he could follow the river home, but the river was the most dangerous part of the Carrion. There were devils crawling all over it.

I have to try.

The soldiers led him back out into the room where the ritual had taken place.

“Where do you belong?” one soldier asked him.

Arturus looked around, and saw Julian’s face. He did not see Galen’s.

“Over there,” he said, pointing to Julian.

“Ah, one of Selena’s,” a soldier replied. “That Maab mark may be the only thing that saves you, friend.”

They brought him to where Julian sat on the stage. Julian did not meet Arturus’ gaze, but left, moving to sit as far away from him as possible without leaving his group. One of the men touched Julian on the cheek, an oddly sexual gesture that suggested ownership.

Arturus thought he understood Julian’s reaction better this time. Julian was trying not to get killed, or worse. He wanted to escape, surely, it’s just that the cost for failure would be too high.

For him, but not for me.

He leaned back against the stone stage and listened.

I’m so close to the alcove. I could escape out there. I just have to break away.

He looked to see if the soldiers were still looking at him. One was, and the man smiled at Arturus.

I’ll have to wait until they leave. In the meantime, let’s hear what they have to say.

The two soldiers were talkative. Arturus caught his breath when he saw the sadist soldier in Icanitzu hide. He was put off enough by the man at a distance. When close up, the soldier was terrifying. His dark grey Icanitzu armor seemed to glitter in the firelight.

The soldiers stopped speaking until the man was out of sight.

“Where’s he going?”

“Who?”

“La’Ferve, you idiot, I thought he was going to be leading Maab’s forces back.”

La’Ferve.

“No, he’s going out to find the traitor.”

Galen. They’re chasing Galen.

“Who’s leading Maab’s priestesses back?”

“Gilgamesh.”

“But she’s got the Minotaur. You know Gilgamesh hates having his hounds near that thing.”

“Well, we get to be by those fuckers as we go.”

“Can’t get used to that, traveling with hellhounds.”

“Me neither. Gilgamesh’s conditioning broke off of one a year ago, ate three serfs before they shot him down. Was right by Lethe, too, so they had to scatter the serfs and run for it. That’s why they pull their teeth these days.”

“It isn’t worth it.”

“Sure isn’t.”

Arturus saw the first set of troops marching out.

“Normally I feel safer traveling with Maab’s guard. Maybe we can convince Kayla to break off early.”

“Unlikely, we’ll probably go in to visit.”

“What was it like?”

“What?”

“Being with Maab, when she chose you last year. What was it like?”

“I don’t like to talk about it.”

“Tell me.”

“She had ten of us in a row. We didn’t last ten minutes.”

“Ahriman incarnate.”

“Don’t swear.”

“Sorry. Maybe that’s why she likes La’Ferve so much? He can stand up to her?”

“No way.”

“No way?”

“Nope. She likes him because he can kill. Nothing can stand up to her.”

Kayla motioned to her group, and the two men moved to join her. She moved out with a dozen or so soldiers and nearly a hundred serfs. Two other priestesses accompanied her. Following that, came Maab’s men. Maab had her headdress and paint back on. Arturus felt an ache in his stomach as he looked at her.

A man moved to talk to her. He was also dressed out of the norm, and more heavily armed. He had a coat made out of the fur of a hellhound. He was wearing jeans, but they had been split along the legs. A sawed-off double-barreled shotgun was holstered at his side, and the man had what looked to be a revolver strapped to his chest.

Gilgamesh?

The man spoke with Maab for a few moments, making wide gestures with his hands. No, not Gilgamesh. This man was familiar.

Pyle! The Betrayer!

He was in the Carrion? Perhaps he was the one who captured Julian.

What if he sees me?

But Pyle already had seen him. Arturus waited to be pointed out, but Pyle did no such thing.

He winked at Arturus.

Keep your head on. Stay calm. You’ll find a way to slip out of the crowd.

Arturus felt someone touch his shoulder, so he turned to see who it was.

Julian was sitting down next to him, nonchalantly, not even looking at him. It was as if Julian didn’t know him at all. Arturus could see where the sweaty touch of one of the slaves had wiped away some of the dust that clung to the young boy’s face. Beneath that ashy layer, Julian’s skin tone was darker. It was the color Arturus remembered.

Julian’s under there, safe, hidden from these people by that layer of grey.

“We came to save you,” Arturus said softly. “Galen and Aaron are with me. They’re in the labyrinth beyond.”

Julian nodded, almost imperceptibly. “Stay quiet a bit,” he whispered, his lips barely moving. “I’ll tell you when it’s safe to speak.”

“It’s safe now,” Julian told him.

“There’s a way out of this chamber,” Arturus said. “We only need to get to it.”

Julian gave a barely perceptible nod. “Who’s your priestess?”

“Priestess? No one is my priestess, we snuck in here.”

“Turi, you’re marked now. I know you think you’ve got to get out, I know, but for your own sake, I should tell yo
u
. .
.
” Julian broke off speaking for a moment while he waited for a pair of soldiers to walk by. “I should tell you what the punishment is for trying.”

Arturus watched another group of slaves stand up, soldiers at their corners. They began marching out of the ritual chamber.

More are leaving!

It was only one group, however, and no one else seemed like they were getting ready to depart.

“What’s the punishment?” Arturus asked.

“They chain you to a block, face down and naked. They cover your eyes so that all the other serfs can get at you. You’ve got no chance for revenge. Consider yourself lucky if your friend comes and rips off your nuts in the beginning. That way the rest of the Kruks can’t torture you. You’re on the block for three days.”

“But we won’t get caught. We’ll make it to Harpsborough.”

“Tried once, already, Turi.”

Arturus turned to look at his friend. Julian’s face was expressionless. His chin was raised slightly.

“This time you have help,” Arturus whispered.

“Three days. I had tried to escape with a friend. We got caught together. We were chained side by side, just like you and me will be, if I go with you.”

“You have to come.”

“Three days. My friend got the stilling on the second. He abandoned me.”

“We won’t get caught.”

“They kept taking him anyway. I could hear the sound as they pushed him back and forth. Back and forth. No one ripped my balls off Turi.”

Julian cocked his head to one side, looking across the room at something. He seemed as carefree as anyone here.

Maybe Julian’s close. Maybe he’ll get the stilling soon.

“Okay. You want to stay here?”

“I’m not going with you. Listen to me, Turi. Listen very carefully. I wish I could make you stay, but I know you won’t. You’ll have to watch out. The hounds obey them. They have a trainer, Gilgamesh, and he has found a way to bend them to his will—”

“Galen’s there, he’ll make sure—”

“Shut up, Turi. We don’t have much time. Now you listen to me. I was taken here by that one to the right. The one in split jeans. He’s called the Lamb, because he’s Christian. He’s not the one you have to worry about. He’s only as strong as a person is. The rest of them drink from the Bullman. It makes them stronger. It makes them harder to kill. La’Ferve is the scary one. He wears devil skins for his clothes. He’s the one that caught the Minotaur, and they say he’s had so much of the bull’s blood that he’s hardly human. He was shot in the head once and survived it. He can smell like a hound, track you all on his own. His protégé, Hale, was the one who caught me the second time. You’ve been marked, though. They may send La’Ferve after you.”

Another group got up to leave. Arturus dared to glance at the man in Icanitzu skins.

La’Ferve. Can you really smell like a hound?

“Don’t go back to Aaron and Galen,” Julian went on, staring intensely into Arturus’ eyes. “You’ll only bring Maab’s men to them. They’ll be slaughtered. Don’t go back to Harpsborough either. I’ve seen them hunt and track, Turi. Each of their men is worth three of ours. They’re as silent as me. They survive here, in the Carrion. And if you shoot them they don’t always die. The bull’s blood has made them strong.”

I have to see Galen.

“Julian, I—”

“Quiet,” Julian said harshly. “I’ll tell you this, and then I’m gone. There are serfs over there watching me talk to you. There are Kruks among them. I’m risking a lot just to warn you.”

“Okay.”

“When they capture you they’re going to chain you down. They’ll leave you there for three days. But you’ll be blind. You’ll have no way to measure the time. You have to try and smell their breath. If you can smell the devilwheat you know it’s just been meal time. You have to survive six of those. Then they’ll let you go.”

Tears were streaming down Julian’s cheeks, leaving little lines of dark skin in their wake.

“Julian.”

“It hurts the most in the beginning, until you’re ripped all the way. Then the blood helps some. To survive you’ll have to think of something, some woman in Harpsborough, maybe. Maybe your mother. Something. Whatever is dearest to you. Hold it close. Don’t let it go. You’ll have to keep it because you’ll start to
like
it. You can’t let that happen. I’m sure that’s what gave the man the stilling, Turi. You start to
like
it.”

Julian wiped the tears off his cheeks with his robe. It smeared the grey off of his face.

That’s his shield. With the dust gone they’ll be able to see the real Julian.

There were a thousand things Arturus knew he should ask, but only one question came to his mind.

“Who did you think of? What helped you survive?”

“Honey.”

Honey?

Julian got up and moved away. Arturus didn’t dare follow him.

Soon they’ll leave. I’ll hide here. No one knows to count me. Then I can try. Three days.