They left the severed head on the floor for seven days.
The rotting meat let off a stench that filled every corner of the cells like a thick blanket, suffocating and inescapable. Maggots swarmed the eye sockets, chewing through the soft flesh and leaving gaping holes, like tunnels, leading into the skull. Chunks of blackened flesh fell loose from the bones and splattered to the floor where they gradually disintegrated into puddles of rancid fluid.
The guards didn't bring any food, leaving the Hunters with just the water they could lick from the walls. The only daylight they saw came through the trapdoor when the guards changed shifts and even that was just a bright splash amongst days of darkness.
Nova's stomach rumbled through the first day and on the second reverted to a constant ache. Fatigue and hunger filled every inch of her body until the only thing she could think about was getting more food. She'd start with the traitor prisoner, if she had to.
She huddled against the corner of her cell and stayed there, conserving energy. She let her head rest against the wall and drifted in and out of disturbed sleep.
Her companions looked to be doing the same. Tanguin lay curled in a ball at the back of her cell, Tyra sitting beside her. Aart leant against the bars close to Orion, who still hadn't woken since his beating.
"Still breathing," Aart announced every few hours, his voice fainter each time.
Gus sat with his back to the guard, facing into the corner of his cell and humming.
Nova frowned, tilting her head to see around his broad shoulders.
Gus's left boot lay in front of him, the rubber from the base torn aside to reveal a thin strip of metal laid into the base.
Nova stifled a gasp, her eyes flying to the guard, but he stared into the distance, oblivious.
Gus took the metal strip and rubbed it against the hard floor, scraping it back and forth. His humming covered the noise as he sharpened the thin strip into a deadly weapon.
Nova bit her lip. At least one of them was armed, that would come in handy when they next tried to break free. She fiddled with the pebbles at her side. Surely these people wouldn't starve them to death; there was no point in it.
On the seventh day after Orion's beating (or as close to seven days as Nova could estimate) the man in the black cloak with red lining climbed down the ladder. He stood at the base of the trapdoor, hands held behind his back and his chest puffed out as he surveyed them with a satisfied smile.
Nova didn't have the strength to stand but she glared at him with clenched teeth. He stayed like that for at least five minutes, gazing at each of them in turn. It was exactly what he'd done when they were first captured, only now he looked triumphant rather than angry.
He locked his gaze on Nova and spoke to the guard. The man hurried forward and fumbled with the keys at his belt. He inserted a long key covered in specks of rust and the lock clicked open. He opened the gate and stepped in.
Despite her exhaustion, Nova leaped to her feet and held up both fists, keeping her back to the wall and ignoring the dull pain throbbing from her injured hand.
The leader's eyes flashed as he spoke and gestured for her to come out with a quick flick of his hand.
She shook her head and stayed where she was, eyes watching the oncoming guard. There was no way she'd be lured into some kind of trap and beaten into a pulp like Orion. If this bastard wanted to take her down, he'd have to fight for it.
His face glowed red and he spoke louder and faster. The guard jumped forward and snatched at Nova's arms. She spun out of his way and lashed out with her fist, hitting him square in the jaw and sending him stumbling backwards.
He spat blood into the corner of the cell and came at her again.
She tried to dodge but her weakened muscles wavered and he dived around to her back, wrapping his arm around her neck. He used his other hand to hold both her wrists, pinning her against the wall. Rough stones gouged grazes up Nova's arms and into her chin.
She kicked backwards and slammed her boot down on his toes but he tightened his grip on her neck and her vision darkened. She hovered on the very edge of losing consciousness and stumbled. He held her upright by her neck and pushed her forward. She had no choice but to lurch out of the cell to where the man in black waited.
He grinned at her, revealing yellowed teeth, and stepped up the ladder in front of her. The guard behind her jerked her forward, forcing her to climb up to the trapdoor. She strained against the guard to look back at her companions but his grip was too strong.
"Get your arses out of here!" she bellowed, before her head was shoved out of the trapdoor and strong hands grabbed both her arms.
They hauled her out of the hole and into bright sunlight.
She squinted against the glare, her eyes taking in a grim circle of soldiers, all wearing swords on their right hips and long brown robes with red stars sewn over their chests. They kept their eyes forward as if Nova wasn't there; the only ones paying her any attention were those holding her in place.
The man in black gestured and the soldiers closed in around her, forming a tight column before marching forward. The flow of people pulled Nova forward, washing her away from the trapdoor to the rhythmic beat of footsteps, led by the man in black.
He guided them away from the hole in the ground and around the edge of the village. This time the villagers didn't look up, instead scurrying away from the procession and hiding out of sight. Nova pondered their actions; she couldn't work out why they'd be scared of their own soldiers, unless they were scared of her. But that didn't make much sense; she couldn't do anything while she was trapped in a platoon of soldiers.
They marched around the edge of the village to the winding path that led up the hill to the mansion. The compact path crunched under Nova's feet, loose pebbles skittering away behind her. Her exhausted legs wobbled although she tried to hide it. She'd been cramped inside a tiny jail cell with almost no food for so long that it was a wonder she could walk at all. Even so, she refused to show weakness in front of her new enemies, so she bit her lip and kept walking.
She ignored the stars that flashed at the edge of her vision and the pounding headache drilling into her temples. Sweat sprouted on her forehead, dribbling down her cheeks and into her eyes, she flicked it away and kept marching, keeping pace with soldiers all the way up the hill until they got to the tall fence.
Here more guards with red stars waited. They pulled open a wooden gate twice the height of a man and four times as wide. They stood like an honour guard on either side of the path and bowed as the man in black walked past. He ignored them as he marched into the courtyard beyond. The way he walked made Nova certain that this was his house, confidence and arrogance leaked out of every pore on his body.
Nova had expected nothing more than grass inside the courtyard; instead she was surrounded by a garden which looked cut straight from a fairy tale. To her left, an intricate pile of rocks with water cascading down from the top created a chest-high waterfall. The sound of falling water tinkled and cast the whole garden in a blanket of calm. At the base of the waterfall flowed a small stream that ran across the garden and ended in a pond the size of a small pool.
Plants with leaves as big as Nova's body dotted the grassy garden. For a moment her heart beat faster as she thought of the carnivorous plants she'd encountered on Drigoon, but these remained still, calm. Every plant seemed deliberately placed to compliment all the others and contrast with the rocks that sprouted intermittently from the ground, covered in bright green moss that looked soft enough to sleep on.
Nova would have liked to stand admiring the garden for hours, but a sharp jab in her back reminded her to keep walking. She stumbled forward with the rest of the soldiers, casting a dark glare over her shoulder.
An arched wooden bridge carried the path across the thin stream and Nova's boots clicked as she crossed it.
At the end of the garden rose the mansion itself. Wooden boards made up the outer walls and the decking that looked out on the garden. Six soldiers stood outside the main door, but instead of red stars these had indigo crosses on their chests.
The man in black stepped forward and gestured for Nova to follow. She strode forward, keeping her chin high. The soldier nearest the door stepped forward and patted his hands over her body.
She gritted her teeth and stopped herself from kneeing the man in the face.
After a thorough search, the soldier nodded and the six new soldiers with indigo crosses formed a box around Nova, marching her inside the house. As soon as they got inside, the man who had searched her pointed to her feet and spoke.
"I don't know what you want," she replied. She tried to keep her voice calm; if they'd just let her get a language patch from Crusader they would be able to talk and the whole situation would be a lot easier.
The man pointed to her shoes and repeated the words.
Nova sighed and looked around. They were in a small entrance room without any decoration. Many shoes, which looked like sandals, lined the wall. She looked back at the soldiers. They all wore socks without shoes.
She shrugged and pulled of her boots. She tossed them to the side where they landed in a heap on top of a bare pair of sandals, scattering clumps of dirt across the floor. The man in black lunged past the soldiers and snatched Nova's shoulders, shaking her. He spat words, mixed with spittle at her from a glowing red face, waving at her and then her shoes.
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared back at him. He refused to back down, kept pointing to her shoes and waving at the air.
From the inner door a small woman darted into the entrance room and stood Nova's boots together in a neat pair beside the sandals. She straightened the sandals and rushed out of the room as quickly as she'd entered.
The righted shoes seemed to calm the man in black because he stopped yelling, but his face remained bright red and his nostrils flared. He stalked away from Nova and into the room beyond, his back like a rigid pole. The guards led Nova after him.
The room beyond had paper-thin walls painted with intricate designs of white flowers and people fetching water from a well. One screen had a painting of the village with the mansion towering above it.
The guards stepped away from Nova and took up positions next to the walls. With them out of her way Nova's eyes locked on a man wearing a gold-trimmed robe. His hair and eyes were dark, almost black, like everyone else Nova had seen so far. Speckles of grey coloured his temples and highlighted his strong face. Everything about him screamed cunning and Nova warned herself to be careful around him. He sat on a pile of red cushions, his hands steepled in front of his face.