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When Nox woke, he didn’t know where he was. His vision was still blurry and everything around him stank of piss and sweat. He knew his wrists were bound and the floor beneath him was cold and hard. He’d been stripped down to just trousers, boots and a shirt. Everything had been taken, even his bandana. His leg throbbed as he painfully rolled to the side and squinted through the haze, trying to get a better idea of his surroundings. There was loose straw tossed over the stone floor and as his vision focused he realized the crisscrossing shapes in front of him were actually bars to his cell. Near the ceiling was a small window with the orange glow of sunset peeking through the bars. He closed his eyes, letting his head rest against the floor with a sigh, trying to relieve the immense pain pulsing through his neck.
Jail. He should have known. And he’d been out cold all day. He licked his dry lips, wishing he had some water. The small movement made him wince, his jaw and throat feeling as if they were filled with needles. Prime Ibran had done some damage to him and he wondered if he could still talk. But it really didn’t matter. Captain Ragvir would never believe anything he said anyway. That was his whole deal. It was no secret he got some sort of sick twisted pleasure out of torturing people. The only thing Nox could be thankful for was the time limit Prime Ibran had placed on him.
Two days.
That’s all he had left to live. And since he’d managed to be unconscious for most of the day already, he really only had one and a half left. Nox shuddered, knowing the next several hours were going to be the worst of his life. There was a small glimmer of hope though. Thankfully he’d managed to get arrested outside of Kald. Nobody knew who he was inside the city, he’d made sure to keep it that way. Working by himself for years and keeping to the shadows had bought him some privacy. It was a small comfort, but he was thankful for it. Abi would take care of his mother, he had no doubt about that, although he felt bad for the extra work placed on her shoulders. Even if his mother didn’t get her medicine, she could at least live out the rest of her days in peace. It was still a broken promise, but it was all the light he had left to cling to. He’d already failed with Zyk and the grief of losing the fox was nearly enough to crush him.
Nox felt the tears streaming down his face and he cursed under his breath, his throat twitching in pain. After all the pain and trauma he’d gone through in the Hollow, it turned out it was all for nothing. The eyes, the clavis, and the dreams, it had been so overwhelming and so impossible to deal with. Even after all his attempts to escape, it seemed fate had intervened and destined him for failure. He’d never wanted any part of those things. All he’d ever wanted was to feed himself and save his mother, a seemingly simple task. He should have known the world would bite him in the ass. That was the only thing Lycoris did for anyone, especially those of his lineage shunned by King Ludari. Despite his best intentions, the world’s problems had found him and he was going to pay the price.
The sound of boots against stone roused Nox from his spiraling thoughts, making him look up. Keys rattled against the bars as a guard opened the lock, pulling the door open for a familiar man wearing a red cloak.
“Ah, you’re awake. Way to spoil the fun,” Captain Ragvir smiled maliciously, walking into the cell carrying a rolled up piece of leather. “It’s always better to wake them up with a nice slice across the face. Really gets people in the mood to talk.”
Nox watched through the fog as the two guards came in and dumped a bucket of cold stale water over his face, shocking him back to his senses. He was forcefully lifted to his feet, his arms nearly pulling out of their sockets. A chair was brought into the center of the room where he was sat, his arms and legs untied then rebound to the chair itself. Ragvir slowly removed his cloak and overshirt, handing them to one of the guards. He rolled out the leather on the small cot in the corner, exposing all the highly polished metal instruments that were held inside.
“My, my, a half elven man living here in Kald all this time and right under my nose.” Ragvir commented. “I really thought I’d cleaned up most of your kind. But a few slipped through I guess. Although, judging by your scars, I’d say you're not overly fond of your lineage either. We have that in common.” Ragvir paused for a moment, looking him over. “You know what, I’ll make this very easy for you,” Ragvir said calmly, letting his fingers trail over the tools. “Just hand over the ring and we’ll let you go. Plain and simple.”
Nox struggled against his bonds, which only made the captain smile.
“Oh no,” he said in a mocking tone. “It looks like you can’t take the ring off.” He plucked a small blade, no longer than a finger, from the roll and walked over to Nox. “Go ahead. Try again.”
“I can’t re–”
Nox screamed as the blade was plunged into his thigh. Pain rocketed through his body as he felt the tip of the knife strike bone. His leg began to quiver, trying to get away from the pain, but he was bound too tightly.
“I didn’t give you permission to speak,” Ragvir growled, a wicked smile on his lips as he watched the blood flow from the wound and trickled down Nox’s trousers. He tore the knife back out and Nox cried out again. “Now, since you’ve decided to be uncooperative, I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.”
“You piece of shi–”
Nox was cut off as Ragvir struck him across the face. A metallic tang filled his mouth as he realized he’d bitten his tongue. With a scowl he glared up at Ragvir and spit in his direction, blood splattering across the captain’s clean shirt. Instead of retaliating, like Nox expected, he merely laughed. The reaction filled him with fury as blood ran down his lip and chin, dripping onto his shirt.
“My, my, you are a tough one. But I guess you’d have to be to survive this long,” the captain chuckled, crouching down in front of Nox. He lifted a thumb up and wiped away the blood dripping from Nox’s chin. “I haven’t had one of you in a while.”
Nox watched as he licked the blood from his thumb, letting out a soft moan that made his skin crawl. Ragvir wasn’t just a monster, he was psychotic. The captain leaned in close, putting his lips nearly on Nox’s ear, the hot breath beating against his neck.
“I’m going to have so much fun with you...”
***
TWO HOURS LATER NOX felt a cold splash of water as he was awakened for the third time, having passed out from the sheer amount of pain he’d experienced. Water and blood streamed down his torn clothing and onto the floor as his vision started to return. His body was pockmarked in punctures, shallow cuts, and cauterized wounds. Ragvir was an expert when it came to keeping his victims alive, knowing all the right places to cut so that they experienced the worst pain imaginable without fear of them dying on the spot. There were many times over the past two hours that Nox had wished he could force himself to die. Every time he passed out he hoped it would be the last, wanting the dark void to take him away forever. But there he was again, wet, cold, and in so much pain he could hardly think.
“Let’s see if you’re ready to tell us the truth yet,” Ragvir cooed, leaning against the bars of the cell while he flipped a knife into the air and caught it again. “Where did you find that ring?”
“I told you...” Nox wheezed, his head hanging toward the floor as water streamed off his hair. “I found it in the Hollow... in the forbidden ruins west of here... it called to me.”
“You expect me to believe that you found it a few days ago and now you have full access to its power? Enough to attack Prime Ibran and catch him off guard?” Ragvir scoffed. “Nobody can best the Primes, especially a nobody like you.”
“I didn’t do that,” Nox sighed, shaking his head. “It does that by itself...”
“Liar!” Ragvir yelled, walking across the room and slashing Nox across the chest with the knife.
Nox didn’t cry out, he merely gritted his teeth, the pain of the new cut miniscule compared to all the other wounds across his body. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. “I’m not lying,” he sobbed. “I didn’t even want it! Take it from me, please!”
“You!” Ragvir called to one of the guards outside the cell. “Come here and take this ring from the prisoner!”
“B-But Captain...” the man stammered.
“Do as you’re told or you’ll be next!” Ragvir snarled, brandishing the knife at the guard.
The guard crossed the room and knelt down next to Nox, a nervous look on his face. Two others had gone before him, both of them succumbing to the same fate as Prime Ibran when he tried to remove the ring by force. Nox looked up at him, pleading silently for help. With a terrified expression on his face, the guard reached forward and wrapped his fingers around the ring. A deafening boom filled the air as he was blown backward, lightning arcing over his body and throughout the cell. To Nox’s surprise he watched as the lightning didn’t take effect like before. Instead it lifted off the guard’s body and redirected itself, jumping across the room to Ragvir and curling across his chest and arms. He screamed out in pain, collapsing to the ground, his limbs twitching from the sudden shock of electricity. The guard seemed almost untouched while the energy continued to crackle over the captain’s body, finding any exposed piece of flesh to electrocute. Nox felt the horror wash over him as he realized that the ring was now targeting the person causing him pain, which would only make things worse.
A long moment passed before the captain was able to pull himself back to his feet. The exposed skin on his arms was blackened by the shock, blood oozing from lightning shaped cuts and burns crawling over his skin. Smoke rose from his clothing and hair as he turned his attention to Nox once again.
“That...” he breathed heavily, “was a foolish mistake...”
“I didn’t d–”
“Bring them in!” the captain called, cutting him off.
From down the hall Nox heard scuffling and a feminine voice crying out in pain. He watched as two figures were dragged into his cell and forced to the ground on their knees, both with hoods over their heads. The captain pulled himself up straight and walked over, leaning down between them.
“Remember, it’s your fault that this happened. Prime Ibran is on a schedule.”
With a sneer he ripped the hoods off the figures. Nox felt his heart nearly stop beating. In front of him kneeled Abi with a black eye and blood streaming from his nose. Next to her, coughing and sputtering from the exertion, was his mother.
“I’m sorry Nox!” Abi cried, tears streaming down her face. “They were going to hurt Kaia!”
“Shut the fuck up, bitch!” Ragvir hissed, backhanding her across the face with all his strength. “Speak again and I’ll make sure your whole family ends up in the ground!”
Abi’s body shook with sobs as she looked up at Nox. He gave her the most forgiving look he could muster between the pain and fear wracking his body. His gaze then turned to his mother who was less beat up, but pale and considerably sicker than when he left. There was already blood on her lips from the coughing. He wanted to cry out, to say he was sorry, but he knew it would only bring them more pain.
“You have a simple choice to make,” Ragvir said, making his way back to the cot to grab a new knife, ignoring the blood dripping down his arm from his wounds. “The ring or their lives.”
Ragvir walked over to Nox and cut his left arm free from the chair. The blood rushed back into his hand, making it feel like thousands of needles were pressing against his skin. He stared at his mother, wondering what she must think of him. How she must hate him for the fate he’d brought down upon them all. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes, knowing he only had one chance to save them. Taking the ring in his right hand he concentrated, pleading in his mind for it to let go, that he and everything he loved would be dead if it didn’t. Praying with every fiber of his being he pulled against the metal band.
It didn’t move.
The captain clicked his tongue. “My, my... that’s just too bad, isn’t it?”
He started walking back to the two women kneeling on the floor.
“No... please!” Nox begged.
Ragvir placed the blade on Abi’s throat, her eyes bulging in fear. She was sobbing uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face.
“No no no n–”
The sobs were cut off as Ragvir slashed the blade across her neck, slicing through her windpipe. Her eyes widened as she stared at Nox, the life draining from them in seconds as blood spilled across her body. With a dull thud she hit the ground. Nox stared at her unblinking face as a last single tear traced across her cheek, thick blood pooling around her body.
He couldn’t breathe. The world around him pulsed as his heart pounded in his ears. It didn’t seem real.
The captain moved over to his mother, the bloody blade pressed to her neck.
“Last chance.”
Nox couldn’t speak. He could only stare as her sad eyes fell on him, not understanding what was going on or why it was all happening.
“Too slow.”
“NO!” Nox yelled.
But it was too late. The blade flashed in through the air and dark crimson spilled over his mother’s white shirt. The guard let go of her and she swayed for a moment, locking eyes with him. She reached out a hand, leaned forward, and fell to the ground. Blood pooled around her, mixing with dirt, hair, and straw. She was dead.
“No no no no no no no...” Nox repeated, staring down at her.
His mind was reeling. All the pain in his body melted away and was replaced with nothing but horror, disbelief, and rage. This couldn’t be how it ended, not after all the work he’d done to protect her. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.
“Hopefully that teaches you a valuable lesson,” Ragvir said, tossing the knife to the ground. He gestured over to one of the guards. “Get this trash out of here and tie him back up. I have dinner to get to.”
“You monster...” Nox whispered. “YOU FUCKING MONSTER!”
He struggled against the bindings, reaching out with his free arm and latching onto Ragvir’s belt. The captain laughed as he grabbed Nox by the wrist, twisting it back so hard that the bones snapped. Nox screamed in pain, but kept his eyes locked on Ragvir, nothing but pure fury running through his veins.
“You’re right,” he whispered back, leaning down close to his ear. “And I loved every moment of it.”
Nox wrenched his jaw to the side and bit down on Ragvir’s ear, his incisors cutting through the flesh easily, tearing it away. The taste of blood filled Nox’s mouth as Ragvir screamed and pulled away, clapping a hand to his ear. He spat the earlobe out onto the ground, smiling as the crimson ran down his chin. The guards rushed in and lashed Nox back to the chair.
“You’re the first that’s ever wounded me,” Ragvir said calmly a moment later, staring at his bloody hand. “Prime Ibran will leave with the ring tomorrow evening, but you’ll remain with me.” He fixed his eyes on Nox. “You don’t need your hand for my pleasure to continue.”
“I’ll fucking kill you,” Nox hissed through bloody gritted teeth. “You and anything you’ve ever cared about! Just you wait!”
Ragvir didn’t respond, he only smiled as he turned and excited the cell.
“I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!” Nox screamed after him.