The Awakened: Book One (14 page)

She started moving.  Her eyes were still crying, but she was disconnected from them.  When she came to her senses, she found herself in the kitchen.  At some point she must have decided to kill him.  She was holding a butcher knife and wasn’t sure exactly how it came to be in her hand.  It felt comforting there, resting heavily in her clenched fist.  She felt powerful, unlike the past couple of weeks.  She looked at the long blade and the idea to kill him made sense. 
Adair is dead.  Kael will be executed.  I’ve lost everything now!  If Lemus ever intends to get rid of me, I should at least take him with me.  I won’t be able to do it during the day.  He’s too strong for that.  No, I’ll wait until he sleeps.
  Of course, she would be executed as soon as they found out who did it, but it seemed a fitting end to everything that had occurred in the last few weeks.

“There are better ways to get back at him, Miss.”

Maeryn turned around to find Zula standing in the corner of the kitchen.  This slave woman was in charge of the whole house and had been with their family for several years.  Maeryn hadn’t heard ten words from her in the entire time she worked for them and it was strange to hear her speak now.

“What?”

“I know what you feel, Miss.  If you kill this man, you will be put to death.  That would not be enough punishment for what he has done.”

“You don’t understand,” Maeryn countered, trying to sound as authoritative as possible.  As soon as she said it, she regretted her words.  Although she wasn’t his mother, Zula had raised Ajani from a baby.

“I understand better than you, Miss,” the dark skinned woman shot back.  “I have seen more trials in my life than you will ever see, even if you were to live ten lifetimes.”  As Zula spoke, her intense dark eyes fought back the tears that had every right to spill down her face.  There was an incredible strength in her that Maeryn had never noticed before, but when she spoke again, her words were softer.  “You are a strong woman who has lived an easy life.  But that has changed.  You will see how the rest of the world lives now.”  She paused.  “There are better ways to get back at a man, especially one of such power.”  Zula turned around and started to walk out of the kitchen.

“He’s going to kill him,” Maeryn cried after the slave woman.  Tears began to run down her face again and she suddenly felt embarrassed for crying in front of a woman who had seen so much heartache.  “Did you see what he did to Ajani?”

“Yes, ma’am, I did,” the dark-skinned woman said flatly, turning back to Maeryn.

Maeryn wiped the tears from her eyes.  “How can you just stand there as if nothing happened?”

“…because it is useless to do anything about it, and I have had much practice pretending nothing has happened.”

A moment of silence followed as Maeryn considered Zula’s words.

“Before your husband, I had another master.  He was a cruel man.”  She paused, unable to speak what she was thinking.  Tears rolled down her cheeks, but her eyes never faltered.  “There were many things he did to me, and the others.  There was nothing we could do.  That was my whole life until I met your husband.  After a while, you learn to hold it in.”

“But why should I hold it in?”

When Zula continued, her voice was almost a whisper.  “Because it’s a gift.  It’ll make you stronger than you ever thought possible.  It’ll make you smarter.  It’ll build inside you until the moment comes when you find a way to make him suffer in such a way that it repays all of the things he’s done to you.”

It was clear that she was speaking directly out of her past.  Maeryn was at once intrigued and scared.

“You are a strong woman, Miss,” Zula said, her voice now sounding normal.  “Don’t let him break you.”  Zula turned and walked away, the conversation ending just as abruptly as it had begun.

Maeryn was speechless.  Not only had Zula spoken as eloquently as any educated woman, but it was unheard of for a slave to speak so boldly to her master.  She risked her own safety in order to share the honest truth.  It was a much-needed message. 
And she’s right.  It’s not enough to kill him while he sleeps, especially when I would forfeit my own life in the process.  No!  There is more that can be done.  I won’t give Lemus the power to destroy my life.

Chapter 9

Saba
walked quickly down the dark hallway toward Lemus’ study.  The guard standing at attention outside the door straightened up as Saba neared.  It seemed strange that the usual faces were not seen anymore in the mansion, having been replaced immediately as Lemus took control.  But that was the least of Saba’s worries on this night.

“I need to speak with him,” he told the guard.

The man nodded and opened the door behind him, disappearing momentarily.  His muffled voice could be heard through the door.  There was a pause before he came back and tilted his head toward the room.  Saba pushed the door open and strode into the room, his temper already rising.

Lemus sat at his desk, the glow of candlelight illuminating piles of parchment in front of him.  Some were stacked in neat piles while others were spread out haphazardly, like a strong wind had blown through the room.  He lazily lifted his head as Saba entered and motioned for Saba to come closer.  “Come in.  I’ve been meaning to have a few words with you.”

Saba
walked to the front of the desk, ignoring the few empty chairs along the wall.  “I want to talk with you about Kael.”

“Yes.  I’m sure you do.  My guards at the jail tell me that you have been over there, bothering them constantly to let the boy go.”  Lemus sat back in his chair.

“Yes.  Of course I have.  How could I do anything different?”

Lemus smiled at this.  “Well, I have a few ideas.  To start with, you will stay away from the jail.  The boy attacked me and his actions were punishable by death.  He has already been executed, so you are wasting your time.  I understand that you were his tutor?”

“…am his tutor,” Saba corrected.

Lemus laughed.  “If you are indeed smart enough to call yourself anyone’s tutor, then you should know that when someone is dead, it is no longer appropriate to speak of them in the present.”

Saba
gave no reaction to the man’s reply.

“Well, isn’t that interesting, a teacher with nothing to say?  That’s good.  Finally you are starting to get the hang of this.”  Lemus paused while he scooted his chair back and stood up to look Saba in the eyes.  “I do have something to say to you, however.  Your room has been emptied and its contents packed in boxes.  I have provided a cart and a mule to carry your belongings.  You will find everything waiting for you in the courtyard.  I suggest that you take advantage of my generosity and leave the city tonight.  I understand that you have many connections in the surrounding territory; I’m sure that you will find a place to stay.”

“You have no right,” Saba began, his voice suddenly rising above the normal conversational tone.  “This has been my home and these people my family before anyone had ever heard of you…”

“I have every right,” Lemus shot back, interrupting.  “This is my home now and I do not wish to take care of old men who have the ability to take care of themselves.  But more importantly, I no longer require the services of a tutor.”

Saba
opened his mouth to say more, but Lemus kept talking.

“If you have heard nothing of what I have said this night, hear this.  My soldiers have orders to kill you on sight, if you are ever found in this city again.  Take your belongings and leave.  This is your last chance.”

Saba
stood motionless for a moment, looking into the eyes of Lemus.  He had so many things to say, but none of them would accomplish anything except to risk his own life.  After a few seconds, he spun on his heels and stormed out of the room.  As he walked down the hallway, he overheard Lemus’ voice.

“No more visitors.”

“Yes, my lord,” the guard replied.

* * * *

Kael found himself lying face-down on the floor of a small, dimly lit room.  It was a stone floor with layers of dust covering everything except a few scuffled footprints and a small area in front of his face, cleared by his breath.  Out of the corner of his eyes he could see that the walls and the ceiling were the same color as the floor and he assumed that they too were stone.  At the other end of the room, he could barely make out dark vertical stripes that had the look of iron bars.

He lifted his head to get a better look at the room, but his vision began to swim and he suddenly felt nauseous.  Putting his head back down on the dirty floor, he took deep breaths and waited for the nausea to pass.  The floor felt cold against his hot face, which seemed to pulse with its own heartbeat.  After his stomach settled, Kael managed to lift a hand to the side of his head where Lemus struck him.  It felt swollen.  The tips of his fingers passed over crusted areas of dried blood.  The skin was bruised and sensitive to the touch.

Kael closed his eyes and rested his weary body, letting his ears explore the surroundings that his eyes were not yet able to.  After a while he could make out the sound of water dripping.  Someone coughed and it sounded far away.  Suddenly, he heard a loud creak and a metal clang like a door closing.

Footsteps could be heard, faintly at first, but growing louder with every step.  Eventually they stopped in front of the metal bars of his cell.  Kael opened his eyes and squinted to see who it was, but his vision was blurry; he couldn’t focus on anything beyond the metal bars.  He blinked a few times, but it didn’t seem to help much.  He dared not lift his head again, so he waited to see what would happen.

The squeal of metal upon metal sounded harsh against the silence.  Whoever it was had opened the door and stepped into his cell, leaving the door open behind him.  The blurry shape moved slowly forward and Kael looked up without lifting his head.  The person began to take shape and definition as it got closer, revealing the man’s features and the bandage around his leg.

“Are you surprised to see me?” asked the man.

Kael didn’t answer.

“Oh, it wasn’t quite as bad as it looked.  You, on the other hand, don’t seem to be doing so well.”

The sounds of Lemus’ voice hurt Kael’s ears, which felt hot and tender.  He tried to ignore both the man’s loud voice and the intended message of his words.  Suddenly, there was a flicker of blurred movement and Kael felt Lemus’ foot crash into his stomach, throwing him against the back wall.  All of the air shot out of his lungs and he started to panic, fighting for a breath.  Just when he thought he couldn’t go any longer without air, his lungs started to work again, accepting only small breaths at a time.

Lemus stood in the middle of the room, unmoving.

Kael pushed himself up into a sitting position to be ready for another attack.  He still felt a little nauseous, but the fear was causing it to wear off quickly.

Lemus didn’t advance, but stayed in the middle of the room and crossed his arms.

“That’s better,” he said, as if Kael had been wrong to be lying down before.  “You know, your father wasn’t perfect either.”  He trailed off, trying to choose the right words.

“Did you know…did he ever tell you what he did with criminals?  I’ll bet he didn’t.  It’s actually quite admirable.”  Lemus took a few steps forward and crouched down in front of Kael.

“Your father knew that everyone had a use to the Empire, even criminals.  Usually they could be bribed in some way, or turned into informants, but sometimes that wouldn’t work.  So your father would put them in jail, keep them without food or water for days, until it was time.  Then a jailer would come in, put a black bag over their head and lead them into the execution room.  There they were given the opportunity to confess all their wrongdoings or be tortured and if they withheld nothing, they would be released.  But they weren’t released.  After the torturing, the executioner would come out and…”  Lemus dragged a thumb across his neck.  The stubble under his chin made a loud scratching noise in the small room.