Excerpt from the sequel to Demons Kiss called Demons Dream. Without awaiting any further, Mel let the whip fly, snapping in the air as its barbed tongue licked the bare flesh of Mani. As the razor sharp edges castigated the prisoner, he jolted back as much as the restraints allowed, but refused to cry out. Repeatedly, Azamel let the steel tipped knout crack through the air against the infidel. Mani’s skin was slowly shredded from his body with each slash, as he blood freely flowed, blending with the previous victims which had stained stone floor. Throughout the ordeal, Mani did little more than grunt, taking the punishment with quiet resignation. He realized that he deserved it, not only for Azamel entering the realm and getting caught, but for having to have his hand forced by Jes to send the guardian there to begin with. His body began to droop, held up only by the manacles that were attached to each pillar by his wrists. His eyes watched his sanguine liquid mingle with what was left from those who suffered between these columns before him. When Mani’s chest, sides and back were tattered, Mel posed the question again. “Who are you working with?” “I am working with no one.” Mani mumbled. It was the truth. He did not work work with Jes, he was the servant of Jes and by his own accord he owed the favor to the god for assisting in the protection of his mother at a time when he had no one else who would listen to his pleas. For her, he was willing to pay the price. For her, he was forced to repay the favor by threatening an innocent woman who was thrust into a responsibility just as he was thrust to attack her. He had hoped she would have a chance to survive in the realm, despite the lack of powers he brought her there. He refused to kill her outright and yet, he had to repay the debt to Jes. As a result, he was willing to suffer the consequences for putting the custodian’s life in jeopardy. Azamel was not a newborn demon and immediately knew Mani was hiding something. As a result he rephrased the question. “Who are you working for?” Mani’s head jerked up at the query. He then gave his head a weary shake and looked back to the floor that had been his visage for the past couple of torturous hours. Mel realized that the demon had more integrity than he would have ever given him credit for. With less passion then before, Mel continued to expend his version of persuasive interrogation. Hours of repetitive questioning with instrumental flesh removal from Mani still resulted in no attainment of vocalization with regards to the needed information that Mel sought. Azamel switched the barbed whip to various other forms of weaponry, each one worse than the previous, each designed to give the utmost pain to the prisoner. Despite it all, Mani remained willfully reticent, yet Mel did not relent. The demon judge would discover who was behind the attacks on Clarissa and maybe in the process prevent the current stream of demons who hunted the young wolf for the treasure which she protected.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 04:05:03 +0000