Desert Siren

One

The wagon rumbled over the uneven ground, jostling the lone inhabitant in the back. The prisoner, restrained by chains around both ankles and wrists, was rendered incapable of completely avoiding the painful hits their backside received after the wagon struck a rut or bump. In addition, the chains became taut as they rose off the hard, wooden bench, then slackened when they slammed back down, rattling noisily and temporarily drowning out the screams that receded as the wagon moved further away from the town.                                            

Jayza tried to ignore the pounding her backbone was receiving. The manacles around her wrists and ankles were fastened to a ring that hung between her knees. From the ring, a single chain was locked to a pole located in the center of the wagon's floor. Normally, the wagon could hold up to twelve prisoners, six to a side, but Jayza had been the only one the Raptors had taken alive. The entire town, including the women and children, had been slaughtered. Jayza had been sickened by the rape and pillaging that had occurred. Women had been chased down, brutally assaulted by the Raptors before either dying under their bodies or being dispatched once the men were through. Children and babies were summarily beheaded or gutted, often while watching their mothers being brutalized. And the men, well, the Raptors had reserved their cruelest punishment for them.

After forcing the men to watch their friends and families being brutally abused, the men were forced to carry the mutilated bodies into the central square, then gather anything that might burn. After soaking the bodies with pitch, the men lit the funeral pyre, then were forced onto it at sword point, immolating themselves atop their dead loved ones. Those screams now followed the wagon as it rolled eastward, reverberating through Jayza's skull. She knew the screams would haunt her dreams forever and the guilt she felt for being the sole survivor caused hot tears to stream down her cheeks. Jayza knew her entire town had been destroyed because of her. And because of what she knew.

Unable to help herself, she looked out the back of the wagon, painfully aware that this would be the last time she saw her childhood home. Not that there would be anything left to come back to, even if that were possible. Kif Aljar was a flaming torch, the flames reaching skyward as if trying to touch the blazing disc that hung high overhead. The heat was incredible, waves rolling out and engulfing the wagon, causing sweat to mingle with the tears that continued to pour forth. The screams were dying out, replaced with a roaring as the fire consumed everything. The Raptors trotted along behind the wagon and several leered at her when they saw her looking. A few made obscene gestures, laughing at their friends when she let fly with a string of curses. Turning back, Jayza tried to put the horrific images out of her mind, wondering what horrors awaited her. She knew the Emperor had ordered her to be taken alive, having been told by the man who captured her. Trying to put him out of her mind, she replayed the events leading up to now, wondering if there was anything she could have done differently. Or, if she had, if it would have mattered.

The raid had come early, just after First Meal. Jayza realized now that she should have seen the signs. Several men and woman, having left before dawn to search the surrounding desert for the rare, night-blooming Star Ceress, had not returned, which was highly unusual. Any Star Ceress not harvested before the sun rose withered on the vine, making it unusable. In addition, the dogs that roamed the dusty streets had been noisier than usual. When Jayza commented on it, Mehma had peered out the kitchen window with a slight frown. Sniffing the air, she grunted before turning back to Jayza and her brother.

"Storm, I think," she declared, rolling out the last bit of dough before plopping it in the skillet. Expertly flipping it, she added peppers, onions, a little garlic, and some lamb left over from Last Meal the night before. Sliding it on a plate, she pushed it in front of Jayza, who attacked it like she hadn't eaten in weeks. Her brother, Farji, eyed the rapidly disappearing flatbread with disappointment, then rose and left the table when he realized Jayza wasn't going to share. "Might be bad, if the gatherers aren't returning. Better fetch your brother and lay in some extra water. Just in case."