The Whore of Babylon

Chapter 14 | part 2

She didn't sleep at all that night.

Curled up on the cushions, she tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position. The chain clinked every time she moved, reminding her of her confinement. However she settled herself, it seemed to get in the way. Terrified of getting it wrapped around her neck as she slept, she looped the excess length around her wrist, the gilded links cold and sharp against the delicate skin there. She kept forgetting about it until the next time she shifted position, when it would tug at her again.

She tried sleeping on her back, on her front, facing the wall and with her back to the wall – nothing was comfortable. In the end she sat up, her back pressed against the wall, and gazed out across the room through the terrace opening. A small sliver of crescent moon was visible, along with more stars than she could ever count. Suen's children winked at her from their warm blanket of sky, mocking her as she shivered. The temperature had dropped as soon as the sun went down.

The only distraction was the changing of Samsu's guard every two hours – even when he slept, he had a sentry on watch. His harsh snores were her only lullaby; she missed Kisha's warm body and gentle breathing beside her.

After what felt like an eternal night, the sky gradually began to lighten through purple, red and orange. Samsu was up before Utu was fully awake.

He greeted his guard when he got up, but didn't spare Eliana so much as a glance. She glared at him as he moved about the room, washing and dressing. She was surprised to see that he had no body slaves to tend him – he did everything for himself. Although she supposed that he was used to life on the battlefield... body slaves would just be extra mouths to feed.

Since conquering Nippur, he seemed to have lost his taste for war. Eliana wished that he would march out somewhere again; anywhere, just to get him as far away from her as possible. The sight of him made her flesh crawl.

Just before leaving the room, he turned back and gave her a smug look, an amused smile playing at the corners of his mouth. She stared back at him with pure venom in her gaze, dark smudges under her tired eyes.

He chuckled and walked out, leaving the guard in there with her. It seemed she wasn't to be left alone for even a moment.

She studied her new gaoler. He wasn't as young as Samsu – he must already be past his thirtieth year. A jagged scar ran from under one eye to the centre of his jaw and part of one ear was missing. Eliana wondered if it was from the same thrust of the dagger.

Apart from the scar, he was almost indistinguishable from the dozens of other guards Samsu kept. He wore the standard military tunic, a dagger hanging from his belt, his body made up of scarred skin stretched over hard muscle. She would not want to cross him: his brows were drawn together in a fierce frown as he stood to attention and stared directly ahead – an image of discipline, he did not fidget once in the fifteen minutes that Eliana watched him.

She cleared her throat. He did not even flick his eyes her way.

'Excuse me?' she called, when he didn't respond.

He might have been carved from wood for all the reaction he gave.

Eliana stood up. 'Hey! I'm talking to you!' she picked up a cushion and hurled it at him. It missed, skimming past his face and spinning away across the floor.

The man completely ignored her.

She sat down again in a sulk, leaning back against the wall and pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them there.

So far, the worst part was the boredom. There was only so long that she could entertain herself with her own thoughts for – the largest part of the time was spent imagining horrible ways to repay Samsu and his Brute for all the evil they'd done her and her city. She tried to imagine Ashan with them, but some stubborn part of her mind couldn't bring her to picture him suffering.