Daydreams And Nightshade (DaN #1)

Chapter 1: Away with the fairies

What an inconvenient time to have recovered from addiction.

It was an irrational thought, but nevertheless a thought that went through Noah's head as a deep, crunching sound signaled for blood to drown his screams.

His body convulsed, every inch of it begging for the suffering to end through sobs and desperate gasps for air, but it was a naïve pursuit. His jaws were still pried apart to allow a new, more throbbing pain to come forward, and uncontrollable tears ran down into the sweaty curls of hair around his ears.

Finally, the pliers were removed, and Noah spared his newly uprooted molar a blurry glance before squeezing his eyes shut again. Then he rolled over onto his stomach and spat out a slimy blend of blood and saliva. Unfortunately, most of it got stuck on his lower lip and ran down over his chin.

He made an attempt to wipe it off on his shoulder, only to remember the thick mud covering the majority of his clothes, and he wrinkled his nose at the filth. It couldn't be helped. Dirty clothes simply had no place on his body.

"Another pretty tooth." The soldier who'd just pulled the pliers out inspected his trophy before turning around to address the rest of his squad in Farcilli, rendering Noah clueless on what else he had to say on dental matters.

Moving his tongue to feel the swollen gums turned out to be a mistake, and he winced as pain and disgust overwhelmed him again. It was the second molar they'd pulled. How could his mind not travel to the sensation of that disastrous poison? That wonderful, pain-numbing poison.

No.

He promptly forced the idea away, ignoring the cold sweat prickling his skin. No, it was a forbidden thought, but in a way the reminder was encouraging. He'd been resilient before, and he could be again. No matter what those miserable soldiers had in mind, they had a long way to go before they could break Noah the way opium had broken him before.

"Yes, my mouth is a sight to behold," he therefore gurgled. "New teeth are quite expensive too, so I'd very much like to keep mine."

"How about you do what we tell you, then?" The soldier, who Noah had guessed from sentences and context was called Marteau, said, crouching down to wave the pliers in front of Noah's face. "You tell us where your camp is, we let you and your precious friends over there live, and I will even give this back."

Noah denied the offer through silence, only opening his mouth to spit blood on the ground again.

The sensation of Cassius' gaze on him burned his neck, and he wondered what was going through his head. Did he think Noah was stupid for declining? It was hard to imagine Cas as someone who would betray his comrades, but fear had a tendency to bring out the worst in people.

Noah, of all people, knew that.

Marteau clicked his tongue in disappointment before turning towards his squad.

"Calvez."

Noah gritted his teeth. He'd only had a few encounters with Calvez so far, but he had a feeling they would be well acquainted soon enough unless someone came to rescue them.

"Ow, let's-- Let's be civil about this, Calvez," Noah tried as the man grabbed his hair to pull him up from the ground. "Both sides agreed to not take any wounded prisoners, remember?"

"Wounded by battle, yes," Marteau answered in Calvez's place. "But you were not wounded when we found you."

"Oh, violent loopholes, is it?" Noah hissed. "Now that's civilized."

As expected, he was thrown down hard on the ground.

"Why do we not just kill him?" Calvez asked, and Noah was somewhat surprised the man knew Wyperan as well, though his accent was thicker than Marteau's. "We don't need three, do we?"