The Eye of Chaos (Council of Champions Book One) ✔️

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Purge

                Ghunyan struck the prisoner once more, burying the nail into the man’s hand. He roared in pain, tears streaked from his eyes as his body shook.

                Blood dripped onto the ground, directly underneath the prisoner’s other nailed hand and his nailed legs. Ghunyan’s grin widened even further when the prisoner begged for mercy, crying about at least letting his family live.

                With a twirl of his cloak, Ghunyan faced the numb audience who gawked at his display of cruelness. And so they should. Fear was so much stronger than anything else. He pointed his finger to the prisoner. “This is what happens to traitors of Fileatte. Our enemies do not fear death. They do not fear the death of their family either. Yet, what human does not fear torture and pain?” No one answered. Even the insects and the children made no noise.

                The prince walked over to the corner of the stage where he grabbed a woman dressed in plain peasant garb. Taking her hair into his fist, he dragged her out in front of the man.

                The man’s upper lip quivered as tears flooded his gaping mouth. Blood from his wounds continued to drip onto the floor until Ghunyan placed the woman under the blood. As it dripped onto her, she screamed as if it burned her. Women were funny this way. He didn’t even need to hurt her physically to hurt her. They did everything themselves with their chaosed imagination. Or was it love? It didn’t really matter.

                “Now, we will see this traitor’s pain go one step further.” Ghunyan faced Fletcher, his ex-general. It was too bad the man had attempted to warn his home country of the dawning war Ghunyan was planning. The man had made a good general. Ghunyan moved his hand to cover the woman’s neck and forced her to stand. “Normally what would happen here among barbarian is that I would rape her.” Frowning, Ghunyan punched her in the stomach. Fletcher’s wife double over, but Ghunyan forced her back up. “Instead, I will descend the Goddesses judgment among her.” Now a quiet murmur broke out among the soldiers. Good. They were talking.  “Many of you think of me as a tyrant. A monster.” His eyes scanned the crowd, making sure his eyes stared down the largest men. “I don’t care. Go ahead and think that.” He pointed his finger at the prisoner’s wife. Slowly, the skin on his finger burned away, leaving nothing but bone. Within two steps he was on the woman. He turned her so that the soldiers could see her and his finger before twisting around so that Fletcher could see.

                Ghunyan pressed his finger to the woman’s forehead and suddenly an inhuman scream forced itself from her throat. He had been practicing lately on how to make this even more painful than just dying. Finally, a few months ago he had had a break through. By moving his finger slowly around the forehead, he could kill of part of the brain at once until the person was brain dead. Alive but not. The ultimate punishment.

                In a moment the scream disappeared, though the woman’s mouth was still open. Her eyes went blank and she dropped to the wooden floor like a bag of grain.

                “Let me tell you all something,” he roared to the soldiers, noticing how most of the flinched. “There is something worse than death. Something worse than torture. Something that all humans will fear from this day on.” Pointing to the woman on the floor, he continued, “This woman is not dead. Her heart still beats. And- QUIET!” Ghunyan pointed to a man talking to his neighboring soldier. “Somebody kill him.” Instantly an arrow shot from an archer behind him and buried itself in-between the boy’s eyes. “As I was saying, she is still alive. But her brain is dead. She feels pain, yet cannot register it. That is the punishment awaiting traitors to Fileatte. And their families.” Ghunyan glanced at Fletcher, still hanging there crucified.