Coven of Swords

Chapter 10 In flames

Airic showed up from the side door. Small, grey figure plodded through the courtyard. Shoulder hunched, head down, fabric of the headwrap shuttering the face, ashen dress encumbered her body like it was made of led. Atti's gaze plunged over the only exposed piece of skin besides the pale face.

Her hands were red... raw. The skin was dry and cracked, with irritation around the knuckles. The nails were short and uneven. The veins and tendons stood out like they were about to burst through the skin... Strained. Her thin fingers were frail like a sparrow's claws. Airic lost so much weight. He doubted anyone ensured she didn't forget to eat. Like he did when they still lived together.

Lump come up in the throat. Since arriving at the castle, never even once he felt the need to check on his wife. What was wrong with him?

When Airic stopped right beside Bruno, Atti had to fight to swallow down his anger. Small bruises dappled his wife's right chick, trailing down her neck, hiding under the high collar of her dress. They looked like... fingerprints.

With his large hand, Bruno forced Airic to go on her knees. Like he owned her, like she was his property. And his wife, his proud, strong wife, buckled. Eyes down, hands limb.

"You, extend your hand," Bruno commanded to Airic. "Atti, please put your sword into your wife's hand."

Atti fell speechless, standing there and observing the scene like a fool.

"Soldier, don't make us wait. Just pass it on and be done with it!"

Lord's order was hard to disobey, and Atti's hand started moving.

Airic's warm fingers touched his as she wrapped it around the handle. Atti couldn't keep his eyes away from her face. He noticed how it stiffened as soon as she gained a firm grip on the handle.

***

It was like I peered out from under the water. Just how it was that night on the winter river near the settlement. As my hand seized the metal, a surge of feelings flooded my mind. Immediately. All at once.

Heat splattered from my right hand through my shoulder to my heart and all the way to the center of my magic core. The world just flipped, and I was me again, not a bodiless piece of metal, not a soulless doll. Me. Airis. And it was... too much.

The jagged pain from the blade in my abdomen was there, like it had happened a moment ago. But the sharp memory of losing my child was much worse. And I was here yet again. At the plaza, surrounded by enemies.

And my memory wasn't the only thing confounding my mind. My thoughts were rallied by all my sisters in misfortune, still locked in their metal cages. More and more personalities surging through my mind in waves of agony, anger, despair.

A slap stung my right cheek, and I folded my hand still on a sword. The only thing keeping me grounded.

"... Hey! You! I am talking to you, stupid cow! Endow the sword to this noble boy! You hear me?!"

This was a bad time to wallow in pain.

My entire body started trembling as I worked on pushing away the new surge of feelings. It felt like I was trying to swallow a giant, toothered icicle. And it took me a while to catch my breath, but when my head cleared, I opened my eyes. To really see the world around me for the first time in months.

Bruno was craning over me. It was his hand that forced me out of my sister's stream of feelings. Atti was holding Bruno's hand, trying to protect me from further abuse.

Too late, the husband of mine. It's way too late to care for a minor abuse.

I looked around. All these people... Names plopping in my head. I worked with some of them... for some of them. The longer I was observing the world around me, the deeper the frown on Bruno's face was becoming. Smart men. Evel man.