Dream of a Vast Blue Cavern

Chapter 10: Iskalon's Sacrifice: Medoc

 There were more bodies charred and scattered across the whole floor of the place than there were frightened, huddled prisoners against the far wall. The tiara-clad heads lay scattered among bodies of Icers and Flames, presumably where they had first dropped. Medoc headed straight for the prisoners, drifting through the air. He regretted the use of his fire; the cavern was chilly, even with all the torches and Fireblood flaming away.

 A mix of Icers and their untrained Semija stood before the wall, while others were led away in groups by Medoc’s officers. A quick estimation of their numbers told him he’d taken only about a hundred prisoners—just a hundred out of the thousands of Icers living in exile. They looked terrified, and for a moment Medoc tried to imagine himself in their position, trapped, hopeless, sure that death or worse awaited. It was a good battle strategy, putting yourself in the enemy's mind, but it left a bad taste in his mouth now. He scanned their faces, looking for the face of a leader, an Officer who would be frightened enough to cow but stood high enough that his negotiation would carry weight with the Princess-now-Queen.

 His eyes passed over one prisoner and jerked back to rest on her. She was tall for an Icer and dark skinned, another rarity. Medoc’s heart skipped a beat when he met her eyes, narrow and defiant under dark lashes. She had a regal bearing, was a leader of some sort—if he had not known better Medoc might have mistaken her for the Princess—but she was not likely to be cowed. If she had not been an Icer, he thought absently, if her bones had been a little thicker and her frame a little taller, she might have been beautiful.

 “Stand forward, Ice fairy.” Medoc beckoned to her. She hesitated, but then her will seemed to crumple, and she lurched forward, less gracefully than he imagined she would move, as if her feet were blocks of stone. “Where is your Queen?”

 The spark came back to her eyes. “I would not tell you if I knew, son of a molebear and a bottom-raker!”

 Medoc considered her without really seeing her. He needed the Dreamer. His livelihood, perhaps his very life, depended on it. He also needed to clean the Icer’s lake. For that, he needed as many Icers as he could find. He could chase them through the tunnels until Chraun dried up completely, but he might still never find the Dreamer, and he might kill all the Icers in the process. Meanwhile, Chraun’s water would remain contaminated.

 His own Officers and Flames filled the cavern, looking for the escape tunnels, separating out the bodies of the dead, and moving prisoners down toward the Spiral and Chraun. It was too crowded to have a conversation without starting tongues wagging. He reached out and grabbed the Icer's wrist, pulling her after him. “I'm going to question this one myself,” he said roughly to the closest Officer. “She's almost pretty enough for a Flame!”

 That would start some bad rumors in itself, but nothing like treason. The Icer looked terrified, and she winced at the pain his hot fingers caused her wrist, but she did not scream or cry or struggle. Medoc thought his own daughters would not have been so brave. He took her to a distant wall that had been well cleared of bodies, out of earshot. He pressed her against the wall, standing close over her, intimidating her, smothering her with his heat. He could almost feel the eyes of his Officers boring into his back.

 “We can destroy your people completely,” he said softly. She stared up at him with dark, hating eyes, reflecting the purple light of the ceiling above. “We can hunt you down and kill every last one of you, man, woman, child, Icer.”

 “Better dead than slaves.” She spat. Medoc felt the spray of moisture. He lifted a hand to cuff her, but let it drop unused. He had not brought her here to beat her senseless.

 “It doesn't have to end this way. I want you to go to your Dreamer Queen, ice fairy. Deliver her a message. If she and the Icers surrender, I will stop pursuing your people. The Icers will be free to return to the lake.”