Chapter 19:
[Starlyn’s POV]
Starlyn could hear faint whispers in the dark that would have been unsettling before. Now it made her smile with pleasure because she knew the whispers were about her. Never before had an outcast of the Ikchani been brought up in the ranks so quickly. She had paid a high price for such recognition, and had the scars to prove it all across her body. They were healing now but much slower than it normally would take an elf. The fresh pain of whippings was still fresh in her mind. Despite her pain, a smile came upon her face; she would get back at those who had beaten her. It was the way of the Ikchani and they knew it was coming. Starlyn was no longer an elf… for there are no races as part of the Ikchani.
She sat at her desk looking over paperwork and treaties on lands to take over. Strangely the Ikchani paperwork disregarded anything about the draeyks or daerions. It had stated that first they would take over the humans, one capital at a time, and then face the elves. Before she had willingly joined their ranks she wouldn’t have thought it possible for such an act to be completed. However, there were no longer any doubts in her mind. They had the power in their ranks and thousands of male slaves. The most impressive was their ranks of sorceresses that held no mercy. There was no mercy when the sorceresses visited her in her prison cell. The three women were determined to make Starlyn obey and with much foolish reluctance she finally bowed to the will of the Ikchani.
There were three sorceresses that entered her cell and it felt like a lustful dream and nightmare mixed all into one. One had medium brown hair, another blond, and the leader’s hair was obsidian black. The three of them wore black collars around their neck with metal spikes all the way around. They also wore stainless boots with spikes on the sides that rose up past their knees. That was the extent of their armor and clothing as the rest of them was bare except for black wide fishnets that covered their entire body. The leader’s hands were bare; with blue fingernail polish flaunting on her nails while the other two wore red. She casually strode over to Starlyn darting her hazel eyes to inspect her from head to toe before smiling. Each held long wooden scepters with glowing glass balls at the tips. Starlyn’s eyes marveled at the beauty of the woman’s curves. Every fragment of the woman’s body could be seen through the fishnets and Starlyn caught herself staring at the woman’s breasts that were only slightly smaller than her own.
“I’ve heard you’ve been very naughty in this prison.” The sorceress with the black hair spoke softly rubbing her fingers together.
“I will not be a slave to your will.”
“Oh… but you will. We are the last three to convince you and if we fail… which we shall not… but if we do. The next to come in here will be the captain of our army. She will severe your head from its body and mount it to a spear for everyone to see what happens to those who resist us.”
Starlyn gulped and felt the most fear she ever had that night. It seemed to her that the Ikchani were soulless. Shivers erupted down her body as she awaited her fate.
The lead sorceress tipped her scepter at Starlyn and she felt a chilling energy circling around her before it entered her flesh. Every bone in her body felt as if they were about to break and she shrieked out in pain. Pythons appeared from nowhere and circled around Starlyn’s naked flesh. The rough scales sent shivers through her cowering body. Vibrations came from inside of her body that sprained bones in her wrists as well as ankles. Tears clouded her eyes and for the first time in so many years they trickled down her face.
Her body was torn and helpless bleeding across the floor. Whip marks penetrated her skin from her shoulders down to her ankles. They had left her face untouched but with the magic now surging through her each wound opened and spilled blood. She couldn’t tolerate any more pain and after two weeks they had finally struck her breaking point.
“Stop!” She cried.
The sorceress gripped her scepter tight to her breast and stared down at Starlyn. Her black hair consistently blew to her left from the wind circling inside the chamber and her face stayed firm. She seemed to be wearing some form of makeup around her eyes as they seemed to be deep black to match both her collar and hair.
“You have broken.” The woman spoke softly.
“Yes… yes I will do as you command… please no more.” Starlyn begged with tears escalating down her face in streams thicker than a river.
“Then you will be taken for your vows and trials to become an Ikchani.” The woman seemed to smile but showed no teeth before nodding to the blond woman. “Bound her.”
The sorceress with blond hair stalked forward grabbing leather cuffs that she bound eagerly and tightly against Starlyn’s hands that were held behind her back. Starlyn was forced up with the help of both the blond and brown haired sorceress. She was urged forward by the two women fighting to see if she could use her feet or not.
Starlyn shivered at the thought of the sorceress as she sat at her desk with the haunting memories tormenting her mind. She had only seen three, the most powerful, but now she knew that there were thousands. The three that she had seen she would never forget: Raven, with black hair, was the leader of the sorceresses; Vireo, with blond hair, and the most bitter of the sorceresses; Sparrow, with medium-brown hair, and the mellowest of the sorceresses.
She hadn’t confessed everything to them, in fact far from it. As an elf they spoke the truth in as little as possible and she was good at it. She merely said she was getting sick and traveled seeking a cure. It was as close to the truth as she could get. Nobody questioned her, especially after the trials. Shivers ran down her spine as she thought about the trials.
Raven had only given her a sip from a water skin before tossing her into a dark room followed by a short golden dagger. Starlyn clutched the weapon in her hand before glancing back to the shutting stone door. The ground beneath her was wet and she fought up to her knees looking around. There was nothing to be seen and all she could hear was the slow dripping of water on stone. She rose to her feet still feeling the fresh blood dripping from her wounds. Her body wasn’t at its full strength either and still clung with the soreness that kept her weak during her journey. The illness that could not be healed still tormented her.
Torches erupted in the darkness creating light that followed by snarls in the darkness. She clutched the dagger closer to her naked flesh as she looked around. The immediate area surrounding her was viewable now in the torchlight but anything further than fifteen paces was pure darkness. Feet shuffled the ground in the darkness that caught Starlyn at edge. One hand clutched the dagger while the other tightly held her stomach where a sharp pain rose to her chest.
Out of the darkness appeared four men with heavy weapons approaching her. She looked from one to the other with the various weapons. There was a broadsword, mace, axe, and flail. Each flaunted their weapons slashing the air and showing their knowledge of the weapon. None wore helmets but had leather armor protecting their bodies while Starlyn held nothing on her body.
“Ah at last… after years of you taking advantage of us… it is time for us to take advantage of you.” A bitter blond spoke holding a spiked round mace.
Starlyn took a step back and clutched her gold dagger until her palm changed from red to white. A man with spiked flaming red hair and a flail in his grip approached her first. The large spiked ball attached to its chain fell towards her head and she dropped out of the way feeling the wind brush against the top of her tangled blond hair. There wasn’t much time for a reaction afterwards as an axe struck near her head. She had barely enough time to uppercut her golden dagger to deflect the blow. The strength behind the axe caused her to drop the dagger.
She lost focus for a moment, only seeing everything before her as swirls of confusing colors. Her body felt weak from head to toe and she felt like she held no more strength. The man with long blond hair hanging past his shoulders stepped forward and struck his mace into Starlyn’s shoulder. She cried out in pain as she collided to the ground clutching her shoulder. There were two large gashes in her shoulder pouring blood by her side. Somehow despite her strength she rose to her feet and dodged a few swipes of a sword. She had a burning desire to hold her hammer back in her hands.
Memories of all of her friends encircled in her mind and her face grew cold. The first thought that entered her mind was Sudegam and the few elves she was close to, but soon she realized that there wasn’t many anymore. She had grown apart from many of them except for Anaela. The archer had been the first to enter her mind and she hoped the wood elf had stopped being so stubborn and accepted Searon’s love for her. Searon entered her mind next, the first human she ever came in contact with. His leadership had really turned her into a stronger elf. The desires and torments that haunted him every day could barely scrape the surface of what he still had to endure. She imagined the wizard only for a moment before dismissing the old man in place of the mage that she had known for so long. Sh’on had proven a great ally to her and a great friend.
She pictured Andron for a moment and despair sank into her veins. He had died to save her and she regretted every moment of it. Often she wished that she was strong enough to save him that day, but the nacropis had completely outmatched her. These humans standing before her were nothing compared to the strength of the nacropis. The last face that entered her mind was Noraes. A smile graced her lips thinking about him where a frown had tainted it for weeks. She hadn’t thought of him often but she had been truly happy with the time she spent with him. Perhaps one day she would be able to see him again, and it was that strength that surged through her body.
A man with wavy long black hair approached her slashing his sword that gave slices to both of her arms before she dodged and tackled him. Wrestling on the ground she shoved her right palm into his jaw, dislocating it. She slid his sword from his grip and into her hands where she heaved it above her and through the heart of the redhead holding the flail. Sliding off the injured warrior she fought the last two with weapons.
The axe and mace slashed at her fiercely but she was able to deflect both efficiently with the sword she acquired. Weakness still consumed her but she found her strength in her friends and she held onto it with dear life. Battle raged on for what seemed like an eternity until she finally slashed one in the neck and the other through the heart. She watched with satisfaction as the both of them crumbled to the ground.
Slowly, she walked forward to the last warrior that still lay on the ground panting loudly. She sat on his groin and stared down at him before dropping the blade on the ground that ringed in the darkness. Sweat beaded down the young man’s face and his eyes were dark with fear.
“Have mercy.” He begged.
“Funny… I was thinking the same thing when the four of you rush upon me.”
Without another thought she reached down taking his head in her hands before snapping it. The crunch echoed through the darkness and her smile faded at what she had just done. He was defenseless and it wasn’t like her to murder someone that could not defend themselves.
A bright rectangle appeared in the darkness and clapping sounded through it. She gripped the sword in her hands and rushed towards the light that blinded her. When she neared the sword in her hands grew so hot that she had to drop it. Her hands burned with steam and she stared down at them in horror. They were red and scarred with burns. Through the doorway came the three sorceresses flaunting their perfect bodies through their fishnets. The scepters they held glowed with power and they grabbed Starlyn and forced her out the doorway.
The memories faded as Starlyn finished through her paperwork and stood for the door. She stared into the mirror of her weak face drained of energy. Every day she spent with the Ikchani she grew weaker and weaker. She knew if she stayed much longer that she would diminish, but it was out of her control now. After she was forced to kill the four men to survive she was sworn to the Ikchani with strong vows that she could not betray.
A knock startled her and she turned to look at the black iron door. The room she was in was small but it was luxurious compared to the jail cell she had spent time in. She was one of them now but they still kept a close watch on her.
“Come in.” She called.
The door opened and a woman scarce of clothing stepped inside. She wore a bronze helm that covered most of her face besides her silver eyes and luscious red lips. A crimson satin cape was chained with gold around her neck that draped all the way to her ankles. She had tall bronze boots that covered her knees but opened to sandals at her feet exposing her toes. On her arms were bronze gauntlets that didn’t cover her hands but kept her forearms and elbows protected. The only other thing she was wearing was a thin bronze thong. There was a piercing on her belly button that Starlyn had never seen before except on a few other Ikchani.
“Captain Adneiva.” Starlyn bowed.
Starlyn caught herself staring at the woman’s bare chest for a moment after curtsying before flashing her attention back to the woman’s eyes. It was still odd for her that these women held no embarrassment for their lack of clothing. The woman before her had an amazing figure for a human woman but Starlyn still had her beat and it was clear that the woman despised it.
“I caught these wandering our cities.” Adneiva lifted three heads by their hair to set on Starlyn’s desk.
All three of the heads were male and late forties by graying beards. Each wore an expression of ultimate horror as Starlyn could only imagine Adneiva slowly decapitating each one slowly while they lived. Starlyn looked back to the tanned oily woman and smiled.
“Well done Adneiva. Perhaps they will think twice before spying on us again. Place their heads on spears at our front gates for everyone to see how we deal with spies.” Starlyn smirked.
“As you wish duchess Starlyn.” Adneiva bowed and left the room with the heads.
When the door closed Starlyn sank back down in her satin chair clutching her chest and stomach. The pain was coming back strong now and she didn’t think she had long before she would suffer the same fate as her mother. Tears streaked down her face and her teeth gritted. She looked up to the ceiling wishing she could see the stars to pray upon them.