Update: Chapter 4…It's a bit short because it was supposed to be the last one. The rest is being bitchy. I'll try to get the rest up later since the initial charisma of writing is nearing its end and I want to finish before I get lazy.
Opening the adjacent door Ashta smiled slightly to a smell she had gotten quite used to. In the middle of the room was a large pot filled with a flickering orange that illuminated the darkness; burning hot with the sound of cackling cinders.
Peering over the rim cast a strange shadow as the eerie light touched her face; making pale her already mysterious and evil visage. Waiting for her inside were two smoldering rods of iron, already on the threshold of white/orange from their prolonged stay in the fiery coals. Accompanying them was a sword equally hot with half its blade glowing intensely. The handles were warm to the touch and she grasped the first one by the insulation. For some reason this part always reminded her of that infamous "Indiana Jones" scene where the Nazi informant pulled a burning rod of iron out of the fire.
Raising the bar to her face, she inspected the tip, denying any comprehension as she turned.
--
Weakly, Kyle gasped and coughed again, growing sick of the bits of blood that came with it. Numbed both mentally and physically by the deteriorating drug and the malefic pain his mind was once again in a playful state too fevered to think clearly or logically. So when the strong scent of hot metal hit him it was met with stupidity.
"..the hell's…burning?"
No longer blind his eyes had become a narrow, blurry haze of jumbled objects and it was with childlike simplicity he wearily searched for the source. At first it was just a small orange light that caught his attention but a frame later and it had enough focus to bring in a diluted image of Ashta's face backed behind a rod of blazing iron. With time being warped he only had half the word "cauterizing" formed in his mind when the ambient heat engulfed his body and touched his skin.
The sizzling odor of burning flesh was quick to fill the room, eager to join the rising steam and antagonizing screams. The rod was too large to enter most of the slashes directly so to compensate Ashta simply held the rod to the area longer.
When the first bar had cooled down to a worthless temperature she retrieved the 2nd and continued the process, touching each and every wound until she had made sure that he had ceased bleeding. Ages passed for Kyle and despite the kicking, wriggling, and screaming could do nothing. The rank smell of hissing flesh put this on a level by itself. Never mind the knowledge that it was his own. He was far beyond the breaking point and had his mind been able to think would have surely believed that this was going to be the last thing he ever felt.
The process never ended though, because finally at that moment the last of the chemical lost its power over him and he was thrust into the unconscious realm.
--
Noting that he was again delirious and suffering mechanically Ashta spent a little more time and used a cloth and a cold pale of water from the hall to wash the blood away and cool the nerves. Hardly from the care of her heart, his body temperature needed reducing and it would at least provide an agent to calm the body away from what was going to happen next. Besides, instilling a feeling of hope no matter how small always brought more reward when she would return to crush it.
Taking two more needles of the previous substance Ashta quickly jammed them into Kyle's neck injecting the full contents. Three seconds later his eyes bulged and she stepped back to avoid the blood he vomited onto the floor. Then, wiping it clean from his mouth with the cloth, retreated into the blacksmith chamber to retrieve the last object.
The sword.
Ashta carried it to him in deliberate slowness, knowing full well that he wouldn't look away. Like a devil from the abyss she transcended the two portals between them. She didn't care about the physical pain this time and her actions were quick.
Grasping the genitals with her left hand she stretched them out, holding the base of the sword to the side. Then in one quick fluent motion pulled the blade straight up, slicing the organ akin to a hot knife. At full sensitivity, again, an equal to divine punishment hammered Kyle from the inside out shattering every nerve to the breaking point. Instantly his legs contracted but it was too late, the organ was gone and the wound cauterized completely. It happened so fast that Kyle didn't even realize what she had done until she forced his shaking neck downward to stare at her work. The mere sight of it made him shake harder and he felt sick with his mouth agape and his lips shaking. The involuntary impact was enough to create new rivers from his shackles as again for another countless time the world changed and whirled around him. When Ashta finally released her grip, his shifting body threw his head back
Ashta washed the fresh blood from her hands and picked up the drill. The chemical would last awhile but her immediate concern was that her victim was on the edge of life.
This in turn enraged her further as she knew death was the one thing she could not hold sway over. Taking a second metal box from the hallway, fourteen high caliber screws emerged having a half inch bore diameter and crafted in solid steel. The tips were sharp enough to be armor piercing but in this case human bone would be her only obstacle.
--
Having been mortified just short of the shock a catatonic would experience Kyle was again purged into ultimate dread. In this rare case the pain hardly mattered, it was now background to something that couldn't be matched. The shock left him mute; the very concept of nothing was now halted in the light of what had just happened. More then sex or mere pleasure his ability to create a family had been destroyed. There were simply no words that could describe the void inside him. Empty, depressed, or even rejected didn't even come close. It was something else, something from another realm that having experienced, would be wished on no one. Shallow denial, hopelessness, and true despair were all present, and at full strength they mocked him.
Ashta grabbed him, this time by the neck.
Tensing her fingers, she stared coldly into Kyle's eyes which to her almost looked innocent; their reflection becoming glassy and weak. But granted she had expected that due to her lack of explanation. Kyle still didn't understand that she did all this for a reason. However it didn't mean she would give it. Reasons were her own and silence was of no consequence, just like his. He had rejected her so she was rejecting him; it was as simple as that.
Chaotically, Ashta suddenly snapped, feeling her blood boil at the random thought. Taking the drillable rivet-like screws she became deaf and heard nothing this time as they all made contact with various parts of leg marrow. The drill's power cracked and split the inner bones easily but her anger only increased. She forced them deeper and harder but it didn't matter…her rage flared.
It was blind madness.
End of chapter 4