This chapter is going to get pretty brutal/3edgy5me for rated T. Also, I created a blog for Vulpes on Tumblr if anyone has any questions they want to ask. caesar-vulpes-inculta
Chapter 7: Retribution
All five men knelt in the dirt of the arena. Their hands were tied and the women they had wronged stood before them.
Every last one of them had chosen to deal with them themselves. Crowds gathered around the arena entrance and along the raised path above the walls. They came to see a show.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?" I called out from above the arena. "We are gathered her in holy matrimony to witness what shall happen if you defy the laws. Each of the men you see before you in the dirt has broken the first rule. They have hurt these women physically, emotionally, and mentally. Remember what will be seen today and why you shouldn't go against my orders. Now that business has been taken care of, why don't we enjoy today's show?"
The crowd cheered and clapped. I stepped back and waved Tandi to start. She had gladly chosen flogging. Her fist wrapped tightly around the handle of the cat of nine tails reflexively. Philippus glared at her but said nothing.
She held the whip up above her head and took a few steps back. She took a deep breath and brought it down on his shoulder. Glass and old nails sunk into the flesh and ripped as she pulled away. She brought it back down with a loud crack and the crowds roared. Philippus's screams drowned out the noises of the whip cracking down over and over.
"This is for making me call you master." Tandi growled through clenched teeth from behind him. Her hair fell from her shoulders and draped around her face with each crack.
"This is for calling me baby." She grabbed a shard of glass from the strip of leather and dragged it down from the base of his spine to in between his shoulder blades, eliciting a blood-curdling scream.
"This is for kicking me in the stomach when you found out I was pregnant." She wrench two nails from the strips of leather and placed each one in his ear canals. He looked up to her with tears streaming down his cheeks.
"I'm so sorry," he mouthed.
"Me too." She plunged the nails into his ears and he dropped to the ground in a screeching mess.
The audience whooped and cheered as Philippus squirmed in the dust. I knew he wasn't very well liked, but I had no idea he was so hated amongst his peers. Tandi dropped the whip and fell to the ground in exhaustion. She had a faint smile as one of the women from the crowd ran over to help her up. Men came and carried Philippus to the medical tent quickly.
"Excellent work, Tandi," I announced. "Next up is Kinsey."
Kinsey stepped forward toward a cowering Stadius. She moved in front of him to look him in the eyes. She whispered something to him and he nodded. He whispered back to her and she frowned. Kinsey looked up at me and shook her head.
"I won't hurt him. I forgive him for what he has done. I don't know what you will do to him for breaking the law, but I will not press charges." Kinsey and Stadius exchanged glances.
"Are you certain?" I asked with a raised brow.
"Yes, my lord. He is forgiven." She nodded.
Sennia gave a look of disapproval but didn't protest. "Let him go if she wants it."
I gave a slight nod. "Stadius, I hereby dismiss you of punishment on your first count of breaking the law. You are free to go."
"Thank you, my lord." Stadius cried out loudly.
Kinsey slit the ropes on his wrists and helped him stand up. They made their way out of the arena quietly and Shannon took the floor.
"Good afternoon, Shannon. What is your method of choice in regards to Cairo's punishment?"
"Hot stones." She grinned at Cairo glaring back at her.
"As you wish. Bring the stones!" I hollered to the man by the kitchen.
The man shoveled coals into a bucket and stuffed tongs into his pocket. He ran around the crowd and they parted to let him in the arena he handed Shannon the bucket and tongs and she thanked him. She slid her fingers into the tongs and pulled out a chunk of glowing hot coal.
I leaned over towards Sennia. "It would be beautiful if it was dark out. Very bright."
Sennia chuckled and pushed me away. "Sh."
Shannon pried Cairo's jaw open and slowly drew the coal nearer and nearer to his mouth. He hissed as the coal hit his tongue. She stuffed it into his mouth and pushed it down his throat. He coughed and screamed as the searing stone burned into his trachea. Shannon hurried and shoved another into his mouth , clamping his mouth closed forcefully.
He seized as his body fought the coals, but it was too much. He choked and hit the ground. Shannon stepped over him and walked towards the entrance without looking back. Medics dragged his body out on a blanket.
"I see we are done with this part. Good day, Shannon." I clapped and the audience laughed.
Daisy, Arris, and Ellie moved towards Olympus all at once. They smirked as he tried to crawl away on his stomach. Ellie grabbed his ankles as Daisy grabbed his wrists. They flipped him over onto his back and Arris stood over him.
"Hello, ladies. Pick your poison." I said with a grin.
"Poison," Arris giggled.
"Good choice. Slow and painful." I threw down a vial of Cazador venom and it rolled away.
Arris moved off of Olympus and retrieved it. She returned to him and dug out a small razor from her pouch. She knelt down by his torso and drug the the razor across his arm. He groaned as it slit his skin. Arris uncorked the vial of venom and tilted it above the cut.
The venom dripped out slowly like old-world molasses. As soon as the liquid hit his cut, his screams and slurred curses spewed out of his mouth. Ellie and Daisy let go of him and he struggled to move.
Cazador venom stopped all activity in the body. It started with the control of limbs, followed by organ failure, then the victim goes brain dead, and finally, the heart stops. If the victim doesn't get a cure within ten minutes of the sting, they die painfully.
Olympus drooled down his face as his body struggled to fight off the venom. All three women stood around him, watching his suffering.
I leaned back to Sennia once more. "These girls are all fucking crazy. We should really keep an eye on them. Tandi is fine. Kinsey needs to be kept on watch. Girls like her tend to either lie and say they've been beaten or deny the abuse ever happened."
"I'll tell the guards to watch them closely." Sennia replied in a hushed voice.
She leaned over to the head of the guards and whispered to him. He nodded and gave the others their new orders. They all agreed and returned to standing motionlessly. My attention returned to Olympus and the girls. It appears the organ failure had just started since he was coughing up blood and spit now. The crowd was silent as they waited for his death. The girls whispered amongst themselves then turned to me.
"Can we give him the antivenom now?" Daisy asked.
I nodded and Siri threw the bottle over the wall. Ellie caught it and uncorked it, spilling it in Olympus's mouth. He choked and sneered, blood coating his teeth. He sputtered and moaned as the medics hauled him off towards the medical tent. The girls practically skipped hand in hand out of the arena.
It was down to Philto, Lexie, and Lacy. Lacy held him by the shoulders and Lacy pounced on him. His yelp was cut short by her fingers wrapped around his throat. His eyes bulged and his feet kicked out from under him. Lacy held him tighter as Lexie began shaking him by the throat.
Lexie had started kneeing him in the stomach in rage. She let go of him and thrust him down to the ground, spit on him, and kicked dust in his eyes. They two sisters and turned tail and stomped off.
He crawled up to his hands and knees with great difficulty. Medics tried to help him but he shook them off. He glared at me from the ground and stood up on shaky legs. He stumbled out of the arena.
The crowd cheered and I held a hand up. Sound halted.
"Thank you, ladies. Today has been a very educational day. I hope everyone goes to sleep tonight knowing something new. Don't break the rules, and we won't have a problem. Have a good day, everyone."
