Six months later
The chink of metal on rock was I could hear. Chained to a stone, which had yielded nothing for months I could feel my hands shaking and sweat dripping down my forehead and arms. But of course I daren't stop. For then the Guards would come. I flexed my back where yesterdays whippings had not yet begun to heal and continued on. Beside me, one young newcomer had abandoned his pick and was working furiously with his hands to free something from the stone.
I sighed as I looked at him, he had found nothing of course, few ever did but his face was so gleeful and concentrated that I felt sympathy towards him. For picking up a Fake the Guards would whip him most assuredly. He had gotten it free, I almost laughed, it wasn't a fake after all but simply a piece of the rock. One which had formed an ore inside of the first.
The new recruit beside me, myself and every other of the thousand or so slaves here were looking for the same thing. A rare black stone used in dark majik. A millenia ago it had been banished and sent into the deepest part of the underworld, with spells on it as none alive today could begin to unravel.
No majik may touch this stone, for its power is too great and the consequences too terrible. It was a mantra between the Guards, meant to taunt us. Of course you had to have a little majik to be alive down here but as long as we kept our gloves on and no one used majik to get at the stones, we didn't provoke the spell set on it long ago.
In frustration the boy beside me sunk to the ground and ignored his neighbours warnings to rise again, the Guards were coming. Instantly I bent down beside him, yanked him up and thrust the pick into his hands. When the guards reached our spot they blinked, confused and carried on. Guards were demons and men who had undergone some kind of torture and now they were much stronger and easier to control then their brethren up above. As they left, the boy shook me off angrily,
"What do you think you are doing?" he demanded, though he shouted his voice was barely a whisper when it reached me, two feet away.
"My name is Cora," I replied cheerfully, lying, turning back to my work.
"Well, I don't need your or anyone's help." he cried. "I'm going to escape you know," he told me confidentially, after a moment of silence. I tried not to laugh.
"There is no escape," I told him drily. "Only endless torture," when I turned back to him, his face was bleak and I felt sorry for him. "It's not so bad," I put in, which was just about the biggest lie I could have told him. But my reassurances seemed to cheer him up. At least he stood up and began working again.
What's your name," I asked as we worked.
"Jeffrey," he replied without taking his eyes from the rocks before him.
"Look," I paused, "just stick by me and you will be fine, ok?" I couldn't believe the words as soon as they were out of my mouth. I did not care about anything or anyone. Ever. Especially down here. To my surprise, though, he laughed off my words.
"How will you help me?" he asked incredulously. I looked down. I had forgotten, I didn't look very reliable. I looked older then I was, he might have thought me sixteen and in truth I was older then my thirteen years in spirit and maturity. I had always used my age as a tool but now I realized this young face was the only one I would ever wear. You did not age in the Pit. I remained silent for the rest of the day.
"If you ever need me," I whispered in his ear as we were leaving the rows to go to our cots, you know where to find me.
The next day he made sure to work alongside me again, without speaking of escape we simply talked, he told me how he had fallen in love with a girl who had turned out to be engaged, her fiancèe had brought him down here when he had walked in on them in bed.
A week later, and I was noticing an improvement in him. His eyes looked healthier, and when I had brought up politics he had actually argued against my beliefs.
"Control over society is good," he protested, "it keeps a rein on the Rebels." I hid a smile and didn't tell him, I had been one of the Rebels, which was mortal term for demons and powerful warlocks. It felt good to have done something good. Even if the only thing I did was make his last days bearable. On the night of the seventh day I left the horde as usual and climbed into my solitary bunk. I closed my eyes and fell instantly asleep. I should have had five glorious hours to sleep, but after only two I was awakened. Jeffrey was shaking my shoulder, with a bright and nervous look in his eyes.
"Tonight we are going to escape," he said happily. I could finally see what he must have looked like before he had brought to this hellpit, a young man lightly dabbling in the arts, maybe going to become powerful one day. Now he was a shell of the person he used to be. If I could remember correctly and I was not at all sure that I could, he had been here for about three weeks. It was enough to give his eyes a sunken look. Despite myself I felt my hopes rise,
"How," I asked--it had been so long since I had dared to think I could escape.
"I have been keeping track of the Guards. I know when they change shifts. At midnight the guards in training come out, the ones fresh from the.." he faltered here because he, like I, did not know where Guards had come from. Undeterred, he continued, "we have to make a run for it in exactly five minutes. Can you do it?" It was a challenge.
"Yes," I replied without thinking, though I no longer felt any hope. This was a plan I had tried before and I knew it would only result in a whipping. But if it helped him realized there was no escape….Unless someone comes for you, whispered a voice in the back of my head. I still kept up a small hope in the back of my head that Cole would come. I tried to squashed the thought but it stayed in the back of my head and would not leave. I stood up silently and grasped his hand. He pulled me threw the small door and counted softly.
"Five four three two, one," suddenly he pulled me into the open pit and shoved me on the ground. Crawling quickly, Jeffrey lead me towards the Edge. Beyond the rows where I had stood and worked all day, for the past months there was a ledge. It dropped off suddenly and into nothing; I couldn't see its bottom. On the other side was the entrance to the hall, it split off into several different paths. I didn't even know how to get out from there.
"Ok," he said slowly. "On the count of three, we are going to run, see there is the Guard changing right now. Go!" he cried in my ear, and we both stood up suddenly and ran. I reached the Edge first, and turned to him waiting to see how he had decided to get over it. Instead of hesitating he kept going and pulled me into the cavern with him.
As we dropped he shouted a few imperceptible words and I felt suddenly weightless. Original, I thought cautiously, as we drifted down into the darkness. I felt no fear, for the certain death that hung in the air was welcomed. By me, at least. Beside me Jeffrey was going estatic.
"We made it!" He whooped, fully sure the Guards would not hear him. Of course he didn't reckon on them being both above and below us. Apparently this hole was not as far a drop as it looked. We landed right on top of a Guard squad.
After that whipping, Jeffrey was taken away, and He came to see me.
"Not right for you to play with people such as that. You might get ideas, you know," he was smiled then, as condescending as could be and I snapped. I flew at him and it was only his good mood which saved me. He silently left and I went crashing into the wall.
The next day they sent in a new batch of majiks, I instantly went up to the youngest and most scared looking kid I could find.
"My name is Cora."
The chink of metal on rock was I could hear. Chained to a stone, which had yielded nothing for months I could feel my hands shaking and sweat dripping down my forehead and arms. But of course I daren't stop. For then the Guards would come. I flexed my back where yesterdays whippings had not yet begun to heal and continued on. Beside me, one young newcomer had abandoned his pick and was working furiously with his hands to free something from the stone.
I sighed as I looked at him, he had found nothing of course, few ever did but his face was so gleeful and concentrated that I felt sympathy towards him. For picking up a Fake the Guards would whip him most assuredly. He had gotten it free, I almost laughed, it wasn't a fake after all but simply a piece of the rock. One which had formed an ore inside of the first.
The new recruit beside me, myself and every other of the thousand or so slaves here were looking for the same thing. A rare black stone used in dark majik. A millenia ago it had been banished and sent into the deepest part of the underworld, with spells on it as none alive today could begin to unravel.
No majik may touch this stone, for its power is too great and the consequences too terrible. It was a mantra between the Guards, meant to taunt us. Of course you had to have a little majik to be alive down here but as long as we kept our gloves on and no one used majik to get at the stones, we didn't provoke the spell set on it long ago.
In frustration the boy beside me sunk to the ground and ignored his neighbours warnings to rise again, the Guards were coming. Instantly I bent down beside him, yanked him up and thrust the pick into his hands. When the guards reached our spot they blinked, confused and carried on. Guards were demons and men who had undergone some kind of torture and now they were much stronger and easier to control then their brethren up above. As they left, the boy shook me off angrily,
"What do you think you are doing?" he demanded, though he shouted his voice was barely a whisper when it reached me, two feet away.
"My name is Cora," I replied cheerfully, lying, turning back to my work.
"Well, I don't need your or anyone's help." he cried. "I'm going to escape you know," he told me confidentially, after a moment of silence. I tried not to laugh.
"There is no escape," I told him drily. "Only endless torture," when I turned back to him, his face was bleak and I felt sorry for him. "It's not so bad," I put in, which was just about the biggest lie I could have told him. But my reassurances seemed to cheer him up. At least he stood up and began working again.
What's your name," I asked as we worked.
"Jeffrey," he replied without taking his eyes from the rocks before him.
"Look," I paused, "just stick by me and you will be fine, ok?" I couldn't believe the words as soon as they were out of my mouth. I did not care about anything or anyone. Ever. Especially down here. To my surprise, though, he laughed off my words.
"How will you help me?" he asked incredulously. I looked down. I had forgotten, I didn't look very reliable. I looked older then I was, he might have thought me sixteen and in truth I was older then my thirteen years in spirit and maturity. I had always used my age as a tool but now I realized this young face was the only one I would ever wear. You did not age in the Pit. I remained silent for the rest of the day.
"If you ever need me," I whispered in his ear as we were leaving the rows to go to our cots, you know where to find me.
The next day he made sure to work alongside me again, without speaking of escape we simply talked, he told me how he had fallen in love with a girl who had turned out to be engaged, her fiancèe had brought him down here when he had walked in on them in bed.
A week later, and I was noticing an improvement in him. His eyes looked healthier, and when I had brought up politics he had actually argued against my beliefs.
"Control over society is good," he protested, "it keeps a rein on the Rebels." I hid a smile and didn't tell him, I had been one of the Rebels, which was mortal term for demons and powerful warlocks. It felt good to have done something good. Even if the only thing I did was make his last days bearable. On the night of the seventh day I left the horde as usual and climbed into my solitary bunk. I closed my eyes and fell instantly asleep. I should have had five glorious hours to sleep, but after only two I was awakened. Jeffrey was shaking my shoulder, with a bright and nervous look in his eyes.
"Tonight we are going to escape," he said happily. I could finally see what he must have looked like before he had brought to this hellpit, a young man lightly dabbling in the arts, maybe going to become powerful one day. Now he was a shell of the person he used to be. If I could remember correctly and I was not at all sure that I could, he had been here for about three weeks. It was enough to give his eyes a sunken look. Despite myself I felt my hopes rise,
"How," I asked--it had been so long since I had dared to think I could escape.
"I have been keeping track of the Guards. I know when they change shifts. At midnight the guards in training come out, the ones fresh from the.." he faltered here because he, like I, did not know where Guards had come from. Undeterred, he continued, "we have to make a run for it in exactly five minutes. Can you do it?" It was a challenge.
"Yes," I replied without thinking, though I no longer felt any hope. This was a plan I had tried before and I knew it would only result in a whipping. But if it helped him realized there was no escape….Unless someone comes for you, whispered a voice in the back of my head. I still kept up a small hope in the back of my head that Cole would come. I tried to squashed the thought but it stayed in the back of my head and would not leave. I stood up silently and grasped his hand. He pulled me threw the small door and counted softly.
"Five four three two, one," suddenly he pulled me into the open pit and shoved me on the ground. Crawling quickly, Jeffrey lead me towards the Edge. Beyond the rows where I had stood and worked all day, for the past months there was a ledge. It dropped off suddenly and into nothing; I couldn't see its bottom. On the other side was the entrance to the hall, it split off into several different paths. I didn't even know how to get out from there.
"Ok," he said slowly. "On the count of three, we are going to run, see there is the Guard changing right now. Go!" he cried in my ear, and we both stood up suddenly and ran. I reached the Edge first, and turned to him waiting to see how he had decided to get over it. Instead of hesitating he kept going and pulled me into the cavern with him.
As we dropped he shouted a few imperceptible words and I felt suddenly weightless. Original, I thought cautiously, as we drifted down into the darkness. I felt no fear, for the certain death that hung in the air was welcomed. By me, at least. Beside me Jeffrey was going estatic.
"We made it!" He whooped, fully sure the Guards would not hear him. Of course he didn't reckon on them being both above and below us. Apparently this hole was not as far a drop as it looked. We landed right on top of a Guard squad.
After that whipping, Jeffrey was taken away, and He came to see me.
"Not right for you to play with people such as that. You might get ideas, you know," he was smiled then, as condescending as could be and I snapped. I flew at him and it was only his good mood which saved me. He silently left and I went crashing into the wall.
The next day they sent in a new batch of majiks, I instantly went up to the youngest and most scared looking kid I could find.
"My name is Cora."