Afternoon all, thanks for continuing to read. Special thanks to pheonlynx for reviewing. I don't own the Night Angels Trilogy.
Three weeks later….
Jason awoke to a steady dripping and oppressive darkness. His head throbbed with dull pain instead of a weak buzz of a barely felt hangover that he'd been used to before his enslavement. He flexed his arms impulsively and the rattle of chains sliced through his head. Memories manifested in his consciousness, tiny shards of the past tearing into his present. His eyes adjusted to the dim cell and he shrugged off the last dregs of unconsciousness and took a deep breath. The fresher scars overlapped the older ones, standing out as livid red reminders of his defiance of those who believed themselves his betters. He had been trapped, on and off, in this cell ever since his captors had discovered his stubborn refusal to be broken like the other slaves. His latest stunt landed him in his usual punishment – 3 days in solitary confinement, devoid of food, water and any form of human interaction. Not that there was any real pleasure into talking to the other degenerates in this hellhole. "Half of them can't speak and the other half have nothing worth listening to" Jason mumbled to himself. "All that is required of us is that we fight and die for the pleasure of the crowd. We who are about to die, salute you Godking. We who are about to die, salute you…. Jason began to slip back to the blurred combination of dreams and memories as his mind and body betrayed his fierce will…
He remembered standing in blood soaked sand, blade in hand and a carpet of foes behind him. He remembered his trial by fire, baptised as a slave-warrior in the blood of other slaves, his only duty was to bring agony and death to those his master told him to slay, falsely assuming he had Jason's measure. Every attempt to strike down his owner had led to failure, incarnation and one hundred lashes. He'd come close, but not close enough. He caught glimpses of Tamara hanging on the arms of one of the Godking's noblemen, and jealousy flared up. She laughed and planted kisses and flirted, and he growled under his breath and ignored her when she glanced in his direction. Once, Nuba had interrogated him during one of Tamara's visits to see his false master. Nuba had tilted his head at her and asked "Her… Who is she?" Jason had shrugged, feigning ignorance but his Sethi confederate was not dissuaded. "She had meaning to you. Are my words unclear my friend? Or unwelcome?" Jason sighed melodramatically, and replied "Fine. She's the reason I'm in this mess." Nuba stroked his chin and nodded, before asking "The woman you told me about?" Jason shrugged half-heartedly, causing Nuba to raise an eyebrow. "I guess so, she seems to be doing fine though." Nuba stared at Jason inquisitively for a long moment, before asking "Do you love her still?" Jason shot him a dark, murderous look before nodding and mumbling "Yes." Nuba nodded sagely and clapped him on the shoulder. Jason brushed his hand away angrily, and stalked back to his cell.
Another memory surfaced, but this time the sin was not wrath, but lust. After being released from the solitary confinement cell to win a brutally short, one-sided fight against a team of second-rate slaves, Jason and the other gladiators had been given several concubines in a rare, generous moment by his tyrannical overlords. He had woken that morning with an erratic grin. The Godking had visited that day, to personally meet the gallant victors, or the most black-hearted bastards to blight his land. Jason was last in line and last to look upon the Godking. "So Jason Drake, I see the wolves haven't devoured you. Yet." The Godking laughed at that, before Jason replied darkly, "If you throw me to the wolves, you Highness, I will return leading the pack. And it will be your blood I spill that day." Jason finished by spitting in the face of his enemy. It had been two hundred lashes that night.
Jason was torn back to the present, eyes springing open. He was out of solitary confinement and back in his cell, Nuba present as he always was. "Ah, the dashing prince returns to us. Any hearty tales of adventure and comely wenches, my liege?" Nuba's white teeth flashed in the gloom as he grinned at Jason, who responded with a playful shove and muttered "Piss off, Nuba. Anything happened while I was away." Jason grinned back, and waited for his reply. Nuba's face turned grave and he nodded slowly. "Yes my friend. Something did happen. Please, follow me." Jason followed the Sethi to a cell at the end of the block, where a gathering was waiting for the pair. "These are the leaders of the various factions here. They seek an audience with you, Jason Drake." Jason glared at the group as they glared back, before turning to Nuba and asking "What do they want, Nuba?" His ally replied "They seek freedom. And they believe you to be the architect of that freedom." Jason smirked and responded "So they want me to lead an uprising, is that it?" Nuba nodded in his slow fashion "Yes Jason. They want you to spearhead their escape and slay many foes. The details are still being worked out, however the general plan is set. We assumed you have the knowledge necessary to ensure our success. So, Jason Drake, what say you?" Jason's smirk split into a full, macabre grin and he snarled savagely "Aye, I'm on board. This is what we'll do…."