Nia - Broken (3)

“Sweetheart, come with me! You’ve been very well-behaved on this journey. As a reward, you may sleep on the floor in my tent,” Lera suddenly crooned beside her.

Nia hadn’t even noticed the Exorcist draw closer and flinched. She nodded quickly.

“You may thank me,” Lera whispered.

At once Nia dropped to her knees and licked Lera’s boots. Dirt coated her tongue; she nearly gagged, yet she kept going. When she finished, she crouched in front of the Exorcist, waiting for the next degrading command.

Lera whistled through her teeth in surprise.

“Not bad! I wouldn’t have thought you’d learn so quickly. You’re doing wonderfully. Perhaps I’ll ask the clerics to give you back to me when they’re finished with you, once they’ve taken you apart and squeezed everything possible out of you. After all, I’ve already invested so much in your training, haven’t I? How would you like that, bitch?” the Exorcist mused.

Nia's tongue moved again before she realized what she was doing. From above came a confused gasp, followed by clear, mocking laughter.

“You really are well trained, aren’t you? We’re going to have a lot of fun together. You know what? You’ve earned another reward. If you have a question for me, you may kneel before me and wait to see if I allow it. Isn’t that generous?”

A vile sense of gratitude shot through Nia’s thoughts. She didn’t know whether to laugh because she had been granted a little more freedom, or cry because she was glad of it. So she kept licking, as if her life depended on it.

I am a worthless piece of shit…

That was how it should be. She was punished because she was useless, because she hadn’t been able to save Locu. The wound in her soul still burned.

At last Lera kicked her aside, laughing, and Nia fell into a muddy puddle. She groaned as she pushed herself back up.

“I’ve changed my mind. No question for you. Come, our tent is already set up.”

Nia scrambled to her feet and hurried after her to the red tent Lera’s hunters had raised in the square. She had to move quickly to keep up with the Exorcist. The tight dress, which barely allowed her to take long steps, left her hobbling awkwardly behind.

She wondered where Exorcist Immesh stayed. Likely in one of the crumbling block houses nearby. She often saw hunters leaving those buildings, and guessed they used them for shelter.

Soon after, Nia lay on a pile of straw, the rough stalks pricking her skin. Beside her, Lera sat in a chair, unmoving, eyes closed in cultivation. The silence pressed on Nia until her thoughts began to twist.”

I could attack her… Nia thought, suppressing a laugh. She would destroy me before I even realized it. Or worse, she would do to me what she did to Uda…

A shiver ran down her spine.

Why couldn’t Uda keep her mouth shut? Why did she always have to resist? Was it only because of me?

It would have been so much easier. Unlike herself, Uda hadn’t deserved any of what the Exorcist had done to them. And once again cold hatred welled up in Nia, making her tremble. She tried to reach for the darkness inside her, the darkness that since Locu’s Waking felt so near yet forever out of reach. The burning pull of the collar around her neck made her flinch in pain. She bit back a groan so as not to disturb Lera’s cultivation.

Soon Nia retreated inward as well, her mind tormented by the image of the circle. The light of the radiant halo seared deeper wounds into her with every passing moment, and yet she found the circle strangely beautiful. And in the corner of her mind, faint, there was something empty, a peaceful strangeness without shape. She would have loved to explore it, but the circle forced her gaze away.

Nia didn’t know how long she had been in this state, but when Lera’s boot slammed into her stomach and ripped her back into the Dream, the Sun outside was already rising.

“A truly beautiful day, isn’t it? You’re going to help out around here a little. I want you to make yourself useful, understood?” Lera barked, and Nia nodded, eyes fixed on the ground. “Good, then follow me!”

Again, she stumbled to match Lera’s pace. The Exorcist headed straight for a side alley, where they had to climb over rubble to continue. It took all of Nia’s care not to tear her dress, and she scraped her hands raw trying to protect it. hey pushed through the overgrown ruins and emerged into a square, where a crumbling statue loomed at the center. At the far end, three men were working, guarded by four of Immesh’s hunters clutching their spears tightly.

“Greetings, Exorcist Lera,” one of the hunters called, saluting.

“What is your name?” Lera asked.

“I am Verlo,” said the man, trying to stand as tall as he could.

“Good, Verlo. Here is my request: let this pile of trash work for you. She’ll fit right in with your little work crew, even though her crimes are worse than anything these men have ever done. If she takes one wrong step, drive your spear into her somewhere she won’t recover from. Understood? Can you all do that?” Lera’s eyes swept challengingly over the group.

The hunters saluted again.

With a satisfied grin, Lera turned to Nia and whispered in her ear, “You’re going to work here. It’s very simple. All you need to do is clear the weeds from the ruins. You can handle that, can’t you?” she crooned.

“Of course, as you wish, Exorcist Lera,” Nia replied at once, marching toward the men, who were already scraping moss from the walls with small knives.

As she drew near, the tingling of a barrier hit her again, and she realized she was stepping out of the protected zone. She hesitated and turned around, but Lera was already walking away with a satisfied grin, not even sparing her a final glance.

Only a few steps separated her from the three men. Their skin was streaked with grime, their clothes little more than rags. A foul stench hung in the air, apparently drifting in from beyond the houses, but Nia tried to ignore it.

“Wow, what a sexy little beauty,” laughed the man closest to her, his hair matted, as he licked his lips.

When his gaze fell on the chain around Nia’s neck, he gasped in shock and backed away.

“By the… I did not realize; I am so sorry! Apologies…” he stammered.

He almost instantly bowed, his whole body shaking. There was terror in his eyes, but also something different—something far more disturbing. Admiration.

“What exactly do I need to do?” Nia called to the hunters standing safely behind the barrier, trying her best to ignore the criminals.

“Don’t ask questions! The others will show you. Just get to work!” Verlo snapped, making an impatient gesture with his spear.

Nia turned back, uncertain. A dirty feeling crept deeper into the back of her mind as she realized she was defenseless out here against the Nightmares. The air suddenly felt cooler, charged with malice, yet in a strange way, it calmed her.

Still, her steps remained hesitant as she approached the man who had just spoken so crudely. Nia decided to take the offensive. He had been afraid—she would use that.

After all, Nia couldn’t afford for him to torment her too.

“You!” she ordered, surprised by the sharpness in her own voice. “Tell me what I’m supposed to do. Now!”

The man flinched and handed her a knife, not daring to look her in the face.

So this is what it feels like for Lera, Nia thought, startled by herself.

“You have to… scrape it off with the knife, like this…” the man beside her explained, drawing the blade slowly across the moss-covered stone wall.

A few green shreds peeled loose and fell carelessly to the ground.

“It’s important to keep the correct angle. Otherwise it can hurt over time…” he murmured.

“What’s your name? Answer!” Nia demanded, but forced her voice to stay quiet.

“Itch. My name is Itch. The dark-skinned one over there is Enu, and the last one is Rufus,” her new companion whispered.

Nia took the knife from his trembling hand and studied the other two slowly. Rufus was bald, missing an eyebrow, with a scraggly mustache and a gaunt frame. Enu was tall, with dark skin, a split, narrow upper lip, and a long scar across his forehead.

You are a worthless… No. Not now…