“She’s mine,” Rune yelled. Then, in a lower, measured tone: “I like to get to know my women first.”
Seraphina felt like she was going to be sick. From the hip down, she was in pain. Hartmann’s boot had done a number on her. But hearing Rune talk about her like that was worse than a few kicks.
Hartmann laughed, a booming sound that joined the madness of the prison.
“That’s all I wanted to hear,” he said before yanking Seraphina to her feet and pushing her out into the corridor. “Open,” he ordered the two watchmen.
Rune took a few steps back, and his cell was unlocked. Seraphina was pushed in harshly and landed in a heap on the floor, covering her head with her arms. Hartmann had taken her scarf and hadn’t given it back. She was fully exposed.
She heard Rune lunge at them. There was the distinctive crack of a bone, and a wail that didn’t sound manly at all.
“You fucker,” Fischer said in a high-pitched voice.
Then they descended on him with clubs, fists, and feet, and Rune fought with all his might, but she knew he was outnumbered and completely overwhelmed. Not knowing what to do, she crawled away from the commotion, but someone grabbed her ankle and pulled her back, then she felt the tip of a bayonet press between her shoulder blades.
“One more move, and she bleeds.” Hartmann, of course.
Rune stopped at once. She heard him fall to his knees. She didn’t turn toward him, but he probably had his hands up.
Fischer was whining pathetically. “How is he so strong? Fuck. Fuck!”
“Teach him that lesson you promised,” Hartmann said. The blade pierced her skin. “Don’t resist,” he told Rune, “Or I’ll show you you’re not the only one who knows exactly how to treat a whore.”
Seraphina lay there, in utter horror, and listened to them beat Rune to a pulp. He barely made a sound, a grunt or a whimper escaping him here and there. He took it stoically, not moving a muscle, not even trying to defend himself. Koch and Fischer only stopped when they were too tired. She could hear them breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating with exertion.
“I’ve returned her to you, like you asked,” Hartmann said. He removed the bayonet and stepped out of the cell. The lock fell into place. “Don’t disappoint me again, creature. Fuck her, cut her, do what you want with her. If I come back here in a few days and she’s still in one piece, her guts not around her fucking throat, I’ll give her to someone else. Plenty of hungry men in these cells who won’t refuse such a gift.”
Seraphina covered her mouth with her hand. Hartmann really wanted her dead, but he wasn’t going to do it himself. She heard Rune grunt, and it sounded like approval. A promise.
“Good. When the magistrate gets around to your case, maybe I’ll put in a good word,” Harmann said, chuckling. “Say you’re a well-behaved prisoner, know how to follow orders.”
They left, Koch and Fischer limping down the corridor. It seemed like Rune had gotten them good before they’d made him submit to their torture by threatening her life. Even after the guards left, the clamor didn’t stop, the prisoners too worked up to settle down. Some of them had heard Hartmann’s suggestion that he’d give her to someone else, and were screaming:
“Give her to me!”
“I’ll take care of her. I’ll take care of her good.”
Seraphina pushed herself up and retched. Nothing came out, just a string of saliva. She heard Rune move behind her, and she crawled toward the wall, pushing herself flat against it.
“Don’t,” she said, her heart fluttering like a trapped animal.
“I haven’t looked at your face, I promise. I have my back to you.”
“Don’t... kill me.”
He let out a ragged sigh.
“You like to get to know your women. Do you know me well enough now? Will you–”
“No! Jesus Christ, Seraphina! I won’t touch you! I’ve never touched a woman in my life. Ever. Let alone hurt one.”
“What–”
“I lied! I told him what he wanted to hear so he’d leave you alone. And I lied about the dead woman. I didn’t kill her. Didn’t... eviscerate her. I found her in an alley like that and said that I did.”
“What the fuck?”
Seraphina’s shoulders shook with sobs, and she didn’t know whether it was from relief, or because she was going mad. She sobbed for a minute, then the dry crying turned into an unhinged laugh.
