From behind the podium, Bahmet lifted something for us all to see.
Tomin inhaled suddenly. By the time I looked at my father, his face had gone a sheet white. His head shook slightly, as if he was refusing what he was seeing. And yet, he was as trapped as we each were.
“Recognise it, do you, Tomin Hopkin?” Bahmet asked.
My father swallowed hard, the dark circles beneath his eyes looking more like bruises in this light. “I do.”
“I would hope so,” Bahmet said, waving the metal shape in question. “After all, you were the one who invented it.”
Invented it? My mind made something up in that moment. If my father had invented whatever it was that Bahmet held… it scared even him. If it was enough to inspire fear in someone as rigid as Tomin, we should all be worried.
Nothing scared my father… at least not until now.
I focused on the item, trying to make sense of it. The device was made from iron; I could smell the blood-like metal in the air. It consisted of a rectangular frame with two bars. Rusted screws held most of the parts together. Each of the bars had a small circle cut into them, for something to be put through. There was a screw that protruded through the middle of the frame, with a worn wooden handle at the top.
“I didn’t put you down as someone who enjoyed sex toys,” Hector said, breaking the tension in the room. “If you’re looking for recommendations, Bahmet, may I suggest a Rose toy. I hear they are great.”
“Not. Another.Word.” Unseen lightning whipped between the demon and Hector. It was an atmosphere more than a true element, but it was enough to stop Hector in his tracks. Everyhair on my head stood on end, making my skin itch beneath my long sleeves.
“Oh dear, did I hit a nerve?” Hector asked, scowl deepening. “Or is said nerve already frayed because we called upon your old friend, and she answered?”
“Hekate has no dominion here!” Bahmet screamed, the leather of his gloves screeching as he gripped the device tighter. “None.”
“I take that as confirmation to the latter half of my theory,” Hector said, leaning back with an incredibly pleased grin on his handsome face. “We can discuss more of that later, I’m sure.”
“Whatis it?” I shouted out, directing Bahmet’s fury away from Hector. “The device. You said my father invented it… for what purpose?”
Bahmet’s furry lip curled, showing rotten brown teeth in his maw. “Ask him yourself.”
Tomin didn’t speak, still trapped in his fear. It was Romy whose voice rose with an answer I never expected to hear. “It’s known as a thumbscrew. Also named ‘thumbkin’ since it was invented in Germany during their Witch Trials.”
“Indeed,” Bahmet replied. “Clever witch. You would covet the power I could give you greatly. I sense potential in you that none of these other useless witches possess.”
“I’d rather pick up shit andclapthen ever let you anywhere near me.” Romy spat… literally spat on the floor in front of the podium, which only soothed Bahmet’s fury more.
“Well, that may be arranged depending if you pass this trial or not.”
I wondered if Romy had just put two and two together. My father, if he invented this device, had to have been around for many, many years. I hadn’t told them yet of what Tomin revealed to me during The Burning. Perhaps if I had it would’ve given them a better chance of surviving this.
What have I done?
“Would you like to tell your fellow competitors what the thumbscrew is used for, Romy? Since you are so good with your words,” Bahmet encouraged, walking around the podium until he came to stop before it. “Or would anyone else like to make an educated guess?”
“Torture,” Romy snapped. “To elicit pain to get the truth out of those who suffer it.”
“In part, you are wrong. Because describing this device as something for torture would depend on which party, those using it, or those having it used upon, would describe. This is a tool of truth. One of the many, twisted might I add. A way that Witch Hunters were able to get the truth of accusations out of the condemned.
“See these little holes?” Bahmet lifted them up until his demonic eyes flashed through the two gaps in the metal bars. “A Witch Hunter would place the accused’s fingers, or sometimes toes, inside. They would ask a question, most commonly ‘are you a witch’, and if the answer was not what they wanted to hear, this little screw would be turned and turned and turned until…SNAP. Broken bones. Most accused only had ten chances to come to an answer that pleased those in charge. Men, however, you got an extra chance to confess, if you know what I mean.”
My groin shivered in disgust. If my hands weren’t strapped down, I would’ve laid a protective hand over my crotch. “So, this is the third trial. You ask questions, we answer them, and only if you like said answer, we pass?”
Steam billowed out of Bahmet’s nostrils, followed by an unnatural sound that was something between a chuckle and a bleat. “Almost, Arwyn. These are the rules. You will each take turns, in no particular order, to speak your truth. There will be no questions, because if youknowwhat I wish for you to reveal, there would be no fun in that. Instead, you must simply tell yourdeepest and darkest truth… you mustconfess. And before you ask stupid questions… no, you cannot cheat your way around this. It is simple. You have ten, gentlemen eleven, chances to speak aloud the one secret that you have kept that affects the group’s further success. Got it? Think of it like this, for once you are all working as a team. There is no tricking your way out of this one. I have seen into each of your minds, I know the answer I seek. It is up to you to figure it out.”
No one spoke. Silence reigned. Even Hector had rocked back in his chair, face paling as he swallowed whatever it was he wanted to say next. I didn’t miss the sudden glance Hector shot in Kai’s direction. Verena finally looked up too, gazing over to where I sat, although her eyes seemed distant, as if locked elsewhere.
“What if we don’t give the answer you want,” Verena said suddenly, voice clear as crystal and full of resistance.
“Then you die. First, I will make you suffer pain like your ancestors faced in trials such as this. And then I will devour your soul, take your power and dine on your bones. Does that answer your question?”
