“Thank you, I will tell my mother… he died during the uprising.”
The door in front of us swings open, my eyes adjusting to the room's brightness, while the guard squints and shields his eyes.
My mind whirls. An uprising? What does he speak of? I seem to be on the back foot about a lot of things that have happened while I've been gone. I have yet tolearn of anything good that has happened in Imperia since I’ve been away, and now to hear there was an uprising. Is this why the impish here wither instead of thrive?
An older imp stands before us, robes of a deep red covering his shoulders.He is one of the Emperor's trusted advisors. He does not speak as he looks us over, nodding his head, stepping aside for us to enter.
The room is stark. Red walls with views out to the city. A single chaise lounge at the far end, sprawled upon it without a care in the world, the Emperor. He looks older now. His pale skin like worn leather. He looks me over, expressionless to my arrival. Several guards stand armed and poised for attack. It would take me less than a minute to end their lives, but now more than ever, I will play the part of the good little captive until more secrets are revealed to me.
“You look… well. You look whole, Bellator. I would have thought the West would have taken a limb of yours by now,” the Emperor snarls.
I say nothing; a question has not been asked yet, but also, I find imps tend to ramble when left to talk. The guards all shift slightly, not something an impish would pick up on, but I see the brash statement has made them uncomfortable.Interesting.
“The war to the West has taken too long to win. This was something you were given oversight of, and now you have run out of the time you were given; a punishment is due.”
What is he speaking of? We have been fighting the West forever. They are our only enemy, and have been since the wars first began. We do not fight to a schedule; we fight to win, and so far we have been doing so. My eyebrow raises, and I utter the single word he knows to be untrue.
“Timeframe?”
“This is Treason!” He screams, spittle flying as he stands abruptly, the gold and red robes he wears glimmering in the light. “You dare speak to me like that. I am your Emperor!”
This is a new version of the imp I once knew. He was always cold and calculated, but this… this is someone who demands submission and will not find it in me.
“Guards, I want a finger for his insolence. You will not disrespect me in my own home!”
I wait, but the guards do not move. The poor boy to the side of me, visibly trembling from what's unfolding. The Emperor is like a child whose favourite toy was broken. This outburst the type of ruler he has become while I've been defending his city?The reason behind an uprising?
A glint of silver catches my eye, and I see the small dagger in the hand of the boy. He looks up at me, eyes full of water and mouths the words,for my father. The sorrow of what he plans to do playing out across his face before taking a step forward. Despite my cuffed hands, I lift my arms, trapping the boy in my hold,slipping the dagger from his grasp and placing it in my cuff.
“Not like this,” I whisper in his ear. Avenging his father is an honourable thing, but to try and do it like this. It will only mean he is also killed; his mother does not need to lose a husband as well as a son.
“No,” I state calmly, taking a knee so I’m at a better height to all in the room.
“No?!” The Emperor shrieks. The guards in the room had moved to form a defence line when I took the boy. It's a cute gesture, but one that is indifferent to me.
“No fingers. What has happened in my absence?”
“This is treason!” He shrieks again.
“What happened to the water? Why are the lands dry?” The air in the room goes still, not a single breath taken, everyone waiting for an answer to this question. Imperia was lush and green, a thriving city built on the vast amounts of fresh water that ran throughout its lands. And now, there is nothing. The city well and fountains are all that remain, but that's only enough to sustain the life of the impish. “What happened to the water?” I try again. He stares, breathing heavy behind the guards who look at me with hope of finding answers.
“I have a plan for you, Bellator,” he sneers. “For years, I’ve seen the way you undermine my rule, and for a while, I found it entertaining. Not now, though, not now,” he trails off mumbling. He walks to the openwindow before turning and facing me. “Imperia is mine. Mine to grow. Mine to punish. They will bow before me. Scream my name over yours. You will not save this city… because it has already fallen. Take him away.”
The boy holds my cuffs, ducking under my arm and pulling me back toward the passage we came from. A sharp whack to the back of my knees causes me to stumble ever so slightly, and I look back to see the rest of the guards scrambling to subdue me. But for what purpose? Locking eyes with the Emperor, I play my part as the submissive victim, dropping to my knees and falling forward, never once breaking his gaze. He seems to come alive under my mistreatment, a warped version of the imp he used to be. Blows from the guards raining down on me. Eventually, the beating will bruise, but it will take at least an hour of this kind of punishment to leave a mark. The guards will wear themselves out before I’m truly hurt. I was confident in this narrative. Unaware that the Emperor had been working on something while I was gone. The cool touch of heavy metal scrapes across the back of my neck, a lock clicking into place before I have time to stop it. The Emperor stands there, frothing at this change of events, saliva catching at the corners of his mouth. Pulling out some sort of tool from his pocket. Initially, I feel the collar begin to warm, the heat not unbearable but noticeably hot. Then came the shock. A bolt of power so intense it had me dropping my headto the floor, trying to catch my breath as it stole all the air from my lungs.
What is this?
As soon as the pain ends, I claw at my neck, pulling and tugging at the collar to wrench it free, but it remains stuck in place.
The boy tugs at my arm, trying to urge me to move toward the passageway. He looks pale, shaken from the scene he’s just witnessed. This is not the Imperia I’m familiar with. The cruelty of this act is one that would never have happened in the past. The wordsit has already fallen, repeating in my head and for the first time, I fear that he is right.
Chapter 8
Steve
HELL AT NIGHT - BIGXTHAPLUG, ELLA LANGLEY ?
She leans against me, the fountain bubbling behind us as we stare at one of the many Hell churches within the city.
