Valtessa [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczOk2LnzKqxZorMi6Q-vp-feOdVPeFFz_8UdoD7liqd78PevF6UsU27QPn2HvBFGjT8bD3qVbRJ1-ixkP7lSsgeaqeKUBXWN3DZuRO47Gt2t4XwTo9uJdzdbHh0AT6o3yDeS1ffLuDfAZlTGTu8eHmnx=w661-h992-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
It wasn’t the beatings that were the worst part of Dazien’s captivity in the bowels of another Scarlet Banquet lair. After all, he had endured much worse during fights with monsters during the blood moon and even before becoming a legitimate Adventurer. No, the bouts of physical pain those first couple of days was almost a relief to the ever-present gnawing ache of hunger and acted as an odd reminder that he was still alive and mostly coherent.
It wasn’t even that ever imminent starvation that was the worst part anymore. They had apparently figured out exactly how many Crystal Bits could keep a Sapphire from Fading and had been careful to keep him weak but not fatally so. His body hadn’t seemed to outwardly change at all yet, but the weakness and fatigue kept making him easily pass out to try and sleep to conserve the little magic that wasn’t being drained from him.
The worst part was the interrogation ritual they would put him in to tear information from his lips; traitorous words that exposed his family and put his friends at risk. Even the lies he tried to speak revealed the truth as he screamed in the sheer agony caused from not answering honestly or quickly enough.
Who were you before you were adopted?
Who was the Saint of the Celestial Pantheon under all the rumors?
What are the Aspects and abilities of your teammates?
What happened during the destruction of the Scarlet Banquet’s branch in Tulimeir?
Who’s in command of House Wayland if you’re here?
How often do the gods communicate with their Chosen Wayfarer?
What are the defensive capabilities of the Sacred City?
What were Phoenix Wayland’s plans here in Serenydi if she’s not dead?
What is her greatest weakness to be exploited?
Dazien was only grateful in those moments that the concoctions they had shoved down his throat while chained on his knees in the middle of a ritual circle only required the most straightforward and direct answers. It wouldn’t pull tangential or detailed information from his mind without a direct request for it and it wouldn’t punish him for half-truths. As long as he answered honestly, the ritual didn’t care if there were pieces missing.
While he normally hated lying with a passion, for the first time in his life he desperately wanted to. When he was alone in the early morning hours that his torturers were asleep for, he could console himself with the knowledge that he hadn’t told them the answers to the questions they didn’t know to ask.
Uriel’s past continued to be a mystery that they didn’t seem interested in unraveling, though they were definitely interested in how they might befriend or control him should he still live. Camilla’s presence as a temporary companion stayed unknown since she hadn’t been associated with their party and Lukas Lumeris hadn’t considered her. Most importantly, the goal of Phoenix’s divine quest and her talent to resurrect remained clouded still.
He was actually glad now that Rex’s vessel had been destroyed and the Familiar wasn’t forced to endure all this pain with him. While it might have helped make him not feel so alone or completely powerless, he didn’t want his Familiar to have to experience this torture.
Dazien hoped they would get bored of him soon, but Lord Finndeshin seemed adamant about milking him for all he was worth and playing up his importance to the rest of the blood cult.
He had gathered that the evil noble was rather high up on the chain within the cult but not at its peak. That position seemed to be held by the woman now standing in front of him, High Priestess Valtessa Vanderill.
She stared down at him like he was both a rare treasure dug from the ground and yet also worth less than the dirt that was hiding it in the first place. The amount of disdain was evident in her tone of voice as she spoke to the elf next to her, but her crimson eyes stared at him as though he might vanish should she blink for too long.
He had actually seen that kind of look before, oddly enough. It was the same look a stranger had given him before beating him half to death while he was still a Mundane. Jacob had saved his life then, and tried to help him make sense of what had happened. He feared that this woman would be the same kind of problem… the kind that despised him for making them desire him.
“I will admit that it was fortuitous that you acquired him when you did, Lord Finndeshin,” she began with her smooth alto, “But not for his connection with the… inconvenience the Saint brat poses.”
“We’ve confirmed she’s alive and here in the city already! She was the downfall of an entire branch of our organization,” Finn argued despite managing to keep that air of elegance as he spoke, “We should take her out of the equation before attempting the grand ritual lest she undermine it.”
Valtessa turned to look at the elf instead, finally managing to break her gaze from Dazien’s chained form waiting within the interrogation ritual that had yet to be activated. He noticed her hair was a long curtain of red that matched her low-cut dress, but unlike Phoenix’s warm auburn curls, this cultist’s straight locks were an unnatural crimson, like freshly spilled blood. His slightly addled mind wondered if it was actually dyed with it and the thought made his very empty magical stomach churn.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
“She doesn’t know enough about our presence here to get involved quickly enough. The night of the double full moons is in merely a fortnight and the final component to the ritual just happened to land on our doorstep.”
“I know it calls for a gemite Caster, but surely we can procure one with less valuable information still trapped in its head. There are a few we’ve been watching since they’ve entered the city and—”
“And bring the authorities down on our heads for visitors going missing?!” Valtessa interrupted as she pushed her hair back and returned her attention to Dazien. “We’ve managed to remain untouched for so long because we don’t threaten the city’s interests. You know we need individuals intercepted before they arrive on the island, which you have managed to provide by some miracle. Surely, the Maniac smiles upon us and our goal.”
The elven lord tried to persuade the priestess once more, annoyance beginning to trickle into his words, “I’m telling you, Lady Vanderill, he has information that we can’t just throw away as a ritual component—”
“It is not being thrown away, Finndeshin,” she abruptly interrupted once more, “It will be a grand sacrifice that gives birth to the greatest weapon the world will have ever seen.”
“Better than an army of flying ships from another reality?” he snarked, his patience finally slipping.
Crimson eyes flashed in anger as the vampire priestess snapped back, “An army that failed to accomplish its goal of destruction and left the world’s ruling forces largely intact. We will not be so unsuccessful.”
Then she leaned forward to take a slim hand to Dazien’s chin and force his eyes up to meet hers. He noticed them dilate as ruby met amethyst and she licked her lips. He gave a small huff and managed to ask, “Are you hoping to eat me instead like you did my parents?”
Her lip curled up as she replied, “I didn’t get the chance to taste your mother, though I heard she was delicious, like your father. I did have quite a fun time with him, though, before selling him off. He’s the reason I know exactly how delicious a gemite can be, but that was years ago now.”
“If he was so delicious I’m surprised you sold him,” Dazien said, hoping this might be his chance to learn more about what happened to his father.
“The DOD wanted him and offered a price I couldn’t say no to,” she replied with a shrug, “I didn’t realize then how difficult it would be to find another Shiny version of your kind. The normal ones have a much more metallic taste to them than your father had.”
One of her long, sharp nails dug into his cheek then, the Emerald Caste managing to pierce his weakened flesh as she whispered, “I’m hoping you will taste even better.”
As she used her thumb to smear the trickle of blood down his face and across his own lips she asked in a more playful tone, “Do you know what the torcs represent?”
“Yes,” he managed to say, trying to pull his face from her grip, but she held him firmly.
She touched her other hand to the metal around her neck and drew his gaze down to the gold band. It had a round amethyst in its center with a topaz on one side and a round copper marble on the other.
“See this purple jewel here? As I’m sure you know, it signifies that I’m the dominant type. Are you dominant, my little Amethyst?”
He refused to answer and simply glared up at her with all the energy he could muster.
He would not bow to her.
With a cruel grin, she leaned forward and kissed his bloody lips, biting them as he struggled to get away from her.
“If you’re going to play with him now, should I leave?” Finndeshin asked, inadvertently saving him from her assault.
Valtessa pulled away, licking her lips again and she said, “Just testing the taste. A fun little appetizer.” She ran a hand through his short messy hair and taunted, “I hope you like being bitten, because that truly was delicious.”
“And you were the foulest thing I’ve ever tasted in my life,” Dazien flippantly retorted, glaring at her and spitting the blood from his mouth.
Her gaze hardened and lips became a thin line as she said to her second-in-command, “He’ll be staying in my quarters during the mornings. He can be dinner and breakfast for me. The rest of the time he’s yours.”
She finally released her tight grip in his hair and curtly added, “We only have a fortnight, Finndeshin. Get what knowledge you can in that time, but don’t put off preparing him. Once the ritual is complete, he won’t be able to answer any more questions as he devours our enemies.”
Dazien managed to catch Finn’s charcoal-lined eyes glaring at the cult leader’s back briefly as he replied, “As you command, High Priestess.”
Valtessa turned around to give the other noble brief words of consolation, “I know you’ve never been the most devout to the cause, but rest assured, once we finish the ritual, the Saint brat will be nothing more than an appetizer for the Scarlet Thirst.”
For the first time since his capture, Dazien wished that Uriel had been there with him. His knowledge about monsters was the best Dazien had ever seen, as though he had memorized the entire encyclopedia of them. He had no idea what a Scarlet Thirst was, but he bet that his partner would.
When it came to defeating monsters, half the battle was knowing about what you were fighting against. The remaining half he would have said came down to skill if he had been asked a year ago, but now he knew an unhealthy amount of luck and sheer stubbornness played into it as well.
Despite his fears, he found himself hoping Phoenix was still stubborn enough to take on an entire cult to save both him and those that might become his victims should the Scarlet Banquet succeed in their plots.
“Well, Heir Wayland, let us not waste any more precious time,” Finndeshin said from a mere meter away from him now, bringing him back from his inner thoughts. Valtessa had apparently left already while his mind had wandered. The elf grimaced at his bloodied mouth and mused aloud, “I wonder if there’s anything you can give me to help convince the wench to actually address the divine threat on our doorstep. I believe her hunger is overpowering her logic. We need to crush your little group of Sapphires before others get involved like they did in Tulimeir.”
Dazien gave a pained chuckle, “My party is used to tackling enemies above our Caste by now. Renseres, Soul Reapers, Monsters. Your cult will just be another story for us to tell of how Hero’s Chosen saved yet another city.”
A slow grin crept across the noble elf’s lips as he repeated, “Hero’s Chosen, huh? That does give me an excellent idea. See, Heir Wayland, I knew you’d be useful.”
He wanted to retort, but the ritual began to glow again, and he once more began to try in vain to keep his mouth shut.