Feral For Her Freedom
TWENTY

Accusations and incriminations were thrown my way but all of them went over my head. My eyes wandered the huge hall–calling it a courtroom didn’t really do the room justice. I felt like I was standing before Daedra not a group of old self righteous bastards.

My gaze slid over the four black banners hanging above the divided section of the elaborate bleachers that looked more like a theater set up than a courtroom. The crescent moon symbolized the Western Province, the sun the Southern Province, the ocean waves the Eastern Province and the mountains the Northern Province. Below each of the province banners small flags symbolized the territories within each province.

My eyes found the one that had belonged to Myrin. I scanned the rows, smirking when I found his consort and Two.

I raised a hand and did my best try at a wave. Even from where I was standing, I could see them stiffen. A soft chuckle left my lips as I continued on, looking at the rest of my audience. “Sarakiel, Sarakiel, Sarakiel,” I mumbled as I looked for the One that had been spoken about during the meeting of the Western Province Ones. “Sssssssararkiel.” I was muttering randomness now, drawing out different parts of his name as I searched. I looked for the flags that were the same under the northern and western banners, remembering Ramiel saying that Sarakiel belonged to both provinces.

I finally found the One, who was sitting under the Northern Province while his Two took residence on the western side.

I looked the One over, recognizing those blue eyes from our very first meeting at The Finding. His attention was on the council and whatever garbage they were preaching. A smile twisted up the corner of my lips. “Hmm, so you’re what Myrin worried about,” I mused to myself. “You don’t look much stronger.” My eyes traced the contours of his face, noting every scar and edge. He was prettier than Myrin but I knew better than to think that would make him gentler. “I wonder if I could paint your blood across this floor just the same.”

The male could feel my eyes on him, and he slowly shifted his gaze to meet mine. Such a pretty blue, they reminded me of the dark ocean water at night as it crashed harshly against the rocks by the cliffs. They were just as violent as those waves, not quiet and peaceful like the ones that lapped softly on the beach.

His lips parted as he whispered something. I knew it wasn’t meant for me to hear, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to know what he was saying. Unfortunately, that council member was still yapping away making it hard to hear. “Shut up,” I said loud enough for others to hear.

The old male kept going.

“I said shut up you old bastard!” I snarled, looking away from Sarakiel to face the council member.

He was quiet now. His mouth half open in the midst of another word that had died out in surprise at my outburst.

I rolled my eyes. “For the love of Daedra, you’re irritating. I think you’ve made your point by now so get to it why don’t you?”

The flustered male turned bright red, embarrassed to be talked to in such a way, by a female no less. “You—You—You can’t talk to me that way!”

The head council member placed a hand on his peer’s arm. “You murdered a One of high standing,” the male’s voice rang loud and clear through the great hall. “In cold blood you slaughtered the male who saved you from death. Your actions have enacted the death penalty–”

“Murder,” I interrupted him. “You’ve certainly made me look the part of a murderer.” The chains rattled as I moved my hands and placed them on top of the podium. “You covered me up and left me bathed in his blood to make it seem like I am just a murderer.”

“You object to the term?”

I grinned at him with a feline predatoriness. “Oh no, I fully embrace the term. I killed Myrin and I will freely admit that I enjoyed every second of it.” Upset cries sounded from the bleachers at my blatant disrespect of calling the male who was not my consort by his name.

The head councilman banged his gavel for silence.

“However, you’ve left out the important fact that I am also a victim.” There were more objections from the audience and another long minute of trying to obtain order before I was able to continue. “Half of this blood is my own, and this...rag,” I said motioning to the frumpy grey dress that was much too large hanging on my body, “conceals Myrin’s crimes. Underneath this you can see what he’s done to me.” I was not fool enough to believe anyone in this room cared about what Myrin had done. They would all see is at justified punishment for not learning my place. However, there was one thing the council would not overlook. “But what lies on the outside pales in comparison to what he did on the inside. The way I see it, I killed a traitor. Myrin was plotting war and he created a very powerful weapon that would help him win it. A little secret between him and I.”

“What weapon?” the head councilman demanded. I had everyone on the edge of their seats now having caught their attention. I could see the greed flashing in their eyes, lusting after a weapon with such power.

I shrugged. “I’ll tell you if you burn Myrin’s body with no vigil or ceremony.” My request sent gasps flying through the air. What I was asking was the ultimate form of disrespect and dishonor to a One. To be burned without a ceremony was a death of a monster and villain. Perfect for Myrin.

“You have no right to be making requests or bargains. We’ll force it out of you if we must.” One councilman immediately refused my demand.

I tossed my head back and laughed, the sound echoing off the walls. It took me several seconds to gather my breath. “Torture me?” I swiped away a tear that had escaped in laughter at his absurdity. “You believe that where Myrin failed you will succeed?” I shook my head. “You fucking idiots. You can’t even begin to imagine what I’ve survived. He’s done everything in the book, and you think your threat will scare an answer out of me? Please. I could easily take this secret to my grave.”

The council members whispered to each other before coming to a verdict. Some self proclaimed important male raised his chin and said, “We don’t make accommodations with ferals.” He looked quite satisfied with himself, for some reason assuming because he was in the council that gave him some sort of automatic power and authority.

I was not surprised by their answer.

“Daylin Farringhow, you have been accused and found guilty of the murder of Myrin Redith. You are here by sentenced to death by Brother’s Vengeance. Adjourned.” The gavel banged once, sealing my fate.

The low droning noise of conversations and movement filled the hall. There were too many conversations going on at once to actually keep to one discussion.

Ignoring all of that, I gave the head councilman a knowing look. They were hoping that halfway through my execution I’d beg for mercy and tell them what they wished to know. They would not kill me without more knowledge on the subject. What I dangled before them was too great a risk to ignore.

Brother’s Vengeance was a slow death that took hours to complete. Every One and Two from every territory of every province would slash their claws across my flesh. Then anyone related to Myrin or anyone from his territory would get the same opportunity. I was to slowly bleed out before each member of the council ripped out my organs, my heart being last before I was brutally beheaded. My body would then be burned without a ceremony to signify dishonor on my name.

The head councilman wrinkled his nose at me before waving his hand to start my execution.

Every camera was centered around me, no doubt broadcasting my execution on every screen throughout every province. The Zeta agents closed in on me, three of them grabbing my chains. I did not fight as they led me out of the podium and to the center of the floor.

Three large rings were bolted to the floor and I was forced to the ground between them, the back of my knees kicked out.

I slammed to the ground, my knees singing on impact. The chain attached to the collar around my neck was attached to the ring behind me, so taut that my head was wrenched back, my chin raised towards the ceiling. My arms were stretched out as far as they could go behind me.

The single garment was torn from my body, leaving my skin bared and ready to be marred by claws. The Zeta agents formed a semi-circle around me, ready to shoot me full of tranq darts if I so much as breathed wrong.

One by one the males came through, taking their time to slice their claws down my skin. They spat on me, rebuking me and hissing out their poisonous words.

This is what took so long. There was not really a time limit for each person.

My silver blood seemed to pass by unnoticed, all of the males too upset that a female had dared to step out of her place and were all too eager to put me back into line. Since they all used their claws, my blood didn’t actually touch their skin. Also because of the thickness of my blood, it didn’t splatter from the quick slashes. It only slowly oozed out.

My flesh burned with every new set of claws that punctured my body. I refused to flinch away from their spitting and their dark laughter.

I committed every face to memory, filed away every word that left their mouths.

Ramiel approached me about fifty or so people in. He had a solemn expression on his face as he entered through the protective circle of Zeta agents. He came up close to me, the tips of his freshly polished shoes hitting my kneecaps. I watched as his fingernails morphed into claws. “I hope you will forgive me when the time comes,” he murmured.

“What do you mean?” I spoke my first words since my execution began.

“You have Daedra’s favor. I am not foolish enough to believe this is the end.”

I blinked. “If this is the way Daedra shows his favor, I’d rather he ignore me.”

Ramiel only gave me a small smile. Looking over my body he placed the tips of his claws on my arm and dragged them down to my elbow in a shallow cut.

He inclined his head a little, such a slight motion I nearly missed it, before he strode away, knocking shoulders with a Zeta agent. The agent frowned as he readjusted his gun, looking at his comrade for an explanation. The other agent just shrugged.

My attention again drifted off as the seemingly never ending line continued. My eyes glazed over as I was lost in deep thought over Ramiel’s words. It wasn’t until I felt a tap on my forehead that I was brought back to the present.

Standing above me was Sarakiel, his blue eyes looking down into my own. My lips pulled up into a smile. “My, my, my, what an honor, Sarakiel. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“What is your fascination with me?” He wasted no time with frivolities, not surprising since this was an execution. It wasn’t quite the right circumstance to be discussing the lovely weather.

I told him point blank, not in the mood to dance around with him. “Myrin was jealous of you. He worried about your rivalry, came up with a weapon meant to destroy you. I just wanted to understand what is so special about you.”

“And?”

I only smirked.

“Do you regret it?” he asked me, looking me straight in the eyes, holding my gaze when the others had looked away.

“I regret…” I began, looking over the heads of the Zeta agents to the large table that hosted the nine council members. I met the eyes of each council member, then swept my gaze across every wight attending my execution. “I regret not having the luxury of time to retaliate everything he did to me tenfold.” I leaned forward, the chains on my hands going taut to prevent me from further movement.

The Zeta agents whipped up their guns and I merely chuckled raising my voice so that the cameras would catch my voice. They were meant to capture my screams, my pleadings for forgiveness so they had been placed a fair distance away so that the Ones could hate on me without their words being broadcasted to everyone watching.

I wanted everyone to hear my next words though, so I made sure they rang clear and proud. “I regret that I didn’t pluck out his eyes and force him to eat them. I regret not cutting off his prick and making him choke on it. I regret not pouring acid down his throat so that he might get a slight understanding of what that serum did to me.”

The room was in an uproar as I finished my list. The head councilman pounded the gavel calling for order.

I didn’t care about that and I didn’t care as he ordered for someone to shut me up and get the muzzle. I just stared into the electric blue eyes in front of me, noticing they began to turn gray.

“Do you want to live?” he asked me lowly, I doubted anyone else in the room had heard him as they were too focused on the head councilman and what he was saying.

“I honestly don’t care,” I told him bluntly. Either way, I was fine. If I lived, I’d replace a way to survive, to keep going as I always did. If I died, another adventure awaited me, and perhaps a better place. Death still didn’t scare me.

“Do you want revenge?” he pressed urgently as if he was the one who was running out of time.

My brows furrowed and I carefully answered him, “I already got my revenge.”

“Do you want a chance to sit above them, to show them it is you they should obey and fear?”

“Of course,” I answered. Wouldn’t anyone?

He lunged for me, one hand grabbing my shoulder, his thumb digging into my breastbone as his teeth sank into my neck.

Before I had time to register what was happening and react, it was already over. The male wiped a hand across his mouth, silver blood dribbling from the corner of his lips. I gaped at him, my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open in shock.

“She is my consort,” he told the head councilman behind him while looking directly at me. “You can’t kill her without my consent.” He turned to the council then looked at the head councilman with hard eyes, “and you don’t have it.”