Release me. Now. Or I
shall send a force to
escort your prisoners to the
castle."
[A little later, while Lorn
is drinking in his quarters
. . . ]
". . . there were six men who
came to us from High Meadow
. . . ."
"How did you know that . . ."
[After a moment, Lorn
sighs and puts his hand to
his neck. The wounds left by
the spikes and the whip seem
to have healed.]
"Well, what else did you do
besides torture them?"
"Nothing. I'm afraid we did
nothing else."
[Lorn sighs again.]
"My friend the Duke of Linoree
has an odd penchant for
experimentation. I have seen
all sorts of things . . . at
times."
"I've no doubt that you have,
my dear, but I'm not sure how
these two relate."
"Really?" Lorn asks, with a
smile. "And why would that
make a difference?"
"Well, we might be looking at
something new, here . . .
a type of weapon or fighting
method never seen before.
Theories say that, generally,
. . .
. . . men and women are
similar when it comes to their
bodies, but that men have a
. . . a . . . tendency toward
violence . . .
or aggression."
"The only thing that interests
me about this report is that
. . . no one came to harm while
you experimented with them,
. . . except Lyrone."
"Oh."
"What?"
"You wouldn't be a little
curious about that?"
"Curious? Of course! This is
the weapon that beat her . . .
is it not?"
"But . . . I suppose . . ."
"You must have been very
careful with them."
"Oh, of course."
[The two young women are
quiet.]
"Well, I'm going to look into
it. It might be helpful for
those that are working to try
and use what they know about
the fighting styles of the men
of Rynar. The other day I saw
some men and women from
High Meadow and they gave some
useful advice."
"I shall talk to you when we
return . . . a bit more."
"Of course."
"My lady."
"Yes, my lord?"
"Do you have any other . . .
experiments to share with me?"
[Silence. Lorn gets up and
walks to the door of the cell.]
"I . . . that is, I will have to
put you back in your cells for
now. I must attend a meeting
with the lord and the other
captains. I shall be back soon.
Don't let anyone disturb you.
[She rises, and the
apprentices turn their backs.
When Lorn is at the door, he
holds out his hand to the
prisoners.]
"Ladies. Forgive me."
"Of course, my lord."
[When Lorn leaves, the woman
goes to the window to try to
break it out with her hands,
but it doesn't budge.]
"Let's hope this weather
changes for the better. It
should make the coming days a
little bit more . . . well,
normal. At least it's bright
enough to do some weaving.
You can help with that if you
want."
[. . . which is good, because
she finds it hard to move her
arms.]
[During this exchange, the
female apprentice is cutting up
the bandages in her lap, and
some blood begins to flow down
her arm.]
"What are you doing?"
"What?"
[She's going through Lorn's
equipment, looking for the
things she'll need to make
bandages, but at some point
she must have hit the hidden
switch. The entire room fills
with the sound of clashing
metal. A huge, spiked metal
halo of blades begins to rise
over the room. In moments it's
half-way to the ceiling.]
"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!"
"Stop what? I'm so sorry. It
must be one of the buttons I
must have pressed. It seems to
do that sometimes."
"You're not going to tell me,
are you?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Never mind."
[Soon enough, the metal
halo begins to come down. The
apprentices start to get up and
run for the door, but when they
reach the bottom step . . .
everything in the room is covered
in blood.]
"What happened? Oh, no."
[There's a loud crash, the
windows shatter, and a cloud of
dust fills the room. The
apprentice is covered in blood.
She starts to pick herself up
but, when she stands, she is a
man. He takes a step towards
the door.]
"Please . . . wait!"
"Wait for what?"
"To . . . to . . . for . . . the
other one . . . please. Please.
No, no, please . . ."
"Who are you?"
"Please don't . . . . . . . hurt
me!"
[As Lorn gets closer, he
takes his sword and swings it
at the man. It hits the door,
but the blade merely bounces
off the metal and shatters on
the stone floor. Lorn tries to
get closer, but each time he
jabs his sword, it just bounces
off. He can't get the weapon
to break. He tries again,
trying to find a vulnerable
spot, but the result is always
the same. . . .
he misses.]
"This is the way. Take . . .
take . . . take your time. You
won't hurt me.
I promise . . ."
"Who are you? Are you . . . are
you some kind of wizard or
something? I don't think you
would even have time to . . .
. . .
. . . do something like that."
"Please . . . . . . . Please . .
. stop!
[He takes his sword and
swings it at the man, and
again it bounces off and shatters
on the floor.]
"No! No, please! I'm
telling you the truth! This is
the way . . . it's the only
way . . . . . . . No! No! No!"
[He steps closer to the man
who's pleading to be spared.
But Lorn can't stop him from
getting closer.]
"No! No! No! Please . . . . .
. . .
. . . don't do this to me."
"Why are you doing this to me?"
[Lorn steps forward, but
he's stopped short by a sudden
pain in his chest. He gasps
and lets out a sharp scream as
he tries to run towards the
man, but he's too late, and his
sword falls uselessly to the
floor. He looks down, and he
sees what has happened.]
"No . . . . . . . No!"
[He drops the sword as the
man's hand shoots up and grabs
Lorn's right index finger. He
starts to pull it down, but
Lorn sees the blood coming
out. He screams, but still the
man pulls his finger down.]
"No! No! No! NO!"
[There are three more
squeals, and then silence.
Lorn's eyes are open, but he
sees nothing. The man has
fallen face-down on the floor
and Lorn now realizes what has
happened. He feels around with
his fingers and finds he can't
move his right leg. His arm and
his hand are still attached to
his body, but the man's hand
is the only thing holding his
body up, and he can't move his
leg.
He's in pain, but he can't do
anything. The room is cold, and
he's losing feeling in his left
side. He sees his sword next to
the wall where he was
standing. He tries to say
something
