They fought then, only briefly. I don't know when they decided to fight, nor who made the first move. They didn't speak to each other. One moment they stood facing off, both pillars of strength and beauty, and then they came together in a furious rush of fists and feet and elbows. Death didn't draw her sword. I thought that foolish. I'd seen Yorin fight down in the arena once or twice. He was fast and brutal and no one, not one of his opponents had ever stood a chance. He killed them all; fast, efficient, and with no more regard than stepping on a bug. But not Death. They clashed only twice before she had him face down on the ground with both arms twisted behind his back and a knee pressed into his spine, holding him down. She didn't even seem tested by his strength or skill.
Death's huge companion stepped in and took hold of Yorin, keeping his hands twisted behind him and hauling the bastard to his feet. He struggled, but there's no fighting the sort of strength that giant possesses. The more Yorin struggled the tighter his arms twisted until everyone heard the pop of his shoulder screaming from its socket. He stopped struggling then, slouching against the pain of it, and the big man wrapped an arm around Yorin's neck, holding his head in a vice.
Then, Death asked her question.
She had just the one. Where has "Eskara Helsene gone?" I think I knew it before she asked it. I think Yorin did too, that's why he fought. Of course, he didn't know, and he told her as much, said he'd tell her if he did know. He called Eska a monstrous bitch and I think there was fear in his voice. He should have been more scared of Death. She gave him a second chance, asked her question again. Yorin struggled once more, but it was no use. The strongest of us scabs, the best of us, the champion of the Pit, beaten for everyone to see. With one arm hanging useless by his side and the other twisted so tight I could see the muscles straining. He gave in. Yorin gave in. He told Death all he knew, that Eska was last seen headed towards the Forest of Ten, but he had no idea where she was going. It was clear for all to see that Yorin was broken, no fight left in him, no chance to struggle free and no hope save giving Death what she wanted. I don't think she was satisfied with his answer.
She pulled a knife. I was too busy watching Yorin to see where from. Death asked him one more time where Eska had gone, and Yorin just repeated his answer. The Forest of Ten. I've heard of it, a giant forest stretching for leagues in every direction. It makes sense she'd flee there, Eska always did like the trees. She used to tell me stories of climbing them before the Orrans took her.
I don't know if Death didn't believe Yorin, or if she just wanted to make a point. I suppose it doesn't really matter anymore. Yorin screamed as she dug out his eyes. Who wouldn't? I can't imagine the pain. I don't want to imagine it. She didn't stop with the one eye, even after she'd pulled it out of his head and crushed it underfoot. Some of the others turned away, walked away. Even Deko turned his shiny gaze elsewhere. Not me though. I couldn't. I couldn't stop watching as the most beautiful woman I have ever seen stabbed into Yorin's face and cut his eyes from their sockets.
I wanted to feel. I'm not sure what I wanted to feel. Yorin slashed open my throat and tried to kill me. I hated him for that. A part of me blamed him more than Eska for her escape. Maybe if Death had just killed him, I could have hated him all the way to the end. But now, I just feel sorry for him. Pity. Even a Biomancer can't undo the damage done.
They left Yorin mewling on the floor, clutching at his maimed face, crying a crimson flood. No one moved to help him. No one dared to move at all. We all just stood and watched as Death wiped her knife on a cloth and turned towards me.
I've never felt fear like that. Not during the fall of Orran. Not during all my time in the Pit. Not even lying there with my throat cut, watching Eska walk away and leave me to die. This was something else. I was frozen. Rigid and unable to move as Death advanced upon me. She knew who I was. She knew what I was, and how I was connected to Eska. She knew it all and she held my life in her hands. I don't remember dropping to my knees, but I found myself staring up at her. Death has brown eyes, the colour of coffee. They were so deep I thought I was drowning.
I would have told Death everything I knew without even being asked. How Eska always loved trees. How she dreamed of the sky and called it freedom. How she longed to sail the sky on the flying city of Ro'shan. And how she wanted to visit revenge on the Terrelan emperor, and everyone else who had a hand in the fall of Orran. But the words couldn't make it past my throat. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't make so much as a sound. I suppose I should retain some pride, I managed not to cry, though the terror Death put in me made my blood run cold in my veins. I could still see Yorin curled on the floor, not moving, and I wondered if I was next. I knew then that I never want to go through life without my eyes. The fear was not of the pain, or the possibility of death. I was terrified of never being able to see a sunrise ever again, or snow falling, or a fire crackling away in a hearth. I was scared of never seeing children laugh and play, never seeing a beautiful woman lost in a dance. I feared never seeing colour ever again, and living my whole life locked in total darkness.
I would have done anything Death asked of me right then. Anything at all just to not end up like Yorin.
She passed me by. Never saying a word to me. Barely even acknowledging I was there other than to stop and wait while I struggled to speak. I knew then that I was nothing to her, not even worth maiming.
I was still on my knees when Terrelan soldiers appeared to drag Yorin away. He hung loose in their arms and made no sound, but I could tell he was still alive. I could feel the spark still inside him. I don't think anyone has seen him since.
Please, Overseer, I know you'll read this. Please let me out. I'll do whatever you ask. Anything. I just don't want to be locked in the darkness anymore. I just want to see the light again. Please let me out.
Chapter 9
Three months out of the Pit found us closing in on the city of Yun. I could smell the sea; we were so close. We saw no sign of pursuit from either the villagers of Low Haven or the overseer's people, but I knew both were still on our tail. I could feel them chasing me, trying to drag me back to the Pit. Fear snapping at my heels. We needed to find a way to escape their reach before they caught up to us. I woke from nightmares more than once, certain that I was being chased, certain that enemies lurked just beyond the range of my vision. I wasn't entirely wrong about that. Ssserakis lurked there, wearing the faces of the people I had killed.
My training continued and both Hardt and Tamura said I was making progress. Well, Hardt said that. Tamura said It takes a long time to walk the length of the world. I took it to mean I still had a long way to go.
By then I was starting to show. The others noticed it, I think, but neither of them said anything, at least not yet. I tried to ignore it, as though it might go away if I pretended hard enough. I wasn't ready. I couldn't be. All the signs were there, and I knew enough of them from my studies at the academy. I was pregnant.
It was a thing I had been trying desperately to ignore. I was terrified. Isen was gone, and though Hardt and Tamura were with me, they were also not. I was pregnant and it was something I would have to go through alone. I could feel the life growing inside of me. Part of me wanted it gone. It was unwelcome, a burden I had to shoulder alone, and one that was already starting to impact my life in ways I was not comfortable with. Another part of me, a part I didn't understand, wanted to protect it with a fierceness unmatched even by my hatred for my enemies. I was so damned confused by it all.