Chapter 25 - Hector #2
The gesture was simple, but it stripped away some illusion cast over the table, revealing plates upon plates of steaming, hot food.
There wasn’t an inch spared, from bowls spilling with pasta, to platters full of cheese, crackers and grapes.
Full roasted chickens lay on beds of vegetables.
Potatoes glistened with freshly melted butter and flaked with parsley.
Whatever food I could’ve imagined was revealed before us, and my traitorous stomach betrayed me.
My stomach sung with want. My mouth watered like someone had just turned on a tap and forgot to turn it off again.
It seemed everyone was in the same boat, because the room was silent.
“Eat,” Bahmet commanded. “Fill yourselves up.”
Even through it was all I wanted to do, there was no saying if the food was poisoned or not. My instinct told me to tear a fistful of that roasted chicken and stuff it in my mouth, but my body refused to move.
“Eat.” His tone changed, more demanding and impatient. “Now.”
Tomin moved first. Everyone watched him carefully pick a slice of cured meat off a platter with his fork, lift it to his mouth and place it inside. Of course he wasn’t fearful of the food. No point worrying about being killed by a demon, when the potential for death had been stripped away from him.
As predicated, Tomin didn’t choke. Unfortunately. His eyes didn’t bulge, ears didn’t bleed. In fact, he moaned softly, reached for more food to continue feasting. “Brava, Bahmet. Perfectly seasoned.”
I couldn’t wait a moment longer. Nor could the rest of the room’s guests. Everyone began tucking into meats and vegetables. Some had the courtesy of using their cutlery, but not me. I tore at the offerings with my hands, stuffing my face until my lips were coated in grease.
The only person who didn’t feast was Verena. Her arms shook as she tried to lift the spoon before her, bruised and swollen fingers fumbling for purchase. No matter how hard she tried, it was no good. It didn’t take her long to give up completely.
I wasn’t the only one to notice either. Kai sat opposite her, eyes fixed to Verena’s struggle as he also refused to touch the food. It was no surprise when he stood up abruptly. Romy hushed out his name, but Kai moved quickly out of reach from her arm.
All the while Bahmet stood back and watched as Kai rounded the table, placed himself beside Verena, and began spoon-feeding a clear broth, careful not to upset her cut-up lips.
The scowl set onto Kai’s face was one of fury and determination.
People ate until satisfied groans echoed around the grand room.
Looking at the plates of food, it was like no one had touched them.
They weren’t dented, still full and ready for us to continuing eating.
But alas, my stomach was so bloated that I couldn’t fit another morsel in.
I downed a goblet of sparkling preserve, quenching the thirst conjured by the salty strips of beef I’d just demolished.
I was so distracted by my own comfort that I didn’t pay full attention to the flash of a look that Tomin gave in my direction. I thought he was signalling something unspoken to me, until the Hunter to my left made a sharp move.
My breath caught in my throat as a steak knife came hurtling towards me. Arwyn whipped his head around, unable to get a word out before the tip came racing towards the side of my neck. Instead, it caught the back of my hand which rose in defence.
I expected pain but was met with nothing. Someone else released a hiss, but I couldn’t see who when the knife came hurtling back at me for a second go.
Desperate to get out of the way, I threw myself backwards, the force knocking my chair over. The knife missed me by inches. My spine screamed as I hit the ground, the back of my skull bouncing off the hard form of my chair.
The Hunter loomed over me, murder glittering in his eyes.
His snarl lasted but a second when Arwyn grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, lifted him off the ground with the heave of a single arm, and then slammed him down on the table.
It happened so fast. I caught the flash of blood on the back of Arwyn’s hand, not knowing how he’d got the wound.
Then that hand balled into a fist and rained down on the Hunter, over and over. And over. And…
Someone screamed. Someone cheered. Blood sprayed the air as Arwyn, with eyes full of undiluted hate, turned the Hunter’s face into pulp and mush. Bone caved in, flesh smattered and tore. I was sure I heard the pop of an eye, and the crack of teeth.
I got up, body trembling as Arwyn unleashed his rage upon the face of the Hunter. Or what reminded of it. Even I couldn’t call what I saw a face anymore.
“Stop.” Bile rose in my mouth and spoiled my cheeks as I got a look at the mess that was left behind.
I laid a soft, but shaking, hand on the back of Arwyn’s shoulder, fingers squeezing slightly as I gave him another command.
“It’s over, Arwyn. Stop now.”
Actually, it was over minutes before I said those words, but that didn’t mean Arwyn was going to stop, not until the man was nothing but a pile of unrecognisable ruin.
Arwyn’s entire body trembled as he eventually pulled away from the Hunter.
I quickly realised that he was not out of control.
Actually, Arwyn knew exactly what he was doing.
This wasn’t the reaction born from someone losing themselves to vehemence, but what happened when they finally controlled that emotion and harnessed it.
Breathing heavily, Arwyn scanned his eyes across every single person left in the room.
“If another person finds themselves foolish enough to lay a hand on Hector again…” He struggled to get his words out, as if the anger was so thick it was clogging his throat.
“I will see that you suffer pain that you couldn’t even begin to imagine. ”
It was Tomin who’d been cheering. He stood from his chair, pride creased across his face as he clapped meaty hands together. “There he is… there’s my boy.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Romy snarled, seconds from joining in with Arwyn’s ferociousness. “Or you’re next.”
Tomin lifted his hands to his sides in a gesture that welcomed her threat. “Please, come and give it a go. You wouldn’t be the first to try and kill me, and certainly will not be the last.”
“Sounds like a challenge.” Romy knew that Tomin couldn’t die, but from the smile across her face it seemed she was more wanting to cause him endless pain, than the peace that death offered at the end. “All good things come to those who wait I suppose.”
“That they do,” Tomin echoed. “That they certainly do.”
“I think we should all save this excitement for the trial. However, I take from this display that you have finished your meal and are ready to begin,” Bahmet said, evidently enjoying every second of the chaos.
No doubt the death of the Hunter had just fuelled him.
I wondered if the soul of a mortal was as fulfilling as the soul of a witch.
Either way, it was clearly enough to satisfy him.
“If you are all willing to put your dark tendencies and threats to the side for a few more minutes, perhaps I can have the time to outline the rules of the next carefully curated game. Believe me when I say, I think you will want to hear this.”
A sharp spike of fresh nerves flashed inside my gut, knowing we were moments away from facing yet another trial. Arwyn must’ve felt the same as his bloodied hand slipped into mine, the warm gore from the Hunter acting as a glue to keep us together.
One look down and I saw that the back of his hands looked like a knife had cut right through it. “You’re hurt,” I said.
Arwyn pulled away. “Focus, Hector. Don’t worry about me.”
Bahmet drank me in, body and soul. His head tilted as he did so, eyes taking in every inch of me in search for something.
I knew what he was looking for, and he wasn’t going to find it.
“I have put together the following trial in honour of those who are still alive to enjoy it.” Bahmet tore his stare from me, and rested it on the Hunters.
“This one has been carefully thought out, to give everyone an equal chance. For this next trial you will be paired up with someone of your choosing. There is no set time limit for this trial, in fact it will last for as long as your body can handle it. I believe a mortal can last three days without water, of course that really depends on a number of factors doesn’t it.
In short, do not waste any time. The longer it takes you to locate the key to escaping, the closer you will come to dying.
I think it goes without saying that violence is allowed…
it would not be much fun without it. However, magic is outlawed.
To use magic will result in an outcome that many witches during the infamous Witch Trials faced.
Burning. Cleansing one’s soul by fire. This way it evens the playing field between all of you.
So, before we begin picking our partners, I would like to welcome you all to a little game I call: The Burning.
Find the witch, locate the key, and escape with your life. Have I made myself clear?”
“Very,” Tomin said, whilst his Hunters nodded around him. One look in their faces and I could tell they had no fucking clue what was going on.
Arwyn bristled, his mind likely whirling with what the trial entailed, and if the name related to any trials from the past. Deep down I knew it wouldn’t. Bahmet was creating unique trials, each one clearly inspired by past events that tied witches to their hunters.
Bahmet settled his brimstone gaze on me, expecting to hear me say that I understood the rules. Truthfully, I didn’t and wouldn’t until I knew exactly what we were facing. Instead, I bellowed out a single name, speaking my choice of partner before anyone else could.
“Kai,” I shouted, loud and clear. “I pick Kai as my partner.”