Chapter 9 Thor
Thor
The cages were quiet. The beasts kept their heads down, their cries to themselves, while the prisoners made motions with their hands to communicate.
I couldn’t see the winged male or the strange creature Watcher stole. They were nowhere behind bars; the strange creature had shifted from beast to male before being taken from his cage. I knew he’d entered the strange one’s mind. Taken over it.
None were safe when he made his presence known.
That did not stop the prisoners in their cage, though.
There were nine of them. Each one withering away, aging before my eyes. My beast knew they were losing power, that their magic was disappearing. But I didn’t know why. Between the guard shifts, other watchers would pass the bars of their cage and sneer at them, laughing about how frail they were.
I remained still, lying in the corner of my cage, watching them like Watcher did me. He was always close now. Like he knew something.
Like he knew now my beast held no bloodlust for the beautiful female with the sweet scent. It was gone, his influence all but a dark memory, now replaced with a need to find her. My beast would not reveal why, but he knew something.
And he feared Watcher had figured us out.
I saw him from the corner of my eye, standing with his arms crossed against the wall in the back of the prison. There were weapons on the wall. Weapons that could easily be taken by the nine prisoners. If the beasts could shift, the weapons could be ours.
I’d heard whispers that one of the wolves had disappeared with two of his soldiers. The wolf had been rabid. Wild. Broken.
Watcher and another said the soldiers had found her, but they’d been killed. And for it he killed the wolf.
The rotten one had been taken prisoner by her creatures. It pleased my beast to know he was no longer here. That he could no longer torment us. But he kept Watcher in line sometimes. Made certain he did not kill the beasts.
I kept Watcher in my line of sight, like he did me.
His eyes were dark, assessing. Questioning.
He knew, for a moment, I’d broken free of him—of his control.
When the girl screamed. It still pierced the night when I tried to sleep, the sound shattering through the darkness and pulling me from my slumber.
But why not punish me? My beast waited every day for the familiar crack of the whip tearing into my flesh.
For the burn of fire as it singed my fur.
His cruel punishment that made pain endless, made me wish for death even more.
And the torture that would come from not being allowed to heal as salt was rubbed into the wounds.
Just the thought made my beast’s hackles rise, but I gave no reaction. I would not risk his attention falling upon me now.
For a moment, I looked back at the nine prisoners.
One was like me. His beast roamed close to the surface, but he didn’t shift.
I wondered how he controlled it, how he came back from being the beast. Once I could shift, Watcher didn’t need me to be the other one again.
I didn’t know what my other half even looked like anymore.
For the first time in many years, I wished I could take on the other part of me. The one that had been male, human looking. Perhaps then I could escape.
But I feared I was too connected to my beast. That even if I tried, there was no man left to shift into.
For some reason, it brought me great sadness. Because I doubted she would like the beast that much. My beast likely frightened her. Watcher liked to tell me I was the largest of us. The most intimidating. It made me their favourite, especially when it came to punishments.
She would fear me—and she should. When the punishments didn’t work, Watcher liked to pit us against one another. He liked to claim it kept us sharp, ready to fight.
But I knew it was for his amusement.
Watcher pushed off the wall, so I pulled my attention from the nine prisoners to watch him move through the cages. I couldn’t tell if he was stalking towards me or the prisoners. His strides were long, purposeful. He had a target in mind, but I couldn’t tell who.
When he came to a stop at the cage beside me, my beast huffed a breath. I didn’t move, though I kept my eyes trained on him as he activated the runes on the bars. He wrapped his fist around one before unlocking it, allowing the door to open.
“Get out,” Watcher snapped, allowing the door to swing outwards. “We’re going down to the Pit.”
A shudder rolled through me. But the lion in the cage didn’t fight. He climbed to his feet, still bloody from the last round. Another night down there, and he would die. My beast could scent that certainty in the air. There was a rottenness surrounding him, clouding his normal scent.
The lion left the cage, and Watcher let the door slam shut behind him.
Another guard appeared on the other side of my cell with chains in hand, a large collar at the end.
Watcher snapped his fingers, motioning for the guard to follow quickly.
The lion stood there without struggling.
He knew better than to bother. It would only make the night worse.
Who would he be forced to fight? Another beast in the cages? Or one of the soldiers?
Another beast in the cages would give him a chance to live, to see another day.
A soldier would surely slaughter him for fun.
If the rotten one were here, he would have stopped this, I was certain. He wanted a real army for him. And the rotten one would see this as useless. A waste.
Watcher, however, enjoyed the pain. Thought it was fun. He didn’t care if one of us died.
I wished I’d taken the chance to kill him when I’d been free of my cage.
Instead, I watched as the second soldier led the lion off towards the dark hallway that would take him down to the Pit.
Watcher moved to stand in front of me. My stomach sank, but I remained still as he clutched the third bar of my cage.
When the door swung open, he offered me a dark smile. “Your turn, Thor,” he growled. “Now, make me proud.”
For the first time, I didn’t wish for death in the Pit. Not when I saw her face as I closed my eyes and rose from the cold concrete floor.
Death would not be easy now. Perhaps not ever again.
There were too many soldiers surrounding the Pit.
They cheered first when the lion entered, their voices overwhelming. Some shouted at the beast, while others screamed their hatred of him.
But their voices turned raucous when I was led into the arena.
I felt the prickling of wards as I entered, the magic lifting my fur. The roar of the crowd dimmed, voices turning hushed as they considered the odds.
He would not win. My beast knew it. The soldiers knew it. And so did the lion. The already injured creature moved to the other side of the arena, towards the blood stained dirt and remnants of his last fight.
The gate slammed shut, locking me and the lion within. My beast rose onto his back legs before slamming down onto all fours. It had the crowd cheering, but not for the right reason.
I wanted to warn the lion. I wanted him to fight back. If he fought for the full time, he could survive.
But like the other beasts in the cages, he might be too tired. If that were the case, I would help him die.
Because he knew, just as I did, the Pit was the only true way to escape our prison.
“Welcome back!” Watcher’s voice carried over the sound of the crowd.
They quietened until there was only a ringing left in my ears from the noise.
“Tonight, we have a treat. Our King has graciously given us access to two of his best fighters: the mighty Leo, who has been keeping you entertained since our return from the dead world!”
More applause. More cheers. My ears twitched, but I kept otherwise still. The lion met my eye, tired of fighting. He didn’t want to be entertainment anymore.
“And his opponent?” Watcher’s voice pierced through the crowd again. I felt the weight of their stares fall on me. “The great and terrible Thor!”
My beast hated the name. It was not our name. It was the one Watcher gave me. The one he used when he wanted to make a point.
This time, I let my beast release his fury. The roar cut through whatever Watcher said next, silencing the soldiers and their jeers.
“Looks like he wants to fight!” Watcher shouted. “Let the battle begin.”
The lion’s eyes flashed to the side where Watcher usually stood before meeting mine. The arena was small, ill-fitted for fighting. It made it easier to tear into one another.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been dragged into the Pit, but I knew now this was my punishment. Not getting hurt like the lion. But having to tear him apart, instead.
I failed at taking out the strange shifter. He should have bled. I should have taken his heart, but instead I released him. Let him take me to her.
I should have tried to fight the winged male. Instead, I let him pierce my flesh with his blade. Had felt his magic try to steal from me.
So now, one of the beasts’ deaths would be mine. To prove that I was nothing but a weapon for him to use.
The lion leapt. I swiped at him, my claws piercing the soft flesh of his belly. The force of my hit had him slamming into the ground, blood pooling around him. The soldiers roared their approval, but I did everything I could to drown them out as the lion failed to stand.
I clambered towards him as he released a whimper. Up close, his ribs poked through his skin. Dried blood was quickly replaced by fresh, and the wounds that hadn’t healed before were overcome by the one I’d inflicted.
The amber eyes of the lion met mine. They pleaded with me to end it. To finally give him release.
“Come on, Thor! Give him a chance to fight back!” Watcher screamed.
I couldn’t bring myself to look in his direction. He would deal another punishment upon me if he saw fit, and I would take it. So long as I could offer at least one of my fellow beasts reprieve.
I brought my paw up and used my claws to slice through the lion’s throat. The life left his eyes almost immediately as his blood spilled.
The soldiers turned from cheering to anarchy. They wanted a fight. Not an execution.
Watcher’s anger was palpable. “Fucking mutt,” he shouted. “Fine then! You want a chance to take on the mighty Thor? Line up! He’s going to have a long fucking night.”
How many would I be able to kill before Watcher ripped me from the Pit? Many, I hoped. Let him bring the soldiers in. My beast wanted to fight.