A Tale of Revenge Ch. 09-10

"She's still uncooperative," Orlith said as he released her. "Give me a bit more time."

"No!" Anna shouted as Evo turned to the door. Both men looked back at her, different looks of surprise on their faces. She ignored Orlith's anger. Hopefully she'd give Evo enough to keep him busy for a few hours. Then if she had to go back to Orlith so be it, she couldn't imagine much worse than he'd already done, and it didn't matter besides—he was going to do it anyway. "I'll tell you. I'll tell you. Please just don't let him touch me again."

She knew that Evo loved his power over others, if she played up to his control of the situation and over Orlith she could hope that he would assert it.

"Let's hear what you have to say first." The sorcerer smirked down at her. She gritted her teeth at his look but she knew he'd respond better to groveling.

"Please, promise me I'll be left in peace until the king takes me. Please." Play-acting pitiful was unnervingly easy. She could feel Orlith's stare on her skin. She did not have to pretend much when it came to fearing him.

"Alright girl. You may have some respite while I work on the information you provide. But be warned, if you do not speak the truth I will be forced to return you to him and it will be out of my hands." Evo swept his arm magnanimously towards the door.

"That is unwise," Orlith growled. "Her cooperation was left in my hands by the king himself. I will choose what happens to her."

"I can't very well hope to succeed if I have no information, which you have been responsible for extracting and have succeeded in facilitating just that. Now you will comply so that I may do my work for the king."

"She stays here. I will see she is unharmed until you are done working on whatever fool's errand she sends you on."

"Oh I don't see why you say that," Evo's oily voice sounded out as he paced towards the girl huddled on the floor. "She seems ever so cooperative, thanks to you of course. Tell me girl, where is the seat of your power?"

"I don't know," Anna said in a small voice.

"Well then Orlith will keep working till you do," Evo said in a huff and started towards the door.

"The old woman in my village performed a ceremony after the massacre," Anna called after him, halting his exit. "She brought me to a place she said held a confluence of something, I don't remember what. She said she would call on the powers of the earth and bind them with the sky and with it her own connection to it all." Anna was piecing together different ceremonies from the book she'd practically memorized at this point. She was purposely vague, careful to sound as unknowledgeable as possible. "I don't know how she did it. I've never seen or felt magic until that day. She said that vengeance would drive me and once I was done I would be released from it all. Please don't let him hurt me anymore. That's all I know." She had bowed her head towards him, further displaying her submission. Evo's fingers reached out and ran through her dark hair as if she was a well-trained dog. She kept still, disgust rising in her throat.

"That will do nicely," Evo said. She could hear the smile in his voice. "I think I know just the thing." He turned to go.

"You said he wouldn't hurt me again!" Anna called after him.

"Ah yes, Orlith, please keep your activities to a minimum. This will take a few hours and I will need her in good shape in order for the spell to work."

And then he was gone. Anna's panicked breathing was the only sound in the room. She had thought she'd at least be granted a period of freedom from him. She needed a moment, just a few seconds without his overwhelming assault. When his fingers brushed her shoulder, she actually whimpered in fear and threw herself across the room. He allowed it, allowed for her to back against the wall, her eyes wide and watching him. He enjoyed the way her fear shook her body as he approached. He crouched down, crowding her space, watching as her breathing became more erratic and the pulse under her skin became visible as a ray of light fell across her neck.

"That was unwise, Anna." His voice was low and dangerous again. Now that he was close to her he could see her pitch-dark eyes were dilated in fear, the irises giving way to the void at their center. "You know what we do here is between the two of us. You should not have involved another." He reached his hand out and ran the length of his fingers across her cheek, enjoying that her focus was once again entirely on him. He held her there, kept her on the perilous edge of her fear, just shy of total collapse. How well they worked together, how aware and coordinated in their movements. He marveled at the girl's will, at how perfectly matched they were. She would be beautiful when he finally pushed her over the edge, and was there to catch her.

"Since you've taken it upon yourself to influence my actions, I am forced to find a new way to go about this." His eyes were focused so totally on hers that he actually watched her fear grow, as if he could taste it just behind the darkness of her eyes. He brought his face towards hers, pressing his lips in a soft kiss on her cheekbone. He could feel her tremor but he also felt the small breath she released when there was no pain. He smiled inwardly; she was coming along nicely.

He moved behind her, gripping her hair and dragging her to standing, controlling her head so she could not turn to see him. She was desperate now, twisting and struggling despite his grip. Her shackled hands came over her head to try and loosen his fist. Instead he took the short chain in his other hand, keeping her hands trapped behind her. He had filled the large basin of water for this purpose. He hadn't been planning on using it yet, but he was always willing to be flexible. Besides, he looked down at her newly intact skin, he was saving his new canvas for later.

When he forced her head below the water the first time, he nearly spent in his breeches. The way her body writhed, the flailing and wrenching of her arms in his grip, the way he could feel her life beneath his fingers, all of it added up to a symphony in his mind. They were so well aligned, so in tune. He pulled her up, reveling in the sounds of her desperate inhalation, the way her ribs expanded and contracted beneath her wet skin. This was true harmony, he thought, as he pushed her head under again.

*

Several days later the sun was setting outside and Evo's last attempt was failing. Anna was surprised her muscles could even respond to the pain inflicted by the potion. She was wrung out, exhausted and half mad with pain. She was beginning to think Orlith had been right, that she would beg for death eventually. She just couldn't imagine taking another breath, though her body continued to defy expectation.

Her nose began to bleed again, and she felt her heart shudder in her chest. Perhaps she would not have to wait for the king. Her eyes were open but foggy, the rafters above her crisscrossing into darkness. Tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes into her hair at her temples. The spell ripped through her again. How she managed to call out she didn't know. She thought her voice was gone long ago.

The last few days had all blended together. She wasn't sure how long she'd been in this room with him. It could not have been more than two or three and yet time didn't seem to hold any real significance anymore. She didn't understand how he seemed never to sleep but always to be there, inflicting some new torture on her. Marek had been here twice more? Maybe three times? Each time she wished he'd never come. The physical marks removed left her more confused than ever, her pain still part of her mind though it was gone from her body. Orlith was breaking her down; she could feel it. Every moment she was one step closer to collapse.

When Evo finally pulled the spell from her body,she couldn't think to move, or react when he reached for her, shaking her violently and screaming in her face to give up the seat of her magic. She turned her head away from the sorcerer's red, angry face. He had brought Serena with him this time, she stood frozen at his command in the corner, but it wasn't her face Anna was seeking. When her eyes finally fell on Orlith's calm face, she relaxed.

Despite knowing that she was being manipulated, Anna realized she didn't care anymore. She just wanted a moment of peace, however false it was. It seemed like ages had gone by since she was crouching in the alleyway with Dev, hope for the future blossoming in her chest. Now she existed only in the present, the moment before and the one after. And in this moment, her tormentor would give her respite, and that was all she wanted.

She reached out to him, her hands had been long since freed from her shackles as her waning strength no longer posed a threat. Her arm felt as though it weighed a thousand stone and yet she still lifted it. Orlith grinned at her, a smile full of satisfaction and victory. Evo was still shouting at her, his grip on her shoulders was in the lower registers of discomfort in her present state. Evo released her limp body just as Orlith took her offered hand and scooped her up, keeping her head from smashing on the floor.

"Why haven't you gotten her to talk?" Evo screeched at Orlith.

"Because I haven't asked her," he replied, cradling her in one arm and smoothing her wet hair back from her face with his other hand.

"Why not, you sodding bastard?" Evo was practically in hysterics.

"Because she's not ready yet," Orlith said. His voice was calming to her as well. She leaned into his body, letting the heat from his chest seep into her.

"She's practically panting at your feet," Evo, still shouting. "And you can't get her to tell me the truth?"

Orlith didn't take his eyes off of her. "She will tell me in time."

"I have no time!" Evo started pacing back and forth. "The king will take her life tomorrow and with it her magic. She has more power than anyone I've encountered and I want it!"

Orlith lowered her body onto a thin mattress on the floor and stood over her. "I will find out for you by morning. But I also have little time, and your interruptions are not helping my progress. You may leave."

The sounds Evo produced were hardly syllables but he finally slammed out of the room, cursing. Orlith had to remind him that he'd forgotten Serena again and then once again he and Anna were alone.

Anna lay on her back, her legs folded to one side. She twisted despite the pain, seeking him out. He sat next to her on the floor running his hands over her skin. He brought a wet cloth to her face to clean the blood from her lips and cheeks. She let her eyes close, a deep weariness aching at her center. She could never think to sleep with him so near though, his gentle touch now was surely a prelude to something far worse shortly. She knew she had won a few moments by reaching for him but she didn't know how far he believed she had 'progressed' towards his perverse goal.

For days she had been trying to find the place between complacency and defeat. If she was too resistant, the torture worsened terribly. If she were too compliant she risked actually falling for his manipulations. There was a narrow space where she was still believable to him and yet able to maintain a mental space apart from her actions, but as the days wore on, that edge grew ever more precipitous.

He was speaking to her in low tones. She opened her eyes and found his eyes no longer on her face but caressing the skin. His fingers found the multitude of marks he'd left on her. Her ribs were bruised and scraped from the edge of the basin, her legs were covered in welts and cuts from multiple strappings, bruises of various sizes and causes peppered her skin, denoting the damage underneath. His fingers circled the small, deep bruises on the inner side of her elbows where he managed to induce full-body crippling pain by digging his fingers into her skin. There were layers upon layers of marks, many of them wiped away, leaving only their haunting memory behind.

She couldn't make out what he was saying but something warned her that things were about to change. He was no longer simply looking at her with the interest that he'd shown since that first day. She was not just a plaything to his mighty hunter. Now he looked possessive, and exceedingly pleased with what he saw. He believed her to be his art, broken down to his will. She closed her eyes again. She could not resist him. If he saw it, he would brutalize her even more than he had. She'd survived this much, she could keep it up.

It took every ounce of willpower not to tense up as he opened her legs, spreading her thighs with the touch of his fingers. She managed to hold in the sound of fear as he began to stroke her welted thighs. Evo's spell had inadvertently aided her in these efforts, as she felt utterly drained from his failed magic. Orlith's voice was still a low rumble as his fingertips ran up and down her skin. Despite her efforts to remain calm her breath picked up as his touch neared the apex of her legs. When he began to stroke her outer lips she thought she might give herself away before she heard a small chuckle.

"It's okay to feel pleasure now, pet," Orlith said a bit louder. "You've pleased me and will be rewarded."

He had mistaken her fear and compliance for excitement, but the idea was planted. She focused in on his fingers, her eyes firmly closed. She pushed the violation of his touch from her mind, a feat all too easy given that for days now he'd primed her to respond to his voice and face positively. If he intended on giving her pleasure then she would take it. She existed without the shame that one less tethered to the present might feel—he had seen to that.

She was breathing harder as his fingers retreated and then returned to probe deeper into her intimate flesh. The smell of oil reached her as his slippery fingers glided smoothly along her pink opening. One of his fingers slipped into her, and she moaned, the sound desperate in her ears. His finger curled inside her, stroking the spongy flesh while his thumb circled the nub above her entrance. The ache in her body, the deep hurt that still lingered, was slowly colored by the pleasure reaching upwards from her core, and that relief was more powerful than the pleasure would have been on its own. She let out a low moan as his thumb pressed harder, running occasionally directly over her clit as he continued stroking her from inside.

"That's it, release yourself to me, hold nothing back." His voice sounded out close to her ear and she felt him place a soft kiss on her temple. She knew he was there, just above her, watching the expression on her face. Implicitly she knew he wanted her to look at him, he'd want to watch her eyes as she gave into his ministrations. For the better part of the past few days she had learned to anticipate his desires, and he seemed to like that the most. For a moment she thought to close him out, to seek the pleasure without being assaulted with his victorious face, but she was too far-gone for that. She swore to herself that it was her pretense and not his conditioning that made her comply, but even she wasn't convinced.

His face was alight in a way she had not seen him before. He had been so closed, seemingly unfeeling and cold when others were around, and even when he was pretending to care for her there was an air of falseness in his expression. She saw him now, his passions laid bare as he saw what he thought was the culmination of his efforts to produce his perfect masterpiece. He smiled at her, his hand redoubling its actions making her gasp and her back arch off the mat beneath her.

His body shifted as well as he came to kneel between her legs. Without removing his hand he managed to arrange her legs so they were resting on his thighs, stretching them obscenely as he pressed them back, her entire core open to him. He was no longer looking at her face, so she turned her gaze back towards the ceiling. The hunger she saw in his gaze gave her fears purchase to make themselves known, and for now she preferred her pleasure. She struggled within herself, her alarm rising as she recognized the signs of his coming assault, but she wanted this, wanted something besides pain. She was distracted again by his thumb zeroing in on the most sensitive spot, while the finger inside her began to move back and forth, well lubricated by her own offerings now.

The smell of oil hit her again and she distantly wondered why he would need it, she shifted to look at him. But then she felt the blunt end of his manhood pressing against her crinkled hole. Her eyes snapped to his face and she found him looking down at her as he pressed against her resistant backside. She looked to him for relief, reaching for the false lifeline he'd trained her to believe in. The oiled head of his cock was unyielding and she whimpered in pain as he pressed further, spreading the tight muscles that fought his entry.

"That's it, pet," his voice effecting her still more. "Give in." And as he spoke the thick mushroom tip slipped past her tight ring. She gave a small cry of pain, all that she could manage with her raw voice. Why was he doing this? Why was he taking her this way? He felt immense inside her; a deep burning sensation radiated outwards. He gave her no pause and continued to press into her. It hurt terribly, worse than anything he'd done before. Tears started down her temples, her body cramping under his assault. She twisted weakly, searching for an escape as he forced himself inside her until he was fully lodged. Confusion set in as she looked to him, expecting relief from the pain and getting none.

He looked back at her, a cruel smile on his lips as he began to pull out of her, drawing more desperate sounds from her. His hand began to move again, stimulating the flesh just above where he was violating her. The tenderness of his fingers was in sharp contrast with the pain he was inflicting on her as he began to saw back and forth.

Anna was lost in conflicting sensations. He wanted this, to have her in pain, but to have her submit to him all the same. She had been so close to her peak before he'd penetrated her and he was bringing all those sensations back to life. At the same moment his violation of her ass was brutal, he spared her no time to adjust to his cock before he was pounding into her again and again. While the oil kept her from worse injuries, it barely helped the pain, given his pace. But his finger, oh gods, she closed her eyes and focused everything she could on his finger's movements, trying to relax her muscles in the process.

The nauseous feeling of his rutting was difficult to ignore but the pain began to lessen despite his punishing pace. She felt herself getting lost inside the pain. She felt it and acknowledged it but she grasped onto the pleasure and threw herself at it, desperate to escape the room and his power for that one moment of ecstasy.

"Give in, Anna, love the pain and the pleasure. Accept everything and take it because I wish it." Orlith's voice was soothing and close. Again she opened her eyes to him, only reminding herself after that she had not done it to please him, but to assuage his knowledge of her mental rebellion. But she so badly wanted to please him, to hear his praise because it meant she would be safe, even for a moment. The torture he'd heaped on her in a never-ending barrage of pain had wormed its way inside her mind; she could feel it. Her resistance was crumbling and all that was left was compliance.

Orlith smiled at her, pleased that she was so obedient now. "You are mine, Anna." He growled as he picked up his pace. His fingers sliding across her clit until she was moaning beneath him. As she neared her peak her head turned to the side, baring her neck to him. He dove for it, lapping up her skin as if it were submission itself. She cried out as her climax began, her muscles clamping painfully on his cock. The burning that had subsided as she had relaxed came back triple fold as he chased his own completion. The pain and the pleasure wracked her body, her eyes rolled back into their sockets and she whimpered pitifully. The deep, stabbing pain in her rectum clashed with the powerful waves of pleasure and her confused body convulsed. Darkness closed over her and she felt the world fall away for a moment.