Chapter 23: Sunken

Elaene offered up prayers to any god that would hear her, not only the King in the Deep, but any and all of the four lesser as well. Then she spoke.

“I’m as surprised and dismayed as you are to see him in this state.”

Her words came out as hard and cold as ice. “All I wanted was to help Olean. I thought… I thought I could make some kind of a difference.” She stared off into the distance. “Lito… Lito used me.”

The Carpenter raised his eyebrows. “Lito used you?”

“She swore that the guards she was sending were for my protection alone. They must have followed Paene after the meeting…” She shook her said. “Sunken hells, if you don’t believe me you can torture me. Gods know there’s no one alive to collaborate my story.”

“That turns out not to be the case,” the Carpenter said. “Lito is still alive.”

Thank the gods.

“Let’s pay her a visit, then, shall we?” The Carpenter opened the door, smiling slightly. “I would hate to do anything rash.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Lito crouched in her cell, hands chained to the ceiling. The sight of it made Elaene’s heart ache, but she pushed past it and steeled herself for what was, in all likelihood, coming.

“Lito Laeth,” the Carpenter drawled. “It is time we had another conversation.”

“The gruesome public torture at last?” Lito spat.

“No… no, that will come later, I assure you. This will be much more private,” the Carpenter said. “Elaene claims that you betrayed her. She volunteered to smooth things out between you and me and act as an emissary. She claims that you leant her guards for her protection, and used those very guards to betray our peaceful meeting.”

Lito blinked.

The Carpenter continued. “It is useless, I think, to have either you or Elaene elaborate on your stories further. I cannot trust what either one of you is saying. Elaene could have done it on her own initiative, it would surprise me, but it is possible, and could be drowning you to push herself up—and you might object to that, wouldn’t you? But she could also be doing it to get into my organization and strike at an inopportune time—and you would be fine with that.” He showed his hands. “You see? If you say that you did do this, I must assume that you are lying to help her infiltrate my trust. If you say that you did not, I must assume that you are doing it out of a desire to save yourself.”

“That is a conundrum,” Lito said, finally.

“The only person who can help us unravel this little mystery is currently sitting on a table, in great pain, and it is up to the gods as to whether he will awake again.”

The Carpenter pulled out a knife, and handed it to Elaene.

“I have always found torture to be an adequate, if imperfect way of determining the truth. I know that people will lie under duress, but gods know that they lie all the more in comfort. And so, Elaene, let us confirm your story. Please torture the Sunset Knight.”

Elaene stepped forward into the cell.

It was the same problem all over again. If she didn’t torture Lito, the Carpenter would figure that she was lying and kill them both horribly. If she did torture Lito and she was able to stick to the story… she might still be able to break Lito out later.

Elaene bit her lip. If this was the only way to gain the Carpenter’s trust, it had to be done. She knew that the trust would be tenuous at best, but it only needed to hold for a bit.

She let the rage at the Carpenter, the whole situation with the world, and her own shame fill her mind, channeling it into her performance.

“You betrayed me,” Elaene whispered. “You lied to me, you used me like a pawn. Like one of your soldiers.”

She slashed Lito on her brow. Head wounds bled terribly, which looked impressive. Elaene was worried about injuring anything critical to fighting, because if she was able to break Lito out later on, she needed her at a good condition in case things went wrong.

As she did this, she looked Lito in the eye, trying to pass all of the information through her sorrowful glance—that she was acting, that Lito needed to act too if she had any chance of getting through this.

“I would do it again,” Lito said, hoarsely. “I would do it all again.”

Elaene cut her again, this time on her shoulder. She continued to accuse, Lito continued to defend, and Elaene spirits started to rise.

Maybe this will work after all.

“Cut her ear off,” the Carpenter said. He was leaning against the wall, watching, almost bored with the proceedings.

Elaene froze.

“Did I say something wrong?” the Carpenter asked. His tone of voice hardened. “Cut her ear off.”

Elaene tugged on the ear closest to her, pulling away from Lito’s head. She placed her knife on the top of the ear.

She looked Lito in the eye. There wasn’t a trace of fear in her eyes. They were steel gray. She nodded.

Pulling tight on the ear with her left hand, she struck straight down with her right. Elaene had been expected, had been hoping, had been praying that the ear would come off.

But it didn’t. Elaene wasn’t strong enough. Her knife came about halfway down, and stopped. Blood was streaking out of the wound, and Lito screamed. Elaene hacked at it a bit more, breathing heavily.

She was dead surprised that she wasn’t making any sound. Inside she was crying, but nothing escaped her lips.

The ear came off. Elaene threw it on the ground, and savagely ground it into the stone floor.

“Good,” the Carpenter said. “Leave the other ear. I want her to hear the jeers and the screams when we finish her off.”

Elaene nodded.

The Carpenter nodded. “Continue.”

Elaene paused. She didn’t want to cut anything else off, if she could help it. And there was a limit to how much damage she could reasonably do if she wanted Lito to be useful.

She ran her fingers through Lito’s hair—rich, thick, and lovely, even being somewhat short..

Hair wasn’t important. Not in combat, anyway.

She ripped the knife through Lito’s hair, cutting as close to the scalp as she dared. Hair and blood started to run in tiny streams down Lito’s face and her neck.

Elaene was startled as she continued to cut.

Lito was crying.

She was so surprised she almost stopped cutting—but the Carpenter was watching, and Elaene knew she had to continue.

Elaene was finished soon. She took a step back, to look at her handiwork.

Blood and tears had mingled on Lito Laeth’s face. She was bald, with irregular stubble along the crown of her head—with cuts and blood welling up amidst them.

“Well done,” the Carpenter said. He was smiling now, broad and energetic. “Well done.”

He knelt down next to the Sunset Knight. “Were you responsible for capturing Paene Umber, against our treaty agreement?”

“Yes,” Lito whispered.

“You can stop this, you know,” the Carpenter said. “I will kill you, now, quickly and without pain if you tell me the truth.”

“I told you the truth,” Lito said. “Do you want me to change my answer and lie?”

The Carpenter stood up. “No,” he said. “I was joking, anyway. You’re valuable, Sunset Knight. Too valuable to waste in a mercy killing.”

They left the cell soon after that. Elaene prayed that she could go off alone and cry soon.

“I have some tasks for you that you can get started with,” the Carpenter said. “We need to, ah, advertise the celebrations that are coming up. Spread the word among the priests and priestesses in the area—we’ll start slow, public executions of the rest of the Sunset Knight’s forces. I should have my devices ready for Lito in a week or so. Spread the word, and make it clear that attendance is mandatory.”

“Anything else?” Elaene asked in a deadened voice.

“Yes,” the Carpenter said. “Spread the word that the programs have ended. People can do what they want, now—they’re free.”

Free.

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