Nadael Illulivad, Vol V

The pain. The constant, tearing pain. This is all Nadael thought about, this is all he could think about, along with the smell of searing skin and burning flesh, and the taste of his own blood. There were no terms for how long he'd been here, chained up, tortured constantly and falling into fitful unconsciousness.

Garrett. That was the name of the dark elf that he was being held captive by. And his parents, his real parents...

They had been broken by the  . And now here he was, being broken himself. There was no way he could hold out much longer against the brainwashing and torture; he'd just lose his will and become another slave, a mindless slave to Garrett. His grasp on reality was slipping.

 Why won't someone rescue me? They know I'm here, where are they?*

A shadow came into the light beneath the door. Nadael tensed, but the shadow passed on. The shackles on his hands and feet kept his ankles and wrists so raw the air burned them...

But the shadow hadn't gone. It was back again, stopping as it reached the door. Nadael could hear heavy breathing on the other side as the doorknob slowly turned.

It sticks, Nadael thought feverishly. It sticks right before it opens, and then there's the pain...

The handle stuck, and the person on the other side turned it back, and tried again, harder this time. Light snuck through the edge and there was Garrett, standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the bright light of day.

 No, wait. That's not-*

"Nadael." It was a female voice.

 Why is she here?*

His mother walked up to him and laid a hand on his face. "Nadael," she said again.

"Wh-why are you h-h-here?" Nadael coughed on the last word, spitting blood from his mouth.

"Your father. You never knew him, did you? He was a great man. I'm so sorry for what I've done, what we've done...Garrett, he killed Eris; your father. That snapped me out of this trance I've been in for ten, no, fifteen years. I don't know how well I've hid this from that horrible dark elf, but we have to escape now. Before he can do what he did to us to you."

"Absolutely, but-" Nadael's mother interrupted him again.

"Oh, that's right. Here you go, I picked this off of Garrett this morning."

The grown wood elf took a key from her sleeve and slid it into the shackles with a click. Nadael fell to the floor and rubbed his wrists, then stood up shakily, his calves and thighs aching. His mother supported him almost to the door when she heard a noise behind her.

"Inni, what are you doing? I didn't give you...Oh, you're mad about your little husband. Well, as long as you're going, take this little farewell present."

Garrett stuck a five inch-long dagger into her chest. Soundlessly she fell to the floor.

"Ah and you, Nadael. You haven't outlived your welcome at all! Stay, please!"

The young thief limped over to his fallen mother.

"In fact," intoned Garrett, "I insist."

He wiped the blood off of the knife on his pants, and started walking towards Illulivad.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you. Well, not yet. First I'll just cut out your knees, then maybe your eyes..."

Nadael shrugged up closer to the door.

"Actually, it's your decision. Do you really care all that much about your ears? Yes? How about your nose? Well, if you're- guh!"

Garrett slumped to the floor, the tip of a short sword protruding through his open mouth. Nadael ran up to his mother and kneeled by her bleeding body.

"Nadael..." She whispered, "I'm...we're sorry." The light faded from her eyes, and Nadael closed the lids. He turned and limped from Garrett's shop, and looked into the sunrise. It was over. Finally.