Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 62128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
“You do not own this city, do you?” Avel growls the question down at the beaten creature.
“No,” Torin admits in a small squeak.
“If you had any idea of what responsibility of that level means, if you had ever owned anything of any value at all, you would know that it means taking care of it, looking after it. Ensuring nothing bad ever happens to it. Protecting it.” Avel shakes him by the hair, handling him like a rag doll. “You’ve been beaten today, but this is not the end of your punishment. I’m going to give you something that is yours, and I am going to make sure you take care of it.”
“Wh.. what?”
“You’re going out of the city to participate in the reconstruction effort of the Ground Bar.”
Torin shrinks down further, risking his hair in Avel’s grip. Avel does not let go. Instead, he wrenches the younger, smaller saurian up and closer to him, giving him no quarter.
“Please… no. That’s where the primal roams.”
“No! My baby cannot be sent to the wilds!”
I have to assume that’s Torin’s mother piping up.
Avel silences her all with a look toward the guards, who go ahead and step toward the gathered saurians. It is obvious that outbursts will not be tolerated.
This is not a kind of justice I’ve been privy to before, and it is fascinating to see how so many are being controlled by so few. There’s Avel and two guards. That’s it. Somehow, they’re keeping this motley crew of a criminal family in check with sheer gravitas.
It seems cruel, but now I think about it, is it, really? Pirates are often punished publicly — but it is never like this. It’s about blood and death, not about teaching any kind of lesson. I wonder if Torin understands how lucky he is to be treated this way. The beating might have been shameful, and he is certainly being knocked down several pegs, but he’s going to survive this, and it’s clear that Avel has some interest in making sure he actually learns his lesson. This isn’t just about revenge. This is about rehabilitation. And even the family of the spoiled brat gets that.
“Yes. It is where the primal roams,” Avel agrees. “It’s about time you learned what it is to try to carve out an existence while cruel nature does its best to end you. You’ll learn to appreciate the security of the city, and those who spend their lives protecting it. You’ll learn respect. And construction skills.”
“Please, sir. Let me stay in the city. I promise, I’ll never commit another crime.”
“If you do, you won’t be getting this treatment again. I will draw blood next time.”
Those words, said in a dominant yet simply factual growl, hit me low in the gut. I wonder what else Avel is capable of. He’s an enforcer, but he is also an executioner. That fact comes back into my mind. I wonder what else he has done to the criminally inclined on his altar of pain. I wonder how much suffering he has inflicted, and how many lives he has taken. Did the ones he ended beg for mercy? Did he grant it?
Those thoughts and questions swirl around my body just as much as they do my mind, creating little chemical connections and making me squirm where I sit. My motion draws Avel’s attention for a brief moment. He looks over his captive’s head, straight at me. I look back, feeling an electric moment of raw connection. His eyes narrow slightly at me, as if he is trying to gauge my reaction. I am tucked away in a very dark corner. Nobody else even knows I’m here, but right now I feel as though a megawatt spotlight is being shone directly on me.
The moment passes as Avel turns his attention back to the saurian.
“Please, sir, Avel. I’ll never…”
“You’re joining the reconstruction crew. It will be hard manual labor.”
“He’s too good for that!” I hear the female voice raised high from the crowd yet again. Is order about to break down? Are things about to get out of hand? I look back around and see that some of the Rivet side of the party are standing up.
Avel does not seem even slightly perturbed. He puts a slight twist in his grip on Torin and makes the saurian cry out either in fear or pain. It is hard to tell which. Whatever it is, it stops the crowd in their track. Avel doesn’t have to say a word. The implication is clear. If they get out of hand, it will be Torin who suffers. There is no debate to be had in this chamber of bones and retribution. Here, Avel’s will is law.
When the disturbance has quelled itself, Avel finally says something to the audience.
“Nobody is too good to learn the truths of this world. Nobody is too good to discover what hard work is, or what real suffering entails. Torin has reached the age of majority. He is a man, and it is time he was treated like one instead of being cosseted like a sniveling whelpling. The next saurian to speak will be accorded the honor of sharing his fate. It will not be the first time a mother has taken her son’s punishment, Sirella.”