Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [73]
The boys, now with the torches and sticks, and filled with hope of escape race out of the pen. Miko stays where he is and watches as they race down the hallway toward the open door the slavers had entered through. Suddenly, he sees one fall backward as a crossbow bolt strikes him in the chest. Another boy twists about then falls with a cry when another bolt strikes him in the shoulder.
Soon the hallway is filled with slavers and the ill fated escape attempt is soon squashed. The boys caught outside of the pen are taken away and a couple slavers come back to where Miko and a few of the others had remained. They remove the unconscious slavers the boys had attacked and then begin to leave. One slaver pauses a moment as he looks at those remaining in the pen and then says something before closing the door to Miko’s pen. He turns to follow his fellow slavers across the room and through the door, closing it behind him. When the door closes, the pens are once more plunged into darkness.
Miko can hear Viktor giggling over in the corner. He tries to shut out the noise and attempts to fall asleep.
Early the next morning, shortly after sunup, they begin to hear a commotion coming from the courtyard outside of the small window. Miko rushes over to it, as do others in the pens along the same wall. Outside, they see the boys who had been captured in the escape attempt the night before being marched over to where a pole stands near one side of the courtyard. A hushed whisper can be heard as some of those in the adjoining pens relay what’s going on to those on the other side of the holding area.
When the boys reach the pole, one slaver stands there as he begins to address the slaves still in the holding pen. “Last night, a few of you decided to try to escape,” he says loudly, so all can hear him. “These eight here are those that survived. Should any of you be contemplating similar attempts, let this be a lesson in what happens to those slaves who try to flee.”
He says something to the other slavers with him and then the first boy is taken over to the pole where his arms are tied to ropes. A slaver behind the pole pulls on the ropes, pulling the boy’s arms high above his head, stretching him until only the tips of his toes are touching the ground. Then a man with a multi tongued whip comes forward and begins to lash him.
As the lash strikes him for the first time, a hushed silence falls upon those in the pens. The boy cries out as the lash strikes him the second time. Each time the lash strikes, it leaves long, red welts which after the fist couple of strikes, begin to well blood.
After ten lashes, the boy is screaming incoherently and blood is flowing freely down his back. At twelve, he loses consciousness and they remove him from the whipping pole, taking him away.
Once he’s been removed they bring up the next boy, who by now is gibbering with fear. “I won’t try to escape! I won’t!” he screams, pleading with the slavers. As they string him up, he continues to cry and plead, to no avail. When he’s struck for the first time, his bowels let go and he soils himself.
Boy after boy take their turn at the whipping post until they’ve all either been given fifteen lashes or they’ve slipped into unconsciousness. As the last boy is taken away, the man in charge looks around at the faces peering in horror out of the windows, then turns without a word and walks back into the building. The ground at the base of the pole is stained red with the blood that the whip had drawn out of the boys’ backs.
Not long after that, they begin to bring in food and water again. This time, when the plate is placed within the pen, there is enough for everyone. The screams of the boys as they were being whipped continue to echo through Miko’s mind, causing him to shudder.
A couple hours later, the courtyard begins to fill up with all sorts of people and a string of girls are brought out onto the platform. One by one, the girls are brought