Blurgle
Having one of those days (weeks, months.. years?) where what I write just feels like crap. So here's some of it! Minimal editing and no preface or explanation, since it would probably end up being longer than the snip.
~
"Do not make Arvel's mistake and get sloppy," Vorstrel's voice held none of its customary courtly veneer. "That is not a girl we have locked up, nor is it even Kyldathar's niece - it is an animal, newly caged and it will not hesitate to tear you apart."
"She seemed harmless enough when we took her," one of the apprentices said.
"Even someone as sense-blind as you should be able to see that she's hemorrhaging power," said another.
"She is a sorcerer at the cusp of awakening and that makes her volatile and dangerous. If I had not dosed her when I did, the both you would likely be piles of ash right now - if you were lucky. Keep your wards tight if you don't want to end your careers early. Consider it your journeyman trial."
The drug Vorstrel had injected into her wore off in a rush, leaving her clear-headed enough to understand the mage's warning to his apprentices. Mirra fought down panic as she felt around her confines. The only illumination came from under the locked door. She traced her hands around the walls twice.
Moving kept the terror from overwhelming her.
They had locked her in a closet barely wider than the door and just deep enough for her stretch her length on the floor. She had nothing but the sheet she'd been sleeping under. The bastards hadn't bothered to take so much as a single scrap of her clothes. When Makas found out what they'd done there would be hell to pay.
No, that wasn't right. Mirra felt herself shaking. Makas had been there, had let them take her. She had been alone in the girls' room - in fact, the entire gang had been gone. Why hadn't she noticed? The betrayal felt like a physical blow. Makas was a brother in every way but blood and yet he threw her aside without hesitation. How would he justify it to the others when they found out?
Grief and anger choked in her throat. She wanted to scream and cry in turn. The animal rage seething in her mind fed on both, pushing out terror until she was trembling with frantic energy. Mirra kicked at the door, but it felt like stone rather than wood under her feet. She lurched forward to claw and beat at the door, an inarticulate snarl rumbling in her throat. The smell of scorching wood stung her nostrils as Mirra beat her fists bloody. The face of the door glowed with tiny cinders when she finally fell back, trembling with futile anger.
The apprentices on the other side of the door were cursing her and their master in turn, their voices growing duller as they layered more and more magic around Mirra and her tiny closet. She could feel the growing weight of it around her, stifling the air and dulling sound. Vorstrel's apprentices were recklessly pouring everything they had into keeping her confined.
The beast inside her raged.
Mirra bit down on a scream as the beast lashed at the cage around it. Every attack it made at the barrier around her felt as though it were tearing at her insides. A frustration beyond simple confinement boiled to the surface in the animal was both her and not. It could not work through her properly. Something held it back, made its struggles too weak to overcome the enemies that trapped it. Worse, it was hurting her and itself in the process.
It continued to try heedless of the pain, flailing and thrashing at the door. Every assault on the door ripped something vital from her, a sapping of strength that felt like her abortive attempts to light candles only much worse. The beast was taking everything from her and she had no way of stopping it.
The door groaned and splintered under invisible assault, its edges bright in the darkness with tiny orange embers. Despite the abuse, the door and the apprentices' barrier held strong.
Stop. Mirra pled silently. Gods and spirits, please stop.
The sudden stillness left her reeling and blessedly numb. That numbness quickly gave over to pain. She gasped for breath, heart pounding and lungs burning as though she had run across the city and back. Something felt torn in her chest and inside her head. It wasn't a normal pain, it didn't come from bone or flesh but it hurt nonetheless. She curled into a ball and hugged her ribs. It didn't help. Neither did the tears.
~
~
"Do not make Arvel's mistake and get sloppy," Vorstrel's voice held none of its customary courtly veneer. "That is not a girl we have locked up, nor is it even Kyldathar's niece - it is an animal, newly caged and it will not hesitate to tear you apart."
"She seemed harmless enough when we took her," one of the apprentices said.
"Even someone as sense-blind as you should be able to see that she's hemorrhaging power," said another.
"She is a sorcerer at the cusp of awakening and that makes her volatile and dangerous. If I had not dosed her when I did, the both you would likely be piles of ash right now - if you were lucky. Keep your wards tight if you don't want to end your careers early. Consider it your journeyman trial."
The drug Vorstrel had injected into her wore off in a rush, leaving her clear-headed enough to understand the mage's warning to his apprentices. Mirra fought down panic as she felt around her confines. The only illumination came from under the locked door. She traced her hands around the walls twice.
Moving kept the terror from overwhelming her.
They had locked her in a closet barely wider than the door and just deep enough for her stretch her length on the floor. She had nothing but the sheet she'd been sleeping under. The bastards hadn't bothered to take so much as a single scrap of her clothes. When Makas found out what they'd done there would be hell to pay.
No, that wasn't right. Mirra felt herself shaking. Makas had been there, had let them take her. She had been alone in the girls' room - in fact, the entire gang had been gone. Why hadn't she noticed? The betrayal felt like a physical blow. Makas was a brother in every way but blood and yet he threw her aside without hesitation. How would he justify it to the others when they found out?
Grief and anger choked in her throat. She wanted to scream and cry in turn. The animal rage seething in her mind fed on both, pushing out terror until she was trembling with frantic energy. Mirra kicked at the door, but it felt like stone rather than wood under her feet. She lurched forward to claw and beat at the door, an inarticulate snarl rumbling in her throat. The smell of scorching wood stung her nostrils as Mirra beat her fists bloody. The face of the door glowed with tiny cinders when she finally fell back, trembling with futile anger.
The apprentices on the other side of the door were cursing her and their master in turn, their voices growing duller as they layered more and more magic around Mirra and her tiny closet. She could feel the growing weight of it around her, stifling the air and dulling sound. Vorstrel's apprentices were recklessly pouring everything they had into keeping her confined.
The beast inside her raged.
Mirra bit down on a scream as the beast lashed at the cage around it. Every attack it made at the barrier around her felt as though it were tearing at her insides. A frustration beyond simple confinement boiled to the surface in the animal was both her and not. It could not work through her properly. Something held it back, made its struggles too weak to overcome the enemies that trapped it. Worse, it was hurting her and itself in the process.
It continued to try heedless of the pain, flailing and thrashing at the door. Every assault on the door ripped something vital from her, a sapping of strength that felt like her abortive attempts to light candles only much worse. The beast was taking everything from her and she had no way of stopping it.
The door groaned and splintered under invisible assault, its edges bright in the darkness with tiny orange embers. Despite the abuse, the door and the apprentices' barrier held strong.
Stop. Mirra pled silently. Gods and spirits, please stop.
The sudden stillness left her reeling and blessedly numb. That numbness quickly gave over to pain. She gasped for breath, heart pounding and lungs burning as though she had run across the city and back. Something felt torn in her chest and inside her head. It wasn't a normal pain, it didn't come from bone or flesh but it hurt nonetheless. She curled into a ball and hugged her ribs. It didn't help. Neither did the tears.
~