“Xander, stop,” I insisted, pulling on his cloak as he yanked me along behind him. “What is so urgent?”
“Ana—”
The warning died on his lips as I turned and looked over my shoulder at the Winter Market.
My legs wobbled, and my eyes widened as everything else in the square seemed to fade from view. Knots filled my stomach as I stared at the scene that lay before us.
Heretics Among Us
Less than a hundred feet from us at the base of the temple steps, six Winged Soldiers stood in a semicircle.
Black feathered wings protruded from the soldiers’ backs. Their tunics and trousers were the color of a starless night sky. It was a stark contrast to the bright cloaks and tunics all around us. Their very presence seemed to suck the sunlight out of the square.
The chatter died down, and a somber mood replaced the cheer that had filled the market only minutes before.
A tall, lanky male knelt between the soldiers at the foot of the stairs. From where Xander and I were standing to the side, I could see him clearly.
He was naked from the waist up, and he shook uncontrollably. His long ears pointed towards the sky as dark brown locks curled down his back. As I watched, the male lifted his pale hands before him as though he were praying.
Unlike the Death Elf we had seen earlier in the day, this male looked like he had been beaten until he was moments from The Fade. He was clearly Mature, but I had no way of knowing how old he was. He could have been three decades or three centuries old.
Heavy black chains held his hands together, and it was clear he couldn’t move them more than six inches apart. My chest tightened at the sight of the rivulets of blood that ran down his bare chest.
The wind carried whispers to my ears.
“… prohiberis on his wrists…”
“Never seen him before…”
“… stops the use of magic…”
“Who is he?”
Many of the same questions were bubbling up on my own tongue. I had never seen an elf so close to Fading before. Blood covered every available inch of flesh on the injured male.
“Don’t move, Ana.” Xander’s grip tightened around my wrist as he pulled me closer to him. He lowered his head to mine, forcing my gaze to his. Xander drew his lip through his teeth as he looked around the square. His eyes were assessing as he stared at the Winged Soldiers. “We need to be very careful.”
I had no words. All I could do was stare as one of the Winged Soldiers pushed the elf forward onto all fours. The prisoner grunted, taking the weight of the impact on his elbows.
While the elf was down, another soldier grabbed the chains and dragged the male forward, pulling him up the stairs. An ominous silence descended on the square as everyone watched the soldiers.
No one moved. No one spoke. No one didanything.
Again. For the second time in one day, I watched as people stood, unmoving, as cruelty unfolded in their midst. Their expressions were a mixture of fear, apprehension, and hatred.
Anger stirred within me like a red hot flame.
What kind of hold does the king have on these people that they would disregard the lives of their fellow beings? Why don’t they fight back?
The Winged Soldier continue to drag the elf up the marble stairs of the temple until he was standing before the statue of Kydona. I gasped as the soldier shoved the male onto his knees once more.
Silence, thick and heavy and entirely foreboding, coated every inch of the market. Even the children stopped their incessant shrieking as they hid behind the skirts of their silent mothers.
From within the temple, three figures dressed in flowing white robes appeared.
“Burning hells,” Xander cursed. “That’s just what we need.”
His jaw was in a tight line, and the arm wrapped around my waist was growing tighter by the moment.