A Paladin's Training Ch. 20

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***RODRIC EAMES***

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Eames watched impassively as whip-thin, graying Brend and stout, anvil-faced Lora went about their work on the twins, who were naked and secured to separate stone benches with enough chain around their ankles and wrists to secure a Giant; there was no need to take chances unnecessarily. Screams echoed around the small stone chamber as Brend and Lora whipped the young heretics, but this far beneath Maralon, nobody would hear them.

Eames' lieutenant Latham had reported that on arrest, these children - barely old enough to be called adults - exhibited strange powers which seemed to cause sexual arousal in anybody nearby. As mad as it sounded, it was exactly what Eames had been searching for. He feared not the surfacing of their true abilities; he had rooted lust and fleshly desire out of himself long years ago, as had Brend and Lora. One could not uphold the values of the Heralds of Dawn while being victim to base physical urges, and it also rendered the powers of a Paladin useless, as there was nothing for them to manipulate.

Five hundred years ago, the Order of Aros had almost destroyed civilisation entirely with this filthy, perverted power, and Eames was not about to let them rise again. Capturing Ayla and Tavish - those were their names, not that it mattered anymore - presented Eames with an interesting opportunity; no Herald had ever captured a Paladin alive for an extended period of time, and so surprisingly little was known about the extent of their abilities. If they could be studied, then surely new knowledge would make it easier to dig them out.

Lora was applying the whip to the girl, who was striped red from her ankles to her breasts. The screams were coming less often than they had at the beginning; both of them had long since gone hoarse. The boy had struggled mightily at first, bellowing insults and threats and trying to wrench his arms and legs free of his bonds every time the whip fell on his sister, until his wrists and ankles were slick with blood, and all to no avail. The whips had continued to strike, borne by the tireless arms of Brend and Lora.

"Why are you doing this?" The girl croaked for the hundredth time. "What did we do that was so wrong?" She was staring blankly up at the ceiling, now, barely flinching when the leather struck her skin.

Eames moved over to her and bent forward, putting his face close to hers. "It's not what you did," he said softly, staring into her eyes. He saw fear there, which was good. "It's what you are that is wrong."

The girl said nothing, just squeezed her eyes shut and began weeping once again.

"Sooner or later you will reveal your true natures to me," Eames continued. "And I assure you, as soon as you do, the pain will stop."

The boy piped up then, his voice ragged from his screaming. "How many times do we have to tell you? We are not what you think! You're all horribly mistaken! When our parents find us, they will have you arrested and hanged!"

More empty threats. Obviously, Eames would need to adjust his strategy, for the whip was not producing results. Holding his hand up, he stayed Brend and Lora, who lowered their whips and waited for instruction. "I think we are done with the lashings, for now," he said calmly. "Move on to the next stage."

Brend and Lora disappeared for a few minutes, but soon after they returned, the twins found that even though they were already hoarse, they still had plenty of screams left in them.

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END OF CHAPTER 20