Sufferance Ch. 14

"Don't," Jaunda said shortly near my ear. Of course, she was right.

"An interesting side-effect of your healing, don't you think, Consort?" D'Shea asked, her anger evident in her voice. "Have you ruined one of my Red Sisters in more ways than one?"

Auslan gasped against the pain in his ribs and eventually lifted his chin again to look up at her. "Elder Sister?"

"Have you caused her to conceive?" she asked another way, slowly, so he would understand.

"Y-yes, Elder Sister," he answered.

"For certain?"

He trembled. "Yes, Elder..."

"I see."

Another strike; a kick square in the gut. He curled up and she landed a glancing hit on his head next, snapping his neck back and he groaned. She'd ripped a small gash by his temple and I could see red start to stain his hair.

"You fucking whore."

She walked around behind him were his peasant's wrap rose up on his thighs; she could likely see his nudity beneath. She aimed carefully with her next kick and by the violent jerk and wail he'd cried, she'd struck him in his genitals.

"Elder!" I growled hoarsely with Jaunda still holding me. My mind was on fire watching her hurt him for no other reason than because he'd saved me, as Jaunda had commanded him. "Kerse is dead. You said we don't have much time before the Valsharess could summon us. Kerse and I left Wilsira in the forming room tangled in webs. If you've had this spare time, it's likely because she hadn't managed to free herself soon enough!"

D'Shea reacted both to the anger in my voice and my mention of that pit of a place beneath the dungeon. I saw the haunted look pass so briefly on her face that it could have been an illusion, but I was willing to draw on it nonetheless.

"She was likely down there still when she felt her son die," I said with a sly, mean smile. "Appropriate, don't you think?"

The Elder kept her face impassive and shook her head. "You are trying to distract me from this."

"What is your point, my Elder?" I ground out, leaning forward even against my Lead's tightening grasp. "I am slow to see how beating the Consort helps our immediate concerns, but even if there's a reason, there is more to consider."

"Oh?" she challenged, lowering her gaze.

"Yes. When Kerse and I were bonded through the talisman, it took more power and focus and determination not only on Shyntre's and Gaelan's part but on my own as well to break it. They needed my help, and I was willing."

My voice became more aggressive. "I'm *not* so willing now to endure more pain only on account of your frustrations. Auslan has kept his agreement with the Sisterhood for almost two years, and he only did has Jaunda commanded him. He is knowledgeable even without the Priesthood, better alive and intact than broken or dead. Provided we finish off Wilsira, there should be time yet to determine the best way to deal with these...these *urges* of mine. Meanwhile, just let him be!"

My breath was ragged and I stood trembling at the force of my conviction, almost unable to believe I'd taken such a tone with her. Jaunda was dead silent behind me and not interfering beyond keeping me from moving forward to close with D'Shea.

It seemed my Elder was as surprised as either of her subordinates. She tilted her head and approached me slowly, leaving Auslan where he was for the moment. Her copper eyes glowed with anger and suspicion as she gazed at me.

"I hear you, Sirana. However, know this: I have no use for a Red Sister who cannot control hers reactions around a specific male, knowledgeable or not. If we win this battle and yet your behavior around him does not change... he dies, or you do." She paused significantly. "*After* you give the Priestesses your child."

I couldn't speak for the white-hot burn that spilled into my chest and I stood shaking with almost unmanageable anger. I nodded with effort and silently thanked Jaunda for never letting go, for holding me back.

Someone chose that moment to begin pressing at the ward on the door. D'Shea might've heard something more specific than my general sense that someone wanted to enter. She moved to the door and, after putting her hand on it a few moments, allowed it to slide open long enough for Rausery to step in holding Jael by her also shorter hair before closing again.

The taller Elder was at ease and confident as she strode in with the aura of a natural leader. The youngest Sister was not fighting the tight grasp on her scalp, though she had her lips pressed together and her expression said she was well aware that this was not the most prideful way to enter a room with rival Sisters ready to see.

Jael wasn't wearing her reds; she been redressed in her earlier blacks—possibly due to extensive damage to her actual uniform, like Jaunda's that looked like a thousand creepers had been chewing on it.

"Ohhh, this is going to be fun, D'Shea," Rausery said with unmistakable glee in her voice and on her grinning face. "I can't wait to hear how you're going to handle this one."

Her eyes swept the rest of us and she tilted her head at my completely missing uniform and substitute drab clothing, along with how plainly roughed up Jaunda appeared. "Looks like you two fared even worse than the novice here."

Finally, she noticed the Consort lying still bound on the floor and blinked at him. "Hm. Is that what I think it is?"

D'Shea had pulled herself together and presented a very solid image for her peer. She kept her chin high, her face placid, and her stance the once I remembered upon first seeing her. "That it is."

Elder Rausery frowned a bit, letting go of Jael's hair and letting her stand by her side. She folded her arms almost in reprimand. "Since when have we needed to steal the Priestesses' pretty little sluts, D'Shea?"

"Since one learned far more than he should have."

"They'll just track him."

"I've taken care of that."

"Oh, have you?"

"I know how they do it," D'Shea said. "And I can undo it."

"Any reason to think they won't look at us anyway?"

"This one, as I understand it, isn't very loyal to his current Priestess. She wasn't aware of any connection he had with us, and for all anyone knows, he simply vanished. Walked off on his own."

Rausery shook her head. "And is now somehow untraceable. D'Shea, they're going to be looking at you."

"You and the Prime are both going to be helping me dissuade them from looking closer."

"Ha! Yeah?" Rausery grinned. "Do tell."

"He's Wilsira's pawn. And she's begun to fall. If there was ever an opportunity like this before, Rausery, I'd have taken it."

"That much of a squealer, eh?" Rausery asked skeptically; she knew D'Shea was hiding something. However, she decided to go after the juicier meat of the conversation. She gestured to Jael. "Baldy here tells me the son-fucker is half dead already but also that we're in deep dung because she helped kill a Draegloth without a queen's writ to do so."

"If there had been time to inform her, she would have granted the writ," D'Shea insisted. "Kerse had grown into a powerful threat and Wilsira has been hiding that fact from us all. We'll have her pinned."

"You'd better hope so," Rausery commented wryly, then nodded toward me. "So you saved our prime witness, but Wilsira will be desperate. She'll throw all she has left at us. If you don't include me in on some things, I can't watch your back, sweet sorceress."

"I always give you confirmed, useful information, Rausery."

"Redacted and scrubbed squeaky clean." Rausery chuckled. "Shyntre mentioned the Illithid escaping. That's right up there with killing a half-breed without an order. I've already sent a tracking team out, but let's figure out how we're going to hold up against that one, too, while we're at it."

"Less our concern. Auranka's Drider was killed by the Draegloth, and the *Priestess's* ward was broken. Where is our failing? The Red Sisters arrived even before Auranka's team and stopped Kerse from completing his plan, and you've performed first response."

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, sorceress, but aren't the Priestesses' wards tailored against those of demonic blood particularly? Standard practice, as I understand it, to prevent exactly outcomes like these. So who broke it?" Rausery's deep red eyes slid to me. "I understand our studious survivor has become rather good at that task."

D'Shea looked at me as she didn't seem to have an immediate reply. "Well, Sirana?"

Jaunda had no need to be holding me back and had taken her hand away a while ago, but in an odd way, I wish it was still there. "Yes, I was made to break it for him, Elder."

"The talisman?"

I nodded, not able to keep my eyes level for long. "I was lucky he instructed me to breathe and swallow on my own, Elder."

Rausery whistled low. "That powerful?"

"Unfortunately," D'Shea said.

"How?"

"Does it matter?"

"If this can be done to any Red Sister, then, yes, D'Shea, it does," Rausery said gruffly. "And I want to know about it."

My Elder shook her head. "Kerse had time and the opportunity. I'd been too focused on Wilsira's apparent aim to impregnate her on that trip. I didn't know it possible, but I believe now that his coupling with her multiple times laid the foundation for his binding spell. He would have known her very well."

Jael looked very uncomfortable, even a little disgusted. I found it hard to care; there were a few individual things that no one else knew about Kerse, not even his mother, that were now deeply planted deep in my memory. I knew why it happened, but didn't see what else I could have done with what limited knowledge I had at the time.

"New rule, then?" Rausery said. "No repeating half-breed fucking?"

D'Shea shrugged. "This was not a regular occurrence. But yes, now we know it's possible."

Yes. Now we know.

Rauery jerked her chin toward Auslan. "If we're holding on to this one for the time being, maybe stash him until later, unless you think he knows something the Prime ought to right now?"

D'Shea readily declined. "No, he can go to solitary. If we have time before going to the Palace, I'll question him further." She began to gesture to Jaunda.

"Think we need the Leads in on this, too, D'Shea," Rausery interjected. "Let Jael do it. It's a simple task."

I saw a stubborn line in my Elder's back and she grudgingly looked at me. "Sirana, you go with her."

Rausery chuckled. "What? Don't trust me?"

"I know you better than that."

Jael and I looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, but went to lift Auslan from the ground, one of us on each arm. The scent of these two mixing in proximity was simply cruel to me and I swallowed as saliva quickly formed in my mouth. Even in the circumstances, it felt good to touch Auslan's skin and he may have even relaxed a little himself.

The ward on the door had to be an impressive one, because even D'Shea didn't realize that Shyntre had been waiting outside until she'd stepped out into the hall. I could see how her reaction was every bit as much physical as it was mental; I thought for an instant that she was about to vomit, though this was mostly because I knew what to look for now.

The wizard had looked at Rausery first, meaning to say something, but jerked in surprise seeing Auslan and the patch of blood staining his hair and face from the kick of D'Shea's boot. The anger boiled up in his face and he completely missed his birth mother's moment of weakness before she, too, threw up an angry wall in her defense.

"Rausery, get him out of here!"

"Why? He's a resource and a witness, isn't he?"

"Send him elsewhere while we talk," she snarled, refusing to acknowledge him directly.

I could see how that got to him. The Elder didn't have a chance to reply before Shyntre demanded, "What have you done? Why is this Consort here?"

Rausery's mouth quirked at them both but she looked at the wizard, thus missing the way D'Shea had needed to touch her hand to the wall to keep herself upright a little longer.

"Not my doing, boy. Ask her."

He flagged a hand in our direction but turned toward D'Shea. "He succeeds in bringing a Sister back from the brink of death and this is how you repay him? By abducting him and beating him?"

"Rausery, we don't have time for this," D'Shea hissed, her voice sounding like it was shaking in rage though I knew that was a cover-up. She was in violent discomfort.

Rausery was going to let it go on, I could tell, but I looked at Jael and pushed Auslan into her so she would hold on to him. I came forward quickly to grab Shyntre, who wanted to resist as usual but he nearly lost his feet with the force of my pull.

"Let me go!"

I ignored him for the moment. "I'll talk with him, Elder. You and Elder Rausery go see the Prime. We're no doubt running out of time."

"Do that, Sirana," D'Shea said before Rausery could belay my direction as she glared at her peer.

We left them behind as I encouraged and sometimes pushed the other three down the dark hall, silent as we gained distance. Shyntre stopped fighting before too long because, I thought, he knew he had the opportunity to talk with me and Auslan without either Elder around—he just had to deal with Jael, a Red Sister he didn't know.

There was a great deal of storage area beneath our main barracks; most of it was for equipment and supplies, but one hallway shot straight out away from everything else, a near-straight line with a few cells on either side, only five in all.

A small, warded stone door would slide to one side with the right command—apparently Jael knew it, as did I—and a vertical height of iron bars stretching from floor to ceiling formed visible separation between captive and captor for each cell. The captor was still able to see every corner of the confinement room; there was no place to hide from view.

The room did contain a small cot as well as a small stone basin for washing or drinking. It filled itself by way of a trickle of fresh water from our main source upstairs and was designed to stop automatically when it had reached a certain level rather than overflow. I believed it was more construction and engineering than magic that made this happen; something we had probably picked up from the deep gnomes over the years.

In addition, there was a second basin intended to manage all waste; the less hands-on tending the Red Sisters had to do to keep a captive alive—if that was the intent—the better. The only thing that lacked any means of regular maintenance was food; someone would be assigned feeding duties, but it was rarely the same Sister twice in a row.

This was all assuming we had anyone we wished to keep alive, such as a Red Sister in solitary confinement for one reason or another or, as in the case here, a witness we wanted to hide away. At the moment, Auslan would be the only one down here.

I knew of another small clutch of rooms outside of the barracks, intended for harsher punishment that would lead to death eventually, but it was surprisingly rare that we chose to use that over simply sending the doomed prisoner to the Palace or Sanctuary dungeons. Both of them had more bodies and servants to assist with running such a prison, including everything from skilled torturers to mongrels scrubbing filth off the walls.

The Red Sisters were much fewer in number and we tried not to rely on servants. Thus, we had to do everything ourselves, even the basic cleaning. It made us very selective in whether we took on a prisoner of our own; there had to be a good reason.

D'Shea had a good reason to hold on to Auslan, and the Consort was lucky we were just putting him down in the basement. From the look on Shyntre's face, he was aware of it and...relieved on the Consort's behalf.

"Release his hands before you lock him in there," the wizard said to Jael as she opened up the door.

She glared at him, withdrawing a blade to slice Jaunda's straps; she did so in one cut and pushed Auslan solidly through the door, quickly closing it behind him. "And who in Lolth's name are you to be telling me what to do?"

"He just likes to point out the obvious, Jael, pay him no mind," I said, moving to where the Consort had come to the iron bars, stiffly rubbing his wrists and massaging feeling back into his arms. He looked as saddened as I'd ever seen him.

"Sounds like he didn't get enough slaps in the jaw growing up," she commented, facing him. "Doesn't know when to shut his mouth."

I could practically feel Shyntre vibrating, hearing that from someone less than half his age. I sighed inwardly. Just lovely. I waited a little longer, and to my surprise, the mage kept his mouth closed and made no reply at first.

There had to be a strong motivation for that. I turned my head to look at him.

He was already looking at me. "May I get the Consort something to keep him warm, Red Sister? There is more cool moisture down here and he's wearing very little."

That was a good point. I removed my own borrowed, grey cloak that Jaunda had gotten from somewhere and passed it through the bars. Auslan didn't refuse the offering, bowing his head slightly and wrapping himself in it. It covered most of him and I was almost sorry for that.

Shyntre relaxed a bit. "May I retrieve something to clean his cuts and get him some food, Red Sister? I can do so through the bars."

"Didn't realize this was an infirmary and an inn," Jael grumbled. "Shall I get the wine and blooms as well?"

"At ease, Jael," I said softly, feeling conflicted and tired. "Guard him while I escort the mage to get some basic supplies. We won't be long."

Jael agreed tersely and Shyntre had no hesitation in following me back upstairs.

"What happened? Why is he here?" the wizard asked as soon as he had the opportunity, as I knew he would. "You're alive. You look hail. It must have worked."

Oh, yes, it had worked. My gut heated up again at the vague memory I still had of Auslan climaxing inside me; then my stomach got nauseous as I thought next of the seed that had been planted.

"My Elder decided he knew too much and, with a trip to Court inevitable, she doesn't want anyone to interrogate him."

"Except her," he added harshly. "Why beat him? He did nothing wrong, he only did as he was told!"

I shook my head and kept silent.

"Why did she cut his hair?"

"So he couldn't be tracked."

He scoffed. "Did you try to help him?"

"As I could, because he did help me. However I'm far from the highest ranking Sister, Shyntre, you know that."

We had reached a store room and it contained what we needed: a kit containing among other things plain, clean cloths and a mild solution for cleaning wounds, and some of the high-nutrition rations we collected which lasted a long time on the shelf. He collected the cleaning supplies, and I picked up a few bags of the food. Three would last six cycles if it was rationed well, maybe longer for a non-fighter like the Consort.

"I understand he was a playmate of yours growing up?" I broached the topic because I didn't want to make a mistake in my distracted state and say something I wasn't supposed to have known.

He frowned at me. "How would you know?"

"Wilisirathon mentioned it on our trip," I said, keeping my story consistent. "Casually. But you seem quite concerned for his wellbeing."

"I dislike watching the Red Sisters abuse those weaker than them," he said with teeth bared. "He could also be quite valuable if you put your minds to it."

I smiled wryly. "Suggestions, mage?"

"Nothing you haven't already thought of, I'm sure. He knows Wilsira, knows a great deal of the Sanctuary, the Draegloth, and much else about the Noble Houses where he's stayed. If you're going to keep him here, I can't see you giving him back any time soon, so it's better to keep him healthy and cooperative, isn't it?"

I nodded slowly. "Healthy, yes. What do you suggest about his dreams? I understand a Consort has to experience reverie emissions regularly if he's not being bred."