1 comments/ 6164 views/ 1 favorites Iskara Ch. 03 By: Sintillating Chapter 3: Learning to Trust Tulane pulled down a long robe and a shawl and handed it to the mysterious Annom before him. He turned his back as she dressed, resisting the urge to peek. When she cleared her throat he turned around to face her again. "Thank you again for helping me but I really must go, and you should get back to work." She said in her husky voice, her eyes blazing. He could feel a compulsion added to her words to obey, but he fought it. He knew if she really wanted him gone, he wouldn't be able to resist, and he wanted to find out some of the answers to his questions. "What's your name?" he asked quietly. He felt her fear rise and added, "You know mine so it's only fair." Her mind scrambled for a moment, looking for a way out. Finally she remembered her pass tag and the name on it. "Najari," was all she said. His eyes narrowed, looking straight at her. She hadn't felt like this since she was a little child trying to hide the Norm toy she had stolen from the settlement. She squirmed under his gaze, but refused to lower her eyes. "Would you like to try again? You are going to have to trust me sooner or later because you're not getting rid of me." He said with a soft smile on his lips. Anger flared again in her eyes, but only briefly. She had already over extended herself and had very little sleep to replenish her. She was hungry, tired, and confused. She wasn't used to it and it became too much. She broke down and cried, crumbling to the floor as she did. Tulane knelt next to her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and rocking slightly, his head on her hair. She jerked away from the contact, but he held on. A deeply buried memory came forward, of her mother holding her like this. Her tears came faster and she slumped into the protective arms surrounding her. For a moment she felt safe from the world, and that allowed her to pass into a peaceful sleep in Tulane's arms. Tulane repositioned himself so he was more comfortable and let her sleep. None of the other P.M.s ventured into this area, as none cared enough about their victims to offer new clothes to them. He sighed, content to just hold her while she slept. @@@@ Madar was in a fine mood today. He walked down the line of his newest acquisitions, looking them over before they went to be sterilized and interred in Resettlement. He must have caught her by now, though he hadn't seen her D.N.A. profile show up. Maybe she was one of the ones that had been killed by his loyal P.M.s before they arrived at the clinic. There had been no trouble that could possibly be connected to her in years. Perhaps she died after her mother had been captured. She would have been only six then and who would want the added burden of taking care of one more useless Annom child? He stopped in front of one well tanned man, a cruel smile stretching his lips. He grabbed a handful of the man's dirty black hair and lifted his head so he could look into his eyes. Blue eyes stared back at him with defiance and hatred, and more than a little fear. "You, I think, will be my next project. Your D.N.A. showed you to have high mental abilities. I would love to see how that has affected your brain first hand." He said with a cruel smile. Something like recognition flicked across the Annom's face as he looked into Madar's eyes. Suddenly there were words filling his head in a desperate plea. "No Iskara! Go as far away as you can! Do not come here! You will be put to death!" Madar punched him in the temple and he blacked out, slumping in the arms of the P.M.s holding him. He told them to remove him to the holding pen until he said otherwise, no food or water. As he tried to figure out the message he felt a sudden rage at the back of his mind, and it wasn't his. Suddenly the presence disconnected and he knew without a doubt that She was still out there. Now he had a name for her. Iskara. @@@@ Tulane felt her peaceful sleep shatter into rage just before she awoke. Her eyes were blazing green and her head came up fast, knocking into his jaw and flipping his head back. He groaned as blood filled his mouth from his bitten tongue. She had been so peaceful that for a moment he had forgotten how wild she was. His groan made Iskara aware of her surroundings. She bolted out of his arms and stood staring at him, backing away slowly, the wild look returning to her eyes. Suddenly her memory came back to her. Recognition flared in her eyes, then was lost as she looked inward at her vision. "Dask! He has Dask!" She started pacing. "What are you talking about? Who is Dask? Who has him?" Tulane asked, his brow furrowing at the new name that seemed connected with kindness and guidance in her mind. "Dask was my friend and mentor. He took care of me after my mother was arrested and brought to Capital. She died there because she refused to say where I was. After she died I started having visions in my sleep, and Dask used them to find out what was going on. They were coming after me, and they knew I was at Settlement 8. Dask sent the rest of the group to a small oasis in the Barrens and took me with him to protect the others. I was only six, but he taught me how to control my abilities and temper my emotions. He was like a father to me. I left him about 6 months back. I had figured out who I was seeing through in my visions, and wanted to go after him to make them stop. I never told Dask, just slipped out one night and never looked back. Now Madar has Dask, and I have to get to him before Madar does to him what he did to all the others in my visions." She finished with a shudder, memories of all those Annoms tortured running through her mind. Tulane stared at her with his jaw hanging open. "You? That was you? Madar is obsessed with finding you! How did you ever survive this long?" He asked incredulously. She smiled at him and his breath caught in his throat. If he thought she was beautiful before.... Then her image shimmered and instead he saw a plain looking woman, a little stooped and way past her prime. He gasped and shook his head. "How do you do that?" "I think of the image I want you to see and project it into your mind. That's how I got past the guards at the station." "Amazing!" he said. "Well 'Mirage', how are you planning on getting to Madar? He is heavily protected by his P.M.s and never leaves Capital Hall." "I never thought that far, just kind of making it up as I go along. What or who is 'Mirage'?" She asked as she dropped the image. "A mirage is a picture you see in the heat waves of the Barrens, like an oasis that isn't there. Since you wouldn't tell me your name, I thought that might work for now." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. She blushed and turned from him, looking at the floor. "I'm sorry, I'm used to not trusting anyone, it's been drilled into me from birth. I hope I'm not making a mistake in trusting you, but as you already know my story you might as well know my name. I'm known as Iskara." She finished in little more than a whisper, but Tulane heard it, and felt her internal struggle to tell him. She really was torn, and his heart went out to her. He stood and wrapped her in his arms again, noticing for the first time that she was almost his equal in height. Her body was shaking with her inner turmoil. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and keep her safe the rest of her life. A loud blaring sound issued from the speakers and Tulane tensed up. "That's the signal that we are close to Capital and to get ready to depart the train. If you are going to get to Madar you will need me. Please, trust me for a moment more. The only way I can leave the train is if I have a prisoner to take to the Judge or an Annom to bring to Madar. I'm not asking you to expose yourself, just play along with me till we are clear of the station and then we can go to my father's house and talk with him." She tensed up, and he could feel her conflicting emotions, but at last she nodded her head and looked into his eyes. The fierce green glow he was used to was dimmed, but still there, warning him of what she could do. He hugged her as she stood stiffly, unused to so much contact and affection. "Now, I'm going to put cuffs on you but leave them unlocked so you can get out of them if you need to. You are going to have to project another image to all the other P.M.s so that Pax doesn't recognize you. I will say I found you stealing clothes from supply and I need to bring you before the judge. No one will question it as I have done it before. That will clear me of duty for at least a week (The judicial system is very slow and I would need to testify) so no one will miss me. I will take off the cuffs once we are away from the station." She nodded, though he felt some hesitation from her, and held out her hands. He took his cuffs and fastened them loosely about her wrists, then led her forward as a second blast sounded from the speakers and the trains wheels started squealing with the application of the break. She followed with her head down, projecting to all around her the vision of a thin, bedraggled woman in tattered cloths, walking with a slight limp. They reached the front of the train just as it came to a stop and Tulane told them the story he had made up. No one questioned him or looked twice at Iskara, though the amount of hostility directed at Tulane made Iskara wince. Pax was sitting in a booth with an icepack pressed to his temple. Iskara got some satisfaction out of seeing the livid purple bleeding around the edges of the pack. He would be lucky if it didn't bleed down to cause a black eye. Tulane was the first off the train, leading Iskara behind him. They walked through the crowd that was waiting for the current passengers to disembark before entering the train themselves for the return trip to their homes. Iskara kept her glamorie up incase anyone decided to double check on her, but they made it safely through the station without incident. Iskara looked around at Capital and felt herself grow smaller. She had never before seen multi-storied buildings towering above her, streets cobbled in stone so no dust rose as she walked, or so many people in fine dress with shod feet. She was dizzy from the sight. Tulane was suddenly pulling her sideways into an alley between two buildings. He gently took his cuffs off of her wrists and made sure she had sustained no injury because of them. He smiled at her as he felt her confusion and awe. "I know for a first timer Capital seems daunting, but you will get used to it. This is the shopping area here, those who manage to make more than they need for taxes and food bring them here to trade for other things they need, if the P.M.s don't steal it from them on the train that is," he said with an unmistakable note of anger in his voice. She felt her resistance to him drop a little more at that, knowing he saw the situation for what it was, highway robbery. He glanced back to her eyes at just that moment and felt his heart skip a beat at the warmth he saw there. She blushed and quickly dropped her eyes. He cleared his throat and said, "Well, why don't we keep going, huh? I'm sure my parents will be glad to meet you, and Dad can help us make a plan on how to get to Madar." He glanced at her as she nodded, then, once he felt her glamorie go back up, led the way to the Senators Section and his home. @@@@ "I tell you she is on her way here!" Madar shouted as he slammed his fist on the table, making a glass of water spill. "My Lord, we have searched for her for twelve years, and found no trace! There is no way she could have survived this long on her own!" the frightened Carn stated, shaking from head to toe. He had replaced Brosk as head of the P.M.s eleven years ago, following the removal of Brosk's head. He did not wish to suffer the same fate. "She was not on her own. I have an Annom in Holding that communicated to her through me! I want him interrogated and broken. Learn everything you can about her from him! Bring me every P.M. Sergeant on every train into Capital. Find out if anything unusual happened on the trains, and do not fail me, Carn!" The warning in his voice almost made Carn lose control of his bowels. He knew what that warning meant and had no wish to face the consequence of failure. Carn bowed to Madar and backed out of the room, making mental notes of what to do first and the fastest way to do it. @@@@ Madar steepled his fingers and held them near his mouth. His cold blue eyes looked away into oblivion as his mind turned over what had happened this day. He knew the Annom in holding was his key to finding the girl, but how? How did the Annom use him to communicate? How had the girl been linked with his mind? How long had she been linked to him? Could she have escaped time and again because of information from Madar himself? His thoughts and questions unnerved him. His only way of finding the answers was through the black haired Annom. He would enjoy seeing him broken. @@@@ Vash had no idea who was on the other side of the door when he opened it, but his face broke into a wide smile at seeing his son, even accompanied as he was by a thin travel worn woman with a limp. He gestured them in and bade them sit on the chairs tastefully arranged around the front room. "Tulane, why don't you introduce your... um, guest?" he said, eyeing the pitiful figure in front of him. Tulane smiled and replied "Father, this is Iskara. Iskara, this is my father, Vash, senator on the council of the New World Order. You can trust him." He added as an afterthought. The woman in front of Vash seemed to shimmer and change. When it stopped he was confronted with a beautiful red headed woman with stern features and glowing green eyes. He just about fell over in his chair he was so startled. Tulane laughed at the sight of his stoic if warm hearted father catching his balance and cutting a ridiculous figure. Iskara caught a giggle herself, and looked at Tulane with amusement shining in her eyes. It took Tulane a few moments to register that his father was talking to him again. He cleared his throat and looked back to his father, but not before Vash caught the subtle signals being traded between his son and this mysterious Annom. He furrowed his brow but decided not to speak of it now. "Why have you brought her here Tulane? You know the ban. I could lose my seat on the council, or even be killed outright just for allowing her into my home!" Vash was more scared than ever of Madar after the Brosk execution. He saw clearly now that his position as Senator meant nothing if Madar decided he was too much of a nuisance. "I promised we would help her Father. She wants what we want, an end to Madar! You will never believe this, but she is the Annom girl that Madar has been obsessing about these past years!" He went on to reiterate Iskara's story to his father, telling of how he found her and what had happened on the train. Tulane was in his glory, believing this to be the chance he and his father had waited for, but Iskara watched Vash closely through downcast eyes and saw his apprehension and doubt. "I'm sorry Tulane, but it's too dangerous. If Madar ever connected us to this girl ... I don't even want to think of what would happen. Madar seems to be pacified for now anyway. He hasn't made any new decrees or ordinances and has been cooperating with the council on most things. Maybe he is changing his ways." He finished without conviction. He was looking at Iskara toward the end, unable to see the look of betrayal in Tulane's eyes. He watched Iskara's eyes blaze bright green then suddenly his mind was filled with the torture of people he didn't know, in a place he didn't recognize. He did, however, recognize the people that were doing the work, Madar's attendants. Every once in a while, when the scenes changed, he would catch glimpses of Madar himself, reflected on some surface. It was as if he was seeing through Madar's eyes the slow, torturous dissection of the people on the table. It was enough to make him see red, and go green. He excused himself to the bathroom (A term Iskara didn't recognize) and returned a short time later, pale, but looking less green around the edges and much more determined. "Those are the scenes that I see in my sleep every night. They need to stop! Madar treats us like his own personal science experiments, and it isn't right. I am going to stop him, one way or another, with or with out your help." Iskara shot at him, her eyes still blazing in anger. Like his son, Vash noticed the husky, disused quality to her voice, as if she were unused to speaking. "I am sorry. I didn't understand. I never knew of what he was doing .... I will do everything in my power to help you put an end to Madar." Vash said with finality. Tulane looked to Iskara with Pride and awe, but she was too busy calming herself to notice. Iskara Ch. 04 Chapter 4 The Best Laid Plans... P.W. 2148 Carn gathered all the Sergeants as ordered. The first seven all had nothing to report and he was beginning to worry that he was going to have nothing to report to Madar. "Sgt. Galt, Report!" Carn snapped nervously. This was his last chance to find what it was Madar was looking for. He dreaded to think what would happen if he came back empty handed. "Sir! I had a few strange occurrences on my train sir!" Galt stood at attention, waiting for his superior to tell him how to proceed. "At ease Sergeant! Tell me of what occurred." Carn felt his pulse speeding up, hoping this is what he had waited for. "Sir, One of my officers, an Officer Pax, reported that an other officer, one Officer Tulane," the contempt in his voice was clear as he said the name, "stopped a citizen from attacking him. This caught my attention as none of the passengers have ever dared to attack one of the officers under my watch. Also curious was that it was Tulane that came to his rescue. Tulane is a lay about who does nothing to help keep the citizens moral where it should be, and has even been known to defend citizens against his fellow officers. Needless to say this report came as a surprise to me, but I sent Pax on his way to complete his rounds." Galt paused there as if gathering himself for a fight, and Carn felt his heart race more. "One of the other officers found Officer Pax unconscious approximately half an hour later in the same compartment as he had reported the attack from earlier. He had suffered a blow to the temple witch had dropped him before he could see who it was that had swung at him. When asked what he had been doing before he was attacked he stated that he had gone to finish his rounds and had spotted a passenger he hadn't seen board the train. When he went to question her she had started fighting him, so he pinned her down and tried to subdue and humble her." He paused with a smirk on his face remembering exactly how he tried to humble her, "That's when he was hit. He has a large bruise over his temple and a black eye. "The girl had disappeared. No one could find a trace of her. The train came to a stop as I was once again going over Pax's story, and Tulane came forward with a passenger he had caught trying to steal supplies from the store room. No one took much notice, he is usually back there anyway, staying out of sight so he doesn't have to do his work, and had caught others before, so we let him disembark with the woman in tow. I watched for a woman that matched Pax's description to exit the train but none fit. After everyone had gone we searched the train and found nothing. You called me in before I could officially file the report, Sir." Carn paused and considered all he had just heard, and came to a decision. "Sgt. Galt, bring Officer Pax to me, the rest of you may return to your duties." Carn was very happy with how this was turning out. With any luck, Madar would be pleased with his work and give him a treat. Maybe one of the new Annoms that came in today.... @@@@ Iskara was stunned by all that was in this place that Tulane had brought her to. After her "talking" with his father, he had invited her to stay. Not wanting to sleep on the streets where she might be accosted at any time, she had accepted. Vash had left to run some errands and Tulane decided to take her on a tour of his childhood home. He showed her the kitchen with the brick oven, and the stove with cast iron pots and pans hanging around it. Cooking indoors was a marvel to her. She had spent most of her time living outside amongst the ruins of old buildings or under the open sky. In the settlements she had seen they had patched up the ruins to make one or two room shacks, but they had always cooked outdoors as a community. Afraid as they were of each other it was still easier to provide food for the village when everyone pitched in a little. Dwellings were only used as resting and storage areas. He then led her around to a set of stairs that lead up to the second floor (another first). The second floor contained two bedrooms and a bathing room. Capital was the one area in all the settlements that had indoor plumbing. The bathtub was connected directly to pipes that ran hot and cold water into it and it drained out to a small garden in the back, allowing for the best use of this precious resource. Tulane showed her his mothers toiletries and showed her how to work the faucets and plug. She started undressing before he left the room, obviously not minded to maintain any modesty. He hurried out, trying to maintain control over his body. Iskara watched him go with a mix of curiosity, amusement and regret. It was obvious he was struggling with himself about seeing her naked, but she was used to changing without any cover. With Dask she had not always had the luxury of changing in private, so she didn't think twice about disrobing in front of others. Obviously, Tulane did, and it was slightly confusing to her. She shrugged her shoulders and stepped into the tub of water. She pulled back almost immediately and gasped. The water was hot! She had only ever bathed in cold to air-warm streams and springs. She almost called to Tulane, but remembering the look on his face and his actions as she had gotten undressed, she decided to make the best of it and just make it a quick bath. She eased herself in slowly. To her surprise the hot water eased the tension of her muscles and allowed her to relax for the first time in a very long time. After soaking for a time she decided to finish up. She looked at the soaps Tulane had left for her, picked out one and washed her hair and body with it. She then pulled the plug as Tulane had shown her and pushed the water off of her body with her hands. She rung out her hair next, then quickly dressed in some new cloths Tulane had set out for her. They were a little short on her, belonging as they did to Tulane's mother, but she decided they would do, and stepped out of the bathing room. Tulane had just come to the top of the stairs to call her for dinner when she emerged. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. Her hair was still wet, and trailing down in damp ringlets the color of cooling embers. His mothers dress was tight across her chest having been made for a much smaller woman of lesser proportions. She moved with a grace at odds with her height, an unconscious ease to her movements. She glanced up and saw him. She was startled for a moment, then recalled herself and smiled at him. He shook himself out of his trance, reminding himself it was rude to stare, and managed to stammer out that dinner was ready downstairs. She looked a little confused about this but followed him willingly enough. In the kitchen was a table with four seats. Already seated were Tulane's father, Vash, and a woman she hadn't met yet. Tulane made the introductions, naming his mother Mari. She rose from her seat and shook hands with Iskara. "Welcome, my dear! Vash has told me all about you. Come sit and join us. It is not often we get to meet new people and I am very interested to hear news of what is happening outside of capital." Iskara sat uneasily on the chair Tulane pulled out for her and watched as the food was removed from the pots and pans and placed on flat slabs that sat at each place. She had never seen plates before, and was curious as to why they used them. She watched Tulane closely and mimicked him, picking up on the basics of how to eat at a table. After they had finished dinner, Vash led them back to the front room to discuss in more detail what they could do to get at Madar. "It will not be easy, he has guards posted around him day and night. No one gets near him without his consent, and there are very few people he will allow near him." "What about if you make yourself out to be one of his guards?" Tulane asked hopefully, "Like you did on the train." "I can only change my appearance slightly, not all together. I can make people see me as shorter than I am or with a different hair color, or a different cast of features, but I can not change my whole appearance. I can not convincingly become a man, and I have never seen any female guards around Madar." "What about that trick you used to keep me from seeing you?" Tulane countered. "That only works if I'm standing still, and I will have to move to get near him." Iskara said with her head hanging. The day had taken its toll on her, she was barely able to form a complete sentence. Mari noticed this and scolded the men for their thoughtlessness. "All you two can think of is how to get to Madar while this poor girl is asleep on her feet! Enough for tonight! We will talk more tomorrow. Tulane, why don't you show Iskara to your room and you can sleep on the floor down here tonight? The poor thing needs a good nights sleep." Mari smiled warmly at Iskara, and shooed her toward the stairs. Iskara climbed to the top landing and waited for Tulane to show her where she was to sleep. "You know, you don't have to sleep on the floor, I'm used to it." She said nervously as she followed him. "Its fine, Ill sleep on the floor. I do it on the train anyway, so it's no great hardship." He said with a nervous smile. He walked down the hall to a door and pushed it open, ushering her into his room with a small bow. Her eyes wandered curiously about the room, falling on small wooden soldiers and other toys obviously leftover from his childhood, and numerous other sculptures of animals and plants found around the settlements. Her eyes settled on one of a dog that was so lifelike she almost thought it would dart away at the touch of her eyes. "These are wonderful!" She said as she reached for the little dog. "Thank you. I am glad you like them. I make them in my spare time on the train, helps eat up the time and keeps me out of the others way." Tulane said sheepishly, not looking her in the face. A blush was crawling up his cheeks and his eyes were bright with her praise. He felt awkward at having her in his room, handling his things and commenting on his art. "I shouldn't be staying here, Tulane. This is your bed, your room. I will go and sleep downstairs, I have never known another way than sleeping on the ground anyway." Iskara said, looking at him pleadingly. Tulane saw a glint of fear in her eyes and suddenly his protective side went into overdrive. He gathered her in his arms and held her securely, trying to calm the fear he felt building in her. "What's your real reason for not wanting to sleep here Iskara? Its not wanting me to be in my own bed, so what is making you scared?" The concern in his voice reached out to her and she started trembling, thinking how foolish he must think she was. She mumbled something under her breath that he didn't catch. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. What did you say?" She took a deep breath and repeated herself, feeling very foolish as she did. "I am afraid of sleeping inside by myself" she said. "I have never been inside a building at night, and I don't feel comfortable." She went to turn away from him but he stopped her and raised her chin slightly so she was meeting his eyes. "Would you like me to stay here with you?" he asked with a catch in his throat, wondering if he could stand being that close to her all night and still keep himself inline. "Would you? I mean, you make me feel safe, but I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do." She said earnestly, looking into his eyes. She had felt his body tense and remembered his abrupt departure from the bathing room earlier. Maybe he didn't want to be with her. Tulane chuckled under his breath, shaking his head in bemusement. "It's not that I don't want to stay here with you its that I want to too much. I am worried that I wont be able to keep my hands to myself." He said with a twinkle of amusement in his eye. She wasn't sure that she understood what he meant, but his words caused her body to tingle and a flush to climb her tanned cheeks. "If I'm going to trouble you I will just go downstairs. I'm sorry I caused you trouble." She tried to turn away again but his arms wouldn't release her. She looked back at him again, her eyes swimming with confusion and hurt. He couldn't hold himself back anymore, he bent in to kiss her. He had only meant it to be a short, chaste kiss, but the moment his lips met hers he knew he was lost. A jolt of desire shot through them, and a moan escaped her. Her hands crept up and circled his neck, bringing him in closer. She pressed tighter to him, trying to meld them into one person. He felt his control slipping and knew he had to stop before it went to far. With a great effort he gently pulled himself away. He rested his forehead against hers and tried to calm himself. Her eyes were glassy and dazed, and her breath was coming in short gasps. "How about this," Tulane said after he caught his breath, "You can sleep on the bed and I will camp out on the floor right here next to you so you wont be alone tonight." "I would like that, thank you." She said with a soft smile. He hugged her gently then went to get himself pillows and a blanket. @@@@ Madar smiled evilly at the men in front of him. "Describe this girl to me, Officer Pax." The twinkle in his eyes was unnerving. "Tall, red hair like a fire, green eyes that seemed to glow. She was quite lovely, and a wild, unbroken spirit. Man she was putting up a fight! Haven't had one fight me like that in a long time!" He said with a lecherous smirk marring his face. Madar considered this information a moment. If it was the girl he was thinking of, she must have a way of concealing herself. That could make things more difficult for him. "You are sure she didn't leave the train?" "Yes, sir! I wanted to finish my business with that one, I did. No way she could have gotten past me." "What of this woman Officer Tulane escorted off the train? What did she look like?" "She was older than him, hair was a blonde going grey, walked with a limp." "What about her eyes, what color were her eyes?" Madar was getting edgy, the longer this girl was out there the more likely it was she would try and come after him. She could ruin everything for him by just showing herself. "Green I believe, but a dull green, like looking through a screen." Pax responded, "I got a good look cause she looked at me on her way through and seemed pleased that my face was bruised." He finished in an angry grumble. Madar's face lit with an evil gleam and he turned to his Chief of Security. "Carn, I want you to go down to the courthouse and see if Officer Tulane has dropped off any prisoners and where they are being kept. Report back when you have the information." "Yes, sir!" Carn saluted, turned on his heal, and left the room. "Officer Pax, you have my gratitude! We have a new batch of Annoms that just came in this morning, you may go and have your pick of them. Here is the pass you will need to hand the guards. Be back here tomorrow for reassignment. You are going to move up in the world, my boy!" The smile on Madar's face was truly terrifying now, so Pax just thanked him, took the proffered card and hurried out of the room as fast as his legs would carry him. Much as he would enjoy breaking an Annom, something about Madar scared him. @@@@ Madar settled back in his chair for a moment, thinking on how sweet it was going to be to finally get his hands on this runaway. He decided to make a trip to the holding cell where his mind reader was residing. Looking into the cell, he had to smile. The man was strung up by his wrists on the wall, feet inches from the floor. He looked to be in pain, with blood dripping down his arms from the cuffs cutting into his wrists. His chest was bare, and there were whip marks marring it, red welts and cuts turning the dark tan to a red burn. His head hung from his shoulders limply, only the rise and fall of his chest revealing that he yet lived. Madar turned to the guard. "Has he talked yet?" "No, Sir, Wouldn't even tell us his name. He is a tough one, Sir. You should enjoy breaking him." The guard said with a smile. "Have him brought to my interrogation chamber and strapped down to the Cross. Make sure I have stimulants handy, I don't want him passing out on me." "Yes, Sir!" The guard responded, immediately fishing out his keys and going for the cell door. Madar walked away to prepare himself for his nights entertainment. @@@@ Dask came to as he felt someone near him. He groaned and lifted his head to watch as the guard unlocked his shackles. The feeling had long since deserted his hands, and he was light headed from blood loss. When the first manacle was undone his arm fell his side and he almost screamed at the return of pain to his hand. the second followed shortly after and he fell in a heap on the floor, unable to even brace his arms to keep his face from the filthy floor of the cell. The guard didn't allow him any time to recuperate, just hauled him to his feet and half dragged half carried Dask down a clean hall to a new room. Dask swallowed hard as his eyes took in the room. He knew it, and knew it well. This was one of the rooms that Iskara frequented in her visions, and nothing good had ever happened here. The center of the room was occupied by a large hydraulic table in the shape of an X with straps at each end to tie hands and feet down and prevent movement. The cabinets around the room held a range of things from medical equipment to whips and chains. Many an Annom had been tortured in this room by Madar himself, and now Dask knew he was going to be next. The guard struggled to move him forward and got him into position. Before Dask had fully assimilated his surroundings he was bound to the table. The guard pulled a smaller table up to his side. This table had all sorts of syringes with various colored fluids inside. The guard then went to a space on the wall and opened a door he hadn't noticed before. A blast of hot air brushed his skin as he looked into a brick lined oven with a very hot fire in the center of it. Sticking out of the fire were a number of metal rods. Dask broke out in a sweat thinking how this was going to play out. Madar stood in the doorway watching his prisoner with delight in his eyes. This man knew all the right places to look. "How do you like my entertainment room? I tried to make sure there is something for everyone in here. Most Annoms talk freely shortly after I start playing. I'm sure you will too." Madar's smile was terrifying to behold. Dask, looking at his eyes, started to believe this man wasn't just evil, he was mad. Madar reached over to the tray at Dask's side and picked up a syringe. The fluid inside was a sickly green color. "This is to make your senses more acute, you know, hearing, taste, smell, sight, and especially touch. You will feel everything I do magnified by at least ten times. Really a very handy little medicine." Madar said as he injected the fluid under Dask's skin. Dask felt a burn running down his arm, following his veins toward his heart. His heart rate increased, his breathing became erratic and he could feel every nick on his body as if they were on fire. "Now, I will give you a chance now to answer my questions, if you don't answer to my satisfaction, I will start with the scalpels and work my way up to bigger and rougher toys. What is your name?" Madar leaned over so he was looking into Dask's eyes. Dask felt someone trying to breach his mental block and gasped. "You! You're an Annom?" Dask couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that the person who had been trying to wipe out his kind was an Annom himself. Why would he do such a thing? "I am. I seem to have a unique set of gifts, and I find them quite handy when it comes to my life. You haven't answered my question however, and I cant seem to make it past your shield, so I am going to have to break it down to get anywhere with you. Don't worry, I will thoroughly enjoy myself." Madar's smile widened as he saw the look on Dask's face. He picked up the scalpel and rested it above Dask's shoulder and pushed it in, drawing it down toward the center of his chest at an angle to start the Y incision commonly used in autopsies. Dask's screams quickly filled the room. Iskara Ch. 04 @@@@ Iskara watched through Madar's eyes as Dask writhed in pain on the table, trying not to tell Madar what he wanted to know. She wanted to cry as Madar brought out the hot irons from the fire and applied them to the inside of Dask's leg near the groin. Dask's scream of agony was torture to her who had known only love and comfort from his kind man. "Dask! My... My name is Dask!" he stuttered out through clenched teeth. He wanted to sink into oblivion but every time he started to loose consciousness Madar injected him with a stimulant to force him awake again. The smell of his own flesh burning made him gag. "You are stronger than most that I have had in here, I am impressed! Now for the information I really want. Where is Iskara?" His face was the picture of seriousness and that scared Dask more than the crazy smile had. He felt Madar probing his shields again, trying to make sure he was telling the truth. "I don't know, she left me 6 months ago, in the night, didn't tell me where she was going" He let his shields fall enough to show he was telling the truth. Blood ran off the table onto the floor and his skin was pulled back from his chest, exposing the muscles underneath. Madar's eyes narrowed on Dask as he felt the truth of his statement. "Why did you send her the message through me then? Is she coming here?" The glowing tip of the brand was awfully close to Dask's cheek now. He could feel the heat emanating from it scorching the sweat covered hair plastered to his face. "I don't know. I don't even know if she got the message." He strained as far away from the brand as his bonds would allow. Madar suddenly thrust the brand onto his cheek, burning the flesh. As Dask screamed his mental shields collapsed, leaving him wide open to Madar's mind. Madar saw his own memories played out for him from a strangers mind, saw a small child trustingly following Dask into the Barrens, her green eyes wide in fear and her fiery hair plastered to her head from sweating. The girl, now a grown woman, shuddering from yet another nightmare vision, Dask trying to comfort her, to train her to block them out. Dask, waking and finding her gone, knowing where she would be going, and following to try and protect her. Dask, being caught without a pass tag on the outskirts of a settlement, and being knocked out by a large P.M. Madar withdrew. He pulled the brand away and stepped back away from a glazed eyed Dask. "She truly is something, too bad her mother didn't stick around to let her know me, I would have been able to save her then, but she had to run off just after she gave birth. I should have raised her, not her mother. I could have given her everything, made her up to follow me, but her mother corrupted her, now I have to kill her. So much Talent, wasted because of one woman's folly." Madar was talking to himself, pacing the floor. "Why would Nihar have turned her over to you?" Dask asked weakly from the table. "You didn't know? Nihar was my concubine! Iskara is my daughter." Iskara Ch. 05 Sorry this took so long, My comp crashed and it took the work of many friends to retrieve what I had lost. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I promise the next one will be longer. ~Sin * Chapter 5 End of Innocence P.W. 2148 Iskara's scream pierced the quiet night. She sat bolt upright in the bed, her eyes unseeing, the terror flooding the room. Tulane sprang off the floor, her emotions sending his adrenaline glands into over-drive as his body tried to react to the threat. He spun around, looking for her attacker, while her scream still hung in the air. Slowly his mind caught up with his body and he came fully awake. He looked over to the bed and saw her sitting up, panting, sweat beaded on her brow as her mind replayed her latest vision. He slowly walked up to the bed and sat down on the edge, resting his hand on her arm. Iskara flinched back from the touch on her arm. Her mind was vehemently fighting the information she had just received. She shook her head, negating Madar's words as she started chanting "No, no, no, no, NO!!!" she sobbed. Her body was shaking harder with each denial until he was afraid that she would fly apart right in front of him. "What is it Iskara? what did you see?" Tulane pleaded with her, lowering her hands from her face and holding her wrists. "Madar. He has Dask. He....." she shuddered as the images of Dask's torture ran through her head again, "he tortured him for information about me.... He killed him, because he knew of ME!" Her body shook, fighting the last bit of information to come through. She started to tell him that Madar was her father when she hiccupped, tears forming a river down her face. Tulane gathered her in his arms, rocking her gently, murmuring condolences and reassurances in her ears. He kissed her temple as she wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing her hurt out on his bare shoulder. Slowly she started to calm. She raised her head to tell him more of what she had found out as he was lowering his to kiss her temple again. Their lips met in an accidental kiss. At first both were too stunned by the sudden contact to move away, then the spark between them flared to life and they couldn't help taking it deeper. He increased pressure on her lips, then parted his, letting his tongue trace the seam of her lips. She started to pull back to ask what he was doing, but when her mouth opened his tongue slid inside and tangled with hers. Her half formed question ended in a groan as heat washed through her body. Her nipples, already straining the tight fabric of his mothers tunic, hardened against his chest. She pulled herself in closer to him and his hands wandered down her back to cup her ass. One of her hands wandered up the back of his neck and into his hair, sending a shiver down his spine and a moan to erupt from his throat. Thus encouraged, her other hand went to his chest, groping at his pecks and playing with his nipples. His hands found their way beneath the hem of her tunic and started to pull it up and off of her. His hands grazed her skin, sending electric shocks through her. The sensations caused her back to arch and her pelvic bone to grind into his already hard member. His head fell back, breaking the kiss, as he groaned at the stimulation to his cock. All coherent thoughts left his head as his instincts took over. He ripped her tunic down the middle and pushed it back off of her shoulders, baring her breasts to his eyes. Her breath was coming in short pants, her eyes hazed over with lust as his mouth watered in anticipation of the feast before him. His hands slowly rose up her sides and cupped her breasts, one in each hand. He ran his thumbs over her taught nipples, causing a pleading sound to break from her throat. Her head fell back as his mouth closed over her right nipple, her lungs filling with desperately needed air as she gasped her appreciation of the feelings he was causing in her. He nipped and sucked at first one then the other as his hand found its way to her pants. He fumbled with the laces a moment before finally loosening her drawstring. His lips never leaving her nipple, he picked her up and turned then laid her gently down on the bed. He slowly pulled away and let his eyes drink in the sight of her, then put his hands to the waistband of her pants and slowly pulled them off of her. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her naked on his bed. Her hair was spread in a fiery halo around her head, her breasts large and firm with pink nipples begging for his attention. Her stomach was flat, her hips nicely rounded and the flare of red hair at the junction of her thighs had his heart racing. Her long legs completed the picture and he couldn't wait to feel them wrapped around him as he moved into her. He stepped back just long enough to remove the shorts that he had worn to bed and then was right back with her, kissing her lips as his hands pinched and twisted her nipples. She arched into him trying to get the relief she needed so badly that her body was saying only he could give. She had never felt this empty before, and she wanted him to fix it. He moved down her body again, spending time paying attention to each nipple before kissing his way down her stomach to the flaming bush at the top of her thighs. He took in her scent as he slowly spread her lips apart, revealing her inner self to his eyes. Her clit was engorged and begging for attention, her lips puffy and bright with glistening juices. Her smell was overwhelming his senses as he leaned in to sample the taste of her at her core. Her flavor exploded on his tongue and he knew he was addicted. He cleaned all of her folds off before going for her clit. His tongue touching her bundle of nerves sent her over the edge into her first orgasm. She screamed as she came, gripping the sheets on the bed and arching, her whole body involved as her orgasm raced through her nerves and he continued to suckle on her clit. When at last her orgasm dissipated she felt him rise up and come over her as she tried to reconnect her mind and body. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "You taste delicious" and then kissed her hard full on the mouth. Her mind was so occupied with his kiss she didn't notice him pushing her knees wider. His finger found her still sensitive node and worked it as he positioned himself at her untried entrance. Her back arched in response to his finger and buried him partly inside of her. He groaned and thrust forward fast and hard, breaking her barrier and seating himself deep inside her. She screamed again, this time in pain, as her barrier was breached. He caught her scream in his mouth as his finger worked franticly at her clit to restore the pleasure that little bit of pain had erased. Soon she was writhing beneath him, wanting him to move in her. He removed his hand and propped himself up on his elbows to watch her as he started moving. He pulled almost all the way out before plunging back in fast, burying himself completely into her. Not seeing any sign of pain on her face he started in on a slow pace, slowly speeding up as her hips rose to meet him and her small gasps of pleasure start encouraging him to go faster and harder. Soon he is pounding into her full force with his head rolled back on his shoulders, fighting to control himself, not to come before she did. Feeling himself on the edge, he reached between them and massaged her node with his finger. Within seconds he sent her over the edge into her second orgasm of the night, and this time, he came with her. As her scream died down his arms began to shake from the pressure of holding him up. He collapsed on top of her, rolling over to his side and cuddling her to him. As she drifted off to sleep he softly whispered in her ear "I love you, Iskara." before he followed her into oblivion. @@@@@ The psychic energy from Iskara's orgasm reverberated in Madar's head, causing him to loose focus until the feelings had entirely dissipated. Once his head was clear once more a cruel smile spread across his lips. She was close, very, very close for him to have received her emotions like that. Tomorrow he would search her out, and finally he would be able to rest easy knowing that she was no longer a threat to his reign. He went to his bed to dream of torture and destruction he would be able to wreak with his secret safe for all eternity.