Rise (The Order of the Krigers #1)(49)

She chuckled. “Morlet, you said you had her wrapped around your finger. Apparently, you aren’t the only one playing with her heartstrings. And your antics aren’t nearly as effective as you think.”

Her cruel words were like a slap across my face. Was Morlet that heartless? Had he been toying with me all along in an attempt to lure me here? It made sense—after all, he’d used my father as well. Of course he’d manipulate me, make me sympathize with him.

“Raise it,” Skog Heks ordered. The soldats came forward and used the crank under the table, slowly lifting it until I was upright. “Get me the horn.”

One of the men went to the corner of the room and picked up a metal horn, filling it with water. When he was done, he came over.

“Wait,” Skog Heks said. “Morlet will do it.” She pointed at him. “Take the horn, and fill her with water until she’s ready to cooperate.”

Morlet gave a curt nod and took the horn. The evil witch snapped her brown, crooked teeth an inch from my face. “This is the part I love,” she said, her hot, rancid breath wafting over me.

“Hurting people?” I asked, panic swelling inside of me.

“No,” she replied. “Watching humans suffer. After all, you are the ones who came to our land, trying to kill us. It seems only fair that we return the favor and destroy your kind.”

Morlet lifted the horn to my mouth and tried shoving it inside. I squeezed my lips shut. He nodded to one of the soldats who pinched my nose. Desperately needing air, I gasped. It was all Morlet needed, and he thrust the end in my mouth. He pushed a lever on the side of the horn, and water poured inside me. The opening was so large that I couldn’t spit the water out. It gushed down my throat, forcing me to swallow. I started gagging, but the water didn’t stop. I was drowning.

My heart raced, and my head started pounding. Morlet tilted the contraption to get the remaining water into me. His eyes glistened, and a single tear slid down his cheek.

Once the horn was empty, he removed it. My stomach cramped; I was going to vomit.

“When I come back,” Skog Heks sneered, “I’ll ask you again. If you refuse to tell me, you’ll undergo another round of this, then I’ll throw you in the coffin for the night.” She hobbled toward the door, the two soldats trailing behind her.

Morlet stood next to me, his arms folded across his chest.

“Are you coming?” she barked.

“In a moment,” he responded, his voice cold and menacing. “I have a few of my own questions for the prisoner.”

She left the room, the door slamming shut behind her.

Morlet took a step closer to me. “Why?” he whispered, pushing his hood back, revealing his crestfallen face. “I can’t protect you. Just tell her where your weapon is.” He reached forward and gingerly wiped the tears from my cheeks.

“Don’t touch me,” I said, my voice coated with venom. “I hate you.”

His shoulders dropped. “If you won’t tell her where it is, will you at least tell me who is helping you?”

“I thought you had Skog Heks’s power?” He nodded. “Then why is she controlling you? It should be the other way around. You have what she desires. You should be the one giving orders.”

He turned away from me. “You don’t understand,” he mumbled. “It’s not that simple.”

My throat burned. “Then know this: I will never tell you where my bo staff is.”

“She’s searching for your father right now,” he revealed. “We know he’s a guard in the mines. It’s only a matter of time until we find him. When she puts him in front of you and tears his skin off bit by bit, you’ll tell her whatever she wants to know.”

His voice revealed a deep sadness, but I didn’t care. He’d just tortured me, and he’d lied before. I couldn’t trust anything he said.

“You have one hour until we return.” He pulled his hood back on and glided from the room.





Chapter Fifteen


Someone gently patted my shoulder, rousing me awake. “Your father is safe,” a man whispered.

Relief filled me like a warm stew on a frigid day.

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do to help you,” he said. “Skog Heks knows who my wife and child are.”

“I understand.” My voice was coarse and gravelly. “Thank you for telling me about my father.”

He glanced at the door. “They’re coming. Skog Heks is furious you haven’t cooperated. She’ll be more aggressive this time.” His back stiffened, and he took his post near the door.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor, and I shuddered, not wanting to endure another round of water torture.

Skog Heks stormed into the room, Morlet trailing not far behind. The witch’s eyes shot daggers of hatred at me. “I think we need to change it up a bit,” she snidely said.

Panic filled me. What form of pain would she choose to inflict upon me this time?

She clapped her hands. “Maybe I’ll gut you.”

“You can’t kill her,” Morlet said, taking an imposing step forward so they stood side-by-side. “At least, not until she links with the other Krigers.”

She looked up at him, her black, beady eyes pleading. “It may be worth it.”