Interludes
I-3
OREK
Orek liked ubiquity. As soon as he met someone interesting, he took on their role. Although there were multiple voices in his head, Orek was in control. He made the decisions. In his mind, he was the king. He made the rules.
Too bad he was only a prison guard.
The prison, Ragngrad, smelled funny. It always had. It held the stench of many an unwashed criminals imprisoned for a long time. The Alarean prison was 5 stories high, and occupied a large area on the shores of the Eastern ocean. It felt like a prison to the guards as well. He hated the place after just one week.
He dragged his feet, walking as slowly as possible, to the fourth floor of the massive structure. Dim lights lit the corridors, giving darkness a free – if not complete – reign. Sunlight never made it in here. Every crevice was sealed off with the memories of the men and women that had died within these walls. That was a cheerful thought. He smiled, the persona of the guard completely taking over. He was a friendly guard, so he thought about the things that made him happy.
He reached the cell that he had been looking for. He stood by the railings and tapped the cell door twice. He heard a grunt inside. The prisoner was awake despite the late hour.
“Back for more?,” the man said. His voice was hoarse.
“Just letting you know,” Orek said. He hesitated. “We can continue your story.”
The man didn’t reply immediately. Orek heard scraping of feet behind the door. The man inside the cell was pacing. He didn’t say anything for a while.
Suddenly there was a small thud behind the door. Orek jumped slightly as a pair of eyes squinted through the small cross section in the wooden door with metal railings.
“Why are you so curious?,” the man asked. He had grey eyes, which looked black in the darkness. “No one else seems to care that I’m here.”
Orek shrugged pointedly at the eyes staring out.
“Seems like an interesting story is all. A man kills a whole bunch of people and disappears. And you say no one has caught him so far.”
“You believe me, then?,” the words came out in a rush.
Orek shook his head. “Not really. Why would the council imprison you for asking about a murderer?”
The prisoner moved away from the door. He had been telling every guard for the past two weeks that he had done nothing wrong. He had been sent to Ragngrad for asking about the killer.
The killer.
Orek smiled again at the door although he didn’t know if the prisoner was still watching him. It was important to this prisoner to try and find the killer. Ultimately it had to be personal.
“Suppose I believe your story,” said Orek. “Why did you ask for my help? I can just report you to the council. I can tell them how you have been trying to convince the guards of your innocence.”
“If you had wanted to, you would have told them already,” said the prisoner. The man came back to the door. “But you listened to the story, didn’t you?”
Orek turned sharply.
“You know of him. You know something,” the man said. “Tell me, what do they pay the guards around here to keep their secrets? It can’t be much. I’ve got money, tons of it. Help me leave here and its yours.”
Do it. Let him go free. The voice in his head buzzed. Orek nodded to himself. It was the voice he had to listen to. He did a quick calculation.
“Nobody would know if I left here. It’s a dark cell in a large prison,” the man was saying.
“I’ll help you escape. Not for money, no. But for revenge. The killer is still here and he butchered someone I know,” Orek said in a rush. He composed himself, taking a few deep breaths. The hunt was excruciating.
“The bastard left nothing of my friend except an ear. If you find him, you kill him.”
The prisoner nodded solemnly. He stepped back from the door. Orek took the keys out from his trousers and unlocked the door. The man stepped out. He was tall and lean. Tattoos covered his back, and his hair stood out at an awkward angle. The grey eyes came to life as he walked out into the scanty light. He had a dirty brown tunic wrapped around his hand. He held out his hand at Orek in a friendly gesture but when Orek didn’t move, the stranger’s hand fell back to his side.
“I am Fien,” he said. “This is personal for me too. I am tracking my sister. She was taken by this serial killer about 3 months ago.”
The thrumming in Orek’s chest intensified. He glanced at Fien. It was exciting for a regular guard to be involved in a prison break. He quietly locked the door.
“What’s her name? Your sister?”
“Anya. Her name is Anya,” Fien said.
Orek strode ahead of Fien to the right. Fien followed. At the junction, he opened a door on the left and pushed Fien inside and made a shushing sound. Orek took a few more breaths to calm himself. The voice in his head was screaming for him to keep going, but he held on to the nearby wall and breathed. It was hard, but often, the prey had as much fun as the predator in a hunt.
He picked up guard robes and a broken helm from the supply room and returned. A few moments later, Fien walked out dressed as a guard. In the dark, no one would look at him twice.
“Now what?,” Fien asked.
“This way.”
***
Orek took deep breaths till they exited Ragngrad. Fien walked quietly beside him. They silently left the entrance to the prison after about an hour. It was only when they were close to the outskirts of Alarez that Fien broke the silence.
“I will not forget this favor. I always thought Alarez was full of tightly wound, law-abiding to an extreme degree-greaus. You’ve proven me wrong, Orek,” Fien said. He took off the helm and the guard robes. He then held them out to Orek, pulling his own overcoat around him in the chilly night.
Orek nodded. The excitement should have been over, they had escaped. But the anxiety mounted. He tried to smile, but couldn’t manage it. He pulled the robes from Fien’s hands and bowed. The twitch in his eyes intensified and he clutched his hands into fists. It was intolerable. He barely heard his own voice over the screaming in his head – Do it, do it, do it.
“You said… your sister was alive,” Orek said. “How do you know… that she’s alive?”
Fien stretched his arms. The cell he was kept in was a small enclosed space. He glanced at the city, then turned away from it.
“She left clues behind. I am only a step behind these murders. Every time I feel like I’m getting close, I find nothing. But there is always clues from Anya,” Fien said. “I will kill him when I find him. I will avenge the death of your friend.”
“Yes… my dear friend,” Orek said. With that he dropped the guard’s helm in his hand. Fien was startled for a moment. He raised an eyebrow at Orek and bent to pick up the fallen helm. Orek promptly stabbed Fien in his left ear with his short knife.
Fien cried out, struggling. Orek laughed, finally letting out the nervous energy built up in the past hour. He stabbed the center of the ear again, taking out the knife with a sharp cut. Blood gushed from Fien’s head as the ear fell out.
“… my dear friend… The only thing left of him… was an ear…” Orek roared between breaths.
He pocketed the ear, admiring its unique pattern. He knelt beside the lump that was Fien and tied the struggling man’s arms together with some difficulty. He bound his legs with the robes, his hands bloodied from the flowing stream from his new victim’s head.
“You almost caught up. Good job,” he jeered at Fien. Fien’s movement was slowing down, yet he still struggled.
“I don’t know how much of this you’ll hear with one ear,” Orek said, laughing. “But you really got me. Almost. For months I have known that someone was following the trail really well. So it was Anya… leaving behind the trail. I will have to deal with that.”
He crouched down to Fien’s good ear.
“You are my last prey in Alarez,” Orek muttered. “Since you were a special one tracking my murders, I will only take your ear and leave the rest of you behind. This city will wake up to a nightmare.”
Orek’s head was clear. The lone voice spoke again. Anya.
He spared a final glance in Fien’s direction. The blood had covered most of the man’s face. He still struggled, but not for long.
The good soldier’s persona was long gone. Orek hadn’t realized with the voices in his head. He was a porter now. A sad man that worked long hours at the ports of Alarez. His name was Nign.
Nign walked to the port as the first light of the Sun broke the eastern horizon. There was no movement behind him.
the Broken Dragon 