Cathexis: Necromancer's Dagger by Philip Blood Page B

straining face. Fear exuded from the
bound man’s eyes like the sweat that seeped from his pores.
    The necromancer brought the hot iron near
the terrified man's face until his victim could feel the heat on
the very surface of his eyes. CAracusS used the tip of the heated
metal to follow the contours of his victim's bound body. The slow
movement of the hot poker allowed his victim to feel the heat, yet
not know where and when it would touch him to burn. When he reached
the man's chest he suddenly brought the poker down. The material of
the man’s shirt burnt through almost instantly. Then the red hot
tip reached the tender skin and the unprotected flesh sizzled
against the hot metal.
    The poor man screamed in agony and writhed
with intense pain as he strained against his bonds. The gag muffled
the sounds of his screams. A pitiful mewing sound began after the
hot iron was lifted from his chest and began the inexorable trip
back toward his horrified face and his wide, terror filled, left eye .
    When the burning metal reached its next
target the muffled sound of excruciating pain again filled the room
and his bound body arched with insufferable anguish.
    “Is it the pain that attracts the Darknulls
to the bridge?” Von Dracek asked in a controlled voice, he didn’t
enjoy the man’s pain, but he’d seen men tortured for information
before.
    The necromancer replied in a conversational
tone as he applied the hot poker to another part of the poor man’s
body, “No, it’s the suffering of the spirit, the anguish of the
person’s soul that comes with the understanding of his total
helplessness without hope of succor. The Darknulls feed upon the
aura spirit of the living and the agony of a soul is like the aroma
of a succulent roast. The greater the spirit writhes the farther the aroma travels within the
Dark Plane.
    “I have found that torture brings about the
greatest anguish of the spirit and that attracts the most powerful
of the Darknulls. I have seldom opened the bridge after the
successful mutilation of a conscious subject without finding at
least a Baron or an Earl waiting to bargain for the tortured soul
of my damaged bait.” To punctuate his speech the necromancer
dispassionately applied the hot metal to the inside of the victim’s
right ear.
     
    Lord Jatar stood at the head of a long table
in the palace strategy room with his top military and guard
officers seated on either side. After discussing the Datorian
situation for nearly a full bell Jatar concluded the meeting. “Then
it is decided, Captain Fintok will command an honor guard to escort
Tysol’s party to our borders. Your men must be well briefed on
their necessary conduct; under no circumstances are they to begin a
skirmish with Lord Tysol’s guards. They’re to ignore any
provocation or insult, their main purpose being to act as a buffer
between the Lindankar populace and Tysol’s people."
    Jatar's longtime Knight Protector answered, "It will be as you
command, milord."
    The ruler of Lindankar placed his hand on
his knight's shoulder as a symbol of his support, “I trust you to
take care of this, Fintok. If Lindankar ends up in a war with
Datoria, I don’t want anyone saying that we caused it with the poor
treatment of their worthless ruler. This way any declaration of war
may be somewhat unpopular, and his troops would not be as
motivated. We will have to make sure that the correct story of his
treachery and oath breaking is spread within Datoria; honorable men
will not wish to follow an oath breaking coward."
    The officers all nodded or made comments of
agreement.
    “Those of you who have an assigned job know
what to do. So unless there are any other questions this meeting is
concluded. Now I must attempt to rejoin my wife and son in the
city. Thank you, Gentlemen.”
     
    The smell of burnt hair and cooked flesh
permeated the room. It all originated from the bloody mass of flesh
on the table next to CAracusS, the necromancer. Suddenly the