Arachnia

Word Count: 8068
                                              Arachnia

         Dusk was falling when he entered the sprawling town of Arachnia. The cobbled streets were dark, lit only by streetlamps placed at every thirty feet. The gable roofed buildings, the outermost ones being residences and the innermost ones places of business, were all painted a dark gray and blood red flowers bloomed in the few window boxes he could see. The flag of Arachnia, a red hourglass on a black field, hung above every door.
         The streets were empty as he wound his way to the heart of the town, his way lit by the dim streetlamps and the pale light spilling from lit windows. There was a light mist in the air, blurring the edges of the lights. He pulled his worn dark brown cloak tightly around his long, lithe body and made sure his matching hat was pulled low to shadow his blue-gray eyes. He didn’t fear recognition, but should the queen of Arachnia see his eyes, she would recognize who he was.
         He paused before the door of one of the buildings near the heart of the town. There was some loud noise coming from beyond the door that caught his attention. He glanced up at the sign hanging over the door. The name The Drunken Spider was written in a red spidery scrawl across the pristine white board and a spider hung from the tip of the board.
         The traveler looked around the quiet town, noting now how the streets curved away from the town’s heart in eight different directions, much like a spider’s legs. He smiled to himself and pushed open the door of The Drunken Spider.
         He was immediately barraged with lively music, laughing, yelling, and drinking of strong spirits. He gently closed the door, wondering at how quiet it could be outside and so loud inside. He silently made his way through the crowd, ignoring the patrons’ calls and women’s eyes, and sat on an empty barstool between a dark haired girl with a hat pulled down to her brow and a very drunk old man.
         A black garbed bartender, a young woman with red hair and black eyes, approached him.
         “What’ll it be?” she asked in a loud, almost harsh voice, her eyes bored and impatient, one hand leaning against the bar and the other on her hip.
         “Give him the malt liquor,” the girl beside him answered in an odd affected accent before he could open his mouth.
         He turned to her and saw her smile. “You look like you could use it, traveler.”
         He tipped his head to her in thanks as the bartender pushed a glass into his hand. He fumbled for his money pouch, but the girl was quicker once more.
         “You don’t have to,” he said in a quiet voice.
         “I insist,” she replied, turning to him. She jerked her head to an empty table in the corner behind her. “Let’s go talk, traveler…If you’re so inclined.”
         In a split second, she had left her stool and was already winding through the crowd to the table, her silver cloak pulled tight around her slender body. He grabbed his glass and hurried after her. They sat across from each other and sipped their drinks in silence for a moment, waiting for the crowd to become particularly boisterous.
         They didn’t have to wait long. One man loudly challenged another to a game of darts for the pleasure of spending the night with the woman hanging onto the challenged man’s arm. The challenge was loudly accepted and most of the bar patrons turned to the wall opposite the bar to watch the game unfold.
         “Kali, what are you doing here?” the traveler questioned.
         “Looking for you,” she replied, dropping her affected accent.
         “How did you know I would come here?”
         “I didn’t. I happened to be out walking and saw you pause outside. I recognized your gait, knew it was you, and slid in through the back door to meet you here. You never saw me.”
         “Obviously,” the traveler snorted just as a low horn call echoed through the empty streets.
         The bar went quiet and stayed that way as the game of darts was dropped and everyone, including the bartenders, filed out of The Drunken Spider. Kali froze and whirled away before the traveler could begin to rise. She was gone by the time he joined the crowd filtering out the door.
         The traveler pushed his way to the front once he was out of the bar, which wasn’t difficult as everyone tried to not be in the front. Kali hadn’t mentioned anything about something like this, but then she had left before he could ask. He peered up and down the still empty street, now lined on both sides by the solemn and sober occupants of Arachnia. He could hear footsteps echoing in the distance, but couldn’t tell from which direction they came.
         For a while, the traveler contented himself with observing the silent residents of Arachnia. But he grew increasingly curious about what the horn call meant and why everyone now stood along the street.
         The footsteps grew louder and a large group of people rounded the corner. In the front was a solid wall of black. A handful of men and women dressed completely in black walked shoulder to shoulder. Behind them was a group of people draped in rich dark colors, each bearing a golden rod topped with a golden spider. Behind them was a woman with long black hair, a pale face, blood red lips, and dressed in flowing black robes edged in red. She was flanked by two men dressed as black knights, both bearing unsheathed swords. Behind the woman was file after file of soldiers in silver and black.
         He was staring intently at the black haired woman just as she turned her eyes on him. When she neared him, she tapped the knight to her left and nodded in the traveler’s direction. The knight nodded and detoured over to the traveler, halting the procession, and the woman came to stand right in front of him as the crowd withdrew as far as they could.
         “Who are you?” she asked softly.
         He stared into her dark violet eyes, careful to shield his own. “I am a traveler,” he replied, just as softly.
         Her red lips curled into a small smile. “And what may I call you?”
         “Traveler.”
         “I am Ebony. The Black Widow, queen of Arachnia.”
         “It is an honor, my lady,” the traveler replied, deeply bowing his head to her.
         “You are a necromancer, Traveler.” She didn’t ask so much as state. “I can tell by the twisted ring of black and white you wear.”
         He held out his right hand, where the ring in question circles his middle finger. “I am a sorcerer, madam, but I am best at necromancy.”
         “And you are able to bring spirits to our realm of the living.”
         “I am,” he confirmed
         “I want to employ you, Traveler. I have many enemies and, unfortunately, I married my torture-master and killed him two days later. It is the way of black widows, I’m sure you know. That unfortunate man’s death now leaves me in a quandary. My prison guards have no skill at torture. But a necromancer…Ah, the evils a necromancer could bring back to life. It will be enough to torture a prisoner’s mind. Will you accept this position, Traveler?”
         He paused for only a split second. He lifted his shadowed eyes to meet her violet irises and stared hard and intently into them, recognizing the soul of a true black widow, and knowing this was his one chance at revenge.
         “I will.”

         “What?” Kali burst out. “You can’t!”
         Traveler glared over at her. “I have no choice, Kali.”
         She paced across the airy sitting room of her palace chambers. Black and red silk billowed out as a breeze wandered in from the balcony. Her black gown trailed on the red carpet as she paced. Traveler, now dressed in black with an equally black cloak and hat, reposed on a black and silver upholstered couch.
         Ebony’s younger sister whirled on him, distress clear in her black eyes as she stared at him.
         “How could you do this to me?” she whispered. “Those people she has imprisoned are my own agents!”
         He bounded to his feet and grasped her wrists in one hand. His free hand forced her chin up and her eyes met his.
         “I did nothing to you, Kali,” he whispered harshly. “Nothing. You chose to go after your sister’s throne by your own choice. It’s your price to pay. I have a score to settle, a score that predates our betrothal.”
         He pushed away from her and she stepped back several steps to regain her balance. As she recovered, Traveler swiftly exited her chambers and stormed down the hall to the wide front staircase. He paused at the top, looking for the guard Ebony had said would be waiting for him.
         “Traveler,” a voice said from behind him.
         He turned and saw a guard dressed in black standing behind him, holding a door open. He walked towards the guard and the two vanished down the staircase hidden behind the door.
         They wound deeper and deeper into the dark depths of the palace. The winding staircase was lit by torches set every five feet down. Traveler gripped the rail as they spun deeper and deeper. Finally, they reached the bottom level and the guard led Traveler through a dim passageway with stone walls draped in black silk.
         As they neared the end of the passage, Traveler could hear low coughs and moans and murmurs. They left the passage and he could see those noises had come from the prisoners locked into small cells with walls dividing each cell. There were cells on only one side of the hall so that the prisoners couldn’t talk to each other. He looked down to the other end of the hall and couldn’t see an end to the row of cells.
         “This way, Traveler,” the guard said.
         Traveler turned and watched as the guard pushed against one of the gray stones. The wall split apart and Traveler followed the guard through into a narrow passage. The wall behind them closed when they reached the door at the other end. The guard pushed it open and they stepped through.
         They stepped into a square room filled with only chains. Ebony stood there in the middle, her red dress clinging to her slender body and her black hair spilling down her back in thick curls. Against the wall opposite the door was a man dressed only in tattered trousers, his arms and legs chained tightly to the gray stone wall. His dark hair was shaggy and tumbled down his neck and veiled his lowered head.
         Ebony nodded to the guard. “Wait outside the door.” She smiled. “I’m hoping the necromancer will be so good you won’t want to be in here.”
         The guard swallowed, bowed, and left, closing the door after him.
         Ebony turned to Traveler, her smile still in place. One black gloved hand waved to the prisoner chained to the wall, drawing his attention to the doomed man. She whipped her head around to look at the prisoner as Traveler lightly stepped across the floor to her side, her hands now resting on her hips.
         “You have great confidence in my abilities, my lady,” Traveler murmured.
         “Not at all, Traveler. Anyone can do a better job than the guards. Are you well-versed in the art of torture?”
         “Indeed I am,” Traveler replied, his lips curling into a small smile. “I’ve had the opportunity to observe the Nyrman torture-masters.”
         She turned to him, pleasure glowing on her pale face. “The Nyrmans are extremely well-taught. I look forward to seeing what you have learned from them.”
         “I would be happy to show you, madam,” Traveler said, sweeping a courteous bow. “If you would be kind enough to step back…?”
         She tipped her head to him and withdrew a few steps. Traveler stepped up to the man and tilted his head up. Black eyes bore into his, full of contempt and defiance.
         The traveler didn’t enjoy torture, but working for Ebony would sharpen his skills so he could turn them on her. She had to pay the price for taking his brother’s life.
         “Do not fight me,” Traveler whispered to the chained man. “It will be much worse for you if you do. What is your name, man?”
         The man only stared defiantly at him. He sneered at the traveler. “Try your best. I will not break.”
         “What did this man do?” Traveler asked Ebony as he continued to hold the man’s eyes.
         “He tried to kill me. It was fortunate I was in the process of smothering my latest husband and not sleeping as I ought to have been.”
         “Fortunate indeed,” Traveler murmured. “An assassin, then. This will be interesting.”
         Traveler abruptly released the man’s jaw and stepped back. He pressed the tips of his fingers together and closed his eyes, calling out to the spirits that recognized this man.
         Slowly, Traveler smiled and opened his eyes. “Eadgaer Re’Naut, a professional assassin. Who sent you to murder Ebony?”
         Eadgaer’s eyes narrowed and he still refused to speak. Traveler had a feeling this was one of Kali’s agents, but he didn’t care to dwell on it. He had come to Arachnia to avenge his brother’s death, not seek out his betrothed.
         Traveler’s eyes narrowed under the brim of his hat. He reached out and dragged a finger across the man’s eyes. The irises turned white and Eadgaer gasped as he was slowly blinded.
         “Without sight,” Traveler murmured, leaning close to the man’s ear, “your other senses are sharpened. Slowly, you’ll lose them all, and then you’ll lose your mind and you will be at the mercy of Ebony.”
         Eadgaer’s breath was coming in quick, sharp gasps now, his mouth hanging open enough for Traveler to slid his finger in. Traveler frowned and touched a fingertip to Eadgaer’s nose and tongue, leaving the man with only touch and hearing. Eadgaer’s hands curled into fists and he jerked against the chains, but was held immobile.
         Traveler stepped backwards to the middle of the room. He held out his arms from his sides and silently called to the spirits who had, in some way, known Eadgaer, opening the gateway between the living and the dead. He wasn’t surprised to learn that the first spirits to appear were those of Eadgaer’s victims. The gray spirits eagerly pushed forward and funneled into Eadgaer’s right ear.
         “What are you doing?” Ebony asked in wonder. “What are the spirits doing? Who are they?”
         Traveler grinned, still holding the gateway open. “They are the spirits of the people Eadgaer knew, particularly the ones of his victims. I have instructed them to tear through his head, whispering words of rage and accusations to torment his poor mind. This will not break him down, but it will destroy some of his defenses. What do you wish me to do?”
         She stepped to his side, spirits still swirling around the chamber and through Eadgaer’s head as the man moaned in mental pain and sagged as much as the chains allowed him. Traveler turned to her and saw her smile.
         “I want pain,” she said, a dark twinkle in her violet eyes.
         “As you command, my lady.”
         Traveler lifted a hand and slashed it in a downwards diagonal. Eadgaer screamed in pain as what felt like a steel blade cut across his chest. There was, however, not a mark on his skin, only the sensation of being cut. Eadgaer, though, was convinced, by what he felt and the spirits still tumbling through his head, that he was slowly bleeding to death.
         “If you are making me bleed to death, then, for Odea’s sake, stop the voices!” Eadgaer screamed. “Stop them!”
         For answer, Traveler cut across his arms, legs, and cheeks with the razor sharp pain.
         “Who sent you?” Traveler demanded. “Who ordered Ebony’s death?”
         When the man only continued to scream, Traveler jabbed his invisible sword into the man’s abdomen. “Answer!”
         “Allia!” he screamed. “That’s the name she gave me.”
         Traveler smiled at the black widow. “We’re getting somewhere now.”
         “Indeed. Do continue, Traveler.”
         He turned back to the tortured man, who was now gasping with the pain. “Why did Allia order Ebony’s death?”
         “I don’t know! I swear I don’t! Stop them! Please, I beg you…”
         Traveler turned to Ebony. She shook her head and turned to the door. She opened it and called to the pale-faced guard standing just outside the door as Traveler lowered both arms and called the spirits back into the after world.
         “Take him back to his cell,” Ebony commanded.
         The guard swallowed. “Yes, my queen.”
         Ebony took hold of Traveler’s arm and they left the chamber, the sounds of chains and moans ringing through the passage after them.

         “Very impressive,” Ebony murmured as they walked through the palace courtyard. Night had fallen and the air was fragrant with nightflowers. The red and silver flowers were in full bloom this time of year and the garden was full of them.
         “Thank you, my lady,” Traveler murmured. “It is only what I learned from the masters, and not even everything I saw.”
         “I look forward to watching more.”
         And I look forward to turning it on you, the traveler thought as he smiled into the dark, grateful for the hat’s wide brim and the moonless night.
         “I can teach you a great deal so you may continue it when I leave.”
         “Where will you go next?” Ebony asked curiously.
         “I am a traveler, my lady. I go wherever my feet take me.”
         “You are a very aloof man,” she remarked.
         “I am a very private man, madam. My life is my own and no one else’s business. You, on the other hand, as the Black Widow of Arachnia must have a very public life.”
         “That is true,” she murmured.
         “Tell me, how many husbands have you had?”
         “One thousand and sixty-three within the past four years, when my reign began.”
         “You certainly are the Black Widow. And your sister, the Princess Kali?”
         Ebony waved her free black gloved hand dismissively, her other still latched onto Traveler’s arm. “My sister has little interest in men, though she is betrothed to the Lord of Galida Gate, far to the north.”
         “Have you ever met him?” Traveler asked carefully.
         “No. She came back from a trip to the north betrothed and never spoke more on the matter.”
         “Tell me of your first husband.”
         “Christian. He had some tie to Galida Gate, I believe, but that was four years ago. I hardly remember. We had been betrothed since we were small children and, as a second son, he would not rule wherever it was he came from and instead came to rule beside me. I grew tired of him after a few months, though, and killed him.”
         Traveler’s mouth tightened as he listened to her describe his brother in such a way. His free hand curled into a fist. He carefully kept the arm she was latched onto as relaxed as he could. He needed to seem at ease around the black widow and show no signs of distress at the thought of death. He was, after all, her new torture-master.
         “I would think your reputation would precede you, but you have not been at a loss for a husband.”
         Ebony looked at him and smiled. “I am a seductress by birth, Traveler. Any man I’ve set my eyes on is a lost cause. He is mine and then I kill him when he bores me.”
         “And your sister?”
         She shook her head, her curls bouncing with the movement. “We are half-sisters. My mother was a seductress. She died in childbirth and my father married Kali’s mother. She was a simple sorceress, I believe. Both died in an explosion some ways from here four years ago.”
         Traveler turned his head to look at her. “And would you try to seduce me, my lady?”
         She shook her head slowly. “I cannot. A seductress may only seduce a man of lower status or lower sorcery power than herself. You, sir, are by far the most powerful sorcerer I have ever encountered. That itself protects you from me.”
         “How fortunate for me,” he murmured in reply. “Tell me, what was it about Christian that bored you?”
         He saw her frown and she released the grip on his arm. “That’s enough questions, I think. My life may be a public one, but I assure you it is not that public. Until tomorrow, Traveler.”
         He bowed to her and she swept off and disappeared into the palace. He remained in the courtyard and moved into the darkest shadows beneath a heavily flowered tree branch.
         The traveler glanced through the leaves and flowers to make sure he was alone. Once assured there was no one else in the courtyard, he drew a finger down in a vertical line in the air and a silver spirit stepped out.
         The spirit was that of a man some years older than the traveler. Alive, he’d had thick wavy hair and laughing blue-gray eyes. His features were delicate, but there was some strength lurking beneath the surface.
         The spirit looked around. “Never thought I’d be back here.” He shook his head. “There’s talk in the after world that some of the spirits were involved in some torture, and you were the torturer.”
         “That is the truth, Christian.”
         “Exactly how did you come to be a torturer in Arachnia?”
         The traveler leaned against the tree trunk and regarded his older brother’s spirit with tired eyes. “I am the torturer here. I came to find Ebony and take my revenge for your death and just happened to arrive the night she was leading a procession. She spotted me and recognized my necromancer ring. She immediately employed me as her new torture-master since she had just killed her previous one after two days of marriage.”
         “Ebony will never change,” Christian said, his eyes flashing.
         “Why didn’t you let me come four years ago when she killed you?” the traveler asked softly.
         Christian sighed and began to pace beneath the heavy branches. “You were too young and too weak to counter her seductive wiles, Seth. You would have married her and been killed by her. With Damian dead, you’re the only one left. The de’Colling family must survive, and you’re the only one who can ensure that.”
         His brother shook his head and sighed heavily. “I don’t like torture. I don’t like hurting people. I don’t like playing games with Kali. I feel like I’m losing myself when I inflict pain.”
         “That was the choice you made, Seth,” Christian said sharply. “You chose to take your revenge and took the first chance you got to get close to Ebony. If you really want to go through with it, you have to earn her trust as her torture-master. I’m sorry you have to hurt Kali, but you made your choice. Now you have to live with it. Either leave Arachnia or carry out your revenge. I didn’t ask you to come. I didn’t want you to come. Don’t call to me again, Seth.”
         Seth’s hands curled into fists and he thrust himself away from the trunk. “I have to do this, Christian. Damian died protecting Galida Gate not long before you died. All I had was you after his death, and then you were gone, too. After Damian died, I was the one who pushed back Lyrna and protected Galida Gate. Now it’s time for me to avenge you, just as I avenged our brother’s death. I will be Ebony’s torture-master, I will earn her trust, and I will destroy her.”
         Christian sighed. “That was always your problem, Seth, strong passions and the desire to right what you perceive to be wrongs.”
         “Your death was a great wrong, Christian.”
         Christian shook his head. “Good bye, Seth, and good luck.”
         With that, the spirit vanished, leaving the traveler alone in the night.

         The traveler walked past the little table in his sitting room, tossing his cloak onto the back of the chair and his hat onto the table. The room was lit with black wax candles in golden sconces along the walls and the flames flickered in the gentle breeze coming in through the open balcony doors. He stared at the black and silver furnishings in distaste. Everything in Arachnia was predominantly black and he missed his home of Galida Gate, the Orchard of the World.
         He glided past an oval mirror and took a quick look at himself. His brown hair was flat and in disarray after being kept under a hat for days. His blue-gray eyes were tired and shadowed. His face looked weary and drawn.
         He shook his head at his reflection and continued out to the balcony. He stood at the rail, resting his arms on it and leaning heavily. He had a view of the town and could see the eight curving main streets lit by the streetlamps. The streets were as empty as the night before, when he had entered Arachnia for the first time.
         “Why are you doing this?” a soft feminine voice said.
         The traveler closed his eyes and felt Kali join him at the rail.
         “How did you get here?” he asked, looking at her.
         She shrugged. “That’s my business. Answer my question, Seth.”
         “I have a score to settle, Kali. I have to do this.”
         “What score?”
         “It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. I’m sorry I have to hurt your agents, but I have to do this.”
         “You don’t have to do anything,” she said coldly.
         He turned to fully face her. “You’re wrong, Kali. You never knew me well enough to know that there are certain things I have to do.”
         She reached out to grab his arm as he turned away. “Seth, listen to me. If one of those men lets slip that I’m the one who hired them, my sister could have me killed for treason.”
         He jerked his arm from her grip and stared at her with hard eyes. “You’re the one who took that risk when you asked the first man to kill Ebony. My advice is to stop your little game and forget about Arachnia’s throne.”
         She narrowed her black eyes at him. “And my advice is for you to leave Arachnia, for good.”
         He gripped her chin tightly and held her eyes with his. “Advise as you will, do as you will, you are not getting out of our engagement, Kali. Not even if you somehow win Ebony’s throne.”
         She glared up at him. “You don’t know my sister, Seth. She should never have ascended to the throne. Her reign is dooming Arachnia to the darkness. Heed my words, Seth. Leave Arachnia if you want to live to see our wedding.”
         With that said, she spun away and disappeared into the night. He clenched one hand into a fist as she vanished and whirled away from the balcony. He stalked into his bedroom and his eyes fell onto a silver envelope with his name written in a spidery scrawl on it.
         Cautiously, he picked it up and drew out a heavy piece of parchment. He read through it carefully and then crushed the paper in his fist.
         Ebony was demanding he whip a man senseless with his invisible sword the following day, all day.
         He hurled the paper across the room, and the envelope followed. He folded his arms and stared out the window to the yellow stars.
         The traveler hated torture, but it was the only way he could wear down Ebony enough to be vulnerable to him. It would be that much more humiliating to her to break her and then reveal himself as the brother of her first husband. And to do that efficiently, he needed practice.
         Furious with himself, he spun away from the window and blew out the few lit candles.

         Ebony was waiting for him in the chamber of chains the following morning. She wore the same red gown as the day before, but her black curls were tied back this time. She looked refreshed and vibrant. The same couldn’t be said of the half-naked man tightly chained to the wall.
         Traveler studied this man carefully as the guard pulled the door closed. His shaggy blond hair fell across his dark eyes and his face looked tired, haggard, and thin. He was a tall, slender man with long limbs. He was gazing defiantly at Ebony and hardly seemed to notice the man standing by the door.
         “Traveler, this is former councilman Vindar Re’Coris,” Ebony said as Traveler silently stepped to her side. “I had him imprisoned several days ago because I didn’t like his methods.”
         “Then why are you having me torture him?” Traveler asked softly.
         Her violet eyes cut over to him, though she couldn’t meet his eyes because of the hat’s wide brim.
         “It is my will that he be tortured, Traveler,” she said icily.
         Traveler bowed his head to her. “And it is my duty that I serve.”
         She nodded once and turned back to Vindar. “If you would begin, Traveler.”
         Traveler stepped forward, suppressing a sigh. He disliked torture and liked senseless torture even less. But he was in her employment and he had to do as she demanded.
         I look forward to doing this to you, he thought a he slashed across the man’s abdomen.
         The man screamed and looked down to see if there was any blood. When he saw there was none, he looked up at Traveler, fear in his eyes.
         Traveler stepped close to Vindar’s ear. “Be glad this is all I’m doing.”
         He stepped back and watched as the man shivered at his words, clearly wondering what else the necromancer could do.
         “Keep going, Traveler,” Ebony prompted.
         Traveler frowned and slashed his hands across the man’s chest in a searing X and then scored both arms from the shoulder to the wrist.

         The Drunken Spider was as crowded and noisy as that first night. This time, he had purchased a double order of malt liquor for himself and sat at a table in the corner, his back to the room. Kali sat across from him, the hood of her black cloak pulled over her head. She clasped her own glass of malt liquor between her hands and frowned at her betrothed, who was downing the last of his second glass.
         Seth lifted the empty glasses and caught the eye of one of the bartenders, indicating he wanted two more. Kali’s frown deepened and she watched as a barmaid hurried to serve his order and sweep up the coins.
         “Isn’t two enough, Seth?” Kali asked softly.
         He drank half of the third glass. “It’ll never be enough, Kali,” he said hoarsely. He cleared his throat. “Not after what Ebony has me doing.”
         “What does she have you do?”
         He shook his head and finished his third drink. “You don’t want to know. She has me stopping just short of killing them. Some of them are guilty of high treason, some are just senseless torture done for her entertainment.”
         Kali shivered. “You have to leave, Seth.”
         He glared at her and dumped his fourth drink down his throat. “I can’t. I haven’t accomplished what I came here to do.”
         She caught his arms before he could order two more. “That’s enough, Seth.”
         “I didn’t ask you to join me. Let me drink as I please.”
         “No, Seth,” she said firmly. “I followed you here for your sake. You need to get out of Arachnia. If not for my sake, then for your own mental state. Whatever it is Ebony is having you do, it’s destroying your mind.”
         “You just don’t want anyone to tell her you’re the one who sent them,” he said caustically.
         “I care about you, too, Seth,” she said softly, still pining his arms down to the table. In his inebriated state, he couldn’t use his powers to throw her hands off of him, nor was he strong or steady enough to physically throw her off. “I see you wandering through the halls at night, looking lost and disgusted with yourself. I hate seeing you like that. Please, go, before you lose your mind.”
         “I didn’t do what I came to do yet,” he said, his words slurring together.
         “What did you come to do?”
         “I came to come and do,” he mumbled, almost incoherently.
         She stared at him, blinking in confusion. “What? Seth, you’re drunk.”
         He shook his head and collapsed to the floor.

         The traveler wearily collapsed onto his bed, cloak and hat still on. It was late at night and another day of torture had ended. He had just gotten back from another evening at The Drunken Spider, the one place where he could get drunk enough to simply fall asleep upon hitting the sheets. He didn’t know what they put into the malt liquors, but they certainly did the trick.
         His eyes had just begun to close when he heard his door creak open. With a groan, he pushed himself up and stared blearily at the figure of a young boy dressed in the page’s uniform of black streaked with silver and crimson.
         “I’ll take that,” the traveler rasped out when he saw the boy held a silver envelope in his hand.
         “A message from the Queen Ebony, sir,” the boy lisped softly.
         The traveler took the envelope and the boy scampered out after bowing hastily. He turned the envelope over in his hands, his head pounding, debating whether he should wait until morning to read it or open it right then.
         He stared hard at it, willing his eyes to focus. He jerked the heavy piece of parchment out of the envelope and saw that Ebony was demanding he torture two men at once the following day.
         The paper and envelope slid from his fingers and slithered to the floor. His head fell back onto the crimson pillows and he succumbed to sleep.

         The two men stood chained to the wall. They looked not much older than Traveler and could have been brothers with the same golden brown hair and dark green eyes, but their features differed far too much for them to be brothers. For another, one was extremely fair and the other much darker.
         Ebony stood in the middle of the room, her hands on her hips and her head cocked to the side as she studied the two men. This time, her form-fitting gown was black with silver beads along the hem and her curls had been straightened to a slight wave.
         “There they are, Traveler,” she said, holding out a black gloved hand to the two men. “Two men from my court who plotted to overthrow me. I learned it from my torture-master husband. Oh, I forgot. The dark man is Julian, the man I married the day before I employed you. The other his Verick. I thought of marrying him and came close to it, but I changed my mind.”
         Traveler inwardly sighed, wondering which number husband Julian was. For some reason, he mentally equated torturing Julian to torturing his brother. After all, Christian had been Ebony’s first husband. These men, though, were helpless to Ebony’s seductive wiles. He didn’t blame them for being her husbands when she should have remained married to Christian. In any other situation with any other woman, he would have been incensed that the woman had married another man after killing her first husband. But, no, he blamed Ebony for what she did repeatedly. It was her he wanted to hurt, not these men.
         But Ebony had commanded, and so he must do it.
         “What do you wish, madam?” Traveler asked softly.
         “Pain, of course. Though I think blood would be a lovely touch this time, though not so much that they die of blood loss.”
         “As you command, my lady.”
         He frowned, wondering what he would do this time as he pulled himself into a torturer’s frame of mind. He found that by doing that, he was able to do as Ebony asked without further shattering his own mental state. And he spent far less coin at The Drunken Spider.
         Deciding, he held out his arms and called to the most wrathful spirits he knew and asked them to destroy the men’s minds and give hints to what their torture might be like. He and Ebony watched as the men screamed with the pain of having spirits filter through their heads.
         Then Traveler stepped forward and touched Verick’s temple, drawing out the sense of touch from his body. Verick gasped when he realized he could no longer feel the chains around his wrists and ankles and the trousers he still wore, but could feel the spirits traveling through his head. Traveler pushed his head back and tilted it up. He kept the man’s head in place with magical ties and Verick whimpered when he realized he couldn’t feel the pain of that, either.
         Julian was watching with wide eyes, panting heavily, when Traveler turned to him. He regarded the chained man for several moments before deciding to score his body with his invisible sword so not one inch of his body felt uncut.
         He did that for some time and Verick’s eyes widened as he heard his companions cries of pain and mercy, and he turned his eyes enough to see no sign of Julian’s source of pain. The man’s skin was unblemished. Then Traveler forced Julian’s eyes on Verick and held them there so he could no longer see his own body.
         Traveler whipped his sword across Verick’s chest. This time, blood oozed out, though he couldn’t feel it.
         Ebony was apparently unsatisfied with this. “Release his head, Traveler, and do the same to Julian.”
         Traveler did as she asked. He released Verick’s head and the man looked down and cried out when he realized he was bleeding and couldn’t feel it. Traveler then turned to Julian and held his head back with his magical ties. He forced Verick’s eyes onto Julian as he scored Julian’s body with shallow cuts, and blood ran from them.
         Julian, able to feel it all, screamed in pain. Traveler turned to Verick and whipped his hands over his body, though he didn’t draw blood. Verick, however, thought the same was being done to him as to Julian and screamed, believing he was also bleeding all over his body.
         “Excellent,” Ebony murmured. “Keep going.”
         And through all this, the most wrathful spirits in the after world gleefully whispered words of hate and made the men believe they had committed crimes they hadn’t actually done.

         Kali sat still and quiet in the traveler’s sitting room, her black gown spread out around her, while the traveler himself paced across the room in front of her.
         “I keep telling you to leave,” Kali said. “You can avoid the mental anguish if you would just leave.”
         Seth turned flashing blue-gray eyes on her. “I can’t.”
         She leapt up and grabbed his arm. “Seth. You have to tell me. Now.”
         He shook his head and laughed. “Oh, you don’t understand it anymore, Kali. I’ve been here for months, torturing those poor men day after day. I’m getting quite good at it. Enjoying it, even.”
         Kali released his arm and recoiled from him. “What?” she whispered.
         He faced her fully. “The power I feel over them, Kali, it’s like nothing else. Sure, I rule Galida Gate, but I spent my whole life living under my brothers Damian and Christian. Now it’s my turn to rule over others, even if it is through torture. I feel powerful because those men are helpless to escape me, just as I was helpless to escape my brothers.”
         “Christian?” she whispered. “Your brother was Christian? Ebony’s first husband?”
         Seth smiled at her. “Yes.”
         “Is that why you’re here? Because she killed Christian?”
         He didn’t answer this time, merely smiled.
         She rushed forward to him and grabbed his hands. She stared searchingly into his blue-gray eyes. “Tell me why you came here in the first place. Tell me!”
         He sighed. “I came to avenge Christian’s murder. I will torture Ebony and break her and then tell her who I am. This is merely practice for the real thing.”
         “You’re practicing on real men,” she hissed.
         He grinned. “And it makes me feel powerful.”
         A knock came at his door, interrupting them, and she pulled away. The door opened and a silver haired page slipped in. He bowed to Traveler and the queen’s sister.
         “My lady, sir,” he said uncertainly. “Queen Ebony requests your presence on the High Tower, sir. I am to take you there.”
         “I’ll take him,” Kali said. “Return to your duties.”
         The page bowed and slid back out the door. Kali grabbed Traveler’s hand and they left his chambers together.
         “Your hand is cold,” he remarked calmly as they walked along a black draped hallway.
         “The High Tower is Ebony’s execution site,” she said quietly. “She must be demanding your presence at someone’s execution. It is on the High Tower because all executions have been private ones for a millennia. It is a tradition we all must follow.”
         They were silent as she led him higher until they were walking up a spiral staircase. At the end was a black door and Kali pushed it open. They stepped out onto the top of the High Tower and saw a semicircle of nobles already gathered. They were dressed in black robes and each held a golden rod topped with a golden spider.
         Traveler looked out over past the gathered people and saw a man’s head against the backdrop of the mountains just south of Arachnia.
         Kali dragged him to the crowd and they parted for the princess and the torture-master. The couple stopped beside a red gowned Ebony, who stood staring up at the dark haired man on the dais.
         Traveler recognized the man as Albert, Ebony’s latest husband, the man he had just tortured the day before. He stood with chains tying his wrists and ankles together and more chains tying him to the platform. His eyes looked dead and his face was haggard. He knew what was coming and didn’t fear it.
         “Kali, so good of you to come this time,” Ebony said, smiling at her younger sister. “It’s been a few days since I last saw you.”
         “It’s good to see you, too, sister,” Kali said, releasing Traveler’s hand. She moved to her sister and the two kissed each other’s cheek. “Is it time for another execution?”
         “It is. And this time we have a very special guest. I assume you have already met Traveler, considering you arrived together.”
         Kali turned her head slightly to look at the black cloaked man, his hat pulled as low as ever. “I have met him. I hear he’s a wonderful torturer.”
         “He is. I am very pleased with him. And now I wish him to go a step further.”
         “Public torture, Ebony?” Kali asked, raising an eyebrow.
         Ebony smiled, her violet eyes alight with glee. “No, my dear. Execution.”
         Traveler’s head snapped up and he saw Kali quickly cut her glance over at him.
         “Execution?” Traveler asked, taking a step towards the two sisters. “You command me to kill this man?”
         “Of course. Every great torture-master ever employed here has also become the executioner. You will kill him, Traveler.”
         Traveler clenched his hands into fists. Torture he could handle; killing a man whose only offense had been to be seduced into marriage by the Black Widow was too much.
         “I don’t remember the role of executioner in our agreement.”
         Ebony frowned. “Nonsense, Traveler. Even if it’s not, it should have been. And you are here to serve me. I command you to kill this man, and you shall.”
         “I won’t, Ebony,” Traveler said firmly.
         Her chin tilted up. “Do as I command, Traveler.”
         Traveler pulled off his hat and, for the first time, Ebony gazed into blue-gray eyes that she had seen only once before, on a man she had known four years previous.
         She gasped and drew back a step. “It can’t be…I killed you four years ago,” she whispered, her hands clutching at her chest, believing she was staring at a ghost.
         “I am not Christian, Ebony, your first husband. I am his younger brother, Seth, here to avenge his death.”
         She shook her head. “No. You’re not. You can’t be.”
         “I am,” Seth said coldly. “This isn’t how I wanted to do it, but it’ll work well enough.”
         Seth lifted out his arms and called to Ebony’s one thousand and eighty late husbands, his brother Christian leading them out of the after world.
         “I salute you, brother,” Christian said. “I never thought you could do it.”
         “No!” Ebony screamed as hundreds of spirits descended on her and filled her head, clearly remembering all those times Traveler had done the same to her prisoners.
         Kali, sensing the nobles watching all this had started moving to protect their queen, threw up a wall of fire and the people drew back again. She also threw up a fire wall before the door, so none could escape.
         Christian grasped Ebony’s wrists. “Looks like my brother got his revenge after all. Pleased to see me, my dear? It’s good to see you again.”
         “Please don’t do this,” Ebony begged, fighting against the spirits. “Traveler, stop them!”
         Seth shook his head and stepped back to grasp Kali’s hand. They watched wordlessly as nearly two thousand spirits pushed the black widow back and over the edge of the tower. She screamed as she fell, and it was abruptly cut off a moment later. They waited a few moments as the spirits streamed over the side of the tower. Then they saw Ebony’s screaming spirit dragged up and into the after world by one thousand and eighty deceased husbands, making Albert the first widower.

         The sun shone brightly and shafted through the branches of the tree Kali and Seth stood under, dappling their bodies. Seth was back in his traveler’s brown cloak and hat and Kali wore a silver gown. Their hands were clasped together and they stared at each other intently.
         “Why did you release all those spirits on her?” Kali asked.
         “With all those vengeful spirits of her dead husbands, I knew that the combined strength of them would be enough to drag her unwilling soul into the after world and do a much better job of revenge than I could do. Ebony was no match for them. She was a seductress, not a sorceress like you are. By the way, congratulations at being named Arachnia’s queen.”
         Kali shook her head. “It’ll be hard ruling here, but the remaining prisoners and the people of Arachnia are grateful they don’t have to live fearfully under her rule anymore. They won’t have to wonder which man would be taken from them next.”
         “You’ll be a good queen, Kali. Just don’t succumb to the dark ways as Ebony did.”
         She shook her head. “You won’t stay?”
         “I can’t, Kali. Not after what I did here. I hated the torture at first, but then I came to enjoy it to some degree. I don’t want to risk that again.”
         “But you gave up your magic. You’re a regular person now. You don’t have to fear torturing people again.”
         “You’re wrong, Kali. I spent some time in Nyrma. The Nyrmans are renown for their torture skills. There are ways of using physical weapons and ways of using magic. I may have lost my magic, but the physical ways remain clear in my mind. I need to return to Galida Gate and recover myself and my mind.” He lifted her hands and kissed them gently. “I’ll return, Kali, and we’ll rule Arachnia and Galida Gate together and in peace. But I need to go now.”
         She nodded and released his hands. He stepped away from her.
         “I’ll return one day, Kali.”
         “I know. I’ll be waiting.”
         He nodded and turned. She watched as he vanished into the shadows.