necessary casualties
It was already dark when I made my way down to the prison. Sevoriks had given me a quiet order, an order I hadn’t had from him in a long time. A small satchel was clutched tightly in one of my primary hands as I stepped off the last stair to the darker corner of the ketch. I made my way to the door, punching in the code to get into the prison. With a whoosh, a door to the darkened room opened.
I moved to step inside then. There weren’t any guards posted. Scars rarely took prisoners, and the one they had right now was deemed to be no threat, his leg shot and crippled in the initial battle that had led to his capture. The Devil had been found trying to sneak on board the skiff, as if he would have ever gotten away with it.
He stirred as I approached, his eyes angry but dulled from the days of being here. He shifted to sit up, and just from looking at him I could see the signs of pain on his face, years of training able to detect the faint wrinkles of his face as the wound hurt him.
“What do you want?” He spat at me. “If I won’t tell the Kell anything, I’m definitely not going to tell you anything!”
I moved to shift down onto my knees in front of the cell’s bars, an attempt at looking less threatening to him. If I was to do this, I had to convince him that I was on his side.
“I’m a medic.” I explained to him quietly. “Sevoriks wants me to help you with your pain.” I moved the satchel in my hand to show him that I’d brought something. He eyed me up and down quickly.
“It don’t need it.” He said, but his eyes lingered greedily on the bag. “Trying to get me on your side isn’t going to help. I already said, you’re not getting any information from me.”
“You’re obviously in pain.” I stated, my voice still forced to be gentle despite the bluntness. I moved to loosen my grip on my supplies, unhooking the satchel and pulling it open. I pulled a small pouch of a grumbled green substance, making sure to handle it carefully as I showed it to him. “If you eat this, you won’t feel anything in your leg anymore.”
His eyes moved up to my face, narrowing. “What’s is it?” He asked, and then, before I could answer. “What’s the catch?”
I had to resist laughing, my teeth pressing together behind my masked face as I averted my eyes for a second to collect myself. “There is no catch.” I answered, backwards. “It’s an earth herb I learned of from my mother. In humans, it’s known to heal and numb even some of the worst pains.”
A scoff from the Devil, like he didn’t believe me. Irritated, I looked back at him. I didn’t have time for this. Flicking my wrist, I let the sealed pouch fly in between the bars of his cell and fall onto the ground in front of him. His eyes darted down towards it, staring at it for a few seconds. It seemed like time almost froze there, but without any more persuasion, he moved to grab it greedily. Easier to convince than some over the years.
I watched as he took the shoved the dead, crumbled herbs right into his mouth, all of them. I’d packed more than I’d even needed, but I supposed it didn’t matter in the end. I had a lot of this specific herb saved back for occasions such as this.
“So, when does this start working?” He asked me, the crumbles still falling from his gnashing teeth as he finished off the pouch completely.
“Give it a couple minutes.” I told him, and he made a noise of acknowledgement and shifted back into the corner like he wanted to rest. Even so, I didn’t move to get up. I sat there, watching him. His eyes darted back and forth like he was growing nervous. And it was for good reason.
It seemed like it came all at once. A cry of pain as he clutched his stomach, jolting up and forward. He put weight onto his hurt leg, instantly falling over with another scream of pain. His gaze darted up from the floor, roaring obscenities at me.
“What did you do?” He gasped, rolling over onto his back. “What did you DO to me?”
I stared at him. I didn’t answer. He threw himself over onto his stomach, dragging himself towards the bars. I watched as the white foam began to gather in his mouth, dripping out from in between sharp teeth as he gasped in pain like a fish that had been ripped from the waters.
“You liar! Y-you—“ Another scream of pain and he curled into a ball on the floor.
“I never lied.” I spoke to him calmly. “I only told you two things – that the herb is a painkiller in humans, and that you wouldn’t feel your leg anymore after it had run its course. Neither of those things are lies.”
“I’m dying!” He cried out. “It’s not a painkiller! It’s a poison!”
“In Eliksni it is a poison. An interesting one at that. It’s strange how some of the Earth’s plants work the same between our species, and some have the exact opposite effects. Don’t you think?”
All I got in reply was a strangled choking sound, and I knew after that he wouldn’t be speaking to me again. He stared at me the whole time, coughing up more foam that was laced with bright blood. He gasped and squirmed, spiteful eyes narrowed me even in death. I watched as the light faded from them slowly but surely, until his head fell to the ground and his breathing ceased completely.
As I gazed upon his still form, I felt very little remorse. This wasn’t the first time I’d used my special herbs, a secret I’d first shared with my Kell years and years prior. Now, whenever there was a prisoner Sevoriks didn’t feel like dealing with himself, it fell onto my shoulders.
The truth was – I loved those moments. Especially when it came to unruly Devils. My small shred of revenge, I supposed, for the youth wasted in that House. Or maybe, just a little bit, it was my father’s blood coursing through my veins that left me feeling absolutely nothing after taking a life. Who knew.
I moved to stand up. The Kell would be waiting for my report, and he would have some of the stronger bodies move the corpse and dispose of it.
