The Lion of Eomar by Eric K, Hasler (best young adult book series .TXT) 📖

the bodyguard of King Ruskin when he wasn't sleeping, and Captain of the Watch; a violent man who loved his job, but took it far too seriously.

“You in the warehouse might as well give up!” shouted Seastnan, “there is only one way out and we have it surrounded. If you come out peacefully I swear by the Sun that there will be …. amnesty.”

The other Watchmen laughted. “Silence!” shouted Seastnan “I mean it! We will not harm anyone.”

 

The door creaked open and Lyra walked out. She was wiggling her hips; her right hand was twirling golden locks of hair around her fingers. She walked slowly and calmly up to Seastnan, battered her deep blue eyes, put on her sweetest smile and started to rub the fingers of her left hand up and down the yellowish embossment of Dazbog the Sun God, the giver of fortune, on his dark blue boiled leather breastplate.

“Oh …. my ….” she said in a voice that dripped with cheap honey “you are the …. perfect picture of a man if ever ….” she turned her head left, then right “I had seen ….” Seastnan threw his hands into her shoulders knocking her back a couple of steps, and said with a throaty growl, “leave that out you rotten little wench! Just tell me, where your accomplices are hiding.”

Lyra smiled and took a step forward, “aren't I enough for you?” she said as she leaned forward slightly, blew him a kiss, and then, while rubbing her right hand across her left breast said, “I know …. just …. what …. you …. want.”

Smiling and licking her lips, she took another step forward. So did Seastnan. His giant ape like hand moved swiftly thumping her across the right jaw, spinning her around and dropping her to the cobblestones, unconscious.

Seastnan laughted “she did know …. just …. what …. I …. wanted!” he said mocking her in his best feminine tone. The Watchmen laughed.

“BASDARDS,” shouted Cilix from behind the warehuse door, just before he exploded outside with his eyes wide, fists flying furiously in evey direction, mouth moving and spitting out the words, “I'll kill you all!”

The Watchmen looked stunned as Cilix managed to hit one of them in the face dropping him to the ground. He somehow missed the next Watchmen as he passed by, but managed to receive a solid kick to the groin from the seemingly amused Seastnan. Cilix hit the ground groaning, moaning, and crying, with both hands clasping his crotch.

“Teach that boy a lesson!” shouted Seastnan. Two Watchmen pulled cudgels from their back straps and started beating on Cilix until he was an unconscious bloody mess.

“Drag that boy to the cells,” commanded Seastnan, “and since this wench is obviously up for it, send her to the Brothal of The Watch.”

One of the Watchmen picked up Lyra, threw her over his shoulder and started heading into the darkness. Two others grabbed Cilix by the feet, and dragging him behind, with his head bouncing on the cobblestones, they followed the others into the shadowed darkness while laughing at what they had just seen. Seastnan stayed behind, and while muttering to himself, he pulled his cudgel from his back strap and stood there for a short time staring at the door. After a while he groaned to himself, then moved backwards towards the opposite wall, submerging himself into the blackness, only inches from Bodwin, and stood there watching the warehouse door, waiting.

 

Bodwin shuddered as a fire started brewing in the pit of his stomach producing a warm and wild trembling. Beads of sweat began appearing on his forehead, 'not again' he thought as his eyeballs began to itch, as the inside of his skull began to go numb, and his brain started to feel as if it were bleeding. Take him out now! Screeched a voice. One more friend left, save him! Said another. Act now or forever be a wimp! 'Get out of my head!' he thought, 'leave me alone!' No! Screaked another voice. Time is nigh, time is nigh, time is nigh! Slowly he clamped his hands to his ears trying to block the voices out. 'Get out! Get out! Get out!' he thought as loud as he could. Then they were gone. He looked up at the silhouette of Seastnan and felt relieved to see him still concentrating intensely on the warehouse door. Silently, he released a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

As the moments moved by, Bodwin started wondering whether or not Nicon had the brains to stay hidden, or if he had found another way out. 'Here's hoping' he thought just before Nicon proved him wrong. He stepped into the doorway, stuck his head out a little way, looked to the left, then the right, smiled and then stepped out to his right. Seastnan moved quicker than expected. With the cudgel, swinging in his left hand Nicon never new what hit him. A sickening thud resounded through the alley as the club cracked the back of his head; Nicon hit the ground like a tonne of rocks. Seastnan laughed as he placed the cudgel into his back strap, “stupid boy,” he growled. Grabbing Nicon by the feet, he started dragging him toward the cells while Bodwin sat in the darkness stunned for the moment. 'What do I do now?' he thought as his head started to thump again. Follow them, screeched a voice, good idea, said another. Hurry or you'll lose them, said another. Giving into the voices this time, he crept along behind Seastnan keeping himself cloaked in the shadowed walls darkness while following the sound of Nicon's head pounding on the cobblestones. When reaching the prison Bodwin sat on the ground hidden by the dense blackness of the jails towering walls, 'now what' he thought, wanting, hoping that one of the voices would give him an answer. They stayed silent.

 

The dank stone walled cubicle stunk of urine and faeces. The little gaps at the top of the walls were not enough to relieve the smell or let in much light either, but they were wide enough to let in flies and mosquitoes, that didn't seem to live long. This was apparent by the amount of cobwebs hanging from the walls and ceiling; the spiders seemed to love it in here. The amount of dead fly and mosquito bodies made the cobwebs sag creating a creepy feeling for anyone who would spend more than a night in there. Two fire torches hung in the bracers on each wall releasing a swaying orangey glow that added to the depressing tone. In the middle of the room was a table with a naked man lying on it on his back. His legs, crunched up with his knees pointing towards the cobwebbed ceiling, his arms stretched back over his head. There was blood trickling off the front and back edges of the table. In the northern wall was a big heavy wooden door, which creaked open, and then slammed shut as Seastnan walked through.

“Is it still unconscious?” he asked.

“Well, he has endured a lot of pain,” said one of the Watchmen. (extend on his appearance)

“Tip the bucket of water over it,” replied Seastnan “I want to talk to it!”

The sharp sting of ice-cold water splasing over the naked man's face dragged him out into consciousness. Spitting and spluttering, he spun his head left then right trying to figure out where he was. He started to move his arms and then screamed. He tried to move his feet then screamed again. He tried to roll onto his side, but couldn't move.

“Hold on there boy,” said Seastnan in a smooth but deep voice, “you keep doing that and you'll rip your hands and feet off the nails.”

Through the sharp, short breaths, created by the stabbing pain in both his hands and feet, he asked, “what?”

“Well” replied Seastnan scratching his chin with his right hand, “We had to nail your hands and feet to the table. It's for your own saftety!” He smiled.

The man released a heavy breath and said, “What the ….” “That's what I should be asking you!” interrupted Seastnan roaring like a lion that has a paw caught in a spiked foot trap, “Breaking into my warehouse! What were you thinking?”

“I was hungry,” he panted.

“Hungry, you were hungry?” he said in a slightly raised pitch, mockingly, then laughed. “Why don't you get a job like the rest of us?”

Breathing heavily the man replied, “In Eomar; are you mad ….”

“Yes, I am mad!” roared Seastnan again. “You rotten urchins disgust me. Thinking you go around doing whatever you please without consequences, without any consideration for the honest, hardworking people ….”

“Honest! Hardworking! Ha!” he said strongly through deep breaths. “Don't try making me laugh,” another deep breath. “No one in Eomar is honest, especially the Watch. You deny ninety percent of the people the right to earn a living,” taking another deep breath he started to shout. “You steal their houses, stop them from trading, arrest them for trading, or hang those who try trading honestly.” Another deep breath, “You rig the scales to steal from the travelling merchants coming to the city, impose ridiculously high taxes, and then send them back to wherever they came from in worse shape than when they arrived!” With another deep breath he continued, “Ever since Ruskin the usurper ….” Seastnan crashing his left fist into the man's nose and spraying blood across his cheeks managed to interrupt the spiel.

“Show some respect for your king!” shouted Seastnan.

“Ruskin killed my knig and stole the throne!” replied the bloody faced man, heaving in pain, and gulping for air.

“The former king was a traitor,” said Seastnan who had managed to gather a little of his composure and started speaking smoothly again. “Now listen, boy. We can do this easy way or the hard way.”

“There is no easy way in Eomar under King Ruskin!” he snarled.

Seastnan smiled and said, “All you need to do is tell me your name ….”

“Stck it up your arse!” he growled, and then breathed heavily.

Seastnan laughed, “it always amazes me how many people have that name!” His laughing continued as he pulled a wicked looking knife from his belt. He flipped the sharp curved blade with a serrated back edge, over, and over in his hand, and through his sadistic smile said, “Looks like you must be one of those coal mining orphans. Well …. that doesn't matter now.” He leaned forward, stuck the point of the blade into the man's right eye socket and cut around the eye. (explain the screaming and taunting) He then reached into his belt and pulled out a spoon and started to dig out the eyeball, and then tipped the eye from his right hand to his left. Laughing hoarsely, he said, “I love this part, the look on the faces of trash like you.” Abruptly, he stopped playing with the eye and quickly clamped his left hand on the nostrils of the naked man's shattered nose, causing him to scream again. Seastnan laughed, then dropped the eye into the man's mouth and slammed his right hand over the orifice to block his breathing.

Laughing wildly Seastnan said, “Swallow it boy!” The man's left eye widened, his cheeks started becoming a flustered red, blood continued to pour out of his right socket. Pain from his nose was almost bringing him to the point of fainting. He was out of options. Die like this, or swallow. There was no choice but to swallow.

“Now,” said Seastnan returning to his smooth tone, “Tell me what your name is and who your accomplices are?”

“Stick it ….” “Tell me something I don't know,” roared Seastnan.

“I only have one eye left.”

“I already know that!” laughed Seastnan.

“What will you do when that is gone?” the man laughed, “I have all night!” his laughter becoming louder.

“Well, I don't,” said Seastnan smoothly as he retrieved his knife from his belt, leaned in closer to the man, “But you