It was like watching a piece of himself being taken away.
As Thor watched it disappear from view, he did everything in his power to try to break free. But he could not. The Akdon shackles on his wrists would not allow him.
Andronicus turned towards Thor and stood over him.
“There is no weapon that you can wield than I cannot wield myself,” Andronicus insisted.
Thor realized that it burned his father up that he was able to wield a weapon that his father could not.
“I am stronger than you, father,” Thor said. “That is why you fear me.”
Andronicus screamed, stepped forward, and kicked Thor so hard in the side he felt one of his ribs crack. Thor turned and coughed, lying on the ground, gasping for air.
“McCloud!” Andronicus yelled.
Thor looked up to see the former King McCloud step forward, missing on eye and with a huge burn on the side of his disfigured face, where he had been branded with the emblem of the Empire. He looked like a monster.
“I think it is time we teach our young Thorgrin what it feels like to be branded. Maybe we shall brand his face, the same way I did yours.”
Thor’s heart pounded at his words. McCloud’s eyes opened wide with a smile of delight.
“It would be great pleasure, my master,” McCloud said.
McCloud turned, grabbed a hot poker handed to him by an attendant, and examined the end of it, affixed with the large square emblem of the Empire, burning white-hot with fire.
“NO!” Thor screamed out, as McCloud reached down, the hot poker coming close to his face. Thor knew that within moments his face would be disfigured, just like McCloud’s, branded with the Emblem of Andronicus. The thought tore him apart; he could think of nothing worse.
McCloud sneered in delight as he lowered the poker for Thor’s exposed face.
Thor heard a screech, high in the sky. He looked up to see Estopheles; she dove down, her talons out, and McCloud looked up—but not in time. Estopheles clawed his face, leaving deep cuts across his nose and forehead and cheeks and lips. McCloud shrieked, dropping the iron, which landed on his foot, scalding it, and made him scream again. His face a bloody mess, he finally turned and ran, Estopheles chasing him across the camp.
Andronicus stepped forward and picked up the iron himself, holding it over Thor, sneering down.
“This is your last chance,” Andronicus said. “Stop defying me, and accept my offer. Embrace me. Half the Empire will be yours. I am the only true father you have in this world. Embrace me and find relief.”
Thor mustered just enough energy to lift his head, and spit at Andronicus.
“I would rather die a bastard than live as your son.”
Andronicus grimaced, and with a grunt of supreme rage and frustration, he lowered the iron.
Thor turned, and at the last second, the poker missed his face and instead sunk into his shoulder. Thor shrieked, as the burning iron sunk into his shoulder and he experienced the worst pain of his life. The searing iron branded his flesh, leaving the emblem of the Empire on it. Smoke sizzled from his arm and filled his nostrils with the awful smell of burning flesh. Thor screamed until he could scream no more.
Finally, Andronicus stopped. Thor lay there weakly, limp, barely able to catch his breath. He couldn’t take any more of this.
“Take him to the pit,” Andronicus ordered.
Please God, let me die , Thor thought, drifting in and out of consciousness.
Thor felt himself being dragged by the rope binding his feet, paraded back through the camp. In the distance, he saw a round black pit coming into view, and he felt himself going over the edge, hurling down, sinking into the blackness.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Silesia was awash in activity as Reece hurried through the courtyard, Elden, O’Connor and Conven at his side, all of them merging with the others, making their way from the hall of arms towards the main army in the city square. All around them thousands of knights were mobilizing, breaking up into four camps, one lead by Kendrick, one by Erec, one by Tirus and one by Godfrey. Reece and Conven and O’Connor and Elden stuck together, as they always had, and they were joined by the two other Legion members—Serna and Krog—along with Indra, who stayed by Elden’s side. They decided to join Kendrick’s division, as Reece wanted to be close to his eldest brother when battle came.
After so many months battling enemies alone in the Empire, with just their small group to rely on, it felt good to have the support of this vast army and to be fighting back home in the Ring. Even if the odds were worse, Reece felt more protected now than ever. He also felt more determined. Reece was devastated to hear that his best friend had been captured, and he had no reservations about riding into battle, whatever the odds. He would happily give his life for Thor’s. He knew they were vastly outnumbered, but he felt as if that had always been the case, ever since he had joined the Legion. Battle was not easy. Nor was glory. But it was precisely these odds which made battle glorious.
The crowd swelled as they all reached the main gate of Silesia. They all began to funnel their way through, beneath the soaring arches, and hundreds of Silesian citizens stood there, waving banners, cheering them on.
“Return home to us!”
“Save the Ring!”
“Kill Andronicus!”
“Free Thorgrin!”
“Silesia awaits your return.”
These citizens were brave: they cheered the soldiers, knowing full well that their departure would leave them unprotected and that Silesia would be vulnerable to attack once again.
Reece, fully dressed in his ring mail, prepared himself, feeling that nervous excitement and anticipation of battle in his gut, checking and tightening his weapons around his belt, testing his long sword, his short sword, making sure his daggers were there, feeling the shaft of his flail. He had more weapons on his horse, up ahead, and felt ready for every contingency.
“Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye then?” came a voice.
Reece turned to Selese standing there, in the midst of the crowd, but a few feet away, looking back at him sadly.
He forked away from his friends and went to her, lowering his head, ashamed. He hadn’t known what to say to her. He felt bad leaving her, especially as they had grown close over these last two days and nights together. Reece was falling in love with her. He did not know what to make of his feelings. They had been inseparable, relaxing together by the bonfires, taking in the feasts and celebrations. He had hoped it would stay like that forever.