I Am Bree - Book 1

Chapter 29 - Rain and Black

"Get up." One of the guards said gruffly.

I couldn't move. My fear held me frozen in place. With a growl, he grabbed hold of my arm and jerked me upright. As I swayed on wobbly legs, he shackled my wrists.

Finally, I gathered enough courage to speak. "Where are you taking me?" My voice was small and weak.

"Public interrogation." He replied shortly. "Let's go."

I could barely stand—not to mention walking—and when I tried to take that first step, I nearly toppled over. With a growl of annoyance, the guards grabbed my elbows and hustled me out the door.

My mouth ran dry as we made our way down the dingily lit hallway. Public interrogation. Didn't they already know from last time: I had nothing to tell, because I was innocent? Questioning and beating me in front of a mob of people wasn't likely to change my answers. What did they expect?

I didn't remember the walk to the dungeons being so long. I stumbled between the two men, trying and failing to catch my breath. The pain, that had been dull and throbbing only a few moments before, grew with every step until I was struggling not to cry.

Just when I thought the dim hallways would never end, a door opened, and I was blinded by piercing light. I gasped as fresh air flooded my lungs. Faced by all this insanity, I suddenly felt alive again.

Blinking hard, my vision cleared to reveal we were in an open courtyard I had never seen before. It was wide and paved with silver-grey stone. We had stepped out of an arched doorway onto a path that led to three, smooth steps and a raised dais which was covered by a bright canopy. King Erik was sitting there in an enormous stone chair staring at me icily, and on my left and right there were hundreds of finely clothed people, all of them watching intently as the guards walked me down the center pathway.

When we were barely ten steps from the stairs, one of the guards struck me harshly in the back of my knees. Already wobbling and weak, I collapsed easily onto the ground. My bound hands stopped me from breaking the fall, and terrible pain blossomed in my knees. The now-familiar taste of blood spread through my mouth as I bit my tongue with the impact.

As the guards backed up a few steps, a murmur washed over the crowd. Behind me, I could almost feel the two armored men standing ready to do whatever was necessary should I act out of line, but they were the least of my worries. The hushed, expectant atmosphere set my entire body on edge.

I knew then that I hadn't been brought out here to be interrogated. That was a fancy euphemism for an execution. There was no judge, no jury to decide if my crime was worthy of death. Here, King Erik was the final word.

I stared down at the smooth stones as a large raindrop splattered on the ground, staining the surface of the stone. I felt a lump form in my throat. A chill wind swirled about the courtyard, biting through the ragged remains of my dress and bringing more rain. I was going to die.

Swallowing heavily, I raised my head slowly and looked up at the throne as the water droplets splattered across my trembling form. I met King Erik's eyes and saw the reality of my doom there. If he even asked a question, I would be shocked. He didn't care about truth. He wanted to get rid of me. I had stood up to him in saving Kotaro, and this was his response, his reward for crossing him.

A small movement to his left drew my attention to the figure standing silently behind the throne. I thought I knew who I would see standing there, and the thought gave me an unexplainable rush of courage. Instead of the almond-eyed figure I'd grown accustomed to seeing standing back there, however, my eyes met a familiar pair of large, blue orbs staring painfully down at me.