Between the Light and the Darkness - Chapter 15 - Introduction to Evil

Jondak awoke in Shirra's bed. The soft woolen fibers of the blankets were twisted and rumpled from the activities of the night before. His bare chest gleamed in the flickering torchlight. Shirra still slept, but would soon awaken and send him back to his cell. He didn't particularly like being used for Shirra's pleasures, but he had no choice. He could be replaced.

If he failed in his mission, Shirra would make his nightmares come true. This was simply another job he had to perform for her. The only way he could get through it was by pretending she was Ileeya. He would never tell her that, of course, she would probably kill him.

He had hoped Tim wouldn't get through the tournament, but wasn't surprised when he emerged successful. He was pretty decent with a sword. He wondered why Shirra wanted the human so badly. If she wanted him, why did she let him risk his life in the tournament? With her powers, he wondered why she didn't just take Tim herself instead of getting him to do her dirty work.

Jondak wished Shirra would wake up and send him back to his cell. The bed was comfortable, but he would almost prefer to sleep on the hard prison bed than be with her. He couldn't wait till she had what she wanted, so he could get what he wanted.

Shirra awoke and stretched languidly. "Mmmmm. You performed well, Jondak." She climbed out of the bed and walked to its end. Jondak did the same. "As your reward, you'll only have to entertain my pets for five minutes, instead of ten."

A shudder passed through Jondak as he thought of the demons eating him alive. "Please, Shirra. Please, don't."

"Uh-uh-uh, Jondak. We don't want to argue, do we?" she said in her sweet voice.

"I just thought, since I pleased you..."

"Oh. You did, but you musn't forget the penalty if you fail your mission."

"I won't. I promise. Just please don't send me back there. How about if I..." he reached out to stroke her. A searing pain shot through his arm and he screamed, jerking his hand away. The skin on his fingers and arm melted away, exposing the bone.

He stared in horror at his skeletal limb.

"Now, Jondak. You know to never touch me unless I will it. Off you go, lest I lose my temper and increase your punishment."

"Please..."

Suddenly he was on hanging in mid air in a firey chamber, spread eagle, his arms and legs pinned. The heat was unbearable. The demons screeched happily as they came toward him.

"NOOOOOO.....," his screams were cut off.

Shirra watched for awhile with an amused smile on her lips. When she thought he'd had enough, she would send Jondak back to his cell. He would be fine. He might have some lingering pain in his hand, but she would see to it the damage was repaired. After all, if he wasn't whole, how could he complete the tasks at hand?

It was all just an illusion. Jondak was really pinned to the wall - no fire, no demons. She was surprised an Irnaxxian would fall for such an easy trick, but it worked. She was able to supply the real thing, of course. But that would be time consuming, and Shirra was not a patient person.

After sending Jondak back, she retreated back to her room. She snapped her fingers, and instantly, one of her servants appeared.

He bowed low, and she made him stay in that position for several minutes before ordering him to get her some breakfast. She crossed the room to her wardrobe and selected some clothes to wear.

Jondak was such a fool. It's too bad there was no one more qualified to handle this job in that wretched prison. Oh well. He would have to do. She did possess the power to replace him, if need be. But it would take a lot of work.

First she would have to scour the planes to find just the right person. That, itself, would take days. Then she would have to have her servants collect the necessary ingredients for the series of incantations she would need to open up a portal. Over a week's worth of work and then she would have to train that person to do her bidding. More time lost. It's not that she was in a hurry, she just didn't want the hassle of finding someone new.

She got pretty lucky with Jondak. He happened to be in the right place at the right time. And the fact that he wanted Ileeya, her rotten twin sister, just made things all that much easier. Then Shirra could dangle Ileeya in front of Jondak like a carrot on a string for a mule.

She knew he was pretending to be with Ileeya when he was in her bed. She didn't care. If it helped Jondak perform better, than that was fine with her. When she was done with Jondak she would probably destroy him anyway. Maybe she would have one of her lackeys gather up an elf girl and Shirra would cast an illusion on her to make her look like Ileeya.

Send both her and Jondak to some remote location and let Jondak have his happiness. Jondak had been faithful, after all, maybe he deserved a reward. It all depended on Shirra's mood when she appointed herself as Ruler of the Planes.

One thing was certain, however, she had no intention of giving Jondak the real thing. Ileeya would have to be eliminated, of course. There was a power in her sister, Shirra could feel it. She posed a threat to Shirra's ultimate goal.

And this human, Tim. What of him? Shirra thought it not possible Tim could be the one the old prophecy foretold about, although the idiot king and his assembly of morons seemed to think so. Just to be on the safe side, Tim should at least be incapacitated. If she couldn't sway him to do her bidding, then she would have to suck enough of his mind away that he no longer remembered who he was.

She sighed to herself. It was so much better when they cooperated. It's about time she paid him a visit.

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As another reward for not being slaughtered in the Tournament, the slaves were treated to a month of rest. Each morning after breakfast, they were taken to a large courtyard where they were allowed to do as they pleased. Guards stood around the edges of the yard, supervising the slaves.

Tim knew he wouldn't have time to confront Ileeya about her sister, if indeed she had one, in the short mornings before they were to leave the cell. And he didn't want to broach the subject in the courtyard, either. The month of rest trickled away quickly and it was easy to lose track of time. He wanted to enjoy the bright sunshine without brining a cloud into the picture. Since Ileeya had wanted to keep this secret from him, then bringing it up and forcing the truth out of her would certainly put her in a bad mood. Better to enjoy the few hours in the hot sun before they had to retreat to their cells. The month would come to an end soon enough, and he would talk to her about it then.

Ileeya spent a large portion of her days with her female friends talking. Not wanting to feel like an intruder, Tim didn't bother her, but he did watch her a lot. He loved to watch her from a distance. She was so entrancing.

He noticed, though, often Jondak would sit in the shade of one of the few trees and just watch him watching her. He always had a scowl on his face.

It was hard to miss the romance that was blooming between Gylen and Kiara, Ileeya's closest friend. Though the two had never met before being captured, they were of the same race, and had a lot to talk about.

Tim had learned only a little about Gylen. He was usually quiet and soft spoken. He rarely gave details about his homeworld or what his life had been like, but knew a few details. Details like his people, the Dendiji, were a farming race, and spent long days in their fields culitvating their crops. Gardening here was almost like home for him, except for the family he left behind. But Tim sensed more than that. Judging by the scars on Gylen's face, there was more to him than he was willing to let on.

Sometimes, Ileeya would sit and chat with Tim. She seemed so free away from the confines of the cell. He was able to get an inkling of what it would be like to be someplace else with her.

It was easy to ignore Jondak's sour face during this time. Actually, it was easy to ignore everything around them. Though they spent many hours in the courtyard, the day always seemed to slip by too fast, and the reality of the prison slammed back into him when they were taken back to their cells in the evening, after the large midday meal.

It was during one of these times Tim kissed Ileeya for the first time. They were standing and chatting about a variety of things. Discussing each other's hopes and dreams. Ileeya had just finished a game with some of her friends. They had been running in the hot sun and Ileeya's hair was plastered to her forehead. It was slightly tangled and there was a fine sheen of perspiration on her face. Her lips and cheeks were stained red from exertion and her eyes, bright and beautiful, caught the sun's light and reflected it back a thousand fold. She had never looked more lovely.

Tim felt the moment was right and pulled her to him. He hoped he made the right decision, and, when she didn't resist him, realized he had. His heart leapt for joy when she kissed him back.

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Jondak had decided to stop pursuing Ileeya for awhile. It was obvious she didn't want him. It would have been nice if she had been interested in Jondak, at least a little bit, but it had been four years. Even when he had first gotten here, he hoped. He knew he was a fair looking guy. Back in his own village he had his pick of women. And he had most of them. He didn't think Ileeya didn't want him because of his race. Elves and Irnaxxians had been interbreeding for centuries. Maybe she was racist. Of course, look who she was hanging around with. A human! What the hell is a human? Where do they even come from? No one here had ever seen or heard of one before. Jondak wondered what telepathic abilities the human had. He didn't seem to have any. He came here not even knowing how to fight. He was pretty good at it now, though, but only because Ileeya had taught him, and she was one of the best here. It's too bad Jondak hadn't been selected to be Tim's trainer. He would have made sure Tim didn't make it through the tournament.


Seeing Tim with Ileeya was difficult for him. He wanted her. How dare Tim come here from some place unknown, be here for less than a year and steal her away? Seeing him kiss her made his blood boil. That should have been himself during last year's month of rest. Or even this year's. Jondak desperately wished he could march right over there, put his hands around the big lout's neck, and squeeze until the bastard stopped moving. Tim wouldn't go down without a fight, Jondak realized. He had his hopes just before the tournament that he would be easily controlled. That handshake seemed to make Tim sweat a little. But obviously not enough. He hadn't expected Tim and Ileeya to have grown so close so quickly. Jondak wasn't allowed to kill him, not yet. That would be a failure in his mission. Shirra would certainly destroy him. He shivered again at the thought. Damn Tim! Jondak would make him pay. One day.

Maybe he could get Ileeya to turn against Tim somehow through mind control. He couldn't make her fall in love with him, though. He would have to take what he wanted by force. Maybe with Shirra's help, Ileeya's mind could be weakened to the point where Jondak could implant certain messages to make her serve only him. It wouldn't be the same, but he was going to have to be happy with it.

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That night in the cell, Tim was nervous. He didn't want to ask Ileeya about her past. He wanted to know, but he knew it would upset her, and he didn't want to have to do that. Especially when the day had been so nearly perfect; considering the circumstances. But the time had come and the issue was weighing heavily on his mind. They had their meager dinner and Tim grew more apprehensive.

"What's wrong, Tim?"

"Oh, uh, nothing."

"Then why do you seem so nervous?"

"Being around pretty girls does that to me".

"You're not a very good liar, are you, Tim?"

"About as good as you are."

"What?!"

He turned to face her. Her clear blue eyes sparkled as they looked into his. He took a deep breath and began, "I had a dream last night that you had a sister." He watched closely for a reaction.

"How interesting," she said, looking away.

"Do you?"

"No. I already told you. I'm an only child."

He gently turned her face to him.

"Please, Ileeya. I need to know."

In her eyes, which widened, he saw several emotions play through.

"What are you so afraid of? You can trust me," he said.

She pulled away from him and paced the cell as she gathered her thoughts."Yes," she finally said. "I had a sister. Her name was Shirra. Are you happy now?"

"What happened to her?"

"Several months ago I told you I had a friend named Shirra who died in a village fire. It was my sister, not my friend."

No, Timmy, Gertie's voice said inside his head, she's lying.

He walked over to her. "Ileeya, I know that's not the truth."

"She...She...," her face contorted with mixed emotions. "Damn you to hell, Tim Mitchell! Why do you need to know?" She was crying, now.

It wrenched his heart to see her like this."I don't want you keeping secrets. I know you're hiding something."

"We shared one kiss, and already you're staking your claim on me? Well, I won't have it! It's not like we're married!" she screamed.

"Maybe not," he said softly as he stroked her cheek. "But I love you, Ileeya. And it hurts me to see you in so much pain. When we first met, you told me you were an excellent judge of character and that you knew I could be trusted."

She turned her tear stained up to him. "Okay, Tim," she said, "You really want the truth?"

"Yes," he answered.

" I had a twin sister," she said, "but I killed her."