Series 2, book 1, except: The Cell

Freshly kidnapped, Mhaldin is taken into captivity. From miles away and from total safety, his sister Fenera watches with her thoughts..

Then, around 10:30 on the clock, she saw a flicker of thought come through into her mind.
'Mhaldin, are you there?' she thought. Before he could reply, Fenera felt Mhaldin get struck in the face with an open hand.
“Wake up” a voice shouted in Mhaldin’s ear. Mhaldin opened his eyes and was immediately blindfolded. Fenera could feel him get pulled to his feet and hurried along by two men who grabbed his arms.
'Where are they taking me?' Mhaldin thought.
'How could I know?' Thought Fenera.
'You’re not in your normal bed' Mhaldin thought. Fenera thought about all that had happened today, sprinkling her thoughts with bits of optimism. Although it was hard for Mhaldin to feel happy when he was being hurried along as roughly as he was, he was still able to project happiness.
'It’s good to know so many people care' he thought. Fenera felt him get hurried across a hard floor and from what she could hear, the floor indoors and stone.
“So when do we get off duty?” one of the men holding Mhaldin asked.
“Not sure. I’ll ask the captain once we’re done with this kid” answered the other man. The entire trip took a minute or two, but after descending down a long flight of stairs, they came to a halt.
Mhaldin was scared, so was Fenera. What would happen now?
'Don’t be afraid Mhaldin, my new partners and I will get you out' Fenera thought, 'four of us are mages, we’re going to save you'.
'I know you will' Mhaldin thought.
“Alright, here’s the kid” one of the men holding Mhaldin said. “You want him? He’s yours.”
“Thanks for your help and for the ride in your machine” said a third voice, “you two can go.” The two men holding him released him, Fenera and Mhaldin both heard them run up some stairs. Another person grabbed Mhaldin’s arms, one in each hand and he was led forward a few steps, then abruptly stopped. The sound of rustling chains could be heard.
“From now on I am your master” said a voice. “My men will be extensions of my power over you. You are a belonging, a tool, an item and my men will make you work and like a tool, you will obey. If they tell you to stand you will stand, if they tell you to sit you sit, if they tell you to speak, you speak. You will not see me ever because I have better things to do than guard you, but my men will keep you under their solid watch. If you are thinking about escape then throw those ideas away now, it will never happen, I swear it. Your family is gone, your life is gone. Here you either sit and wait for my men to give you my commands, or do what they say. Do you understand?” Fenera felt Mhaldin nod. A hand struck him across the face.
“Do more than nod, tell me you understand, your master commands it!” Mhaldin did nothing.
'Just say yes' Fenera thought.
'He’s not my master' Mhaldin thought.
“You are insolent scum. But you will learn to obey my men and me by extension. It won’t be too long before you’ll grovel to their feet. I promise!” A fist punched him in the gut and the man behind Mhaldin held him up. The fist punched again, and again, and again, and again. When it was done, the man who had done all the speaking left, his footsteps could be heard going up the stairs.
When he was gone, Mhaldin’s blindfold was ripped away.
He was in a cell, big enough to squeeze four or so good sized horses in. All four of the walls were barred, so it was more like a cage. The room it was in the center of appeared to be a cellar as there were great piles of boxes and other junk lying about. Close to the door to the cell was a narrow flight of stairs going up. On one of the opposite walls was a small trapdoor, which Mhaldin later learned was the latrine. It seemed like a bottomless pit.
There were four other men in the cell with Mhaldin. One of them stepped to the door and produced a key while one man held Mhaldin still. Two others were bringing a heavy chain forward, one end they passed to the back of the cell opposite the door.
'In the name of all the gods…' Mhaldin thought when he saw what was tethered to the end of the chain: a heavy metal collar which opened and closed like a shackle. One of the men grabbed Mhaldin’s hair to hold his head straight while it was brought up to Mhaldin’s neck and closed around it while someone locked it shut with a key. The man at the front of the cell moved to the back and fed the chain through the back of the cell, clipping it neatly to a latch attached to the floor. Now Mhaldin could not leave the cell with the collar on. He tried loosening the collar. Such a cold, heavy weight was so odd. He wasn't used to being chained up like a dog.
The three men in the cell then drew short wooden clubs, each roughly a foot long.
“Are you Mhaldin Viex?” one of them demanded. Mhaldin said nothing and sat down near the end of the cell, unwilling to say anything and deeply intimidated. He fingered the collar idly. “Are you Mhaldin Viex?!” the man demanded again, “you don’t want your master to get mad, do you?” No words were said.
The three men grouped around Mhaldin and raised their clubs. Fenera closed her eyes tight, but couldn’t stop the flood of pain that came through. An eternity later, the beatings stopped. Fenera thought to check her body for bruises but knew it wasn’t she who took the beating. Even so, her left shoulder throbbed: many heavy blows had fallen on Mhaldin’s left shoulder.
“We know you are” one of the men said.
“Stupid little boy” another of the men spat, then kicked Mhaldin as hard as he could, causing Fenera, miles away, to wince and stop to catch her breath. “Come on, let’s go. That trip was too long for me, I need a drink. We’ll torture the kid later.” The others agreed with him, each took their turn at kicking Mhaldin before heading upstairs with the last one closing the cell door and locking it. The last thing they did was put a mageforce-charged amulet by the cell, just out of Mhaldin’s reach. It was the amulet which blocked mages from using mageforce in its vicinity. The kidnappers left sight, chatting coolly.
'Mhaldin, are you alright?' Fenera thought.
'Just a few bruises' Mhaldin thought. 'I’ll be alright. Please go to sleep, you need your rest. Don’t lose any sleep for my sake. I’ll still be here the next time you go to sleep, I promise'. Mhaldin’s thoughts told Fenera that he believed that it was daytime where he was every time night fell where Fenera was. They took time to comfort each other with thoughts and memories, then Fenera did as she was told and went to sleep.