Page 89 of Gilded Curses

“That’s not the answer I’m looking for, Desi,” Orin told him.

“No, no, no, no, no, don’t cut me again. I don’t know where they are! I wasn’t one of the Elite who cast the spell. The only survivor of that group was Sheree. She’s the only one who knows the location of the stones.”

Orin gritted his teeth as he recalled stabbing that bitch. She hadn’t left him any other choice, and she never would have told him the location of those stones, but without her, they had almost no chance of finding them.

He could have cut her into tiny pieces, and she would have gone to her grave with the knowledge. That was probably why she never told Desmond their location; she knew he’d sing like a songbird as soon as he faced adversity.

She wasn’t like little Desi, who was as weak as he was depraved. No amount of torment he inflicted could have compared to the loss of her child, and she would have endured it all with a smile.

“I don’t believe you,” Orin said, though he did.

“It’s true,” Desi sobbed. “For the love of all things, I swear it’s true. She never told me where the stones were. She never wanted anyone else to know. Who do you think killed the original Elite? It was her because it was her secret, and if she died, she’d determined the secret was going with her. That’s how she intended to keep us safe from the outsiders seeking to destroy us.”

“Safe,” Alda snorted. “You call being tied to a wall, beaten, raped, tossed to dogs, and thrown in the dungeon for the smallest offenses safe?”

“You like it,” Desi snarled.

Orin didn’t stop Alda when she walked over, picked up the kitchen knife Orin had left on a nearby table, and lopped off what remained of poor little Desi’s dick. Orin shoved the ball gag back into the man’s mouth as he screamed over losing his favorite appendage.

“I don’t know why you’re screaming,” Alda said. “You like it.”

Orin admired her style as she set the knife down and returned to stand beside Aurora, who hugged her. Aurora released her to grab the bag of powder. She tossed a handful at Desmond’s crotch before retreating.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

He continued letting Desi scream against the ball gag as he tapped the knife against his knee and studied the room. If they couldn’t find the stones, they’d never escape this realm, but if he could get enough weapons and servants on their side, they could stage an uprising.

He’d never admit defeat and give up trying to get away from this place, but if they had control of this realm, they wouldn’t have to live under the thumb of these twisted oppressors. It was a better option than anything else they faced.

Desmond’s room had plenty of weapons; he just required an army to help him.

“Are there other servants who’d help us to overthrow these assholes?” he asked. “Desmond has quite the store of weapons. I can smuggle a lot of them out of here and get them into their hands. Without the stones, we can’t break free of this realm, but maybe we can reclaim it and make it a safer place for all of us until we figure out the next step.”

“There are plenty who will help,” Alda said. “We’ve been plotting a rebellion for years, but it’s mostly been talk, until now. All we wanted was freedom, but without weapons and the guards’ training, they would easily overpower us, even though we outnumber them.”

“We kept telling ourselves, one day an opportunity would arise, and we’d be able to break free without them destroying us or making our lives worse if we lost. And believe me, it seems bad now, but they could have made our lives a lot worse,” Aurora said.

Orin recalled the dungeon and the lost souls trapped there. “I believe you.”

“That time has come,” Alda said. “Sheree’s dead; Desmond isn’t surviving this… or at least, I hope he’s not.”

“Oh, he’s not,” Orin assured her, and Desmond’s sobs increased as beads of drool dangled from the corners of his swollen lips.

“Hush, hush,” Orin soothed as he patted Desi’s cheek again. “You should be happy to be joining your wife soon. It was so clear how much you both loved each other.” He leaned forward as he examined the pathetic man. “I chopped off her head, Desi, and stuck it on her mantel… just as you said you would do with my hand. But I don’t see my hand, Desi. Where is it?”

“He threw it in the fire,” Aurora said. “I don’t know why, but it was the first thing he did when he entered the room. He was in a foul mood and made me pay for it.”

“That’s because he doesn’t like to lose,” Orin said. “And while I may have lost my hand, he was the one who lost his bet when his game didn’t play out the way he anticipated. But no one likes a sore loser, Desi. They’re not fun to be around.”

Orin sat back and started tapping the knife again as Desi’s head bowed. The man wasn’t stupid; he knew these were the last minutes of his life, and they’d all be far from pleasant.

“How much time do we have before you two are expected to leave here?” he asked.

“About an hour,” Alda said.

“Do you believe he doesn’t know where the stones are?”

Aurora’s mouth twisted to the side while Alda bit her bottom lip. Then, they both shrugged.