7. House of Pain

She woke up from the feeling of a tear running down from the corner of her eye, she felt the moisture as it ran down from her right temple. She didn't know where she was, her feet were bound to a chain that allowed her to move only to the edge of the cell she was in but they were still too heavy. The only light was a torch in the corridor between hers and the cell across, ready to go out at any moment, keeping the light scarce. Looking around her she saw her meal, a plate with some bread and a piece of meat, mostly a piece of bone one would say/ At first she said to herself she wouldn't eat but the kick of the child mae her think of it and the energy needed and decided to eat.
She didn't know how long it was that she was a prisoner in that cell, more than three days was her reckoning but she had stopped counting. She would only lay down on the bench that was put on the floor as a bed and cry till she'd fall asleep, she was missing her home but she didn't make any attempts to scream, she was enduring it all, for her child. She had crawled to the door of the cell to leave the empty plate and returned to the bench again, she had lain down and heard a key turning inthe silence. The door opened with a loud creak and suddenly a light was shed, showing that it were many cells like that in a row left and right of the corridor.
But they were empty and there were no lit torches on the walls, some had red stains on them and she knew that it was blood, the bars of one hadred stains as if a hand was sliding down and there were some writings in blood here and there.
YOU WILL NEVER M..... HELP!! I WILL LIVE! THIS IS THE END! I.... HEL.....
Some were ineligible, others she could read. Six men came, one of them unlocked the door and they put her in the middle, three on each side and they made their way into the next room. She didn't fight back, she tried to not cry, she expected to be taken to someone to talk to, to at least know what was happening.
-Is our prisoner ready?
The low tone, loud, hissing voice of a man was asking, two men were standing in front of the door to his room and the one on the left replied.
-She is on her way my lord, she won't be late.
-Good, good. I think she is a fine catch. She will make our Master happy and make him return. I am sure of it.
The men did not reply, they just went out of the room, only to hear his voice.
-You know what to do when she arrives.
They were standing in front of the door to his Chambers, the door had a symbol on it, three horizontal curving lines and two vertical ones left and right, curving as well. High up and above the door, just some inches under the arch of the ceiling was a window that let the sun be seen from it and shine into the room on the western side, under a grat arch with a pair of black eyes and a grin. The window was showing the sun arond an hour before it would set and now it wass only moments away before its last ray would disappear...
All of the six men around her held torches and as they passed through the dark corridor she could see more of the place, they were walking on a path that had cells left and right of it. The stench was strong but she was used to it by now, the cells had pieces of flesh and other remains, bones, clothes, in a corner there was a rotting piece with dried blood and insects feating around. Aggy controilled herself and didn't throw up and went on and through the open door. They walked through a dark passage way and in the end it became a big room with many doors left and right, they were heading to the one on the other side. A big double door, three times the size of a man with two black eyes carved and a grin under them. The first two in the row pushed those open and they now got to a big great hall.
To her left she saw the sun disappear from a small window on one side of the room as the men lead her in the middle of it. As soon as they stopped a chant started, low at first, getting stronger as they approached a marble altar that stood at the spot where the last rays of the sun hit before it disappeared. The men made her lay down and tied her head, elbows, wrists, feet and knees on the altar. The chanting became louder and even more passionate and Aggy closed her eyes waiting for it to stop. It was scaring her, there were men's and women's voices, less women's but enough to make it scary with the notes they produced. Soon and when the voices reached their peak everything stopped and Aggy kept her eyes closed hoping that everything was only a dream, when she opened them everything was the same, the pillars and around, her beign tied to the altar and a single drop of tears run down her temple from each of her eyes.
Out of nowhere smoked filled the area around the altar, it was thick and she couldn't see anything... That is when she left a hand on her forehead, holding it tightly, yet gently enough to not hurt her, another hand reached her swollen belly and the chant started again, this time it was the same word, it was said five or six times, she could not make out in her distress. Slowly the smoke cleared and she saw a man standing over her with his hands on her.
-Brothers and sisters, it is time we call our Master forth once more! He must return and reclaim what is his, smash our chains and let us lead these people under his rule. With our sacrifice we will bring him back and restore his powers, he will make us his emissaries that rule these lands! This shall be done with this!
Saying that he squeezed Aggy's belly and the young woman tried to move and cried, the man looked down at her, he was thin and pale and on his hood just above his eyes were two eyes, black, similar to those on  the doors. His face was matching his hissing voice and on his forehead he had carved three curving lines, as those on the door on the other side of the room that she saw. Though these ones were three horizontal without the two vertical ones. It was obvious that he did it to himself with a blade. The man leaned over her, facing her from close up and his left hand reached her face, he rubbed his thumb to his index and middle finger whispering something and looking into her eyes. Aggy got dizzy and sleepy and she didn't feel the urge to scream or move anymore, her heart was calm, as was her body. She kept his eyes on the man and saw him produce a dagger which he used to cut her clothes, she saw their strips fall on the floor. Then he put that away and his hand right hand reached next to the altar again, this time he produce another dagger, its blade was engraved with something that she couldn't read and the pommel had the lines he had on his door.
His left hand reached her belly and caressed it, he looked at her and smiled, she smiled back but she realised what was going on and tears started running from her eyes once more, flowing from her temples. She only felt something sharp scraping against her swollen belly and felt the hot blood flow on her body and on the altar. Soon it was all over the altar and she was laying in it. Her eyes mixed with the blood while she wept silently and for an instant she saw the man lifting the figure of an infant yet he moved out of her sight at once. The chanting started again, this time it was very low and over it he could here the man's words, as soon as the chanting started the cries of a baby started too.
-We offer this innocent blood to you our Master, come back! Come and reclaim what is yours. This is your blood,  this is our wish, this is your domain!
She heard the sound of a dagger cutting and the cries became choking, then silence, then the chants started again. Low as ever and the only thing that was louder than those was the sound of a liquid dripping, again tears filled her eyes and she closed them, the exhaustion and terror were too much for her, she slept, troubled by nightmares of her unborn child which she would never know if it was a boy or a girl.