Area 51: Nosferatu-8 by Robert Doherty Page A
Authors: Robert Doherty
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, adventure, Historical, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Area 51 (Nev.)
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three were being held up by priests, and through Kajilil's device Nosferatu could see that they had been drained of their blood just short of death. Nekhbet's severed wrist was bound in dirty linen.
Nosferatu began to rise, but Kajilil's hand was on his arm, holding him down.
"It is futile," Kajilil said. "You would be cut down before you even got close."
"What are they going to do?" Nosferatu demanded, as the priests and prisoners made their way up a hastily constructed wooden ramp to the top of the Black Sphinx.
"We must watch and see," Kajilil said.
Vampyr demanded the looking device and Nosferatu reluctantly gave it to him, wincing at Vampyr's curse when he saw his twin, Lilith, bound in chains and drained.
A hush rolled over the crowd as the four remaining Gods appeared. All the humans except the high priests and prisoners dropped to their knees, heads bowed. The Gods were wrapped in black robes with hoods drawn close around their faces. Nosferatu realized their garb was not to hide themselves, but as he and Vampyr had done, to protect the Gods' eyes and skin from the sunlight. The Airlia slowly walked up the ramp to the top of the Sphinx, towering over the surrounding priests and guards.
One of the four stepped forward, turned to the high priest and nodded. The priest began to chant out in a loud voice that carried clearly to all in view.
"Behold the price of rebellion. Behold the price of betrayal. Behold the price of disobedience."
The high priest paused as Chatha and Lilith were brought forward to the two wooden X's. Their robes were ripped off, leaving their pale skin exposed. They were pressed spread-eagle to the wooden beams, blink-
51
ing rapidly and painfully in the bright morning light, heads turning to and fro as if in search of their immediate future. Priests went to work, dipping leather straps in buckets of water and wrapping them around the limbs, working from the hands and feet inward. Each strap was an inch wide and spaced about two inches apart, leaving pale white flesh exposed between. The priests slowly continued until the arms and legs were encased up to the armpits and groin in strips of wet leather.
When they were done, once more the high priest chanted. "Behold the price of rebellion. Behold the price of betrayal. Behold the price of disobedience."
Then there was silence.
"What are they doing?" Vampyr demanded.
"I do not know," Kajilil said. He had taken the looking device back and was peering through it. "I have never seen this before."
The sun was rising behind them and had just struck the top of the Sphinx and the captives. Nosferatu narrowed the open strip in the cloth around his head. He shifted his gaze from Chatha and Lilith to Nekhbet. He could see how close she was to death. They had drained her even after he had taken his fill the previous night. And she had lost much blood from her wrist.
A moan escaped Chatha's lips, carrying through the dry air. At first Nosferatu could not tell what caused her to cry out in pain. He assumed it was the sun striking skin and eyes that had not known daylight in many, many years. He took the looking device from Kajilil and peered through it. He noticed that the fingers on Chatha's right hand were twitching uncontrollably. She cried out once more. The other hand was also twitching. Then Nosferatu saw the devilment the Gods had concocted and he cursed them. The leather was drying, and in doing so, contracting,
52
pressing into the flesh. The straps were drying in the order they had been put on, from the outer ends of the limbs inward. Cutting off circulation, and pressing into the skin.
Nosferatu realized it was also the most devious and terrible torture that could have been devised for the state the two half-breeds were in, the bands forcing what little blood they had left into the centers of their bodies and keeping them alive, stopping the flow to the limbs bit by bit, while cutting into the flesh with inexorable pain.
Both
Nosferatu began to rise, but Kajilil's hand was on his arm, holding him down.
"It is futile," Kajilil said. "You would be cut down before you even got close."
"What are they going to do?" Nosferatu demanded, as the priests and prisoners made their way up a hastily constructed wooden ramp to the top of the Black Sphinx.
"We must watch and see," Kajilil said.
Vampyr demanded the looking device and Nosferatu reluctantly gave it to him, wincing at Vampyr's curse when he saw his twin, Lilith, bound in chains and drained.
A hush rolled over the crowd as the four remaining Gods appeared. All the humans except the high priests and prisoners dropped to their knees, heads bowed. The Gods were wrapped in black robes with hoods drawn close around their faces. Nosferatu realized their garb was not to hide themselves, but as he and Vampyr had done, to protect the Gods' eyes and skin from the sunlight. The Airlia slowly walked up the ramp to the top of the Sphinx, towering over the surrounding priests and guards.
One of the four stepped forward, turned to the high priest and nodded. The priest began to chant out in a loud voice that carried clearly to all in view.
"Behold the price of rebellion. Behold the price of betrayal. Behold the price of disobedience."
The high priest paused as Chatha and Lilith were brought forward to the two wooden X's. Their robes were ripped off, leaving their pale skin exposed. They were pressed spread-eagle to the wooden beams, blink-
51
ing rapidly and painfully in the bright morning light, heads turning to and fro as if in search of their immediate future. Priests went to work, dipping leather straps in buckets of water and wrapping them around the limbs, working from the hands and feet inward. Each strap was an inch wide and spaced about two inches apart, leaving pale white flesh exposed between. The priests slowly continued until the arms and legs were encased up to the armpits and groin in strips of wet leather.
When they were done, once more the high priest chanted. "Behold the price of rebellion. Behold the price of betrayal. Behold the price of disobedience."
Then there was silence.
"What are they doing?" Vampyr demanded.
"I do not know," Kajilil said. He had taken the looking device back and was peering through it. "I have never seen this before."
The sun was rising behind them and had just struck the top of the Sphinx and the captives. Nosferatu narrowed the open strip in the cloth around his head. He shifted his gaze from Chatha and Lilith to Nekhbet. He could see how close she was to death. They had drained her even after he had taken his fill the previous night. And she had lost much blood from her wrist.
A moan escaped Chatha's lips, carrying through the dry air. At first Nosferatu could not tell what caused her to cry out in pain. He assumed it was the sun striking skin and eyes that had not known daylight in many, many years. He took the looking device from Kajilil and peered through it. He noticed that the fingers on Chatha's right hand were twitching uncontrollably. She cried out once more. The other hand was also twitching. Then Nosferatu saw the devilment the Gods had concocted and he cursed them. The leather was drying, and in doing so, contracting,
52
pressing into the flesh. The straps were drying in the order they had been put on, from the outer ends of the limbs inward. Cutting off circulation, and pressing into the skin.
Nosferatu realized it was also the most devious and terrible torture that could have been devised for the state the two half-breeds were in, the bands forcing what little blood they had left into the centers of their bodies and keeping them alive, stopping the flow to the limbs bit by bit, while cutting into the flesh with inexorable pain.
Both
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