Red Dragon

Episode II Return of the Dragon

Chapter 8 Sealing Her Fate

Che Sha dragged the heavy length of driftwood toward the fire. It was exhausting work, but Granny Thorn did not trust her to do any of the skinning or butchering. Her other task was to haul the slabs of seal blubber to the huge cauldrons where they were being rendered into oil. It was filthy work, but she had no choice. At least it kept her away from Uzon. The giant’s job was to kill the seals and drag them to the fire where Granny skinned and cut them into small pieces. He also brought in much larger sea animals. These had tusks like the prow of the Sea Warrior ship she and Sha Zhu had attacked. The creatures were huge, Uzon in a prodigious display of strength, dragged them across the rocky beach with only a small amount of grumbling.

She stopped to wipe the sweat from her brow. The work was backbreaking and seemingly never ending. Sweat dribbled down her face and neck and soaked her clothing. She had been provided with garments that were suitable for the work she was forced to do. They were hardly elegant, consisting of seal hides scraped clean and sewn together with catgut. They provided her with waterproof pairs of boots and trousers, and a heavy shirt. They kept her warm and dry, but that was about all.

She dragged the log over to the fire and tossed it beside the other chunks of firewood she had gathered. Granny Thorn looked up from her butchering and nodded. “Ye be a good worker for all of yer fine bone structure. Ye’ll make a fine wife for me son and soon ye’ll be making me a grandmother again.”

“Again?” Che Sha wondered. Had Uzon fathered other children? If so what had happened to them? Perhaps she had more than one son. She was too tired to care, she stood breathing heavily. She was still very sore from her “wedding night.” It was hardly the way that she had hoped to lose her maidenhood, but neither Granny Thorn not Uzon had made any allowances for her condition. Before sunrise she had been rousted from a troubled and exhausted sleep and forced out of bed. Her legs still streaked with blood, she had been told to dress and then marched into the kitchen. There, Granny Thorn had already prepared breakfast, the same sort of fish stew she had been given when she had arrived.

Too hungry to care, Che Sha had gulped it down along with a crust of hard bread and then she had been put to work. Near the seal colony were five huge cauldrons, each large enough to contain an entire cow. Great piles of wood had been laid beneath each of them. While Uzon went in search of seal victims Granny kindled the wood and set Che Sha about her tasks.

The Shang princess had moved awkwardly at first, but gradually her stiffness wore off even though the soreness between her legs did not. Granny Thorn had noticed her condition and chuckled. “Ye be a bit tender I see. That’s to be expected of a bride. Don’t worry it’ll soon wear off with a little work.”

It hadn’t. If anything, her nether region ached even more than it had in the morning. It was now twilight and Uzon lumbered into view carrying one more murdered sea mammal. “It be time for supper, Ma,” he said.

“Aye,” the withered hag replied. “This’ll burn down by itself. We’ll leave it ‘til morning.” She shuffled off toward the cave dwelling, Uzon following. Che Sha walked between the two of them. For an instant she considered making a run for it. The old woman wouldn’t be able to catch her, and Uzon although big, did not appear particularly fleet of foot, but then she remembered how the hag had frozen her with a wave of her hand. There was little chance of escape, and besides, where would she go?

Supper was the same as breakfast and lunch. Apparently fish soup was very popular with Uzon and his mother. Although it was probably nutritious, Che Sha was certain that she was probably going to become very tired of it after awhile, provided being forced to mate with the giant didn’t kill her first.

Uzon finished first. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve he took Che Sha’s arm. “Come wife. It’s time fer bed.”

“No,” Che Sha answered quietly. “I’ve not finished eating.” She shook her arm free and continued spooning soup into her mouth.

Granny Thorn cackled gleefully. “This girl got spunk. Treat her right, son and she’ll breed ye strong sons.”

Che Sha ate as slowly as she could. She gripped her spoon tightly, wondering how useful it would be as a weapon. Since it consisted of a carved wooden handle fastened to a shell, she doubted that it would stand up to much heavy use.

Uzon waited impatiently while Che Sha finished, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Finally he simply took the spoon from her hand and grabbed her by the hair. Che Sha responded by kicking her foot over her head and catching the giant in the nose.

“Arrhg!” Uzon roared, clutching his nose. “The bitch hit me!”

Granny Thorn guffawed her voice cracking the air like the cawing of a crow. “Ahh, she be a feisty little she-cat. She needs taming, but she be worth it.”

Uzon lunged at Che Sha who nimbly moved away, but there wasn’t anywhere to go in the tiny room. In one stride he cornered her, his huge arms spread wide. She hit him with everything she had, but it was like punching a wall. Her punches didn’t even slow him down. One huge hand caught the side of her head and knocked her across the room, spinning her into the hearth where Granny Thorn rushed forward to pull her out before her hair caught fire.

“Ye great bull walrus,” she scolded, shaking he boney finger in Uzon’s face. “I told ye to treat her gentle. She’ll not last long if ye do that to her.”

“She must be taught respect,” Uzon said, scooping Che Sha up in his arms. The girl lay limp for a few seconds and then began to fight. Catching both her wrists in one huge hand and wrapping an arm about her waist he took the frantically struggling girl into his room. Tossing her onto the oversized bed he pinned her to the mattress. She tried to kick him, but he used his knee to force her legs apart and with his other hand ripped off her sealskin clothes.

”Nnnngghh!” Che Sha grunted as Uzon penetrated her. As before it was agonizing as he thrust into her already swollen garden of pleasure. Involuntarily she arched her back, sweat streaming from her straining body and her mouth open in an expression of acute agony as he scourged the already swollen tissues of her love canal. Fortunately, as before the giant’s “lovemaking” was mercifully brief.

“Ye’ll father my child,” Uzon rumbled as he jerked his thick semen into her. Rolling over, he retained his hold on her as if he was afraid that she might try to attack him, but Che Sha was spent. Her loins burned with a terrible intensity, and her exhausted body quivered on the edge of complete collapse. After a time she fell into a sleep born of complete fatigue. But she was not to have an uninterrupted night’s rest. Sometime toward morning, Uzon awoke. Heaving himself on top of her, he raped her again.

This time Che Sha screamed in pain as her bleeding passion sheath was ripped once again. The brutal pain was exquisite and made all the worse by the huge bulk of the rutting giant who pinned her to the bed with his weight, crushing the breath from her. Grunting like a pig, Uzon pounded into her until she was raw, and then exploded within her once more, spurting his viscous cream into her womb. Then without moving, he fell into sex satiated sleep.

With difficulty Che Sha managed to move enough of her body out form under him that she could breathe properly, then having used up what little reserve of strength she had left, she dropped off into a troubled sleep.

She awoke bleary-eyed and barely able to move. Granny Thorn was pounding on the door of the room. “Time to rise ye lovebirds. We’ve work to do.”

Uzon rolled out of bed without a word, and pulling on his clothing exited the room, leaving Che Sha to dress by herself. Slowly she pulled on her sealskin garments. Every move was agony, but she doubted that Granny Thorn or Uzon would make any allowances for her condition. Even so, it took her some time to dress. She was so stiff that she could hardly move. Walking awkwardly to the door, she entered the main room of the witch’s home.

“Ah there ye be,” the ancient hag greeted her. “Ye be a bit tired are ye? Not surprising with the amount of noise ye make while making love. I thought we was being attacked by banshees.” She plunked a bowl and a spoon onto the table in front of Che Sha and plopped a steaming mess of porridge into it. There was nothing to put on it, but it was such a relief from fish soup that Che Sha scraped the bowl clean.

“I see ye worked up an appetite with me son,” the crone grinned, her mostly toothless gums gleaming wetly. Uzon was nowhere in sight, no doubt getting an early start on murdering mammalian sea life.

“Ye be a strong girl; stronger than I figured,” the crone continued. “The others were dead by now.” She set another bowl of porridge in front of Che Sha and sprinkled some sugar on it. “I been waiting for a grandson for a long time now. Ye’ll be the one to give me one. Eat up girl. Ye’ll need your strength.”

Che Sha ate. She not only needed the food, but every second she sat at the table delayed the beginning of the breakbacking work expected of her. Too soon she finished. Licking the spoon she set it down and forced her agonized body to follow Granny Thorn out of the cave.

Already Uzon had three slaughtered seals waiting for them. Granny kindled the fires beneath the cauldrons while Che Sha dragged more lengths of driftwood into place. In a way she was glad of the work. Tough as it was, it warmed her and helped to work out the burning pain between her thighs. It also helped to take her mind off what awaited her at the end of the day. Another night with Uzon would leave her nether region permanently disfigured, or so she feared.

As she worked she tried to think of a way out of her predicament. Somehow there had to be a way to escape. The key seemed to be the ancient hag. Che Sha was certain that if she only had the giant to worry about she would be able to find a way to escape, but she couldn’t overcome the magical powers of the witch. Disposing of Granny Thorn was the key, but the old woman was wary, always keeping an eye on her. There seemed little chance of escape unless the hag could somehow be distracted.

“That’s enough wood fer now, daughter,” Granny Thorn said, interrupting Che Sha’s thoughts. “Now help me with the cauldrons.”

While Che Sha had been working the hag had skinned several seals and cut their blubber into slabs suitable for rendering. Che Sha was instructed to pick up the bloody pieces of fat and throw them into the cauldrons.

The work revolted her, but she didn’t have much choice. Then when she was finished with that job, she was shown how to peg out the sealskins and scrape them so that they could be properly prepared. “These fetch a good price,” Granny Thorn explained, rubbing her hand over one of the silk smooth pelts.

Che Sha was less impressed. She had no problem with the killing of animals. Too many everyday items were made from their hides or other parts of their bodies, not to mention the food they provided; it was just that she preferred to be a consumer of animal products rather than a preparer of them. For sixteen years of her life she had been raised as a Shang princess, now she ranked lower than the most menial leather worker.

Her musings were cut short by Uzon’s return. He was carrying two more dead seals which he deposited unceremoniously in front of Che Sha. Granny Thorn expertly dissected one of the carcasses and extracted the liver. Uzon hovered nearby, expectantly. “Here ye be son,” the hag cackled, holding out the dripping organ.

With a grunt of approval Uzon lifted the bloody offering to his mouth and ripped off a chunk of the still warm meat. In three bites it was gone. By this time Granny Thorn had removed a second liver from the other seal. This one she cut into smaller pieces, selecting a chunk for herself and offering one to Che Sha.

“Take it, daughter,” she prompted, noting Che Sha’s look of distaste. “It be good eating.”

Che Sha hesitantly took the bloody morsel. Nerving herself, she placed it between her lips and chewed. Warm blood ran down the back of her throat and she had to fight to keep her stomach from heaving. Quickly she swallowed the rest and wiping her mouth on the back of her hand stepped back.

Granny Thorn cackled loudly. “Ye’ll soon get used to it. It not be palace fare, but ye’ll make strong babies eating that.”

Che Sha did not answer. Lunch appeared to be over as Uzon moved off to harvest more seals and Granny Thorn returned to her skinning and butchering. Raising her head from her bloody work she spoke, “Best get more wood. We’ll need the fires hot to render this much oil.”

Che Sha did as she was told. She had to go farther up the beach now in order to find driftwood, but there was little chance the supply of wood would run out. The beach was littered with hundreds of logs and smaller chunks of dead trees. The island seemed perfectly placed to catch any wood that drifted any distance from the mainland. Returning to the sites of the fires she gazed upon a sight that made her pause.

The ancient crone was standing on a large log, hunched over one of the cauldrons and stirring the contents with a heavy stick. Slowly Che Sha lowered the heavy driftwood log she had been dragging across the sand. She was only ten paces away and the hag seemed completely unaware of her presence. She took a deep breath and launched herself across the intervening space.

At the last second Granny Thorn seemed to sense her presence. The hag turned and raised her hand, catching Che Sha in midstride. As before she could not move.

The ancient hag cackled gleefully. “Thought ye’d catch Granny off guard did ye?”

Che Sha strained her every muscle, sweat soaking her sealskin garments. Just one more step and the old woman would be toppled into the cauldron, but it was as if she were frozen in ice.

The witch gestured with her other hand. He smile was gone, replaced by a look of anger. “I can’t have ye sneaking up on me. Ye need to be taught a lesson.”

Che Sha gasped as her throat constricted. It was as if a metal band had been locked about her neck and was being slowly tightened. The witch released her from the paralysis, but it did not matter. Falling to her knees Che Sha clutched at her throat, trying to cast off the invisible bands, but they tightened inexorably. Her face turned red and then white as the blood flow to her head was cut off. Then suddenly the unbelievable tension was relieved and she fell gasping to the ground. From her perch on top of the log the witch leered down at her. “Wouldn’t do to kill ye. Uzon wouldn’t be pleased. But tonight I’ll have him give ye a whipping ye’ll long remember.” She cackled again, her raven voice shattering the air.

Che Sha looked up at the triumphant and derisive hag. All the fight was gone from her. Beaten in her futile attempt to escape she could only grovel helplessly at the feet of the witch while a complete sense of helplessness swept over her.

At that point fate intervened, or rather a seagull doing what seagulls have done for centuries. Swooping over the witch it released the processed remains of its last fish dinner. “Ahh, ye filthy creature,” Granny Thorn yowled, waving her hand at the offending bird. The motion was her undoing. The log on which she was standing rolled slightly beneath her feet. The ancient hag teetered uncertainly waving her arms for balance and then with a cry of dismay toppled backward into the cauldron. She had time only for a single high pitched scream before she disappeared into the boiling oil.

So intense was the heat that death must have been almost instantaneous, but Che Sha stared in horror. Although she had tried to push the witch into the hot oil she felt sickened. She had never seen anyone boiled alive.

She pulled herself together, slowly getting to her feet. The witch had certainly deserved what she had gotten. She had cheerfully allowed her son to rape her repeatedly and Uzon was still out there somewhere. Now, however, she had a chance. But she would need weapons to even things up a little. She headed back toward the cave. Granny Thorn’s dying scream had been quite loud. There was every chance that Uzon had heard it.

Entering the cavern she began a frantic search. She hadn’t seen what Granny Thorn had done with her weapons, but there couldn’t be too many places where they could be. Scattering objects left and right she searched frantically, dumping skulls, dried herbs, jars, and a variety of arcane items onto the floor in her haste. Finally, on a high shelf her hand closed over her weapons. Breathing a sigh of relief she slipped them into the leather thong that served as belt and headed for the door. Uzon would soon be after her and she did not want to meet him in the confined space of the witch’s cave.

She heard the giant coming long before she saw him. He was screaming incoherently and smashing a club-like chunk of driftwood against every rock he passed.

“Killed Granny,” he shrieked as he laid eyes on Che Sha. “You kill my mother.”

Che Sha did not bother to contradict the giant. It would have done little good in any case. Instead she sized him up. Uzon was quick and strong and almost three times her size. She could not hope to defeat him in a test of strength. In addition, she was still feeling the effects of his “lovemaking.” If the fight lasted longer than a few minutes she would begin to slow down and that would be fatal. This time Uzon would not try to mate with her, he would kill her.

She had one advantage. Uzon might be fast and powerful, but he was completely untrained. His movements were those of the beast, not the trained warrior. Hers were. And she had one other advantage, her razor-edged weapons. Especially forged for her they were known in her native language as zjin ta - serpent’s teeth, and she had become more than proficient with them. As the giant lumbered toward her she took a single step forward and to one side. That simple act took her out of the path of his attack and under a murderous blow from the chunk of driftwood that he carried. Her serpent’s teeth flashed and then she whirled out of his way.

Uzon froze. For a second he stood unmoving, almost as if he did not realize what had happened. Then he looked down to his gaping belly and the gruesome sight of his guts spilling from a cavernous wound. Whimpering in pain he dropped to his knees and began trying to stuff his entrails back into his abdominal cavity. The act brought him down to Che Sha’s height. He weapons hissed as they sliced the air and the giant fell forward, blood fountaining from his severed carotid artery.

Carefully, Che Sha cleaned her weapons on the dead giant’s clothing. Her enemies were dead, now she just had to find a way off the island. Strangely, she felt no emotion over what had just happened. She ought to have felt relief at the very least, but instead she simply felt dead inside. She had survived a terrible ordeal and defeated those who had violated her, but she had lost something very precious. Her virtue had been stolen in a cruel and painful manner. It was something she could never regain. Head down, she trudged listlessly back toward the cave.

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