By the time he was leaving the library, the medical professionals that he had called began to rush past him.
He even started to hear the guy begin to scream b.l.o.o.d.y murder, so with a smile, he made his way to the place where the h.e.l.l Lions were housed.
They were fearsome creatures, with large, 12 feet long bodies that burned day and night. If the fire went out, they would die, so they were placed in a room whose temperature was raised as much as possible to ensure that they would not need too much Energy to keep the fire going.
The still needed Energy resources of the highest quality to sustain themselves, so as Jonah threw the fistfuls of small, s.h.i.+ning cubes that looked like they were made of light that had somehow been solidified, he had to constantly dodge as they were wont to shoot high-velocity blobs of fire at the individuals who had only come to sate their hunger.
The reason behind their rage that burned as fiercely as themselves was apparent: connected to large objects behind them, two large spikes were driven into their bodies which incessantly caused them incredible agony, day and night.
The shape of these instruments was reminiscent of that of a bow that was laid on the floor. The arrow that was fitted to it was pointing away from the lions, so when these beasts were unleashed in the sky of the continent that was being conquered, they would fly around, enjoying their freedom, while arrows of h.e.l.lfire would rain down without end on the hapless members of the target continent.
They were purely elemental beings, so when their life"s fire was completely drained, the instruments would simply fall to the ground. Only, it would take hundreds of arrows for this to happen, so the weapons and the lions, together, were highly prized objects that were seldom seen in even the high profile markets of the Mainland.
By the time his task was done, Jonah was extremely tired, as escaping those blobs of fire was no small feat. His clothes had a few holes here and there where a few of the missiles had made their way through, but as the barriers protecting him had barely held, he was unscathed.
He was free now as his unofficially a.s.signed caretaker must surely be heavily sedated while his manhood was grown back, so for a few seconds, he was unsure about what he was supposed to do.
After thinking for a bit, though, he decided that it was best if he went to give the news to the Bishop himself, lest the woman threw a fit when she found out that he had incapacitated her close confidant.
When he reached her chambers, the door was ajar. As he had permission to enter, he walked in, without thinking much of it as he was quite preoccupied while imagining the kind of torture that he might be subjected to now, because of his rebellious act.
Surprisingly, the usually spick-and-span interior of the large chambers of the Bishop was now in disarray. Expensive vases and paintings were all lying on the floor as if someone had let out an angry, magical outburst in the center of the grand hall. The destruction increased substantially in the direction of the balcony which overlooked the sprawling Mainland, and even though his mind told him that he should stop and call out, his legs led him forward, as if his subconscious mind wanted him to see the reason behind the usually glacial Bishop losing her cool.
Just outside the door to the balcony, he found an official communiqué from the higher-ups.
"Official notification of punishment in the event of failure of the mission given: the Bishop will be stripped of her rank and made to enter the ranks of the clerics of Bishop Risand."
His breath caught as he read this. It was an extremely harsh punishment; in a way, it could be said to even be worse than what he had cursed her with. If the rumors were to be believed, this particular Bishop was one who had had his eye on her ever since she had started to make a name for herself. Apparently, he was a particularly l.u.s.ty one who enjoyed the cruel act of breaking proud men and women, before forcing himself on to them in the name of the Saint. His vile acts were known throughout the Church, but because there were few who wanted to contend with his strange powers, he was left alone.
If she was placed under his care, it was guaranteed that she was in for years of being beaten and raped. After a decade, she might be able to leave, but by then, would she even keep his sanity?
Hearing a sound that he had never imagined would enter his ears in these rooms, Jonah walked forward.
He had no idea where the courage came from, or perhaps, it was foolhardiness that directed his actions.
He entered the balcony and ignored the view. Turning to the side, he saw a woman holding her knees and crying.
At that moment, all he saw was a simple little girl who did not want to have such a cruel fate thrust onto her. His mind even began to fill with pity… Until she looked up and saw him.
Just like that, the moment of innocent fear and sorrow was gone. She wiped away these emotions, allowing rage to burn through them.
He knew that he had done it now - he was definitely going to burn for a few days, but had it been worth it?
He didn"t know, but one thing was for certain: he had found out something valuable that he really wished he could communicate to his student.
The only enemy who was more dangerous than one who was cold and calculating was someone being driven forward by desperation. The acts of an individual when they were cornered were those that one would never be able to expect, and he now knew that the Bishop was not as emotionless as he had thought- she was very much afraid for her future, and that meant that Angaria was in all the more danger.
But if he couldn"t tell Daneel about it, what was the point behind him taking this risk?
Even as he saw the flames conjured by the Bishop lick their way up to his face, he did not find the answer.