The Realm of The Drells - PREVIEW

R EA LM
of the
DRELLS
Kenneth Zeigler
Realm of the Drells-final.indd 3
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Copyright 2016Kenneth Zeigler

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quotations marked PEB are taken from the Plain English Bible, copyright 2003. Used by
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emphasis within Scripture quotations is the authors own.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the
products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual
events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Chapter 1
The Personal Journal of Miss Debbie Langmuir
y name is Debbie, and Im seventeen years old, but Im not like

other girls my age, not anymore. I still look the same; at least I
think I do. Auburn hair, green eyes, medium build, all of that is pretty
much the same as before. I played on our high school girls volleyball
team and was on track to be the valedictorian of my graduating class,
the class of 1992. Believe it or not, I was seriously thinking about going
to the Air Force Academy next fall, major in engineering. But all that
has changed.
I use to hang out at the West Shore Mall on Saturday afternoon with
my friends. Oh, how I enjoyed those times. Wed visit a dozen shops
with plastic in hand, but spend less than ten dollars. Up in my room
late at night Id listen to my favorite tunes on CD, rocking to the beat of
Blind Melon or Pink Floyd. I even went out on dates, nothing serious,
mind you. But thats all part of my past, part of my life in another reality,
another world. Now I live in a world where sunlight is but a memory and
freedom but a dream. I live in a hell created for the living.
Ever since I was a little girl Ive loved to write. There was a time, in
my other life, when I figured that I might be able to write a fairly good
romance novel. Maybe it would occur in medieval times. Thered be this
girl who meets the love of her life, a love who takes her away from her life
of hard labor, a real knight in shining armor. Theres money in writing if
you have the talent. Money, what does money mean now? Money cant
buy you anything here. I work 12 hours a day every day just so theyll let
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Realm of the Drells
me eat. Anymore I dont care whats on the plate, food is food. Anything
they slide through the bars is fine by me. As for knights in shining armor
that sweep the fair young maiden off of her feet; they dont exist here.
Im not even sure where here is. There are lots of things medieval about
this place, but knights in shining armor arent one of them.
Now I write to preserve my failing sanity, my dying hopes of ever
escaping this place, to put the pain and hunger out of my mind. Through
my writing, my spirit soars free, even if my body is locked away in this
cell with chains on its feet. I dont even get to take them off at night,
here in my cell. Maybe no one will ever read this thing other than me
but I still have to write it.
Since I now have a sort of pen, and a stack of paper, which Ive
bound together into a diary, Im trying to piece together the fragments
of a waking nightmare from which there is no escape.
Looking back, I guess my story all started in my senior AP English
class late last October. As usual, Mrs. Peters had droned on and on
for most of the period. I swear she had a gift of making even the most
interesting topics boring. What a class to have during the last period
of the school day. It was near the end of the hour, and Mrs. Peters had
finally given up trying to put us to sleep, when my close friend Keira
leaned in my direction.
Hey Deb, do you believe in spirits, ghosts, that sort of thing?
She gazed at me with blue eyes, and she was oh so serious. You
might have thought that her question was one of great significance,
a major issue of our time. Yep, it was just the sort of off the wall
question Id come to expect from Keira. She was blond to the roots
and then some.
Not really, I replied.
Well, I just inherited a real crystal ball. It was passed all the way
down from my great grandmother. It was old even when she was a
little girl.
How can you tell a real crystal ball from a cheap imitation? I
asked, trying to give her a hard time, to derail her train of thought.
No, honest to God, its the real thing, she insisted. Its been hidden away for years in my great grandmothers attic. A hundred years ago
it sat in the fortune tellers tent of a circus sideshow, but now its setting
on an antique table in my bedroom.
Doesnt it clash with the decor?
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Kenneth Zeigler
No, it looks really cool, youve just gotta come over and see it.
Keira had piqued my curiosity, so I stopped by her house on my
way home to see this thing that had her so wired. It sat upon an antique
mahogany table, the same one it had rested on in the fortune tellers tent
all those years ago. The ball was big, bigger than Id imagined, setting
on the three prongs of its gold base. Its cloudy depths possessed an
unnatural vastness. It was like a crystalline universe. I dont know how
else to describe it. It was really spooky. It wasnt quite what Id expected.
My grandmother inherited it from her mother. Her mother told
her it was dangerous and never to play with it. My grandmother gave me
the same warning, said Keira, running her hand over its glossy surface,
gazing into its depths. She had shown it to me when I was just a little
girl years ago but then she hid it away again. She wouldnt even tell me
where shed hidden it. She once told me that the world would be better
off if it were to be thrown into the deepest part of the sea. You see, you
couldnt destroy it or youd be even worse off.
You couldnt destroy it, I repeated.
No, replied Keira, because of the curse.
The curse, I said. You wouldnt care to elaborate on that one
would you?
Keiras somewhat confused expression told me she wasnt quite sure
what the word elaborate meant, though she wasnt about to admit it.
I mean tell me more about it, I said.
I know what you meant, she retorted. Im sure there was a little
bit of frustration, even anger in her voice. It caught me by surprise. Just
because youre probably going to be the valedictorian this spring doesnt
mean youre better than me.
Oh, Keira, I didnt mean anything like that, I said. I really didnt
mean to offend her.
Everyone around the school thinks Im nobody, continued Keira.
Im not a part of the in crowd, Im not one of the popular ones, the
beautiful people. The other people in our class laugh at me behind my
back, I know it.
Now I was really blown away. Id never heard Keira talk like that,
not ever. Thats not true, I objected.
Well, theyre going to find out, she raged on. Theyre going to
find out just what I can really do. Then theyll be sorry. At least some of
them will.
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Keira had me really scared now, though I didnt tell her. I tried to
change the subject, get her out of this freaky spiral. But you were telling me about your grandmother, about the crystal ball.
It was like Id found some kind of switch and changed the channel.
Keiras tone changed immediately. The sudden change was almost as
scary as the rant shed been on.
Oh, my grandmother died of cancer just a few months ago, she
continued. She went peacefully in her sleep. A few days later I went
looking for this ball. Id wanted it from the day she told me about it. I
hunted all over for it. When I ran across it in that old trunk in the attic,
it seemed to call out to me. It was really freaky. You know? I think it
wanted to be here. I think it wanted to belong to me.
She stroked the ball in a real strange way. It was like it was a pet cat
or something. The way she gazed into it was, well, almost like she was
in love with it.
Okay, I agreed, almost afraid to say anything else. So, what do
you plan to do with it?
Well, Ive been thinking, began Keira, turning to me once more.
Friday is Halloween, and my parents are going to some sort of company party. Theyve given me the okay to have a few friends over for the
night. How about a sance? We could invite Leslie, Maya, and Wendy.
It would be a blast.
The five of us and a bunch of dead people, sounds charming.
Keiras smile was broad but devious. Oh come on, wheres your
sense of adventure?
Adventure? Some adventure. I had a bad feeling about the whole
thing from the start. If Id only known what was in store for me as
the five of us gathered around that crystal ball, Id have gone trick or
treating with my little brother instead. A bag full of fattening candy,
even an apple with a razor blade in it, would have been better than this.
Still, we all thought that it was going to be harmless fun, an evening of
supernatural entertainment.
Leslie had been drinking. I remember her annoying giggle as Keira
told the four of us the story that her grandmother had told her, a story
of the crystal ball, and its former owner.
Her name was Tanya Cassadore, began Keira, lighting the incense
candle on the nightstand. She was a side show fortune teller whose
mystical talents made her both feared and admired. Today she would
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Kenneth Zeigler
have been one of those psychics with a one-nine-hundred number. You

know the type, call us and find fortune, love, and success. Back then,
those kinds of people wandered about the countryside with the circus
sideshows, predicting your future for a quarter. Tanya followed in the
footsteps of her mother and grandmother before her. It was they who
had schooled her in the art of witchcraft.
Ill get you my pretty, and your little dog Toto, too, giggled Leslie,
trying her best to imitate the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz. Her
impersonation wasnt all that good.
Still we all laughed. I suppose that none of us took this whole thing
very seriously.
Its no laughing matter, objected Keira, joining our circle around
the crystal ball. There was anger in her blue eyes, anger that surprised
the others. Id seen it before. It would be a serious mistake to offend
the spirits of the ball.
Dont mind Leslie, said Maya, trying her best not to laugh, just
go on with your story.
Well, continued Keira, the owner of the circus, a real ass by the
name of Karl Bonner, had the hots for Tanya, but shed have nothing
to do with him. His lust for her grew and grew, until late one night, he
and Samson the circus strong man, wandered into her tent, the smell
of whisky on their breaths. They vowed that nothing was going to stop
them from having their way with her that night. I mean, who was going
to stop them? Back then women were more property than people. No
one knows exactly what happened next, but somehow, Tanya was struck
on the head, splitting her skull and splattering the magical orb with her
own blood.
Keira gently caressed the shimmering crystal ball with her hands,
gazing into its depths intently. For a moment her face took on a strange
blank expression, as if she were in a trance. I turned to Leslie, wondering
if I was the only one at the table who was getting seriously spooked by
this whole affair. She looked back at me, a puzzled look on her face, but
she didnt say anything.
Keira pulled back from the ball and turned toward me, her eyes
wide and intense. No, not just intense, I think a bit crazy. Yet even
as she lay dying on the floor, she cursed the two men. The drells shall
punish you, and all those who would dare to usurp the power of the
crystal, were the last words she ever spoke.
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Realm of the Drells
Keira looked straight at me just as she said the word usurp. It was
like she was proving to me that she knew the meaning of a word used by
the more intellectual crowd. To tell the truth I thought I saw something
like hate in her eyes. Keira and I had been good friends since the third
grade. I dont think I ever saw her look at me that way before. It hurt.
Then Keira looked about at the others. It was only then that the
two men realized what they had done. Yet it was not the mysterious
drells, but the law that they feared. The body had to be dumped, and
quickly. Karl and Samson wrapped Tanya in the blood stained rug of her
tent and carried her deep into the woods, where she was laid to rest in
an unmarked grave.
You mean they didnt hack her up first? Leslie snickered, leaning
back in her chair.
Keira ignored Leslies comment, yet I saw the gleam in her eye. Once
again she didnt quite look like the Keira I knew. It sent a chill up my
spine. It was like she was two people, the Keira, the friend I knew and
this other Keira, this new Keira. Come to think of it, she wasnt even
talking like the Keira I knew. Keira never could get a story you told her
straight. She really wasnt a very good story teller. That was until tonight.
Tonight she told the story almost like shed been there.
The following day the circus broke camp and moved on to the next
town, yet it wasnt long before questions of Tanyas whereabouts came
back to haunt Karl Bonner. A young girl, one of the circus performers,
had seen Karl entering Tanyas tent on the night of her disappearance,
and later heard her muffled screams. She told her parents, who in turn
had gone to the police. Yet when the police confronted Karl, told him of
the charges against him, he laughed. Tanya hadnt just disappeared, hed
fired her. Hed caught her practicing the worlds oldest profession from
her tent. He couldnt afford to have her giving the circus a bad name.
Oh, come on, objected Maya. They didnt just take his word for
it, did they?
They did, confirmed Keira.
Male chauvinist pigs, said Leslie.
Maybe, but like I told you it was a different time, replied Keira,
turning in my and Mayas direction. Anyway, it was more than just
his word, Samson testified that hed seen Tanya arm in arm with a
mysterious young man on the very night of her disappearance. It hadnt
been the first time hed seen her in the company of a stranger, nor heard
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Kenneth Zeigler
moaning coming from her tent. A childs overactive imagination, thats

what they called it. Although Tanya had been with the circus for nearly
ten years, she was little more than a stranger to most of the troupe.
The disappearance of the witch, as she had come to be called, came as
a relief. It wasnt long before Karl replaced Tanya with another young
attractive fortune teller, one more inclined to meet his needs.
The creeps got away with it? asked Wendy.
Did they? asked Keira, a smile coming to her face. It wasnt long
before a bizarre series of accidents started plaguing the performers, earning their show the title of the jinx circus. The Great Redondos fatal fall
from the trapeze, the brutal mauling of the lion tamer, the tragic death
of the beautiful assistant of the Fabulous Leonardo, during one of his
knife throwing performances, it was uncanny. Amidst the mounting
debts of the circus and the terrible nightmares that tortured him night
after night, Karl began to see Tanyas revenge taking shape.
Then one morning, the body of Samson was discovered in a
corn field not far from the circus, his neck snapped like a twig. The
expression of horror upon his face told of an encounter with something
terrible, something from beyond the grave. Two days later, the new
fortune teller vanished in the middle of the night without a trace, never
to be seen again.
Keira rose to her feet and walked around the table. She placed her
hand upon Leslies shoulders, then upon mine. The way she ran her
finger along my neck frightened me.
Well, dont just leave us in suspense, objected Wendy, her voice
excited. What happened next?
Patience, whispered Keira, returning to her chair. We have all
night. There was a really strange smile on her lips as she scanned our
anxious faces. Karl was terrified to the point of madness. He went to
the law, confessing to the grisly murder of Tanya Cassadore. He pleaded
with the sheriff to place him under arrest, to protect him from the dark
evil thing that was stalking him. Yet no one could save him from Tanyas
vengeance. Only two days after his arrest he was found dead in his jail
cell, his head crushed, and his body pulled half way through the bent
bars of his cell window, a window hardly more than a foot square.
Gross! remarked Wendy.
Theres more, replied Keira, who seemed as much caught up in
the story as the rest of us. Three nights later, the circus burned to the
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ground, sparing nothing. Well, almost nothing. The following morning,

the crystal ball and the table upon which it sat stood untouched among
the ashes.
Yeah, but how did your grandmother get hold of it? objected Maya.
The eleven-year-old girl who spoke out against Tanyas murderers
was my Great Grandmother Lea my grandmothers mother. She was
very close to Tanya. Tanya had wanted to get her involved in her act,
have her become her apprentice when she came of age. When the circus
was destroyed, and her parents looked for other work, Lea took the
crystal ball with her. She told my grandmother that Tanyas spirit still
dwells within it, and that it was her will that Lea take charge of the ball
and become the heiress to all of its power. It was hers now. In fact, it
would be the property of her daughter and her daughters daughter and
so on all the way down to me.
Okay, so what do we do now? asked Wendy, who was as eager as
the rest of us to get started.
We join hands in a circle, replied Keira, stretching out her arms.
Ill try to call forth the spirit of Tanya Cassadore to help us contact the
spirit world.
Oh oo oo, giggled Leslie, as we formed an unbroken ring.
Youve got to be serious or this isnt going to work, warned Keira,
closing her eyes, and grasping my right hand more tightly. I, Keira
Parker, the great granddaughter of Lea Anderson, call upon you Tanya
Cassadore. Visit us, and make clear the way to the spirit world.
We sat quietly in the darkened room, waiting for something to happen. When it didnt, we just started asking questions of the ball, calling
out to the spirits. It was fun for a while.
I remember the cold breeze, a breeze that blew in from nowhere. I
mean, the windows were shut and the door was closed, so where did it
come from?
A green glow appeared deep within the crystal ball, faint at first,
but growing ever brighter. In just a few seconds the ball was filled with
sparkling stars, while glowing blue and green smoke swirled from its
center and out into the room.
I tried to look away, cry out to the others, but I couldnt. I was
frozen by the balls power. I couldnt understand why the others didnt
say anything. They had to be seeing the glowing ball and the fiery clouds
around us. Yet they just went on about the business of calling out to
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Kenneth Zeigler
the spirits, laughing and joking as they did. Their voices seemed to be
drifting away into the distance, even as the room faded from view. It
faded into total blackness.
I couldnt feel Keiras or Leslies hand anymore. I figured I was still
in Keiras bedroom, about ready to pass out. I tried to rise to my feet,
I couldnt.
Then suddenly I could see again, though this vision was very different from anything Id ever experienced before. I was caught up the
swirling mists. I looked down to see the others still gathered in their
circle. I even saw myself there with them, though my head was bowed
and my eyes closed. I could still hear the other girls, though their voices
seemed distant and distorted.
Leslie, Wendy, help me! I cried. Yet they couldnt hear me.
I reached down; I couldnt feel my body. No, it was worse than that,
I didnt have a body, at least not one that I could see. How could that
be? What was happening to me?
Id become a spirit without a physical form. I swirled round and
round with the ethereal mists, yet I was also spiraling in toward that
glowing crystal ball that now looked more like a glowing pulsing bubble
than a crystal ball. Then I was within the ball itself looking out through
the glass. The glass made the world look so distorted, so unreal. My
girlfriends looked like giants gathered about me. Then I could see myself
again. Yeah, but I was naked, floating weightlessly in the middle of this
bubble of glass, that to me seemed as if it were a dozen feet across. What
had happened to my clothes? How did I become so small? And there
was something strange about my body. I cant really describe it, not in
any way that makes sense. I felt sort of electric. I know how strange that
sounds, but I dont know how else to put it. And there was something
else; the edges of my body seemed sort of blurry, like I was slightly out
of focus. I could feel no sense of warmth or cold, I just felt electric. I
cried out to my friends who gazed into the ball at me. They had to be
able to see me now, but they didnt. I tried to beat against the walls of
the bubble with my fist but I couldnt reach them.
Then Keira came up real close to the ball. She looked right at me.
The others couldnt see me but she could.
Goodbye, Debbie, she whispered before pulling back.
Then the world beyond the ball faded away into a kind of blackness. Now I was truly alone. The walls of the bubble around me were
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glowing with a green glow. It was my only source of light, bathing me

in an eerie luminance.
Beyond the bubble I could only see darkness. It was a deep darkness, not the darkness of a small room but a vast black nothingness, a
void like outer space but without any stars. And I sensed that I was in
motion. There was no turbulence like in an airplane, not even a sound
beyond my own breathing and the beating of my heart, but I knew. I
was still floating around in that bubble like an astronaut in the space
shuttle. I didnt know which way was up and which way was down but
I knew that I was going somewhere.
I must have floated for hours in that glowing blob. I thought for
sure that I would suffocate, but I didnt. The weightlessness caused my
head to pound and I became sick to my stomach.
Suppose I was to puke in this thing, what would happen? I tried not
to think about it. Maybe it wouldnt happen if I didnt dwell upon it.
You know, now that I look back on it Im not all that sure that the
sickness was real so much as it was in my head. I thought I should be
sick so I was. Crazy as it sounds, Im not even sure that I was breathing
or even if my heart was beating. I thought it was at the time, but now
Im not so sure. There are a lot of things I still dont understand about
that journey. I only knew that I felt sick, but the nausea would be the
least of my problems
I even prayed. Imagine that; Debbie Langmuir praying. Sure, I went
to church, I didnt have much choice in the matter. My parents were
dyed in the wool Methodists, pillars of the church. But somehow their
faith hadnt been passed on down to me. Now I saw the lessons they
tried to drum into me in a new light. Here I was; a victim of supernatural powers. If powers like this, powers to spirit me off to who knows
where existed, what was so outrageous about the existence of God? Sure,
I prayed but I didnt seem to be getting any results. Perhaps God wasnt
listening, perhaps I was going about it all wrong. In the end I was totally
exhausted but no closer to an encounter with God.
I was starting to fade off to sleep when bad finally turned to worse.
I just about freaked out when I saw the two glowing orange eyes appear
outside the bubble. I mean, one moment I was alone, then it was there.
I felt like a goldfish in a small fishbowl as the dark robed figure, illuminated in the green light of the bubble, came closer. It wasnt floating like
I was. It seemed to be walking on air.
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Kenneth Zeigler
With its gaunt leathery hands, it pulled back its hood and I saw
its pale gray features. I still have trouble describing it. A face out of a
nightmare might be a good start. It had a bulging head for one thing,
with horns, and the tips of its huge ears came to sharp points. In its
black mouth were white razor like teeth. In a way its head was almost
goat-like, but without fur. But its eyes were like no animal Id ever seen.
They were large and orange, like some sort of enormous insect, and they
glowed like hot coals. Its gaze was intense and penetrating, and for a
moment, I felt like I was looking into the face of the devil himself.
The body of this being was mostly hidden by its long cloak but it
looked to me like the thing had more than two arms. But I could have
been wrong.
I bid ye welcome to the realm of the drells, he said in a deep
thundering voice. I am Dre Kon, your master.
The beast drew nearer, eyeing me over all the more carefully. I was
trembling, and tears blurred my vision. I was too terrified to speak, yet
I couldnt turn away either.
You are a pretty one; an excellent choice, he continued. You look
healthy and perhaps even strong, given the proper training. This is good.
You have been brought here to serve my people, and that is exactly what
you shall do. Cooperate, and you shall live longer. Do not contemplate
escape for there is none, and harbor not mortal hope in your heart.
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.
Abandon all hope ye that enter here. I knew those words, but in the
terror that filled this moment, I did not remember from where.
I shall leave you in the care of the wulvers, your taskmasters, do
all that they ask of you. Pray that we do not meet again, even though
that prayer will be in vain, for in the end, we shall. We see all of you
again, on the day that you are of no further use to us, at least as laborers.
On that day you will take on a new role; as food. Your task is to delay
that meeting, that fate, for as long as you possibly can. The slightest of
smiles came to Dre Kons gaunt face as he pulled the hood over his head
once more and stepped away, fading from sight.
It was several minutes before I regained my senses and the terrible
realization hit me. Abandon all hope ye who enter here, it was from
Dantes Inferno, the words inscribed on the gates of Hell. I must be
dead! I gasped. I must have died during that sance. Im in Hell! But
why? What have I done to deserve this? Was it my lack of faith in a
higher power that had led to this?
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Realm of the Drells
I curled up in mid-air and cried like a little child, I cried for my

mother. Never had I been so frightened or felt so alone. Why me, for
the love of God, why me?
I dont know how much time had passed when I first saw it, a small
point of light, like a distant star. I stared at it for a long time, watching it
grow brighter, trying to make out what it might be. I cant explain what
it was about that light that calmed my fears. Perhaps it signified hope of
some kind, a light shining out in the darkness. Perhaps it was just that it
was something in the middle of all of this nothing.
Soon I realized that the distant light was the first of many huge
glowing crystals that lined the gray stone walls of a long rocky tunnel.
Standing within the glow of that first crystal stood four large beasts.
They were dressed in brown leather garments; some sort of armor, that
covered only their chests and private parts. Upon their feet, they wore
high boots that appeared to be made of the same brown material. Their
bodies were furry and muscular, like some kind of nightmarish cross
between a body builder and a gorilla. Yet their heads, they were like
wolves, with a snout like nose and sharp canine teeth beneath dark
brown lips. Were they werewolves?
They gathered around me as my bubble settled to the cavern floor.
All of a sudden I seemed to come into focus. What I mean is that my
skin returned to normal and the electric feeling suddenly went away. I
fell two feet to the ground as the bubble vanished. I landed painfully
upon my hands and knees. I looked up to see the circle of beasts close
in about me.
I slowly turned around. Before me was a cave-like tunnel lit by those
strange crystals. Behind me was darkness. The tunnel seemed to fade
out into a sort of nothingness. Maybe it was just a huge cavern room, a
deep pit, or something like that. Maybe it was something worse. There
was no escape.
I wouldnt contemplate yer trying to run off in that direction,
spoke one of the beasts, who I assumed was their leader. Youll find
yourself right back in the hands of the drells themselves. Im sure ya
dont want that.
I was terrified as one drew a leathery whip, yet somehow I remained
outwardly calm. Animals can sense your fear, thats what my father once
told me. I couldnt let them know just how frightened I was. I rose to
my feet.
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Kenneth Zeigler
As I did so I felt strange, not lightheaded but light-bodied. It was as

if my new body didnt weigh as much as my old one. I didnt look any
different, no thinner, but Im sure I was lighter.
I stood nearly toe to toe with the largest of the beasts, the same
one who had spoken. I stared up into his cold brown eyes, not daring
to blink. I was surprised, when, after a minute, a slight smile came to
his lips.
Not afraid er ya? he said in a barely understandable growl, that
brought a brief round of guttural laughter from his friends around him.
No, I lied.
Then yer a fool, he replied. Prepare her!
Two of the beasts grabbed me by my arms and dragged me down
the huge tunnel. We had walked about ten minutes when we past several small cells cut into the rock on the left side. They werent very big,
maybe eight or ten feet across. Each had dark metal bars in front of it.
One of them held a girl about my age wearing a gray tattered dress.
She was bruised and filthy, sitting there on the floor gazing at me with
glassy eyes. I dont know if she saw me or not. She sort of looked like
she was in shock.
Thats what el happen ta ya if ya dont work hard, said one on my
escorts. Work well and live.
We traveled on for several more minutes before one of the wolf men
ushered me into a narrower side passage, through an open metal door,
and into a large chamber whose four rock walls had been carved into
rows of shelves from floor to ceiling. A black metal goblet was practically
thrust into my face.
Drink it! roared one of the wulvers, grabbing my long brown hair
firmly in hand and yanking my head back.
My hand was quivering as I accepted the mysterious liquid.
Drink it, or youll be all the sorrier fer yer hesitating! he warned,
his heavy hand shifting to my left shoulder. And dont ya dare puke it
up. We dont got no time ta pamper ya.
I gazed into the cup of sallow liquid that looked like puss and
smelled like curdled milk. I closed my eyes and downed it in just a few
painful gulps. I dropped the goblet, gagging and choking. My throat
burned like fire and my stomach was tied in knots. I would have fallen
to the floor if two of the beasts hadnt grabbed me by the arms. Im sure
I heard them chuckle, like a group of high school pranksters. What
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Realm of the Drells
kind of beings should find such amusement in my suffering? All the

while another wulver scanned the hundreds of shelves as if searching
for something.
Ill find em, never worry, he said in a guttural voice, I know Ill
find da right size.
Cant ya organize anything, Lemnock? growled the largest of the
beasts.
Of course I can, Captain Lukor, objected the wulver, who searched
all the more frantically.
The pain had begun to subside when Lemnock turned to Lukor.
These el fit er, Captain, he proclaimed, tossing a pair of tan sandals
from one of the stone shelves to the ground. They didnt.
After several attempts, I was fitted with a pair of shoddy threadbare
sandals, that I was later to find were made of specially treated human skin.
How are you feeling now, my green eyed child? asked Lukor, placing his hand heavily upon my shoulder.
Awful, I gasped, yet my voice was no louder than a whisper. No,
what have you done to me?
You humans are too noisy, he replied. The elixir of silence ya
drank will quiet ya down a bit, take the bark from ya. The elixir of
silence has shriveled up your voice box. And I assure ya that they wont
be a growing back. From now on your voice will be no louder than a
whisper. Ya have no need to talk anymore, all you need to do is listen
and obey. Youll live longer that way.
You, you! I stopped myself before I said something that Im sure
would only have angered them and made my experience worse.
Lemnock grabbed another item from the shelves, it rattled loudly
as he turned to Lukor. Shell be a needing this too, captain, he said,
handing the black metal chastity belt to his superior.
Yes, I kind of figured out what it was right away, although it didnt
look quite like the molded metal panties Id seen in the movies. I think
those movie directors needed a little lesson in medieval history.
Even now, after so many months, I feel very self-conscious, uncomfortable writing about it. Ive come to hate it so. It was a metal band,
two inches wide, that fit tightly above the wearers hips, a heavy hinge
at the back, a lock in the front. A second band, wide at its ends and
narrow at the middle, was riveted to the first in front and back. Right at
that narrowest point, where it ran between ones legs, was a small barbed
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Kenneth Zeigler
opening, while toward the back was a much larger oval hole. It didnt
take a genius to figure out what the holes were for.
Oh God! I whispered. It was like something out of the dark ages,
barbaric, humiliating! Why would husbands have ever treated their
wives that way, made them wear this awful thing?
Lukor placed the belt on the floor before me. Step into it, wench!
he demanded, looking me straight in the eye.
I looked away. Right now, all I could think of was running, if there
was only somewhere to run. The others were crowding in around me. I
did the only thing I could do, I moved forward, stepped into the belt.
The hinge of the devilish belt made a creaking sound as Lukor
opened it, making room for me. Youll get used to it, he grunted, pulling the belt up around my waist and locking it about my hips, drawing
it ever tighter with his key. Its not so uncomfortable. In time, itll seem
almost a part of ya. Believe me, were doing ya a favor.
A favor? I gasped.
Of course, he continued. We couldnt have ya becoming pregnant. Pregnant humans dont work well, and those who dont work well
become a feast for our drell masters, or worse. More than that, the drells
forbid it. None of ya is to give birth, not ever. If one of yer kind was to
become pregnant by another of yer kind it is the law of the drells that
both the mother and father be taken into the deep tunnels, there to be
bound hand and foot, and offered as food to one of the cave beasts. Ill
tell ya this; they dont always give ya a quick death. Some of them like
to play with their prey before they eat them. That isnt a fate Id wish on
anyone, not even one of you.
Lukor turned from me. He reached out to a stack of clothing on one
of the lower shelves along the far wall, sorted through it. And there is
something else. Ya see, there are also those among my people that take a
liking to yer kind. Its strictly forbidden, ya understand. I would punish
them most severely if they were caught, yet the flesh can be weak. Yer
here to work, not ta pleasure my guards. By having ya wear that thing
I take the temptation from them, prevent you some pain, them some
embarrassment. Lukor turned toward me once more. Surely ya must
see the mercy in that. He handed me a soiled gray dress. Twouldnt be
a good idea fer ya to be running round naked either. Here, put this on.
The sleeveless knee length dress was coarse and tattered, and had the
stench of piss and body odor about it. Im sure I wasnt the first to wear
it, and I doubt that it had ever been washed.
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Realm of the Drells
Please, answer me just one question, I whispered, pulling the

filthy loose fitting garment down around me, covering my nakedness.
For a moment his harsh exterior seemed to melt away. Ask, he
replied in a quiet tone.
The words came hesitatingly. I wasnt at all sure I was prepared for
his answer, yet I could not remain ignorant. I would know the terrible
truth one way or another. Where am I?
The smile that came to his face was disquieting. Nowhere youd
want to be, he replied, turning to one of the other wulvers. Take the
wench to da tunnels. She might as well discover whats in store fer her.
3/28/16 9:35 AM
Chapter 2
o time was wasted in getting me ready for my new life. I was led
back out into the stone corridor and into another cavern room,
one full of steam and smoke. As best I could tell, it was some sort
of iron works, a blacksmiths shop. There I was fitted with my ankle
shackles. They sat me down, placing my right ankle into an open metal
ring setting upon the smiths anvil. From the ring a heavy chain ran to
another ring. A muscular wulver beat the ring into shape with a crude
heavy hammer. His blows upon the metal rang loudly in my ears and
made the skin on my leg ripple with every swing. I was certain that
hed screw up at least once and hit me and not the metal, but he didnt.
Within a minute he had closed that shackle tightly about my ankle.
Then he did the same to my left ankle, closing it within the metal
ring on the other end of the chain. What strange restraints, no locks.
Then again, locks were only needed if the shackle was to be taken on
and off of the prisoner. These werent, these leg irons were to become
a permanent part of me. The chain joining the two bands was long
enough to allow me to walk but not to run. Then again, I figured that
was the general idea.
I was escorted by another wulver through a maze of what appeared
to be natural caverns. The caverns were lit by the same sort of crystals Id
seen when I first arrived. Here most of them were mounted upon black
poles made of the same sort of metal everything else here was made of.
Id never seen anything like these crystals. They were about the size of
a football and they glowed from deep within. I have no idea how they
work, even now.
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Realm of the Drells
It was about ten minutes before we arrived at a place where about

a hundred young people like myself labored at the crack of the taskmasters whip. They all wore chains like mine and worked with picks,
sledgehammers, and shovels to cut from the stone walls a dozen new
side tunnels and rooms. The broken up rocks were then loaded into
some kind of hopper and wheeled away.
Im sure yer familiar with simple tools, wench, said my wulver
escort. Youll be making new tunnels and new rooms with them. Youre
going to get real good with them tools or youre going to die quickly.
The choice is yours. Consider this as what yer people call on the job
training. Youre task wulver over there will tell ya what to do, but more
often it will be his whip that does da talking.
My escort told the task master that he had a new piece of working
meat for him. Yes, those were the very words he used to describe me;
working meat. What could we have done that made him hate my kind
so much?
Then I joined the ranks of a group of young people carving out a
new chamber from the rocks. Like myself, none of them could speak
above a whisper.
Welcome to Hell, whispered a thin blond haired boy at my side,
gazing toward me with deep blue eyes. He appeared to be about my
age, dressed in a tattered gray tunic. His hands were dark and calloused
and several scars marred his once handsome face where flying rocks and
the whip of the wulvers had struck him. It wasnt difficult to start up a
conversation with this boy, a boy by the name of David Tomlinson.
I knew you were coming, he whispered, between the swings of his
pick. Youre Andreas replacement. For a moment his mind seemed far
away, his eyes unfocused. She was such a nice girl, but she wasnt strong
enough for this place. The wulvers, damn them, took their whips to her
every time she stopped to catch her breath. Yesterday she just collapsed.
They beat her again and again, and when she didnt move, they just hauled
her away like she was garbage. God, I hope she didnt suffer too long.
I thought back to the girl in the cell Id seen right after Id gotten
here. Was that Andrea? Im sorry about your friend, I replied.
I followed the lead of the others, shoveling a heavy load of rocks into
the waiting hopper. Even with the damp heat of this place, a chill ran
up my back. What sort of place was this? What could I or any of these
other young people possibly have done to be sentenced here? Was it just
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Kenneth Zeigler
being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was there something
more sinister about our selection? I thought back to what Kiera had said
to me while I was in that glowing ball. She had done this to me. Yeah,
but how? How had she gotten that kind of power, a magical crystal ball?
And who had taught her how to use it? So many questions, no answers.
The drells have taken everything from us, even our voices, David
whispered. They have very sensitive hearing, you know, they cant stand
loud noises. They couldnt have our screams of pain hurting their precious ears. They work us to death in this hell, and when were no more
use to them, well, we end up on their dinner table.
My next question was the most difficult one, the one that had been
on my mind for hours. David, do you think were in Hell?
David looked deep into my eyes, I know he sensed my fear. His
hand reached out to mine. I dont think so. This is a terrible place, but
its not Hell. If youre in Hell you cant die again, can you? People die
here every day and they dont come back.
I looked around at the suffering souls about me. There were people
of all races here, a melting pot of pain. But who are all of these people,
where did they come from?
There are people here from all over the world, replied David, scanning the group, the familiar sorrowful faces. Im from California, but
Camron over there is from Scotland, Jennifer is from Brazil, and Jade
is from Singapore. They never send older people here, and we dont live
long enough to grow old.
I looked about to see if the task wulver was listening. Has anyone
ever tried to escape? I mean, theres gotta be some way out of here.
I saw the look of hopelessness even before David spoke. If there
had been a spark of hope in his heart this place had killed it. Impossible, these wulvers are careful, I mean real careful. They keep us under
constant guard all the time. Look at those anklets youre wearing. Do
you think youre going to get very far in those? And how the hell could
you ever get them off? Even if you could escape, where would you go?
Youd be stumbling through dark tunnels, no food, no water, shackled,
crossing paths with God only knows what. Many times Ive heard things
howling out there in the dark beyond the light of the crystals. Ciudaches,
the wulvers call them. I dont know if the wulvers made the name up
but theyre real alright, Im sure of it. When they get to howling like
they do sometimes even the wolvers tremble. These ciudachs are afraid
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Realm of the Drells
of the light. Thats what the wulvers tell us anyway. Wander away from
the light and youre ciudach food. But even if a ciudach didnt get you
how could you escape? Youd be wandering around in total darkness,
you might step out into some bottomless pit or maybe just get lost and
starve to death. Believe me, as bad as it is, were better off right here than
wandering around out there.
The crack of a whip across both our backs ended the conversation.
I was unprepared for the sharp stinging pain it brought to my soft flesh.
Ta work, ya lazy things! yelled the task wulver. His eyes seemed
red in the light of a nearby crystal with an unusually crimson glow.
His sharp white teeth gleamed from beneath his black lips. We have
a quota ta meet. Therell be na supper for any of ya if ya dont meet it.
I felt the rough handle of the shovel in my hand. I squeezed it
tightly. For an instant the pain inspired the anger that might have
driven me to swing the black spade at this monsters hideous head. Yet
I quickly rethought the urge that would surely have led to my death. I
had to chill, despite the heat, despite my pain. I moved to scoop up the
scattered rocks on the floor before me, dumped them into the hopper.
I think the wulver had anticipated my possibly emotional reaction,
because he had stepped back a few paces. He eyed me carefully for a
few minutes. I think I had somehow amused him, while disappointing
him at the same time. I tried not to return his stare, tried to work all the
harder. In time, he walked away. I was very thankful for that.
The hours passed slowly as we continued to hack away at the hard
rock wall in front of us. I had never imagined being a part of something
like this. Oh Id seen films in social studies class about the slave labor
camps of Stalin and Hitler but Id never imagined actually being a part
of such a thing. I was hurting all over but I didnt dare to stop.
The hours dragged on. Our task wulver cursed at us, applying his
whip to our backs for the littlest things. The fear of his lash drove us to
our limits.
It was hours before we were finally given a few minutes to sit down
and gather our strength. Several wulvers brought around ladles of water,
allotting each of us a few precious sips of the cloudy liquid, along with a
slice of mushroom bread. It did little to satisfy my hunger.
Yes, I played sports and I played hard but it hadnt prepared me for
this. This was way beyond even the roughest volleyball games Id ever
played and it just went on and on. The hours of back breaking work
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Kenneth Zeigler
that followed that all too short break were agony. My soft hands were
blistered and my legs and back ached when the wulvers finally called an
end to our labors.
They gathered us together in the main tunnel. A long chain was run
through a metal ring attached to our right ankle shackles, joining the
hundred or so of us together into a long human chain. We were driven
like cattle through the gray caverns, our ankle shackles clanking and
rattling all the way back to the slaves quarters where we were, one by
one, unshackled from the others and tossed into our cells.
Most of the laborers had a cellmate, always the same gender as
themselves, but not me. I had a cell completely to myself. I wondered if
that were a blessing or a curse.
My cell was almost bare, containing only a small metal pail for
human waste, and two stone shelves cut from the rock for beds. Upon
one was a roughly woven brown blanket and a flat stone for a pillow.
I gazed through the bars and into the now silent corridor. Across the
hallway, a young dark haired girl of about ten or eleven stood at the bars
of her cell. She stared into the corridor with sad dark eyes that seemed
to cry out for help.
Hello little girl, I whispered.
She turned to look in my direction, but her blank stare seemed to
look right through me. Her long hair was gnarled and filthy, sprinkled
with dust and small bits of sand. Her skin was very pale and her left
cheek bore a long partially healed scar where I imagine she had been
struck by a sharp rock or the whip of a wulver. It was terrible what they
had done to her, dressing her in filthy rags, locking her away in this
place. My heart nearly broke at the sight of this innocent and frightened
girl, whose childhood had been taken from her.
I did my best to smile at her. My name is Debbie, whats yours?
After a moment, her eyes seemed to focus on me, and her mouth
moved just a little bit, but there was no sound.
Her name is Gwen, whispered her cell mate, walking up to the
bars and placing her arm around the pitiful child.
Gwen leaned her head gently against the tall young womans
breast. How could those monsters have done such a thing to an innocent little girl? They expect nearly as much work from her as they do
from us, and shes just a child. My name is Marci, Marci Daniels.
Welcome to Hell.
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Realm of the Drells
Marci was unlike the other slaves Id spoken to. Her dark eyes held
an intensity about them, and she had a special inner strength that you
could actually feel. She caressed Gwens neck, attempted to comfort her.
Marci was very slender, yet muscular, and her scarred face still displayed a trace of the beauty and vitality it must have once possessed in
abundance. Her chocolate brown skin bore many scars from the task
masters whip. Her voice was much stronger than the others and she
appeared to be older. There were even traces of gray in her dark hair.
How long have you been here? I asked.
Three years and nine months, she proclaimed. Longer than anyone else, and at the age of twenty-three, Im an old woman.
Im surprised that youve been able to keep track of the time, I
replied. The others Ive spoken to have lost track of the passing days.
The men might have, but we women have a built in clock, dont we?
I felt almost embarrassed not to have figured that one out.
I can thank the Marine Corps for my survival. The Corps taught
me discipline, and strengthened my body for this ordeal. My heart beats
for the day when I will avenge the deaths of so many of my friends. On
that day Ill wash my hands in the blood of our enemies. Ill find out if
their blood is red like ours.
Marcis angry words and the fire in her eyes sent a chill up my
spine. I almost felt as though she might one day make good on her
vow against our taskmasters. How did you get here? I asked, trying
to change the subject.
The long silence and the angry expression that swept across Marcis
face, told me that I had just made matters worse. People around here
dont like to discuss the greatest tragedy of their lives, she said, looking
away, turning to her small cell mate. She placed her right arm around
the child drawing her close. Her left hand squeezed tightly upon the
bars of her cell door.
My words were faltering as I strained to get every bit of volume out
of my crippled vocal cords. I tried to undo the damage Id caused. Im
sorry, I didnt mean to pry.
Marci turned to me once more, her moment of weakness was gone.
Its alright, its just that theres not much to tell. I was on leave in Hamburg, Germany, just taking in the sights. I wandered into this curio shop
full of all kinds of really weird antiques. I figured that I might find some
neat trinket that I could send back to my folks in the states. There was
this crystal ball setting on a table that caught my eye.
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Kenneth Zeigler
A crystal ball? I whispered, as loudly as I could.

Yeah, you know, the thing that Gypsy fortune tellers use to foretell
the future. Well, anyway, I could have sworn that I saw a faint green
glow coming from it, so I wandered over to take a closer look. I remember reaching for it and then everything around me going black. The
next thing I knew I was trapped inside of it on my way here. Damn
my curiosity! Marci turned from the bars, and sat on her stone bed,
followed by Gwen, who sat at her side. Gwen said something to Marci,
but I couldnt make it out.
I walked away from the bars and laid down on my stone slab. Id
said all of the wrong things. I figured that Id done enough damage for
one day.
It wasnt long before the wulvers brought our suppers to us. A cup
of cloudy water which smelled of sulfur, and a bowl of mushroom stew
was our reward for a days work. It was all that stood between us and
starvation. As I lay back on the stone bed, I longed for someone to talk
to. I just didnt want to be alone, not tonight.
I thought of my parents of my younger brother. How I wanted to
be with them. Were they frantically searching for me, or wasnt it like
that at all? Maybe they were in mourning, in the midst of planning my
funeral. I couldnt be sure. What had happened to me? First I prayed
and then I cried. I couldnt help myself. It must have been about an hour
before exhaustion finally overcame me and I finally fell asleep.
The next day I awoke to a loud clanging. The wulvers were walking
up and down the corridor with black metal poles, hammering on the
bars of the cells.
Wake up ya damn lazy humans! cried one of the wulvers. Its
time fer work!
In the depths of my heart I had prayed that this place had been
nothing more than a terrible dream, something that would slowly fade
from my memory. Id hoped that I might wake up at home, on my white
canopy bed with my pink rabbit and my satin pillows, but I was still here.
Oh God, I whispered to myself, not so soon.
I rose to my feet. My arms and legs still ached from yesterdays ordeal.
I could still feel the sting of the taskmasters whip. Today it would begin
anew, as it would every day from now on.
In chains we were taken back into the caverns to continue our labor.
I guess wed been working a couple hours when Lukor showed up.
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Realm of the Drells
The head wulver has arrived to savor our suffering, whispered

David, bitterly.
No talking! yelled the task wulver, laying the lash across Davids back.
I cringed to see his pain, shoveled load after load of rocks into the
hopper, hoping to avoid the whip of the task wulver. Yet as I worked,
I noticed that Lukor was watching me with some interest. Why didnt
he just go away and leave me be? A long time passed before he finally
spoke.
How is our newest slave girl doing today? I hope that da work
agrees with ya.
Im doing fine, thank you, I whispered politely, wiping beads of
sweat from my forehead. I think Im starting to get the hang of shoveling rocks. I hope you are well today, sir.
For a moment, Lukor looked at me in disbelief. I wasnt quite sure
what he was going to do. He might have considered my comment to
be rude, even impertinent. But he said nothing more. He turned and
walked away. I returned to my work.
Debbie, what was that all about? asked David. Were you trying
to be cute, maybe trying to earn some points with that monster? Its not
going to work. I dont think that thing even has a soul. Dont you realize
just how much weve suffered at his hands?
Its not his fault, I replied. Its the drells. I think the wulvers are as
much prisoners as we are. If we could just win Lukors trust, we might
be able to unite forces against the drells.
David stared at me with wide unbelieving eyes. Youre dreaming,
he replied, shaking his head. Youre still new here. In time youll learn
to hate the wulvers, once youve had some time to see them in action.
The days passed, and I started to understand what David was talking
about. There didnt seem to be the slightest trace of mercy or compassion in the hearts of our task wulvers. They seemed to get pleasure from
our suffering. They considered themselves a superior species. They made
that only too clear in their day to day dealings with us. They actually
hated us for reasons I just couldnt understand.
But there was more. The way they looked at us, especially us women
really freaked me out. I swear they looked at us with lustful eyes. At
least thats how I saw it. Why would they? We were an entirely different
species. Our taskmasters would inject sexually charged statements into
the workdays, horrible things. Our morning taskmaster, a particularly
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Kenneth Zeigler
brutal wulver by the name of Lemnock was among the worst. Hed often
make reference to my chastity belt as the only thing standing between
me and him. He talked of wanting to spirit me off into a dark cavern
and showing me, well, I think you get the general idea. I think he kind
of liked me but not in a good way. Still, it didnt make him at all hesitant
to apply the whip to me.
Through it all David hovered close to me, did his best to prepare me
for the horrors of this place, protect me if he could. Yet there was one
horror he hadnt told me about, not yet.
It wasnt until the morning of my fifth day in the caverns that Lukor
again approached me. He assisted me in lifting a heavy rock into the
hopper before placing his powerful hand upon my shoulder. Well Debbie, it would seem that tomorrow yer scheduled for yer first leaching.
Leaching? I whispered.
Lukor turned to David, a surprised expression upon his face. Why
David, Ive heard tell that youve been schooling Debbie in da ways of
our world and you havent told her about da leaching?
Please, sir, does it have to be tomorrow? pleaded David. I mean;
shes only been here a few days.
Tis already arranged, and I see no good reason ta change the schedule, replied Lukor. Shes had plenty of time to adjust ta our world,
tomorrow itll be.
I turned to David, as Lukor walked away. I thought he had told
me everything he knew about the horrors of this place, but he hadnt.
What is leaching?
Its a thing that they do to us every three weeks, he replied, a
nervous expression coming to his face. He looked away. Id planned on
telling you all about it eventually, really I did. I just didnt think theyd
be doing it to you so soon.
What is it? I insisted, placing my hand on his shoulder. Please,
David, for Gods sake I have to know, no matter how terrible it is.
Davids eyes met mine once more. There was dampness there, but it
wasnt the heat or the work, those tears were for me.
The drells need us to work for them, but they need other things
from us too. Were not just their slaves, were their prey. When were no
longer able to work for them we become their food, I told you about
that, but theres more to it than that. They need our blood too. They
take it from us by leaching.
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Realm of the Drells
Throughout the day, David told me of the strange ritual that I

would face tomorrow, the ritual that he himself had endured over a
dozen times. We all had to submit to it, to the humiliation, to the terror.
It was horrible, made me ill to my stomach. Things here were going to
be worse than Id imagined.
3/28/16 9:35 AM
Chapter 3
he next morning began as every morning did, with the clashing of

the wulvers rods against the bars of our cells, yet they passed mine by.
The other slaves had already been led away to the work area when two
wulvers came to escort me to the leaching chamber.
Its time, wench, said the largest of the two, the tallest and burliest
wulver I had ever seen.
I rose to my feet, was reaching for my sandals when he grabbed me
roughly by the arm.
Youll not be needing those, he said in a guttural growl. Yer not
going far.
I was escorted roughly down one corridor and up another, a wulver gripping me by each arm. By the firmness of their grip I could tell
that they were accustomed to dragging the more uncooperative of their
victims to this place. The stones felt cold and almost slimy beneath my
feet. I was shivering as we arrived at a black metal door at the end of
the corridor, upon which was inscribed the golden outline of a gigantic
spider. Im not sure if that inscription was intended to scare the victim
of this ritual, but to me it was real effective.
Inside, the strong aroma of incense filled the air, and long jet black
drapes covered all four walls. Hundreds of red candles setting atop tall
black candle sticks illuminated the room with an eerie light. The wulvers
lifted me up onto the dark marble altar in the middle of the room,
securely shackling my wrists to its back corners and locking me by my
ankle shackles to the front corners. I felt like the sacrificial lamb, bound
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Realm of the Drells
for the slaughter. Then they departed, leaving me stretched out, spread
eagle, on that cold black slab.
God, I dont think that I was ever so scared. For a moment I strained
at the black metal bonds that held me captive. It was pointless, I knew
it. I wasnt going anywhere. David had said that it was best, less painful,
if I just relaxed. I tried.
I stared at the rock ceiling, at a mural that bore the likeness of an
enormous black spider poised in the middle of its web. The rendering
of the spider, many times my size, was directly above me, its eight legs
resting on light gray strands that radiated to the four walls. It was really
detailed, the sharp jagged mandibles, the glimmer of the spiders many
red eyes, the very texture of the web. It was frightening. I prayed that
such a beast existed only in mythology, not reality.
I was startled as a wulver dressed in a long black cloak emerged from
behind the curtain. This wulver was different from the others. Its fur
didnt seem to be as coarse and it wore a dark tunic rather than leather
armor beneath its cloak. It was then that I realized that it was a female,
the first one Id seen. I guess I realized that such a thing had to exist, but
it was hard to imagine what her mate, if she had one, saw in her.
Youd be Debbie, wouldnt ya? she said, in a surprisingly feminine
voice.
Yes maam, I replied, shivering all over.
I am Kadra, priestess of Lilith. It is I who will perform the holy
rite of leaching upon ya this day. Lukor, my mate, has spoken of your
courage. Today I shall test it.
I could hear the sliding of stone upon stone as Kadra reached into
a hidden compartment beneath the altar and removed from it a glass
jar filled with water and swimming brown blobs the size of my fist. She
placed the jar upon a small table at my side and reached into it with a
pair of tongs. She carefully removed a large squirming brown leach, the
largest Id ever seen, and placed it under my right armpit. I felt a sharp
pain as it attached itself and began to feed. Tears came to my eyes as she
placed another of the horrible creatures under my left arm and on the
inside of both my thighs.
Just relax Debbie, she said, stroking my forehead with the back of
her furry hand. The gentleness of her tone, of her touch, surprised me.
The leaches venom will soon numb the area where they are feeding and
yer pain will subside.
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Kenneth Zeigler
After a few minutes the pain eased, but my terror didnt. I didnt
wimper, didnt give my fear a voice. I think that impressed the priestess.
I dont know how much time passed before Kadra finally removed
the first of the leaches. It had swelled to many times its original size,
bloated with my blood. Kadra squeezed it again and again over a large
glass bottle, as though it were a sponge, causing spurts of blood, my
blood, to burst forth. Only then did she return the leach to its tank,
robbed of most of its spoils. One by one she milked the other leaches,
nearly filling the container. By the looks of it I had lost a lot of blood.
Kadra held the flask of blood above her, raising her head high. Oh
great Lilith, behold the blood offering of this unworthy human. May
it nourish you and your followers so that they might better serve your
purpose and spread your influence. Kadra returned the leaches to their
hidden compartment then turned toward me once more. Lukor spoke
truly, you do possess courage. Few have endured in silence what you
have endured this morning. And you also showed wisdom and manners
in the way you addressed me. This is also very good. She gazed once
more toward the flask, into the crimson liquid. The deed is done; you
will now be returned to your cell to rest and recover.
With flask in hand, Kadra vanished once more behind the curtain.
I felt even colder than before, drained of blood as I was, filled with
the tranquilizing venom of the leaches. A few minutes later, the guards
released my wrists from the shackles and carried me back to my cell. Im
sure I could not have made the trip on my own.
The world spun wildly as they laid me on my stone bed and placed
the blanket over me. I thought that I heard one of them chuckle, but
I could have imagined it. All I knew was that I had been violated. It
was a crime as vile and insidious as rape. At that moment, all I could
think about was escape, and I didnt care where, just away from this
place. There had to be a way out of this hell, I had to find it. In my
fear and confusion, I cried for my mother, I cried to go home, and I
prayed more fervently than ever before. After a time, darkness closed
in around me as I fell into a deep sleep, a sleep filled with all kinds of
weird dreams.
I dreamed of a huge spider that lived in a metal teardrop. It was
surrounded by a brood of smaller spiders. The smaller spiders were
gathered around the bigger one. They bowed before it like they were
worshiping it or something. Then they brought offerings to it, sacrifices.
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Realm of the Drells
I couldnt see what they were, at least not at first. The sacrifices were all
wrapped up in cocoons of white spider silk. The cocoons were about the
size and shape of humans. Some were still. Others squirmed as if there
were something alive in them.
Then I got a good look at one of them. Only the head was not
cocooned. I gasped. It was me, wrapped up tightly in that cocoon,
struggling wildly. All of the cocoons contained people, children. They
were being taken into the giant teardrop where the great spider was.
Then, in a moment I wasnt just watching this spider ritual, I was a
part of it. I was the girl in the cocoon. I was hung by one of the smaller
spiders upon a gigantic web within the teardrop in a row with the others. I tried to wake up but I couldnt.
I could see the other victims more clearly now. Each was a teen like
myself, totally encased within a cocoon except for their heads. Some were
girls, others boys. All looked terrified. The huge spider swung around,
placing its black bloated abdomen directly above the first cocooned victim. The spider was shaking like it was straining. Then a white gooey egg
shaped thing popped out of the spiders rear end and unto the stomach
of the first victim. It stuck tight. The spider moved onto the next victim
and did exactly the same thing.
I turned away. I was next. Not far away I saw another huge web
with five cocoons attached to it, each containing a young person, or at
least what was left of them. Now I realized that these things that were
being attached to us were just what they looked like; eggs, spider eggs,
only these had hatched. The baby spiders, about a foot across, were
using the cocooned victims as food and getting a taste for human flesh
in the process.
Then I felt the slimy egg drop onto my stomach where it stuck tight. I
tried to wiggle to shake it loose but I could hardly move. I wondered how
much time I had before that egg hatched. Already it was wiggling about
like there was something alive inside. Then everything went to black.
The other slaves were being returned to their cells as I came to. Id
slept the entire day away. I stumbled to the bars and gazed out into the
corridor. Marci observed me from her cell, her eyes were full of sympathy.
The first time is the worst, she whispered. Youll get used to it
after a while.
Get used to it? Id never get used to it or this place.
And then there were those nightmares that came with the leaching.
They were the worst. I thought it was the effect of the leach venom, but
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Kenneth Zeigler
when I asked others I found that they never had dreams after the ordeal
on the altar. They just slept the day away. That struck me as odd.
With the passage of time my hands became rough and calloused,
and my back was covered with scars from the task masters whip. My
body hardened, adjusted to the demands of the hard labor, the pain. But
I never got used to it. I came to realize that the rooms we were cutting
from the rock were to become new cells, many new cells, a cell block
four times as large as the current one. Soon there would be even more of
us in the dark domain of the drells.
The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. I counted the
days, as Marci did, although one day became pretty much like another.
I endured the leaching again and again. It was painful yet Kadra was
never cruel. It seemed to me that Kadra had come to like me. She was
always as gentile as possible. Her words were always soothing even if the
ritual was not. She sometimes tried to distract me from the horrors of
this ritual by getting me to talk about my life and family back on Earth.
And with each leaching came the nightmares. They werent always
the same, but they were always about this place. Sometimes I saw an
underground city populated by the drells. Other times I saw them at
play, and when I say play I mean play with humans. They didnt just kill
us and eat us when our time as laborers was through, oh no. They played
cruel games with us first. I dont even want to write about them. They
were just too awful. It was like a window into the mind of the drells. It
made me fear the end all the more. Why did I have these dreams while
the others didnt?
I even had a cellmate for a time. Just for a time. She became little
more than a footnote in my tale of horrors. Her name was Letha. She
was a pretty blond haired German girl. She didnt speak much English,
which seemed to be the agreed upon main language of the slaves. I
tried to teach her but she wasnt in much of a learning mood. I did find
out that she came from a wealthy family and wasnt accustomed to the
kind of work she did here. She did her best to keep up with the rest of
us but she wasnt very strong. The wulvers beat her frequently. She was
with me for about two weeks before something very strange happened,
something I dont fully understand even now.
It was after dinner of an unusually difficult day that they came. I
call them they because I dont know what else to call them. They were
human, totally human, dressed in some sort of military uniforms from
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another time, maybe from another world. There were five of them, four
men and a woman, accompanied by three wulver guards. I remember
one of them had on a royal blue cape. He seemed to be the leader. They
spoke a language Id never heard before. I noticed that the wulvers
treated them almost like royalty. There was no doubt who was the boss
here. The strangers walked slowly through the cell block, eying each
one of us carefully as one might look at a dress or a suit on the racks
at the mall.
After several minutes they selected seven of us, five girls and two
boys. One of the girls they selected was Letha. A wulver opened our
cell and told Letha to come forth, that she would be leaving this place.
I remember she really didnt offer any resistance to them. I suppose she
figured that whatever they might do to her couldnt be worse than what
was happening to her here. None of those they selected offered any
resistance. I thought that was sort of odd. In fact, there were those that
practically begged to be taken with them.
Then as quickly as they had come they left. I later learned that they
were servants of some guy by the name of Malfacian. Even the wulvers
knew little of them other than the fact that they were allies with the
drells and were to be treated as such. Anyway, those who went with
them were never seen again. I dont know if that is a good or a bad thing.
Do you stay with the devil that you know or go with the devil that you
dont know?
It was after Letha left that I set off on a mission of sorts. I needed
something to hold onto and the people around me needed hope. Perhaps there was a way to get both. I made it a point to talk to God every
evening in my cell. I think at first I was trying to battle the loneliness I
was feeling. But as I went on it turned into something else, something
better. At the same time, I tried to be a positive influence in the lives of
those around me. I had to give them hope. I spoke of deliverance. If not
of the body at least of the spirit. Thing is, I knew so little about spiritual
matters or the Bible. How I wished that I had a Bible, or someone to
teach me the things Id ignored for so long. I spoke to others of God
when I could, but it seemed that no one was really very interested in
hearing about Him. That sort of surprised me. Not even David was
much interested in what I had to say. He did say that Id developed
an effective coping technique. Those were the exact words he used. He
thought that was a good thing. Still he figured that if there were really a
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Kenneth Zeigler
loving God out there somewhere, why would He allow such a place as
this to even exist? I had no answer for him.
Then there was Consuela, my second cellmate. She arrived in early
December. She was about my age and was from Spain. I was able to
learn that much. I did my best to communicate with her using the
little Spanish that I knew from high school but she was inconsolable.
She couldnt adapt to this new life. I think she might have been a little
unhinged even before she came here. She cried herself to sleep one night
and ranted and cursed the next. You could never predict what she was
going to be like the next minute.
A lot of her anger was vented at someone by the name of Maria. She
insisted that Maria had sent her here, and spoke of what she would do to
her if she ever got back to Earth. At least that is what I gathered from her
sometimes frantic ravings. She called Maria a witch. What Maria had to
do with her being here I couldnt be sure but I had a suspicion. After all,
I had my own suspicions when it came to Keira.
Consuela did not work well during the day, despite the severe beatings she received. There was an anger in her, a rage that she was barely
able to contain. One afternoon, five days after her arrival, she simply
freaked out. She turned on Lemnock scratching and biting even as he
whipped her again and again. Blood flew all over the place and she still
fought on. Then she lit into him like a wild animal. In fact, Im not so
sure that she didnt take a piece or two out of him in the process. It took
four wulvers to take her down. They beat her unmercifully and when
they dragged her away I wasnt sure if she was alive or dead. That was the
last time I saw her. I pray that she died quickly.
Still time passed. It was nearly time for our midday rations, and, as
always we were carving new chambers out of the rock, when I realized
that it was Christmas day. I looked toward Gwen as she shoveled up
rocks and dropped them into the hopper. She looked so pitiful. God,
what had she ever done to deserve Christmas in a place like this? She
had often spoken of her home and family back in New Hampshire.
This was her first Christmas away from them. It was during our all
too brief rest period that David and I walked over to where the poor
child sat.
Gwen, do you know what day this is? I asked, trying to be as
cheerful as I could.
No, she said softly, hardly looking up from the gray floor.
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Realm of the Drells
Its Christmas day, I replied, kneeling besides her, looking into

her eyes. I wish that there was some kind of present that I could give
you, but the only thing I can give you is my love, and to tell you that
Jesus loves you too. I planted a kiss on her dirty forehead and hugged
her warmly.
A tear came to her eye as she returned my embrace. Thank you
Debbie, she replied softly, I love you too.
David followed my lead, kissing the little child on the forehead, as
did the young Scotsman, Camron. It seemed so inadequate.
Marci placed her hand on my shoulder as we prepared to return to
work. There was such warmth in her eyes. I think there was even the
trace of a tear to be found there. Thank you Debbie, I know it meant a
lot to her. Im not so much into this religion thing youre into but I do
appreciate the sentiment.
The only gift we can offer each other here is our love, noted David.
It might be the only thing that keeps us alive.
In the weeks that followed, it was the love of David that allowed
me to go on. I cherished the few precious moments of the day that we
could sit side by side, holding hands. Yet when the day was over we were
locked away, apart from each other once more. God, I wish theyd allow
us to spend just one night together. It wasnt a sexual thing, understand.
I just wanted to spend some time with him, just the two of us. Just
feeling his reassuring arm around me as I faded off to sleep, to know I
wasnt alone, would make my life more bearable. It is strange how we
miss the simple things when they are gone.
It was mid-January, when something incredible happened. It had
been an unusually difficult day of work in the tunnels and Id fallen
asleep in my cell almost immediately. I hadnt even finished my meager
supper. Now understand, I didnt dream very much in this realm of the
drells; other than on the day of my leaching. But this night was different
and so was the dream. The dream that night was so vivid, so clear, that
it was more real than reality itself.
I found myself back on Earth, sitting in the middle of a field of
white flowers. Oh, it was so beautiful and the flowers smelled so nice. I
was free of my chains, wearing a long white dress. It was so wonderful
to be wearing nice clean clothes again. Somehow I knew it was a dream
right from the start but I didnt care I prayed that I would never wake
up again. I rose to my feet to see a man sitting on a rounded boulder in
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Kenneth Zeigler
the shade of a great oak tree not far away. He waved to me, motioned
for me to come to him and I did. I had no fear of him. I knew that he
wouldnt hurt me.
As I drew ever closer I could see him more clearly. Like me he was
dressed in white from head to toe. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties
and had brown hair and a well-trimmed beard. His blue eyes were kind
and deep like none that I had ever seen before. If love were a physical
thing, he glowed with it. Now I knew who he was. Tears of joy came to
my eyes as I quickened my pace. He stretched open his arms and a few
seconds later I fell into them crying for joy.
Its you! I exclaimed. Its really you.
Of course its me, Debbie, He said in a soothing voice. Im here
now. Its going to be alright, I promise.
You heard me, I cried. You really heard me.
Yes I did, every night, he confirmed. Ive been listening to you all
along. So has my Father. Im so very proud of you, child. When things
looked the darkest you looked to me and your eyes have never left me.
You have shared my love with the others too. You have acknowledged
me before others and I in turn have acknowledge you before my Father
in Heaven. Im here to tell you that the Father has not abandoned you,
far from it.
Jesus stepped back for a moment and looked into my eyes. I found
such peace in his presence.
Please, sit with me for a time, He said, motioning to the boulder.
Im sure there is room for two.
I sat with Him. I just couldnt take my eyes from Him. Oh Jesus,
please take me from this awful place Ive been condemned to. Oh please
help me.
The Lord placed His arm around me. Debbie, I will help you,
I promise. But let me ask you a question. Do you remember who
Moses was?
Yes, I replied, he delivered the children of Israel from bondage in
Egypt. He led them out into the wilderness and then into the Promised
Land. Debbie hesitated. But he didnt actually make it into the Promised Land. He saw it but he never reached it.
Jesus smiled broadly. You see; you actually do remember some of
what you learned in Sunday school.
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I chuckled slightly. Yes, I guess I do. But what does that have to do
with me?
Everything, assured Jesus. Do you think that the Father appears
to men in the clouds and commands them to do this thing or that? No,
the Father works through men and women who are willing to trust Him
completely, He always has. People like Moses, Joshua, Ruth, Gideon,
and Esther were instruments of His will. He spoke to them, showed
them the way, then they led the people. Trust me when I tell you that
this is the better way to lead the people. He paused. Are you prepared
to take your place among them?
I wasnt expecting that question. Me? But Im just a slave in this
place, not some sort of princess or prophet. I dont know what to do. Im
not even sure what all of those people you just mentioned did.
Jesus smiled. You will. I will see to that. All I need right now is your
faith and your willingness. Are you ready, Debbie?
I managed a smile. Im ready. When do we begin?
We begin now, confirmed Jesus.
The world around me faded into darkness and I slipped into a
dreamless perfect sleep. I had a new peace within me. Come the morning I remembered all that Jesus had told me. That in itself was unusual.
I rarely remembered my dreams with such clarity. Somehow I knew it
was more than just a dream. I was ready to do whatever had to be done.
It was two days later and we were working in the same part of the
cavern wed been working in for months. The heavy black bars of about
twenty of the cells we had cut from the rock were already in place.
David and about half a dozen other slaves were raising a black metal
pole into place with a pulley, to support a huge gate that would guard
the entrance to the new cell block. Lukor had come to observe our progress and supervise the work. He had turned to speak to one of the task
wulvers when the rope supporting the leaning beam snapped, bringing
the huge pole crashing toward the cavern floor, straight toward Lukor.
What happened next was instinctive, it must have been. I didnt
have time to think, I just did it.
Lukor, look out! I cried in a whispery scream. In desperation I
lunged toward him. My ankle shackles tripped me, as I slammed into
Lukor, shoving him out of the way. The beam crashed down only inches
behind my feet.
Lukor turned to see the huge girder that had fallen but a couple
feet behind him, then he glanced at me with a puzzled expression on
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Kenneth Zeigler
his face. He looked away and rose to his feet. Lets get that beam raised
back into place, he said. Time is a wasting.
When he had left, both David and Marci approached me. Lukor
would have been crushed if youd just stayed where you were, scolded
Marci. You could have been killed trying to save him!
Why? was all that David could say.
I dont know, I admitted. I guess it was just sort of automatic. I
knew that I had to do it. I couldnt let him die if I could prevent it. God
didnt want him to die.
God didnt? asked David, surprise in his voice.
Yes, thats right, I replied.
I assure you, Lukor wouldnt have done the same thing for you,
replied Marci. If you had been injured, rendered unable to work, he
would have sent you off to the drells without a second thought.
But Im not Lukor, I murmured. I didnt look either one of them
in the eyes. Maybe Id begun to consider the foolishness of my hasty act.
What could such an act of kindness ever accomplish here?
Marci and David walked away. As I worked on, I continued to wonder if I might have made a mistake after all. No, it wasnt wrong. I felt a
warmth deep inside.
It was well after supper, and the others were sound asleep, when
Lukor appeared outside of my cell. I laid upon my rock bed, trying not
to return his gaze. He stood there in the middle of the corridor watching
me for a long time before he spoke. Whyd ya do it? he asked.
Pardon? I replied, rising to my feet and walking up to the bars.
Lukor walked to the bars of my cell, his eyes full of intensity. You
know what Im talking about. That beam would surely have fallen on me,
killed me. Whyd ya push me out of da way? Ya could have been killed.
I couldnt let you be killed, I said. Jesus within me wouldnt allow
it to happen.
Lukors expression turned to one of puzzlement. What? Who is
within you?
Jesus, repeated Debbie. He died for my sins and I will live to do
His will.
Oh, I see, said Lukor. I have heard of this Jesus, though not for a
long time. He is quite a legend among your people; a fable.
Not a legend or a fable, replied Debbie. It is my faith in Him that
makes it possible for me to go on. I live on because He lives in me. He
wouldnt have allowed you to die when He could have prevented it and
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Realm of the Drells
He could prevent it. He used me to do it. I know He has a plan for you.
You will do great things. You must survive to do it.
I wanted to tell Lukor about the dream I had, but I didnt. I knew it
was neither the time nor the place, not yet.
You still feel that way after all this time?
Of course I do, I said.
Many of your fellows do not, continued Lukor, or have you not
noticed?
Ive noticed, I replied.
Of course you have, said Lukor. You speak to them of it nearly
every day. Think not that I havent noticed. You care for them. Even
such a place as this hasnt driven the humanity from ya, or shall I say
drive Jesus from you.
No, I replied, in fact I found Him here.
Have you indeed, pondered Lukor. Well, I will not debate
matters of faith with you this evening. Faith in something bigger than
ourselves, it is a personal matter. Da drells insist on being our gods.
They will leave room for none other, it is forbidden for us to worship
any other god. I make no such demands upon you and your people.
You need not worship them as we do. You serve them with your lifes
blood and in the end with your very flesh. I do not think you owe them
anything more than that, so I do not ask for it. When it comes to gods
you may believe as you wish.
Lukor reached through the bars and gently touched the back of my
hand. I didnt pull away. I think it surprised him. Im sorry that this has
happened ta ya, he said softly. I know that doesnt mean very much,
but its da truth.
I placed my other hand on top of his, gently stroking his coarse fur.
I looked into his deep brown eyes. There was human compassion there.
Id never dreamt that I would see it in the eyes of a wulver. It means a
lot to me Lukor, I whispered. It means a lot to have a friend, especially
here. For an instant I thought that I could see the trace of a tear in his
eye, but he pulled back, quickly turned away.
By the code of Torin, I hate the drells, he said, almost under his
breath. It gives me no pleasure to do what I do here. For years Ive tried
ta tell myself that your kind arent like us. Youre just animals of a sort,
I say, that what we do ta ya doesnt matter, but it aint true. Were not so
different, your people and mine, and once, long ago, the difference was
even less.
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Kenneth Zeigler
I drew closer to the bars. Where are your people from, Lukor? Id
really like to know.
From a land of legend, he said. A place called Scotland. Have ya
never wondered why we speak yer language?
I had wondered, many times. But I figured that they had learned
our language over the years, through dealing with us. I mean, I overheard them speak French to some of us too. But how did you get here?
In the same way you were brought here, he replied, still facing
away from me. Twas a witch who sentenced the people of the shire to
this realm, Victoria Barda of the Sisterhood of Twilight. Legend says
that she was cast out of the shire for her evil deeds, for practicing the old
religion. But she vowed to take vengeance upon us. Her vengeance was
more terrible than any of my ancestors could possibly have imagined.
Your ancestors were human?
Of course they were. Twas the drells who did this thing to us,
made us the things that we are. They changed us into beasts of legend,
wulvers. The drells commanded that we consider ourselves as such so
we do. Were not human anymore. Lukor looked down at his furry
hands. Kadra and I cant have any young of our own, ya know. When
the drells did this thing to our ancestors they created a bunch of freaks.
Even when our kind do have children, theyre often horribly deformed.
Perhaps tis just as well that Kadra is barren.
Im sorry, I said, reaching through the bars to touch his powerful arm. There wasnt any fear in my heart for the great beast, not
anymore. He looked back at me again, there were tears in his eyes. His
lips trembled.
Sleep well Debbie, he said as he pulled away and made his way
down the corridor. He moved quickly so that other humans who might
still be awake would not see a wulver cry.
When I rested upon the hard stone bed that night, I did so with just
the flicker of hope in my soul. There was still tenderness in the wulver
heart. The drells hadnt driven their humanity completely from them,
not yet. I had to convince Lukor to help me, help all of us escape from
this nightmare. A divine thing had been set into motion and I would do
all in my power to make it come to pass.
The very next evening after all were asleep, Lukor visited me again.
He handed me the coarse writing paper and the strange black metal pen
with which I keep my journal. But he gave me something else, some
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Realm of the Drells
thing far more precious. It is my most precious possession. He handed

me a book hidden in a small pouch, a very old book.
Ya must be very careful about this book, he cautioned. It is a
forbidden book. If the drells knew that Kadra and I had it, we would
most surely be executed.
I carefully removed the brown leather bound book from the pouch.
As I looked at the cover tears came to my eyes. There in gold letters were
the words Holy Bible; King James Version. I carefully opened the cover
to see the print date of 1672 and the inscription to Laura.
I am very sure that this is the only one of its kind in the realm,
continued Lukor. You spoke of Jesus. I believe this book is about Jesus.
I thought you should have it. Tis the least I can do. You saved my life.
Ill treasure it always, I replied.
Then Lukor handed me a small glowing crystal. If youre going
to read that book you might need this. Tis a bit dark in your cell. I
wouldnt want you to ruin your eyes.
I nodded, even as Lukor quickly departed. It was unheard of for
a wulver to give a human slave such a thing. He had taken a horrible
risk in doing this. Had Lukor really changed? I wasnt sure. I wanted to
believe he had.
I opened the Bible and started reading in the Book of Matthew. I
immediately realized that there would be challenges. English of the seventeenth century was quite different from that of the twentieth. It was
more than just the thee and thou, there were several unfamiliar letters
in the alphabet. Others took on an unusual shape. However, after about
half an hour I figured it out and things began to flow for me.
It must have been very late when I returned the book to its pouch.
I hid it behind my rock pillow where no one else might easily see it. For
now, I would keep its existence a secret both for my sake and Lukors.
3/28/16 9:35 AM

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R EA LM

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Copyright 2016Kenneth Zeigler

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The Personal Journal of Miss Debbie Langmuir

y name is Debbie, and Im seventeen years old, but Im not like

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have been one of those psychics with a one-nine-hundred number. You

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moaning coming from her tent. A childs overactive imagination, thats

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ground, sparing nothing. Well, almost nothing. The following morning,

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glowing with a green glow. It was my only source of light, bathing me

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I curled up in mid-air and cried like a little child, I cried for my

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As I did so I felt strange, not lightheaded but light-bodied. It was as

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kind of beings should find such amusement in my suffering? All the

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Please, answer me just one question, I whispered, pulling the

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It was about ten minutes before we arrived at a place where about

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A crystal ball? I whispered, as loudly as I could.

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The head wulver has arrived to savor our suffering, whispered

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Throughout the day, David told me of the strange ritual that I

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he next morning began as every morning did, with the clashing of

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