Of Blood and Honey (Fey and the Fallen) Read Online Free PDF Page A

it that sent a jolt of adrenaline through Liam’s veins.
    “Stop it, Bert,” the second guard whispered.
    Something’s not right, Liam thought.
    Each put a hand to an arm as if they were afraid Liam would rabbit, and he was escorted from the yard and the cage. He endured a search and then went through a wire tunnel and into the next cage. When they reached the infirmary the stench of death was overpowering. They took him up the stairs to an office, but the surgeon wasn’t anywhere in sight. The room was small and painted white with a barred cell to one side. No one was in it. Liam’s heart thudded in his chest like a Prod’s bass drum. He tried to think of what he’d done to be singled out. Had he committed an infraction? Nothing came to mind. “What’s this, then?” he asked.
    Neither guard answered. They shoved him in front of a desk positioned at one end of the room and waited until the door slammed open. The blond guard entered and sat down in the surgeon’s chair behind the desk. He didn’t so much as gaze in Liam’s direction.
    “Get him ready,” the blond man said.
    “Right,” the second guard said. “Clothes off. Now.”
    Liam’s heart staggered. “What?”
    “Strip search. Stop your gawking.”
    Shaking, he stripped down to his kacks. The room was warmer than the barracks but not by much. Cold air prickled against his skin. He was visibly trembling now.
    “Shed the rest.”
    “What? No!”
    One of the guards slammed a night stick into Liam’s back, and he went down. Unlike Tom and Hugh, the guards knew their business. The pain was terrific, and Liam couldn’t breathe for what seemed a full fifteen minutes.
    The blond man’s chair squeaked. “You seem to be operating under the misconception that you have a choice. Do as you were told.”
    “On your feet, taig.”
    Liam got up from the floor, shed his underpants and covered himself as best he could with his hands. Shame burned his cheeks, and he stared down at the ground.
    “Will you look at that,” one of the guards said. “Catholics. No wonder there’s so many of them.”
    The burning in his face worsened.
    “Get him over to the cell,” the blond guard said, licking his lips. His tone was bored, but there was tension in it that spoke of extreme interest.
    Pushed to the right, Liam was next positioned a short distance in front of a cell door and shoved. Liam caught himself before he fell into the steel bars face first. He was up on his toes now. His legs were kicked apart, and he kept himself from tumbling by hanging onto the cell door. The trembling got worse, and it was hard to keep himself from falling. He tried to get into a more stable position but was slapped on the ear.
    “Did anyone say you could move?”
    A drawer on the desk slammed and there was a metallic clink. A chair scraped the floor. “That’s enough. You can leave now, gentlemen.”
    Liam felt the blond man press next to him as he heard the other guards leave. Keys rattled in the lock. The blond guard grabbed Liam’s wrist and snapped a cuff around it. The cuffed wrist was then yanked up above his head and shoved against a bar closer to his face. He lost his balance. Left cheek and shoulder slammed into iron. The second cuff was looped through the cell door. His cheekbone throbbed.
    The blond man spoke in Liam’s ear. “Grasp the bar next to your left hand.”
    Terrified and humiliated, Liam did as he was told. The second cuff went around his right wrist. It’s only a search, he thought. Nothing more. Perfectly normal. It’ll be over with soon. He’d heard about body cavity searches from one of the other prisoners. By the description it sounded horrible, but it could be lived through. A lot could be lived through, he’d come to understand. He tried to slow his breathing. He was sweating in spite of the chill. The stench of cologne and stale beer filling Liam’s nose was enough to make him sick. The painted white iron bars pressed into his palms. The cuffs