Stakes

The Shaiksa leaned on the stake with all his weight and I felt it pass straight through my body. He was making me suffer for as long as he possibly could. Then I lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes, the assassin was still holding a stake, about to pierce my body. For a moment I thought that I had died and was reliving the moment over and over again. But then I saw the first stake still buried in my stomach. This stake was a second one.

‘They say you are a seventh son of a seventh son,’ Balkai said, smiling down at me. ‘So it is only fitting that seven stakes such as this should pierce your body. Only after being transfixed by the seventh will you be allowed to die.’

The Shaiksa touched the fiery tip of the second stake to my chest, high on the right; then he began to twist it into me. I smelled my burning flesh and screamed until my throat was raw.

Starblade Book 3 Chapter 31