Inquisition

PART 16


Gurd unstrapped Ilse from the diabolical frame Ilse was spread on for the water torture.   The straps left livid welts on wrists and legs.  Where the cords had been twisted about her upper arms and thighs deep grooves remained.

Gurd lifted Ilse and slung her under his enormous arm.  Her carried her across the torture chamber to a huge chair. It resembled a drawing room wing chair, but there were several differences in this engine of terror however.  For one thing, the seat, back, wings, the arms and the insides of the arms were studded with inch high pointed studs, which penetrated the flesh of the unlucky occupant.  There were two leg supports which could be lowered to allow the victims legs to hang down, or raised to the horizontal. It was constructed entirely of iron and under the seat a shallow bowl rested, filled with the dead ashes of hot coals.

Ilse was thrown down into it's welcoming arms and forced to sit on those pointed studs.   She yelped and struggled to rise but Gurd quickly smashed her chest with a heavy blow, driving her back onto those points.

Iron bands were swung up from the sides of the arms and clamped down on her forearms holding her arms fast.  Another band, fastened to the side of the chair just below the wings was swung across her body at shoulder height above her breasts.  Two more bands were tightened over her legs above the knee.  The last of them held her ankles to the lower leg slats.

Ilse was securely bound into the "Devils Chair."  She tried to struggle at first but soon ceased as it merely drove the cruel spikes into her already tortured flesh. 

"Now you devils harlot, CONFESS!"

"No NEVER!.  No matter what you do or what horrors you inflict upon my body, it cannot change the fact I am innocent!"

"We shall see you harpy from hell.  We shall see.  Dungeon Master teach her the fallacy of her faith in the Prince of Darkness she serves."

Gurd walks to his cart of instruments and returns with a small box.  Also from the cart he brings an iron clamp which he fastens over the end of an armrest.  It has several slots and a screw clamp on one side.  Grasping her hand in his grubby paw he forces her fingers into the slots and turns the screw clamping them fast.  He turns the screw a few more turns squeezing her fingers in their  iron embrace.   Ilse squeals and tries to free her hand. 

"Not yet my pet, but soon I will crush them to mush.  First I will try more refined methods."

Opening the box he shows her the contents.  Nothing but some broken pieces of wood.  Not pieces of shattered wood, but slivers of bamboo, four inches long, the ends fire hardened.  Picking one of them up Gurd jabs it into the back of her hand to demonstrate it's sharpness. 

Seizing a finger he places the point under the nail.  It dawns on Ilse what he is going to do.

"Please NOOOOOO!!!!   In mercies name NOOOO!!!!!"

Gurd merely smirks and nods his head, at the same time pressing the point, sharper than a needle, under her nail.

Ilse's shriek of agony shatters the air as he twists and forces the slender sliver up under her nail.  Despite the tearing of her flesh by the spikes she struggles and thrashes, vainly attempting to pull her hand away.   

He picks up another sliver.

"STOOOOOOOP!!!!  NOOOOOOOOO!!!!  YYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!

Ilse strains trying to free her hand from the vicious vice holding it.  She screams and screams, pausing only long enough to draw another breath, to scream again.

Slowly, methodically Gurd skewers her fingers with the diabolical slivers,  Blood oozes from her fingertips, dripping from them to the floor.

He picks up another clamp and pinions her other hand to the opposite arm.

After tightening the screws to immobilize her hand, Gurd picks up more slivers.   Surely and in progressive stages he plunges the barbarous slivers under the nails of that hand.  

Ilse is howling in unrestrained agony, her hands torn by the savage torture.  Her screams grow ever louder and frantic as he continues gleefully impaling her fingers.

"Just think my obstinate bitch, you also have 10 toes," as he smirks and sniggers.

Ilse's screams are unabated as what may be her most terrible ordeal thus far goes on and on.  The lancing pain flashes from her vilely pierced fingers to her arms and shoulders.  She cannot help herself, she struggles and thrashes in agony.  Her screams those of a demented soul suffering the tortures of the damned.  Her head bounces from side to side her mouth wide as she screams, the cords in her neck and arms stand out, taut as cables as she strives vainly to free herself.

Konrad injects himself into her ordeal, urging her to confess and end the demonic torture.  "Refuse and the torture will escalate in viciousness and savagery."

Ilse, nearly mindless in agony, shakes her head and screams at the top of her lungs, "NEEVVVEERRRRR! You animals!"

Konrad smirks to himself and nods to Gurd.

Gurd goes to Konrad's dais and returns with a candle.  Looking into Ilse's tortured eyes he touches the flame to the end of a sliver.

Ilse's eyes widen even more in unbelieving horror as the sliver ignites and burns toward her finger.  It reaches her nail which flares and sputters as it catches fire and burns to a crisp.   The screams of a wild animal being torn asunder echo throughout the chamber and Ilse slumps into blackness. 

"Revive her!  She shall NOT escape so easily."

Gurd dashes a bucket of icy water over the unconscious Ilse.  She sputters and shakes as she regains conscious realization.  

"NOOO!!!  NOOO!!!!   NOOO!!!   STOP!!!!   NO MORE!!! STOOOP!!!!"

"Then you CONFESS whore!!!"

"NEVER you evil son of Satan!!! NEVER!!!"

Konrad was beside himself at Ilse's blasphemous outburst.

"Torture Master you must increase your efforts.   This blasphemous whore must be taught a lesson she will not forget."

"It shall be my great pleasure Your Grace."

Gurd quickly held the candle to the other slivers one by one as Ilse howled in excruciating agony.  Gurd had acolytes bring hot coals and fill the iron basket beneath the chair.  As it heated and started to smoke it seared the flesh of Ilse's nether regions, the smell of roasting human flesh filling the chamber.

Ilse passed out several times but each time she was revived with more of the icy water, to be returned to the ongoing agony. 

Ilse trembles and shakes, the abominable searing pain in her hands throbbing with each beat of her heart.  She sobs and whimpers in unending agony...

Gurd bends and releasing a latch raises, and spreads the boards her legs are bound to.  Her feet point in front of her.  She begs and pleads for mercy believing her feet are to suffer the same torment as her hands.

The fiend torturing the defenseless girl retrieves his bamboo cane from the cart.
He taps the sole of a foot.  Then with no further preliminary draws his arm back and slashes the cane across the sole.  A sharp stab of horrific pain shoots up Isle's leg, bringing more screams.   The inhuman brute alternates sides as he bastinados her tender soles. 

Isle's head thrashes from side to side. She pounds it against the ungiving iron behind her head.  The beating of her sore and bleeding feet goes on for 20 minutes,  her screaming escalating.   

"Ready to confess?"

"Please..Oh PLEASE STOPP!!!!   I can't stand the pain!! STOPPPPP!!!"

"CONFESS WITCH!!!"

"I cannot!  I am not witch!   I swear, please stop!!  Have mercy!!! PLEASE!!!!"

"CONFESS WHORE!!!!!!!"

Ilse, tears of pain and terror coursing down her face, shakes her head.

"Continue."

Gurd turns to his glowing brazier. He selects an iron with a spoon shaped end from the coals.  The end shimmers white hot. Grinning evilly her holds it up to her face, the heat singeing her hair, then chuckling lowers it and touches the curved end to Ilse's instep.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!
A curl of smoke rises as it sizzles and bubbles.

A hair raising scream hurls from her mouth.  
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!"

Carefully, slowly Gurd slides the iron higher and higher up her leg, past the knee finally stopping and letting it lie and sear into the flesh of her groin.

Returning the cooling iron the the hot coals he removes another iron, just like the first.  Placing the shimmering end to her waist he glides it very slowly upwards on her side, across her ribcage to end in her armpit...
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!

Ilse struggles and twists as the hellish iron sears and burns a path in her sizzling flesh. Mind bending shrieks issue from her wide stretched mouth, lips drawn back from her teeth as she howls in agony.

"Torture Master!  Have her removed to the cells.  We will resume another time.   She is tiring me!"

"As you wish Your Grace, but I haven't worked her other side yet, or used the hooks or heated skewers."

"Yes, yes I know but have her removed and her marks dressed.  Give her some time to reflect on her obstinate refusal to confess, and the thoughts of resuming at any time I wish"

"Of course Your Grace.  You there.  Release her and put her in a cell.  Have the Sisters fix her."

Several acolytes unbind Ilse from the monstrous chair and carry her from the chamber.

Konrad points to the moaning Collette. "Her, move her to the "T" cross.  We shall question her further."

Collette is quickly removed from the clutches of the wheel.  Lowered, she was forced to a wooden "T" shaped cross. The horizontal crosspiece was a stout wood timber. Backed against it and standing on a wooden block to raise her, her arms were stretched over the top of the cross arm and her wrists tied to a rope around her waist.  The block was then taken away so she hung by her arms, her voluptuous breasts thrust invitingly forward.  Her ankles were then spread and tied to rings in the floor.

"Now even you should realize we see through your exclamations of innocence, I ask you again to confess the unholy covenant with your damnable master, Lucifer."

"I have no covenant with that archfiend.  I am not a witch and practice none of the evil arts you accuse me of."

"You foolish girl.  Do you think you can deceive me?  Haven't our powers of persuasion convinced you of your plight?
I will not stop until you admit your allegiance to the Prince of Darkness and confess your heinous sins."

"I have not sinned against anyone.  I am no witch and you cannot make confess to these outrageous charges."

"Very well!  Torture Master continue with all measures at your command."

Gurd, a broad smile on his face, leered at the tethered form of his newest victim.  He knows he has free rein to use whatever means he wishes to wring the needed confession from his terrified subject.  He intends to use all his skill and methods to torture this poor girl into confessing whatever they wish her to confess to.  He will enjoy himself no end as he inflicts his fiendish torments on Collette as she screams and begs for mercy. He never shows mercy, and delights in the screaming of his helpless victims.

Gurd turns to his hoard of infernal instruments.



To Be Continued........