His eyes took in the c*****e of his mutilated hand. He noticed something else. A faint black mark on his forearm. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, or merely a bruise, but there was a shadowy symbol in his flesh.
Strange.
Then his vision blurred and he closed his eyes to keep from being sick.
—
“Aramis! Lord Aramis!”
Aramis cracked his eyes open slowly. He awoke to find his attendant Melchiades staring at him. “Mel?” he croaked. His hand was still numb, and his entire body was aching.
“Praise Edria! I thought you were dead. Don’t move,” Mel warned. He struggled with the shackles that kept Aramis bound to the bed. He growled in frustration. Aramis watched through blurred eyes as Mel searched the table covered with torture instruments.
Grabbing something thin, he slid it into the k
