Katreena was left locked in the little room for half the day without any food or water. Feeling utterly helpless, she watched from the window overlooking the courtyard while the people were forced to work. The Serpents took a perverse joy inflicting pain on those slaves that moved too slowly. She watched as one of them grabbed a man, threw him to the ground and brutally whipped him with a leather strap. The horror of it was beyond imagination. She looked away unable to bear the sight, but could not escape the sound of the leather cracking against the man's flesh. The sound echoed off the walls of the courtyard, and around the little stone-walled room Katreena was imprisoned within. It was so sharp and clear; it was as if it was happening right next to her. The absence of cries of p
