by Aron Lewes
“I don't think you would. You seem nicer than that.”
“Nice.” Wilhelm scoffed at the word. “Good lord, you're an optimist. If Vala was here, she would have a good laugh at that.”
For nearly a minute, Kylin was totally silent. She hated to believe that anyone—especially her Chosen—was completely without merit, but he seemed determined to believe the worst about himself.
“For what it's worth, I am flattered,” Wilhelm said. “I'm flattered that you would think I'm your Chosen or... whatever.”
“I don't think you're my Chosen,” she corrected him. “You are my Chosen.”
As he shook his head, the tiniest smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “After everything I've said, you're still determined to have me?”
“Maybe...” When she saw his grin, she quickly changed her answer. “I... I-I mean, it isn't as if I want you. My heart chose you. I don't have a choice in the matter.”
“Then you should tell your heart it's inconvenienced you. That's what I'd do.” Wilhelm took another sip from his flask. Kylin caught a whiff of potent spirits as he brought the container to his lips. “From my perspective, it's hard to believe a small girl like you is supposed to be my soul mate. You look like a child to me. When I look at you, I want to protect you. I'm definitely not thinking about peeling off your skirts and climbing on top of you. I want to protect you from men like me.”
Kylin was halfway between offended and touched. She didn't want to be a child in her Chosen's eyes, but she was touched by his desire to protect her. If he was truly a terrible man, would he care to protect her?
“I'm not a child,” she corrected him. “In my culture, I reached marriageable age more than three years ago.”
“Oh. Well... that settles it, then. Let's get married.”
Kylin wasn't good at recognizing sarcasm, but she knew he was toying with her, and she didn't appreciate it.
“Believe me, it's not that I want to marry you,” she corrected him. “But if my heart dictates that I should, then why should I—”
Kylin's reply was halted by a grunt of pain from Wilhelm.
Marnie had sneaked up behind him and stuck a knife in his back.
Chapter Thirteen
WILHELM REACTED SO fast, Kylin barely had time to blink before he retaliated. He ripped his sword from Kylin's hand, whirled around, and sunk the blade deep into Marnie's gut. While the weapon was still inside her, he wiggled it back and forth, deepening her wound.
“Oh no!” Kylin cried. “Oh no, oh no, oh no... I had no idea this would happen!”
Marnie dropped, gasping her final breaths as Wilhelm recovered his sword from her body. Then he ripped out the knife that was buried in his back.
“This girl was one of the Silenced,” Wilhelm said. He flung Marnie's knife into the ocean and clapped a hand against the growing bloodstain on this shirt. “I can't imagine why or even how she was suddenly able to attack me.”
“Is your wound very bad?” Kylin asked. She tried to peek around him, to see the damage, but she could only glimpse a bit of red between Wilhelm's fingers.
“Well, it's certainly not good.” Wilhelm chuckled, even though it seemed like a terrible time for laughter. “I've had worse, though. I need to find Vala. She'll patch me up. I've lost track of the number of times she's had to stitch up my wounds.”
Wilhelm crouched over Marnie's corpse and checked her for a pulse. Feeling nothing, he left to find his sister, and Kylin followed.
“I'm so sorry!” she cried. “Now you're injured, and... and I'm afraid it might be partly my fault.”
“How?” Wilhelm asked. “Did you give her the knife and put her up to it? Maybe you thought you'd off your Chosen so the gods would cough up a new one?”
Kylin glared when she heard him chuckling again. She knew he was mocking her culture, but she tried not to let it bother her.
“I... might have brought her back to life,” Kylin said. “I can call back the souls of the dead. I wasn't sure it would work on a Silenced, but—”
“So... if what you say is true, you are indirectly responsible for my wound. If I die from it, you better resurrect me.”
Kylin detected a hint of sarcasm in his tone. He didn't believe she possessed such a power, or so it seemed. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and answered earnestly, “I might not be able to resurrect you if you lose too much blood. A soul can't come back to a body that's been too badly damaged.”
“So... if Vala and I wanted to dig up our grandfather's corpse, you couldn't work your magic on his decaying sack of bones?”
Kylin growled, because he made his sarcasm obvious. He teased her so often, she never knew when to take him seriously.
They found Vala eating a rotten banana in the ship's galley. As soon as she saw the blood on her brother's back, she jumped from her chair with a gasp. She grabbed his hand and dragged him back to her room, where she kept her needle and thread. Along the way, he told her about the Silenced's unexpected return to life.
“How the hell did that happen?” Vala squawked. “Are they all going to come to life and stab us in the back now?”
“Kylin claimed responsibility,” Wilhelm said. “She said she can bring back the souls of the dead.”
Kylin was still following, so she could hear every word they said, including Vala's reply.
“That girl can do a lot of things, but I'm not sure she's capable of that.”
They entered Vala's bedroom and closed the door behind them, shutting Kylin out.
DEDRICK SCOTT WAS IN considerably good health for an eighty-one-year-old man. He lived alone in the woods, having rejected society long ago. His visitors were few and far between, so the knock on his cottage door was entirely unexpected.
He greeted his unfamiliar guests with a smile, because he didn't think there was anyone left in the world who would want him dead. He had enemies once, but that was decades ago. After twenty years of peace, he had put his past behind him.
“Good evening, sir. My name's Wilhelm Stroud, and this is my sister, Vala.” As the young man spoke, he held up a coil of coarse rope. “Does this look familiar?”
The wrinkles on Dedrick's forehead deepened as he studied the rope. “I'm... not sure what you mean.”
“Oh, I think you do,” Wilhelm disagreed. “May we come inside, please? We have a lot to talk about.”
Dedrick tried to close the door on his unwanted guests, but the young man stuck out a foot, knocking the door open again, and the young woman forced her way inside.
“Ohhh, Dedrick...” Vala spoke up. “You were a naughty boy in your youth, weren't you? Would you mind rehashing your past with us?”
“I know why you're here!” Dedrick staggered backward, away from his guests, and crashed into his sofa. “You've come to kill me, haven't you?”
“That's an excellent guess,” Wilhelm said. “Personally, I think it's a bit pointless to hunt down a man after so much time has passed, but... we go where our clients tell us to go.”
Dedrick went silent. His eyes were on the rope, swinging from Wilhelm's hand.
“You recognize this now, don't you?” Wilhelm raised the rope and grinned. “It's the very same rope you used on the Forrest family some... fifty years ago?” He glanced at Vala, who confirmed the length of time with a nod.
“That was ages ago!” Dedrick cried. “It was before either of you were born.”
“Yes, but...” Wilhelm paused to suck a breath through clenched teeth. “One of the Forrests still holds a grudge.”
“And I don't blame him,” Vala added. “You killed his entire family. He was just a boy, but he remembers it well. You used this very rope to string up his baby sister. He found her hanging in the barn, and... correct me if I'm wrong, but... didn't you violate her body as well?”
It had been a long time since Dedrick had broken a sweat, but the strangers' faces made his forehead sticky and slick. “It happened during the war!” he defended himself. “The Forrests w
ere the enemy. I was only following orders!”
“Still, what sort of a man would force himself on a little girl... and then hang her?” Vala grimaced and shook her head. “War time or not, that's twisted. I'm not supposed to judge my clients or their targets, but... damn.”
Dedrick pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his forehead. His heart was hammering so hard, they could see it thumping in his throat.
“You're assassins. Obviously,” Dedrick said. “And I know it would be pointless to resist. I'm an old man. I've lived a long life. Vengeance took a long time to find me. If I die today, I can take solace in that.”
Clearing his throat, Wilhelm said, “Our client had very specific instructions on how we should deal with you. That's why we've brought the rope.” Wilhelm swung the rope like a pendulum before tossing it to Dedrick. “You're going to hang yourself.”
Dedrick made no effort to catch the rope. He let it bounce off his body and fall at his feet. Calmly, he said, “I'll do no such thing.”
“Yes. You will. Because you won't like the alternative,” Vala promised him. “You either hang yourself, or we start cutting off pieces of you. Trust me, the hanging will be a lot less painful.”
“By all means, don't hang yourself,” Wilhelm said. “The alternative would be closer to what you deserve. I haven't discussed this with Vala, but... I think we'll start with the ears. Then we'll move on to the nose... and the lips. I don't know if you've ever seen a man without lips, but it's not a pretty sight.”
Vala continued her brother's speech. “We'll probably go for the arms after that. Some torturers might start slow and go for the fingers first, but I find that folks are a lot more compliant when they—”
Dedrick stood, wrapped the rope around his neck, and stepped onto a nearby stool.
“Good man,” Vala commended him. “Now... I hope you know how to tie a knot?”
Chapter Fourteen
KYLIN WAS HORRIFIED when they hauled a dead body back to the ship. Wilhelm dragged Dedrick's corpse across the deck, lifted him up, and made him sway back and forth. Chuckling at her brother's antics, Vala took the corpse's arms and pretended to dance with him.
“What are you doing?” Kylin shrilled.
Vala said, “Dancing,” and doubled over with a snicker.
Wilhelm provided a longer answer. “This man was our latest mark. Our client wanted his body as proof of death, so here he is.”
Wilhelm tucked the corpse under his arm like a sack of potatoes and carried him away. Kylin followed with a lecture.
“I've never seen someone's remains handled in such a disrespectful way! Couldn't you try to be a bit less... brutish?”
“Are you disappointed in your soul mate's behavior again?” Wilhelm teased her. “Well, this man is a murderer of children. You'll have to forgive me if I don't have too much sympathy for him.”
Vala chased down her brother and poked him on the arm. “Did you just say you were her soul mate?”
“Aye. That's what Kylin believes,” Wilhelm said. His voice was solemn, but he had a smirk on his lips.
“Interesting. Very interesting.” A snort of laughter sneaked out of Vala's nose. “Should I start planning your wedding now, or...?”
Wilhelm stopped his sister's remark with a glare and carried Dedrick's corpse to the dining room. There, he deposited the dead body on one of the chairs.
“I think we should have a couple of drinks to celebrate the job,” Vala said, slamming a shot glass on the table in front of Dedrick. “What do you think he would like? Brandy? Whiskey?”
Crashing into the chair next to Dedrick, Wilhelm replied, “I think Dedrick looks like a gin man to me.”
“Gin it is!” Vala uncapped a bottle and poured a trickle of spirits into Dedrick's glass. “This drink's so potent, it could probably wake the dead.”
“I guess we'll find out.” Wilhelm's gaze drifted to Kylin, who was watching their crude celebration from the doorway. He could see the disapproval on her face, so he glanced away with a roll of his eyes.
Seeing Wilhelm's eye roll, Kylin couldn't hold back her thoughts. “This really is very bad,” she said. “You should see how the oracles handle our dead. The bodies are always treated with respect. Even if this man made mistakes in his life, you shouldn't treat his remains with such blatant disrespect!”
“Vala, pour this girl a drink,” Wilhelm said, flicking a hand in Kylin's direction. “She sounds like she needs one. Normally, I don't go around giving drinks to little girls, but she assures me she's of marriageable age, so...”
Wilhelm had gotten used to seeing Kylin's glare, but it was even more heated than usual. “I'm starting to think that you and I have nothing in common,” Kylin said. “I give life. You take life away. You tease, you mock, and you... you're actually very mean, you know.”
When Kylin stormed out of the room, Wilhelm leapt from his chair and gave chase. “Wait!” He caught up to her in the hallway, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back to him. “Wait... I'm sorry. Tell me how we should handle the corpse. Should we light a candle over him? Say a little prayer for his soul, maybe? Do a dance, have a chant...”
Kylin was still glaring when she whirled in his direction. “Even your apology sounds rude and disingenuous. Are you incapable of being kind?”
“Probably.” Wilhelm cupped a hand over his mouth, wiping away his smarmy grin. “But even so, I'm sorry if I offended you. How should we handle the body? I'm serious. Tell me what to do, and I'll do it.”
“The kitsune treat their dead with great respect. To begin with, we would wash the body.”
“There's no way I'm washing that fucker,” replied a chuckling Wilhelm. “But if you want to do it, have at it.”
“I suppose... a cleansing wouldn't be necessary. That's usually handled by the Elders, anyway. They would never expose an unmarried vixen to certain parts of... maleness.”
“I wouldn't want to be exposed to shriveled old man balls either.” Lighting a cigarette, he continued, “I'll get the body, and you can do whatever you want with it.”
Wilhelm disappeared into the dining room, and when he returned, he was carrying Dedrick's corpse. He followed Kylin's instructions and carried Dedrick to a vacant bed, where she wrapped his body in a thin, white sheet.
“This will have to suffice, I suppose,” Kylin said. “Although... I might wash the visible parts of him to give me peace of mind.”
“As I said...” Wilhelm leaned against the door frame and continued to smoke his cigarette. Between puffs, he finished, “Do whatever you want with him.”
“He looks like a kindly old man. Are you sure he did the things he was accused of?”
“Of course. He's guilty as sin,” Wilhelm said. “But even if he wasn't, it's not my job to speculate. I will say, though, that knowing he hurt children makes my work a bit easier.”
“Children...” Kylin whispered, leaning closer to Dedrick's placid face. The deep lines of a frequent smiler surrounded his lips. “Do you think he was always bad?”
“I doubt anyone is always bad. He committed his crime almost fifty years ago. Maybe he wasn't a total arse for all those years.”
Kylin asked, “Do you think he ever regretted it?”
“I don't know, but you ask a lot of questions.” Wilhelm pointed, directing her attention to the other side of the room. “There's a bucket over there if you feel like giving Deady a foot bath. I'll even fill it, if you'd like.”
Kylin sighed at the insensitivity of his words. Disappointing as he was, she accepted his offer. “That would be very helpful. Thank you.”
As soon as Wilhelm was out of the room, Kylin sat next to Dedrick and took his hand.
“When one of my people dies, we forgive them of their sins, and we thank them for all the good they did while they were here. We believe it makes it easier for them to cross over to the other side,” Kylin said. “So... I forgive you.”
She had no idea if Dedrick did any good deeds in his life, so she en
ded her speech with that. She leaned forward and peeled back one of his eyelids. Seeing a dead man's eyes was the easiest way to determine if he could be brought back to life.
“Were you someone's grandfather? Or father, perhaps?” she whispered. “If so... were you kind to them?”
Kylin was so eager to know more about Dedrick, she didn't need to perform her usual ritual to bring him back. Her curiosity alone was enough to resurrect him. Dedrick's eyes popped open, and he sat up with a gasp.
Kylin clapped a hand to her mouth when she saw him rise. She hadn't meant to resurrect him, but she doubted Wilhelm would be pleased with her either way.
“Uh... he-hello,” she stuttered. “I'm sure you're very confused right now. I'm a bit confused as well.”
Anger darkened Dedrick's eyes when he met her gaze. He stroked his neck, recently choked by a rope.
“My name's Kylin,” she introduced herself. “I... don't really know what to say. I'm sorry about what my friends did to you, but there's nothing that I can—”
Dedrick buried a fist in Kylin's stomach, knocking the wind out of her.
Chapter Fifteen
FOR A MAN IN HIS DOTAGE who was recently deceased, Dedrick was surprisingly strong. His arms flew around Kylin's waist when she doubled over from his punch, and when she tried to wriggle away, his grip tightened.
He growled into her ear, “Where's the ones that tried to kill me?”
“I... don't know.”
“I think you're lyin'. I think you know damn well where those murderers skulked off to,” Dedrick said. He picked her up and carried her a few feet across the room, toward the bedroom door. “If you won't reply to that, can you answer me this? Where am I?”
“You're on a ship.”
Her answer, meager and dissatisfying, made him grumble. Pointing at one of the portholes, he said, “I can see that. Whose ship is it? Is it the murderers'?” She didn't reply, so he squeezed her arm and yelled, “Tell me!”