by Alan Scott
***
Nathanial walked out of Count Fredrick’s country house and turned his head up into the refreshing rain. The Queen had decided that he was to send a clear and precise message to the world by making an example of Count Fredrick. So clear was this message to be that no one else would dare make another assassination attempt. A hasty decision - a decision she would later regret, no doubt.
But he was the Queen’s man, and so he did as he was commanded. Turning his head back toward the house, he studied his handiwork. There, nailed to the main gates, were Count Fredrick, his wife, and his two small sons. Behind them, not a living soul was left. He had killed everything. The fire that was just taking hold in the main part of the house would run unchecked and reduce the house to a ruinous state - a clear and precise message, if ever there was one.
Thinking back over the night’s events, Nathanial suddenly realised how easy it had been to slip back into old ways. It was almost as if the last two years had never happened. There had been a moment when he had felt an overwhelming sense of loss and pain - when he had told his tale to Alexandra - but he could not afford those emotions. Nathanial snorted and gave a short hard laugh. The price would be high if he ever gave in to them.
His eyes hardened and his mouth curved into a cruel mocking smile. To be what people wanted him to be, to do what he needed to do, he would have to become the old Nathanial West again. The last two years would have to be forgotten. Yet how could he forget?
“Fool,” Nathanial berated himself. Turning his head back toward the early morning sky, he let the rain wash across his face. He had always enjoyed the rain - it always brought him peace.
Table of Contents
The Prelude He Cometh…
Chapter One The Scene is Set
Chapter Two The Red Bank
Chapter Three Of Church & Cults
Chapter Four Blood Money
Chapter Five And Further Afield...
Chapter Six Taxes and Still More Taxes
Chapter Seven Betrayal
Chapter Eight A Kingdom Falls
Chapter Nine The Return of the Midnight Man
Epilogue The Painted Man
Prelude Alone in the Dark
Prelude Rain