Salt of The Earth: The Fall of Barcelona

by Vlada Asta

  But Sebastian just couldn’t believe that. There was something in her that he felt related to, something that couldn’t be fake. The freedom born outside the cities, curiosity without limit… A new life not crippled by the constant fear of predators!

  Her arrival with all those new facts and possibilities ruined Sebastian’s idea of this world and the future. He didn’t regret it: his original idea was rather gloomy. But just as he was starting to believe everything could change, she was taken away!

  He couldn’t accept it. Sebastian stayed in the main cathedral for the night, waiting for any news. He knew the Cardinal went to talk to the Chief of the police. He also knew that would lead to nothing.

  Father Abraham, whom he met in the hallways, proved him right:

  “The police have been waiting for a chance to limit our influence in this city for a long time. They want us to protect them from Hente – and obey them on these streets. They needed public opinion on their side, and that’s not so easy to achieve. Now they can use Aeterni.”

  “But that’s ridiculous!” Sebastian noted angrily. “She’s not dangerous!”

  “They don’t know it. We don’t know it either…”

  “I do.”

  Father Abraham looked at him thoughtfully.

  “You have such faith in her… Why?”

  “There’s no reason for faith.”

  “I’m not going to argue about any Hente being worthy of faith. I’ll tell you something more important: they’re going to execute her in a few hours. The city is already buzzing, and execution is the best outcome for the police. Otherwise their diversion wouldn’t make any sense. His Eminence is going to try to persuade them, but they won’t change their decision.”

  “And we’re going to let them do it? In spite of everything she can give us?”

  “We have no choice,” Father Abraham shook his head sadly. “Her promises are just that – promises. If the police kept her secret, there would’ve been a chance to reach some agreement with them. But the city knows now, so there’s no going back. I agree, she could’ve been useful. Don’t blame yourself for anything.”

  Officially, he deserved a punishment, but here was one of the strictest priests trying to support him. That was unusual. Sebastian could only hope they didn’t overestimate his connection to Aeterni; he couldn’t describe his attitude to her. He used to believe his system of values was settled, not to be altered under any circumstance. He wasn’t ready for meeting this new creature…

  Soon she would be led to the Plaça de Catalunya – for the whole city to see her execution. He expected something like this, but still couldn’t believe the police came up with this idea, it was too barbaric!

  Unfortunately, few people shared his opinion. When he reached the square, a crowd had already gathered there, and it was growing with every minute. The center of their attention was a wooden platform which the police officers were hastily building.

  This was so wrong that in a different situation Sebastian would just abandon the place of execution. But he couldn’t even think about leaving her alone now. His memory kept going back to the dark sea they watched; he didn’t know why. The sea became part of her image in his head. And he was slowly thinking up a plan – a wrong and desperate plan, but a strangely just one on some deeper level.

  He had to get to the front rows for this. It wasn’t easy: seeing his uniform made the citizens whisper something angrily. Great, the police suddenly turned him into their enemy! He wanted to shout at them, to let his growing anger out, but Sebastian didn’t want to attract attention of the officers just yet.

  Fortunately, he didn’t have to stay here. He was approached by the personal guards of the Cardinal, inviting him to join His Eminence on the church’s observational platform.

  There was a large tent there, installed for the church leaders. The Cardinal couldn’t stop the execution, but he had to watch it. However, Sebastian was surprised by this invitation: a simple soldier had no right to sit beside the ruler!

  The Cardinal explained it without waiting for any questions:

  “You broke the rules again, and I’ll issue a punishment later. But you’re the only one I can trust from the group that guarded her. I can see it in your eyes that you’re not the one who called the police. You acted wisely by avoiding direct confrontation with them. You may help us in identifying their informer.”

  “What’s the use?” Sebastian asked bitterly. “That won’t bring her back!”

  “Much to my regret, it won’t. But we will know the weak link in our rows, and that’s important.”

  The Cardinal wasn’t happy about her death, but he had already accepted it. Everyone did. They looked at large water cannons being put around the platform.

  They believed there wasn’t any other option. The police had gathered a crowd here, which was nearly impossible to control. A Hente was about to be killed in front of them, they came to enjoy it. Every one of them had lost someone to the predators. It was a matter of vengeance that didn’t need any logic.

  Sebastian couldn’t help noticing there were only two tents on the square – one for the clergy and one for the police management. The Laas family chose not to attend. But there was no way to figure why they did it! The Mayor was also here, but Sebastian knew his opinion had little weight in such matters.

  And then they brought her. Not in a cage, like the church did it, but in an armored car. Her hands were in chains, and she was wearing the dress from the night before. She didn’t look wounded… The police were too scared to touch her.

  She was as calm as on the clergy meeting. Could she believe she’d get away as easily? That they would help her? She just didn’t realize how serious the situation was!

  Her arrival made the crowd go quiet. Aeterni walked the platform as if nothing special was happening, letting the police officer fasten her chains to the special holder in the square’s pavement. Then the officer moved away; no-one dared to stand beside her, and even the Chief of the police was talking from his tent.

  “Fellow citizens! Now you can see that the information we’ve spread is true! Some days ago we were shocked to find Hente beside out city, and now one of them is walking among us! It didn’t use any secret routes to get here, it was welcomed by the men of God! The ones who swore to protect us!”

  “And we’re true to our word,” Father Abraham noted. “We’ve brought this creature here because we thought we could use it.”

  A surprised whisper ran over the crowd. The Chief of the police wasn’t impressed.

  “Oh, I’ve heard this version before! An intelligent Hente that wants to work with humans! Who’s going to believe that nonsense? It’s just another strategy of our enemy! We’re getting stronger, our mighty army returns the wild lands to us! Surely Hente have to come up with new tricks in order to survive!”

  “Don’t flatter yourself,” Aeterni advised. Her voice was quiet, and that made the people go completely silent, trying not to miss a single word she spoke. A Hente who could speak so perfectly mesmerized them. “You in particular have zero battle experience. It’s easy to tell by the way you treat your weapon. Even the clergymen are more powerful in that regard. There is no mighty army winning the wild lands back. But it’s true that Hente have many new tricks against you. Not because they’re afraid of you! The thing is, the wild lands are running out of prey. But here you are locked here – together with your friends and families. Can you see where this is going?”

  “Are you admitting you were trying to deceive us?” the Chief asked, his voice filled with inexplicable triumph.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “And that’s something I did say – but I’m ready to repeat it. You and me have one goal – to kill Hente, even if our reasons are different. You’re protecting yourselves, and I eat them. But we’re all interested in their demise.”

  “Hasn’t the Church been telling us that Hente are pure evil? How can we even consider
the idea of working with them?”

  He wasn’t addressing Aeterni now, his gaze directed at the Cardinal. But the Hente decided to answer nevertheless:

  “The clergymen are smart, they’ve been outside the city more than once, they know what a real fight is. They’re dying out there, so naturally they’re interested in gaining a new weapon. And you’re interested in looking good in the public’s eye in order to raise your own salary. You are blinded by greed and ignorance. You don’t understand that the enemy is much closer than you think. When you realize it, it’s going to be too late. That’s what the clergymen have already figured out.”

  The Chief of the police was outraged, his face reaching an unhealthy shade of red. Sebastian expected that clown to lose his cool and order the cannons to fire. But it turned out the Chief wanted to stick to the role of Barcelona’s hero till the very end.

  “I’m not going to comment, because that would mean lowering myself to the level of the creature that eats human flesh! I’m surprised by how easily you tricked our respected Holy Fathers though. This makes me doubt their capability of protecting this city. Who are the people we’re entrusting our lives to?”

  “You can’t protect the city,” Aeterni stated. “You’re too blind for this. And you don’t even realize it! The clergymen have noticed their blindness. I can do things that are out of your understanding. That’s how I can help you. I’ll protect this city if you give me what I want – a place to live, things I need, knowledge. That is the truce between humanity and my Clan.”

  After a momentary pause the Chief of the police burst out laughing, but this laughter was completely unnatural. He was trying to look menacing, but he wasn’t artistic enough for that. However, the people on the square were scared enough to believe him.

  “This creature has to be destroyed immediately!” the Chief of the police smirked, looking at Aeterni. “That will show you the true power of humans! We don’t believe your lies and don’t forgive them. Hente always sense each other over distance. They’ll sense her death too, and they won’t dare to come to this city ever again!”

  Most likely he had little idea of what he was talking about. But the citizens knew even less, and that made his speech convincing. People were ready to believe the one who looked like a winner.

  The cannons were prepared to shoot. One order would be enough to start the flow of salt water, which meant nothing to a human and which would be lethal to Aeterni. Sebastian just couldn’t let that happen.

  “Wait!” he screamed.

  “Now what?” the Chief of the police rolled his eyes in irritation. “We have another attorney for her? You’ve already been trying to protect the thing you used to call evil, don’t embarrass yourself even further!”

  “I’m not an attorney,” Sebastian shook his head. “I have no authority to argue with you. But I’m the one who brought her to Barcelona! She saved my life when other Hente attacked me. And I’m truly grateful to her for this, so I want to say goodbye.”

  “That’s pathetic. Another proof of how loyal our church is to its own beliefs!”

  The Chief allowed that, but not in an act of kindness – he simply wanted to look better in front of the crowd. Sebastian didn’t care. He headed for the platform without even asking for the Cardinal’s permission. None of the warriors tried to stop him though.

  He wasn’t afraid of the hundreds of eyes judging him silently. All he cared about was that his conscience was at peace. He knew he was doing the right thing.

  When he came closer, Aeterni smiled at him.

  “You shouldn’t be doing this, you’re still to live in this city. I’m not blaming you for anything, if that’s what bothers you. I considered the option of dying here when I accepted this mission from my Mother, and I don’t regret it. I’m grateful to you for making my stay here… good. You’re kind, clergyman.”

  “You’re not going to die today,” he said quietly. No-one was listening to their talk anyway, the Chief of the police posing for the cameras was distracting the crowd’s attention.

  “I’m afraid it’s not for you to decide.”

  “You’re wrong. Listen to me carefully. I’m going to cut your chains now and then attack the police. They’ll be busy, and the church warriors won’t touch you. You can run away from the city, leave it and never return – forget the deal, humans are not ready for it!”

  Aeterni’s black eyes were wide in surprise.

  “Are you going to hurt your own kind to save me?”

  “Out of necessity. The fact they’re the same kind as me doesn’t mean they’re always right. I can see that you want to help us, and I believe you. I’m not going to kill any of them today, even those who deserve it.”

  “But they will kill you!”

  “Yes, it’s a very likely outcome. But I’d rather die like this than continue living with this burden on my soul. I’ve already lost four men from my squad. I don’t want to go on with people disappearing around me.”

  “I’m not a human,” Aeterni reminded him.

  “But you’re not the kind of Hente we’re used to either. We don’t have much time!”

  He couldn’t believe he was actually doing it, but wasn’t going to abandon his decision either. If someone told him a week ago he was going to sacrifice his life to save a Hente, Sebastian would have laughed in that person’s face.

  But now he couldn’t do it any other way.

  It would be ironic if he was the one making a mistake, not the Chief of the police, and Aeterni would eventually turn against humans. But he would never know that.

  “You’re so weird!” she blinked in surprise. “Lucky me, I suppose… But I can’t accept your plan. Because then you will die, and that would ruin my promise of not hurting you!”

  “So you’d rather die yourself? I can’t allow that!”

  “I’m not asking you to. How about neither of us dying today? I appreciate your enthusiasm, but there’s a better way to use it. In order for my plan to work you must trust me, and that trust has to be complete and even illogical.”

  Strangely enough, the trust she demanded was more of challenge that just dying for her in a battle. But since the world had started to fall apart… why not?

  “What do you need my trust for?”

  “Behind you, in the first row of the crowd, there’s an elderly beggar with her grandchild. Don’t turn around, keep looking at me,” Aeterni told him. “The beggar herself is nasty, the boy is cute. You’ll recognize them easily.”

  “Maybe. So?”

  “I want you to throw knives with salt at both of them. Right into their foreheads, or into their eyes, just to be on the safe side.”

  “What?” Sebastian was stunned. “That will kill them!”

  “That’s the point.”

  “I can’t do this! I’m ready to give you my life, because I own it. But not other people’s lives!”

  “Trust me.”

  She was asking too much. Despite his readiness to die, Sebastian knew what an atrocious act on behalf of a church warrior that would be – killing a helpless old woman and a kid! That wouldn’t help Aeterni, she would be executed, as well as Sebastian, and in the end, there would be four victims instead of one.

  However… there was something special in her voice when she asked him to believe her.

  “Why is it taking so long?” the Chief of the police asked, clearly displeased. “What, a priest that gave up on human women suddenly fell in love with a Hente?”

  “Don’t turned it into blasphemy!” Father Abraham snapped back.

  “I’m just saying what I see!”

  The time was running out. Sebastian knew he’d only have a moment to aim and throw those knives. No second attempts here – he’d be stopped before he could do this. Actually, on the battlefield he could act even quicker. But back then he was sure he was doing the right thing!

  All logical arguments were against this action. Aeterni was right… it turned into a matter of blind faith.

&
nbsp; Still not fully believing he was doing it, Sebastian turned around sharply. He wasn’t even thinking about it, he simply ordered his body to act on its instincts, like it had done so many times before. There were two targets in front of him, he didn’t view them as people.

  The knives flew off his hands simultaneously, and both of them reached their aims. One of the blades stuck deep in the boy’s eye, while the second one went right into the old woman’s forehead. Nothing could save them now.

  If his action had been less shocking and unpredictable, he would’ve been dead by now. There were too many guns facing him, as well as Aeterni. But his act seemed so unnatural, that not only the crowd, but the police and the church warriors were paralyzed by astonishment.

  And then it became clear there was no reason to punish Sebastian.

  The boy was the first to die. It took his body a few seconds to turn into a cloud of ashes, as if he had never existed, with only small jaws left in his place. The old woman tried to fight. The predator howled, baring its black fangs, and moved, but there was just too much salt on the knife. Soon the jaws that made the humans around the beggar run away in horror, were on the pavement.

  And above the humans trembling in fear, above the warriors who were only now reaching for their swords, above the police that looked like they were ready to cry, Aeterni’s voice sounded colder than ice:

  “Are you still sure you don’t need my protection?”

  “What… what was that thing?” the Cardinal was the first to recover.

  The Chief of the police was in no condition to talk. He fell on his knees, his lips moving soundlessly, watching the wind carry the ashes away.

  “That was Illirika’s way to say hi,” Aeterni explained. “You may keep blabbering about winning back the wild lands all you want. The enemy is no longer at the gates – it’s inside your home. Most Clans are interested in the peninsula now, looking for any weaknesses. They’ve been fighting you for so long they learned to deceive you. You may win on your own, there’s a chance for that, but it’s going to cost you a lot. Perhaps too much! I’m offering you a shortcut to victory: you work with me, and I find the ones who came here to kill you.”