The Moghul

by Thomas Hoover

  *

  From a low latticework window down the east side of the Red Fort, past the Jasmine Tower and many levels down the Khas Mahal, it was just possible to see the center of the plaza. A woman stood by the window watching as the crowd turned on the young men and, one by one, cut them down. Then she saw a bloodstained body being hoisted above a black-cloaked assembly and carried triumphantly toward the river gate.

  There had been tears as Shirin watched. But as she turned away, toward the darkness of the cell, her eyes were hard and dry.