Death Magic: Bestselling CS Quinn's latest short read

by CS Quinn

‘It’s not true,’ he said. ‘Every holy man has a sacrament. And this is a silver ring, no more. Without the top no one can say …’

  Charlie opened his mouth then shut it again. He flicked a glance at Elizabeth.

  It’s up to you now, he thought, I’ll not tell if you don’t want it.

  There was a pause. Then she spoke.

  ‘I have the top,’ said Elizabeth. ‘It’s around my neck.’

  A shocked murmur rippled through the crowd.

  Elizabeth nodded to her husband. He untied the pouch of gunpowder from around her neck. Then he drew up the cord from beneath her dress. Attached was a domed silver medallion with the studded cross.

  Fitzgilbert tugged it free and handed it to the executioner, who fitted it to the top of the ring. He held it up to the crowd triumphantly. Shouts rang out.

  ‘And how comes she by such a thing?’ accused the vicar loudly. ‘How does Elizabeth Fitzgilbert, a married lady, have part of a wedding ring for another woman?’

  ‘It’s no one’s concern,’ interjected Charlie, ‘if two women exchange tokens of affection. Girls are fond of such practices.’

  A few women in the crowd were nodding. One lifted a lock of hair tied at her neck and kissed it. The tide had turned firmly in Elizabeth’s favour.

  ‘But you,’ Charlie pointed at the vicar, ‘killed an innocent woman.’

  The cleric pursed his lips. His face reddened.

  ‘I never went to murder her,’ he whispered. ‘It was never my intention. I went to save her soul.’

  ‘But you couldn’t?’ guessed Charlie. ‘You couldn’t make Nancy stop loving her mistress?’

  ‘She was saying disgusting things,’ spluttered the vicar. ‘Things about Elizabeth. It was the Devil. He was speaking through Nancy. And I had to make her quiet. I had to …’ He squeezed his eyes tight shut. ‘I struck at the demon,’ he said. ‘But it was Nancy who fell.’

  ‘You didn’t just want to quieten a demon,’ said Charlie. ‘You wanted to black out Nancy’s beautiful face. You were so ashamed she’d tempted you. And you were angry that your exorcism had failed.’

  ‘She was a demon taunting me,’ said the holy man. His voice was tight with rage. ‘I can hardly say what happened. I just … I just kept hitting her.’

  His eyes slipped across to Elizabeth.

  ‘Mistress Fitzgilbert,’ he pleaded. ‘You must tell them. It was for Nancy’s own good. The Devil was in her. You know that.’

  He gestured to the crowd.

  ‘Tell them,’ he said, ‘that the Devil possessed you both. But now he has been driven out and you commit yourself to God.’

  Elizabeth was staring at him, grief burning in her green eyes.

  ‘I can save you,’ nodded the vicar. ‘From your unnatural desires.’

  Elizabeth’s lips parted. She stood a little straighter.

  ‘Untie me,’ she said quietly. The executioner came towards her and cut free her hands. Elizabeth stepped from the pyre.

  Then she turned and addressed herself to the crowd.

  ‘My maid Nancy,’ she announced, ‘was the best sort of girl. With a blameless love for her friends. And this man,’ Elizabeth raised a hand to point, ‘murdered my Nancy. Whom we all loved.’ Her voice faltered and she drew a gasping breath. In the crowd women were wiping away tears.

  ‘I implore the justices,’ concluded Elizabeth, ‘to hang him for his crime.’

  The request was caught up in a whisper. Then it raised to a chant. And soon the assembled mob were baying for the vicar’s sentence.

  ‘String him up!’ shrieked a balding laundry woman.

  The prison guard stepped forward and clapped a burly hand on the vicar’s shoulder.

  Elizabeth turned to her husband. Fitzgilbert stepped forward clumsily and embraced his wife.

  She extricated herself after a moment and turned to Charlie.

  ‘You came to prove my innocence,’ she smiled. ‘You’re a better man than you pretend.’

  ‘I came for the silver thimble,’ he said, ‘and my fee.’

  Elizabeth took a step closer to him.

  ‘Do you still believe God doesn’t like London?’ she asked.

  ‘We’re not in London,’ Charlie pointed out with a grin. ‘Tyburn is outside the City. But I’ve a new manner of understanding miracles,’ he added. ‘And if I’m ever in need of one, I’ll come to you.’

  A word from CS Quinn

  I really hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. This was a short prelude to The Thief-Taker series, which you can find on Amazon: viewBook.at/TheThiefTaker

  Would you like a free secret scene available only to my super readers?

  Click here to receive a chapter from Charlie’s mysterious past. You’ll also get access to historic images, London maps and people who inspired The Thief-Taker series.