by Luz Gabás
“When he had finished burying her for the second time, Corso took the stone with that being that could have become his child, got on his horse, and rode to Lubich, followed by Arpayon and Marquo. Night had already fallen over Tiles, filling the roads with grotesque shapes. Like a soul brought by the devil to the horrors of hell, he burst into the great patio shouting Jayme’s name. It did not take long for Jayme to appear, and his initial alarm lessened when he saw the judge and the lawyer. Corso took away the handkerchief that covered what he was holding and brought it to Jayme’s face.
“‘You killed a pregnant woman!’ he roared. ‘You killed my child!’
“Jayme remained unmoved.
“‘I don’t feel I have committed any wrongdoing,’ he said calmly. ‘I am protected by the laws of indictment that we all approved.’ He looked at Marquo and Arpayon.
“‘You are the most hideous of murderers!’ shouted Corso to his back. ‘I won’t wait for God to punish you!’
“‘Measure your words, Corso!’ Marquo said. ‘Jayme is right. The law protects him. As it will if you go after him.’
“With a howl, Corso mounted his horse and disappeared into the darkness. For a time, nobody saw him. He holed up in one of the stables at Anels House, engraving a stone. With each hit of the mallet on the chisel, with each chip that came off the stone, his plans advanced in his mind, but first he had to finish that task. One day, he finally placed the stone on Brianda’s grave with his own hands.
“‘Omnia mecum porto … ,’ he spoke to the ground. ‘The motto of Lubich is false, Brianda! You did not take all with you, because you left me here, abandoned, like a sick old man, so that I may be consumed by rage. I won’t have solace until you return …’
“New graves dotted the field, turning it into an improvised cemetery of the wretched. Every two or three weeks since the first trial, more executions had taken place in groups of two to six women, and this continued until there were a total of twenty-four victims. Pere of Aiscle could not save his wife, Maria, and Jayme of Cuyls did not wish to save his sister, Lida. Their hangings were meant to serve as proof that the work of the council was transparent before God, that no one received special treatment. However, Pere had to be replaced by another man in the council due to health problems that were blamed on the influences of his witch wife.
“The roads were never lonelier, the squares never so silent, the washing areas never as deserted. People spoke with the utmost caution. Heads stayed down in the houses, and even family members avoided speaking to one another. Children were frightened by black cats and ran away terrified if they encountered a toad. The church was often full and not only on Sundays, and the king’s soldiers were extravagantly honored at Lubich.
“Spring had never bloomed with such apathy as it did that year.
“Then, one day, it all came to an end with a simple announcement from a tired Father Guillem at mass in the middle of May.
“‘Blessed be this land, where the devil appeared, because it has been vanquished,’ he simply said.
“‘They have yet to see his face,’ Corso murmured when he heard about the mass from Leonor, who had aged decades from grief and the fear that at any moment they would take her too.
“The council met and declared the matter finished. After the digression in which the will of a few superseded written law, the valley returned to the justice system in force in the rest of the kingdom, satisfied with a job well done, as if what had happened had been the only way to protect that place against diabolical threats.
“The council paid the costs of the whole affair with money from the estates of those executed and noted it down in the village accounts. The hangman left with his purse full. The jailers were handsomely paid for their work in Cuyls House, as were the carpenter and two workmen for the scaffolds, and the innkeeper for the food and drink consumed during trials and executions. Captain Vardan’s soldiers returned to their task on the French border.
“Life returned to normal for everyone except Corso.
“One afternoon at the end of May, as Corso brooded in front of the fire, Leonor came into the hall of Anels House carrying a leather bag.
“‘I want you to feel free to do what you must.’ She handed him the bag. ‘This holds my jewels, some money, and a document renouncing my beneficial interest in Anels. My sister, who inherited our parents’ house in Aiscle, has also been widowed. We will live our last days together in the house where I was born.’
“‘You could come with me,’ Corso suggested, knowing she had already once refused to leave the place where her husband was buried.
“Leonor shook her head, saying, ‘All I ask is that you tell little Johan about me.’
“Two days later, Leonor left what had been her home with Nunilo. Everything she wanted to take fit in a wooden chest that was loaded on a mule. Corso accompanied her to Aiscle. When he hugged her for the last time, he did not have to use words to show his gratitude.
“‘Do as you must, Corso,’ she told him. ‘You have my blessing.’
“Corso went looking for Pere of Aiscle. His revenge began that very moment.”
44.
“Corso found Pere at home, that place he had seen ransacked by Medardo’s rebels, the same day they had hanged Nunilo. It seemed an age since then. He had gone from having nothing to having everything, then losing it all again.
“Pere did not dare look at him. Corso felt sorry for him. The tall, slim, blond-haired man who had once shared Surano’s features and dashing posture was now a bald, hunched, old man. His somber good judgment had turned to nervous bewilderment.
“‘I thought if I stayed quiet I would be able to save Maria,’ he muttered in a dead voice. ‘I first failed Brianda and then my wife. There is no punishment severe enough to ease my shame.’
“‘Love makes us cowards. I did not come for your excuses but for your help,’ Corso told him. ‘I’m leaving Tiles, and I need you to do something for me. I want you to sell Anels and use whatever you get from the sale to buy Lubich.’ He handed him a document. ‘These are my instructions. You will hear from me, no matter where I am.’
“‘If that is your wish, my family will buy Anels for my brother’s second son,’ said a puzzled Pere, ‘but I don’t understand why you think Jayme will sell Lubich. Or why you want it if you are leaving …’
“‘Just do it. I trust you to do it.’
“Corso left Pere’s house and went to the tavern in Aiscle, a dark, dirty dive that he left soon afterward with a couple of unkempt men who had a violent look about them.
“‘You’ll do as agreed’—he handed them both leather bags of money—‘and when we finish you’ll get the rest.’
“He went back to Anels and ordered a servant to saddle the three best horses and to prepare two bundles with the bare necessities for young Johan and himself to take on a short journey.
“When night fell, he met up at the washing area with the two men he had hired.
“‘Have you brought what I asked for?’
“One of the men patted the saddlebags to signal they had.
“‘All the turpentine we could find.’
“They rode to the church. When they got there, Corso ordered them to take the containers of turpentine and a rope and to follow him. He found Father Guillem on his knees in front of the altar. Corso burned as he remembered the last day he had seen Brianda alive, when she was exhibited in front of the villagers like an animal at the fair.
“‘Corso,’ said Father Guillem when he saw who it was. ‘Mass is long over.’
“Without saying anything, Corso began to splash turpentine over the wooden pews. The two men he hired copied him. Father Guillem, alarmed, ran toward the door, but Corso was faster and grabbed him by the arm.
“‘Tie him up,’ he ordered the men.
“While they obeyed, he took a pair of lit candles from the Anels chapel and held them to one of the benches, the flames leaping up before Father Guillem’s horrified gaze.
/> “‘My judgment begins now,’ spat Corso. ‘And I find you guilty.’
“The three of them left. Corso locked the door and threw the key as far as he could, unmoved by the cries from Father Guillem pleading for help and threatening punishments that Corso thought light in comparison to the suffering that twisted and deformed his soul.
“He walked toward Brianda’s grave and knelt before it.
“‘Forgive me, my love,’ he murmured. ‘I should have done this long ago.’
“He read her inscription for the last time, went back to the men, mounted his horse, and spurred it toward Lubich. He saw nothing but darkness in front of him. He stopped before the great door and hid in the shadows while his men ran shouting into the courtyard.
“‘The church is on fire!’ they cried. ‘For God’s sake, come help! Father Guillem is inside!’
“In seconds, the yard was full of men with buckets and mules.
“‘We know who did it,’ said one of Corso’s men to Remon. ‘Where is your master?’
“‘He was in the hall,’ said Remon, signaling to the other servants to continue to the church. ‘But he must have heard the uproar—’
“At that moment, Jayme of Cuyls sleepily came out the main door.
“‘What is happening, Remon? Where has everybody gone?’
“‘A fire in the church, sir! These men say they know who started it!’
“The men dismounted and came over to him. Instinctively, Jayme felt for his sword and realized he was unarmed.
“‘And who was it?’ he asked.
“Corso appeared before his eyes, jumped off his horse with his sword unsheathed, thrust it into Remon’s stomach before he could react, and then pointed it at Jayme’s chest.
“‘We’ll go up the tower. I want to see the fire.’
“A sob was heard, and Corso looked toward the door of the house. A terrified servant was cowering there with a child in her arms. Something in his features looked familiar, and Corso presumed it was Lorien, Brianda’s half brother. He felt no compassion for the boy. Brianda had been forced to watch her father being killed; her house had been taken away from her, then she was condemned as a witch. If it was destiny that this boy witness the vengeance that had to befall his father, so be it.
“Jayme, his eyes shrouded with terror, turned to the servant and told her, ‘You know where I keep my documents and valuables. Collect them and get Lorien out of here!’
“Corso ordered the men to haul Jayme into the tower.
“‘You’ll pay for this, Corso!’ shouted Jayme over and over again. ‘You’ll come to the same end as your wife, the witch!’
“Corso followed in silence. When they reached the top, he placed Jayme between his sword and the abyss.
“‘All of it, all of the fighting, all of the blood spilled, all because you wanted Lubich for yourself … So die, then, like the true master of this house did.’
“Without giving him time to answer, Corso plunged that sword, given to him by the king, into Jayme’s chest. He kept his furious gaze fixed on Jayme’s eyes, watching with pleasure until he heard his last breath. Then, with an inhuman shriek that terrified the two mercenaries, he threw the body into the chasm.
“In the distance, the flaming church lit up the night.
“Corso leaned his forehead against the rough stone wall for a few moments before telling the men in disgust, ‘Burn it down. Burn everything.’
“The men began in the hay barns and stables. Soon, the hungry flames began to leap from one building to another. The servants fled the house, which had become an inferno where the devil, wrapped in a black cloak and with his face horribly wounded, howled, ‘Leave nothing standing! Oh, Brianda! If only I had made Lubich burn sooner, you would still be with me!’
“When he had made sure that not even the most torrential downpour could save Lubich, Corso got on his horse and ordered the men to follow him. They passed a group of servants, who ran from them toward the fields. Corso saw the woman carrying Lorien in her arms.
“‘Take that child to Cuyls, where his blood should never have left!’ he shouted as he forced his horse to rear. ‘Let him grow up and rot there! Let the wails retained in its walls drive him mad!’
“He took a final look at Lubich, a giant bonfire with its flames licking the very heavens, and let out a horrible cackle, before continuing to Anels.
“He made the men wait for him under the linden at the fountain and returned shortly afterward with two leather bags.
“‘It is more than you can earn in two lifetimes. But I warn you, if you don’t fulfill the last part of the bargain, I’ll come back and kill you with my bare hands. Be sure I’ll know.’
“‘We’ll do it, sir, so as never to see you again,’ said one of them before leaving. ‘The two jailers, the carpenter, Arpayon, and Marquo of Besalduch. This very night. They will die in pain.’
“‘And we’ll burn the records,’ added the other.
“Corso returned to Anels and made sure that the horses were ready in the yard. He went up to his room, grabbed a blanket from the bed, and wrapped Brianda’s writing desk in it. He carried it down and tied it to one of the horses. It was the only thing he wanted from that place. So many times he had seen Brianda sitting at the desk with her hair loose, writing, opening the small drawers with her delicate hands, keeping her most treasured things.
“He entered the house again, went up to Johan’s room, and took the boy in his arms carefully in order not to wake up the servant. He wrapped him in a blanket and hid him against his chest with his cloak. He went outside, tied the rope joining the three horses to his own saddle, mounted the Friesian that Nunilo had given him seven years previously, and left Anels House without a second glance.
“He doubted that Tiles would ever be a place he could remember with fondness, fixed in his heart like a precious stone on a ring. The good moments he had spent there with Brianda would never eclipse the bad ones, or even hide them behind a light mist of resigned melancholy. His ire would never abate.
“Every day he would be alert to any sign that the soul of his beloved had not abandoned him completely. A gust of wind on the grass. A creak by his side. A whisper in the night. A branch tapping against the window …
“And he would curse every day of his life, wherever he was, because his mortal body was forced to live without her.”
45.
In silence, Brianda dabbed at her ring to dry off the tears that had fallen on the emerald. They had fallen to the rhythm of her heart, with a serenity she had never felt before.
Corso took Brianda’s hand and played with her fingers as if wanting to make sure she was real, that her flesh was warm.
“Is this the Lubich ring?” he asked.
She nodded. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
It was probably the first time in centuries that the precious stone had seen sunlight, unveiling the beguiling flaw in its bluish-green depths.
He then stood up and felt for something in his pocket. A business card fell to the ground. Brianda went to pick it up and realized it was for the hypnotist in Madrid, Angel.
“Neli gave this to you!” she exclaimed, shocked by her friend’s audacity. The astounding story Corso had just told her, had he relived it? She stared at him, hoping he would confirm her wish.
“She talked to me about the regressions,” he said, “and she explained what happened to you when I thought you were—” He did not finish the sentence. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Brianda shook her head, speechless. She was so thankful to Neli, who had surely explained things in a much more relaxed way than she could have. Otherwise, Corso would not be here, looking at her as if she were the only woman in the world. He had followed her. He had sat down beside her. He had caressed her hand.
“I haven’t gone to see him and, honestly, I probably won’t,” he said. “I don’t need anyone to help me understand what I want.”
“Wait, what?” she asked. “Where did
you get all that information about Corso’s life after Brianda’s death? If you didn’t see him, do you mean Corso’s story isn’t real?”
“Real?” repeated Corso, closing his eyes partway and smiling sardonically. “And Brianda’s story is?”
He turned and contemplated the stream, his right fist still closed.
After a few moments, he said, “For me, Lubich began as a simple but suggestive sketch done by an ancestor. Nobody in my family understood, they still don’t, why I’d want a pile of forgotten stones in a distant land, why I’d give up my job in the family business, why I’d put my wife in the difficult position of having to follow me on this new path.” He paused. “When I began to restore Lubich, it felt like I was making my own choice for the first time. Like my previous life hadn’t been real—”
He turned back toward her and a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.
“You seem frustrated,” he said.
“I—I don’t know how to explain it to you. I think that—” Brianda didn’t know how to say that she refused to believe it wasn’t obvious to him who they really were.
Corso offered his hand and helped her to her feet.
“After I read what you had written about that woman, my heart dictated the words of the story I told you. What that Corso did after Brianda’s death is nothing compared to what I would have done.”
He encircled her waist and brought her toward his body.
“When I saw you that night in the bar, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew you, deeply. And then in the tower—”
He breathed in the smell of her hair and her neck. He sought her cheeks with his half-open lips.
“Is this not enough?” Corso asked.
He found her lips and kissed her slowly, as if he never wanted to be apart, as if this soft flesh were the reason for his existence.
“I’m confused,” he whispered. “All I want is to feel you close, absorb your breath, understand you. When I saw you walking with that man and he held your hand, I was furious. A voice told me that no one else had the right to touch you.”