She didn’t sleep well. She dreamed of darkness.
In the morning, she left the inn and looked at all the people bustling off to their normal lives.
She closed her eyes, and imagined all these people who just wanted to be happy. They wanted to lead spectacular lives. They dreamt of winning prizes and the love of someone beautiful and conquering the enemies of their way of life. Every single one of them wanted to be rich, beloved, and peaceful before they died.
In her mind, she reached out into the Unity, searching for happiness. She wanted to find one happy person in the push of bodies.
Perhaps it was the stink of demon taint that kept her back. All she felt were horses pulling carriages with a numb, animal bliss. Sometimes a whip cracked, and the spark of joy faded a while, but it came back soon enough. The horses were happy.
She opened her eyes. She walked aimlessly through the streets until nightfall. She found another tavern. This time she was able to see a few actual prophecies in the cards. She didn’t earn as much tonight. People paid less for bad news.
She made enough to eat and get drunk. She staggered into the alley near the tavern and found a place to lean against the wall that was mostly hidden from the street. She pulled an empty crate over her body, and closed her eyes, curled up inside this empty, wooden box.
In the morning, she was stiff and sick. She staggered into the light, and followed the crowd to a town square.
The crowd screamed and threw rotten bits of food at a beautiful, pale girl tied to a pole.
Geek and Sergeant Calipari stood on the platform beside the girl. They looked sad about what they were doing. Geek stared at his boots. Calipari held a single torch in one hand, smoldering quietly in the sun, and in the other he held a scroll. He read the scroll, and Rachel threw up when she heard.
The girl was going to be burned alive. She had bled true for Elishta’s demon stain in her blood and she was going to be burned alive.
Geek walked over to the girl. He unsheathed his blade. He lifted her chin with the tip, and got her to look hatefully in his eyes. “Hold still,” he said. He jumped, spinning, and he slammed the flat of his blade across the side of her skull. She sagged under the blow, unconscious.
The crowd booed.
Calipari shook his head. “She’s supposed to be awake for this,” he shouted.
Geek shrugged. “I guess the terror made her pass out,” he shouted.
Calipari squinted. “Guess so,” he shouted back. He pulled a black hood over his head. He placed the flame at the pile of kindling wood bunched at the base of the kindling.
The crowd cheered. They threw pieces of wood and coal at the girl, now. The bottom of her ragged dress caught fire. Her legs reddened as the fragments fell off in bits of black ash. Then, her dress was almost completely burned away, and she was naked from the waist down and her skin was all blisters and boils like an overcooked chicken and the fire kept growing higher and higher and the skin flaked off in grey clusters. The crowd cheered when the last remnant of her dress melted into her ruined skin.
Her eyes fluttered open. Her head rolled to one side. Her hair had burned into a jagged mess.
She screamed.
Her body was blackened bones below her waist. Her chest charred from the smoke. The stink of cooked fat hung in the air. She pulled at the bonds over her head, pulling herself up higher and higher out of the fire. Her hands were still human. They reached and reached up. Rachel watched the girl’s hands. In the back of her mind, an old rhyme popped up, unwanted.
Hands are the things that make us men,
Deaf men talk and blind men see with them
Dead man reach hands up to the sky
Grab that soul that’s flying by.
* * *
The crowd was gone. Only a few morbid stragglers and ragpickers remained at the fringe of the square. Calipari used his sword to cut the bonds over her hands.
The cooked cadaver crumpled into the pile of burned wood. Calipari chopped off the girl’s head with one stroke. He poured fuel over what was left of her. He covered the girl’s body in a thick yellow soup of whale oil and kerosene. He reached for a new torch. He tossed it onto her. He bowed his head and prayed quietly to Imam.
The remains of the demon-touched body couldn’t be buried. It had to be burned completely away.
Calipari and Geek tossed their swords into the flames. Calipari turned his back on the fire, and looked around at what remained of the crowd. He needed to make sure no one disturbed the fire until the body was burned away to purity. Then, the body would be thrown into a deep pit and burned again and again, until nothing remained but a black stain on the steel.
That’s how demons are killed and their poisonous bodies are removed from the world of men.
* * *
Rachel’s guts were in knots as tight as rigging. She walked to Jona’s house. She got there by sunset. She knocked on his door.
An old woman answered.
“I’m looking for Corporal Joni,” she said.
“Are you, now?” said the woman, “and what about?” “Please,” said Rachel, “It’s important.”
She sniffed at her. “Some Senta demanding my son. Have a prophecy about something, you want to share with my boy?”
Jona appeared behind the old woman. He pushed past her. “Ma, it’s fine.”
The old woman walked back into the house. “I’m going to bed. Be careful with those Senta, Jona. They can sniff things about people you’d rather they didn’t know. And be sure to do the dishes before you leave.”
Jona brought Rachel into the kitchen, and what was left of dinner. She sat down, and poked at some leftover noodles. “Mind?” she said.
“No,” said Jona. “Don’t you have to work tonight?”
“I don’t think I’m working anywhere right now.” She didn’t see any silverware, so she reached into the bowl with just her gloves. She slurped at the noodles, unashamed.
“Are you alright?” said Jona.
“Why did you have to ruin my night like that?”
“What? What did I do?”
“You didn’t even dance with me.”
“Oh,” he said, “You never dance with who you show up with. I told you that.”
“I’m not some noble hussy. I wanted to dance with you because it’s every girl’s dream to go to a ball with a handsome lord and dance into the night. And when I had someone to dance with…”
“Salvatore sold out his partner, and now she’s dead. She was just a kid, too, younger than you. Hey, how old are you anyway?”
“I don’t know. I’m exactly as old as you. How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-six.”
“I‘m not that old. I’m trying to be mad at you, Jona. I’m trying.” “Be mad. I was a bastard.”
“You were.”
“It’s probably the blood to blame, not me.”
“If the blood makes someone evil, how come I’m not evil? I just know I’m not evil. I don’t feel evil. Who says we’re evil?”
“I think… I don’t think it works like that.”
“Well, how does it work, then?”
“I think it works like… I don’t know.”
“Imam tells us that all we do in the world will be brought back to us seven-fold. If I do good, then that good will come back to me, and I will be good.”
“All right, well if we do both good things and bad things, will the sevenfold cancel each other out?”
“No. Maybe. I don’t know.”
A knock on the door. Jona looked past her. “A minute. That’s going to be my Sergeant.”
“Get rid of him. I want to talk with you.”
“I’ll try,” he said, “Not easy to get rid of Nic.”
Jona walked out of the kitchen, and opened the door. Calipari let himself into the kitchen in an instant, digging through the pantry for some tea to drink like Rachel wasn’t there.
Rachel looked at Sergeant Nicola Calipari. She heard his name bein
g said, and took his hand and shook it. She looked right at him. She washed her hand in the sink, and stormed out.
* * *
Nicola gestured at the slammed door. “Pretty thing, but weird in the head. What’d you do to her?”
“I told you not to come in, Nic. You weren’t listening.”
“You hit her, yet?”
“Of course not.”
“Well try not to hit this one. I know a few fellows that like to keep a lady in line. If you need to hit her, you’ve already lost, I say. I went about with a Senta once, when I was your age. It was great until she prophesied I’d end up with someone else. Then she left me. You haven’t been doing any prophecy with her, have you?”
“Of course not. You know I don’t believe in any of that. Imam.”
“Hope you don’t tell her that. Drives Sentas crazy, crazy. Hope she hasn’t done it on her own, either. Prophecy’s not a good idea. I don’t know why lovers do it, but lovers are always dumb. Providing the livelihood of many a Senta, but that’s the way of things.”
* * *
When Djoss got back, Rachel was there, asleep. He grabbed her boot and wanted to wake her up.
“Hey!” he said, “Rachel! Wake up!”
She groaned. She sat up. She looked at him. “What?”
“Where’d you go?”
“Nowhere. You?”
He snorted at her. “I went nowhere, too. Didn’t see you there.”
“Well, that’s too bad. That’s where I was. I guess I didn’t see you, either.”
“There was this girl,” said Djoss, “They burned her. For a while, I thought…”
“Well, it wasn’t me. It wasn’t anyone I knew.”
“I wish…”
“You’re a mess. You’re sopping wet, filthy.”
“I was in a gutter when I woke up.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.”
“Drink much?”
“Something like that. Lost all our money.”
“Better get back to work then. Those mudskippers still running your little packages?”
“Yeah. You should go back to work, too. I think you lost your job, though. You’ll have to find a new one.”
Silence hung in the air like a low fog, filled their lungs, and filled their eyes. They looked away from each other.
“Elishta, Djoss. What happened to us? I don’t remember when we last talked to each other. When’s the last time we just sat down and talked to each other?”
“What should we talk about?”
“I don’t know.”
“Anything.”
“We’ll talk in the morning.”
“I’m worn out.”
“Go clean up. You’re a mess.”
CHAPTER XIX
Jona scrubbed his uniforms in the basement. He brought hot water down from the kitchen, and poured it into his own private tub. His father used to sleep in the basement, alone.
When Jona’s father slept, he walked in his sleep. All the urges of his darkness took over his body, and his dreams were of being trapped inside of a monster, looking out from this monster’s terrible eyes. The monster was chained down, in the basement.
Two strong stone pillars with many heavy chains kept the monster locked in the basement.
Sometimes the man had drifted off to sleep somewhere, alone, and he woke up covered in blood with a full belly on the grounds. Servants were warned about the Lord’s sleepwalking, and they were urged to wake the man up with loud noises and slaps.
Jona stripped his uniform off his body and ran it over the washboard. He scrubbed it and scrubbed it until it was mostly clean. He had a couple spare uniforms, but they were down here, too, tossed over the stone pillars and stained with mud and blood.
Jona had to wash them all. When he was done, he poured the water over his father’s mud grave. Jona collected his wet uniforms in a basket. Then, Jona walked naked up the stairs, to the roof.
Jona stopped in his tracks. He moved the basket in front of him quickly.
Lady Sabachthani stood up, bowed gracefully, and turned her back to him. She looked at naked streets, devoid of life at this late hour.
“Good evening, Lord Joni,” she said.
“Ela,” said Jona, “I wasn’t expecting you.” Jona quickly pulled wet pants on. “May I offer you something to drink?”
“No, thank you,” said Lady Sabachthani.
“I’m wearing pants,” said Jona.
Lady Sabachthani turned back around. She sat on the edge of the roof, again. “I’ve seen men naked before, Lord Joni. I thought you might show up,” she said.
“Did my mother let you in?”
“Oh, I found my own way. I had hoped there might be some news about my suitors.”
Jona sighed. “I don’t know who the killer was,” he said, “but I know who ordered the killing of the Chief. Someone didn’t like the idea of a commoner on the throne.”
“Who?”
“A friend of Lord Elitrean,” said Jona, “but not a friend of his son. This fellow is best left alone. I may buy the blood monkey’s heart for most, but this fellow is untouchable for all but the king. Oh, and Young Elitrean didn’t know a thing.”
“And have you heard anything about my other suitor?”
“Well, rumor says…”
“I’ve heard plenty of rumors already,” she said, “for instance, that we were in love. What do you know?”
“I know nothing,” said Jona. Jona pulled up a uniform shirt. He threw it over the line. He reached back into the basket for more clothes. “Elitrean’s boy seems to have dropped into the water. Best I can figure is he was in disguise and he got rolled. They tossed him into the river. I don’t know what disguises he liked to wear, but that’s the best I can figure it. He isn’t smart enough to hide this long when people are really looking. Think about it. Rumors sound good, this time.”
“Please keep looking for him, Lord Joni,” said Lady Sabachthani, “and when I am queen, tell me who ordered my friend’s death. No one is untouchable to the queen. Not even the kings of great nations are untouchable to the queen of Dogsland.”
“I will, milady.”
She stood up from the edge of the roof. She walked towards the stairwell.
Jona kept putting his uniforms up on the line. He didn’t turn around to watch her leave. A hand touched his naked back, where his back was scarred from the demon wings that had been cut away. For a moment, it felt like Rachel, but Jona knew it wasn’t Rachel. He turned around. Lady Sabachthani was close to him, looking up at him.
“Thank you,” she said. Her hand remained on Jona’s shoulder. “When this is all over, I won’t forget you. You can dance in the finest balls with me, and then you can dance in the worst of the sailor pits like you belong there, with no mask or hired guards or fears. You know how to find murderers and thieves, and you know how to make people talk. My throne will need men like you in the days to come.”
Jona looked away. “It isn’t your throne, yet, Ela.” He stepped back, into his own wet clothes. “I don’t help you because I want something from you. I’m doing it because you asked me to help you. That’s all. I don’t want a thing. I do just fine by my own. If you want to do me a favor, just forget me. That’s the only favor I want. When you’re queen forget me. I’m happy just living my own quiet life.”
A cool breeze washed over Jona’s naked back. He shivered. Ela smiled, mysteriously. She backed away. She stepped into the stairwell. She closed the door behind her.
* * *
A pub—any pub—full of people covered in the remains of their professions. Dock workers drenched in sweat, sea spray, and splinters. Factory workers stank of stale wool. Sometimes musicians played if they weren’t too busy drinking or pinching after the girls. The two genders mingled freely after the inspector’s bell. Women flocked to a corner to have their fortunes read by a man with tarot cards.
Rachel’s breath stopped. She grabbed Jona’s collar. “We should go,” she said.
She leaned into him, to hide her jerkin’s red X on charcoal grey.
“What, why?” said Jona.
Rachel gestured where only Jona could see. “There’s a Senta telling fortunes in the corner. I don’t want him to see me.”
Jona looked over his shoulder. “What’s he doing down here? Sentas don’t usually come down here except for you.”
“Let’s go, Jona.”
“No.”
“Please,” she said, “I just want to go.”
“He won’t do a thing with me. If he tries to do something, he’ll get bounced or I’ll arrest him. Besides, if he’s down here, he’s probably just faking. He’d make better money by the city walls.”
“Jona…”
Jona sighed. “Fine,” he said. He drank the last of his rum. He drank the last of hers, too. “We’ll go somewhere else, then.” He tossed some coins at the barman, and grabbed Rachel’s shoulders. “Where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere but here,” she said.
Jona and Rachel had to pass the Senta’s corner to maneuver through the crowd. Jona stopped Rachel right next to the fellow. Jona looked over his shoulder at the old man flipping cards.
“Hey, Senta,” said Jona.
Rachel’s fingers tightened on Jona’s hand.
Jona sneered. “I’m looking at you, foreigner. You hear me?”
A seamstress, in the middle of her fortune, scowled. “He’s busy, king’s man. You got your own Senta.”
“Yeah, and I’m taking that one with me, lady. Your Senta looks suspicious to me.”
The Senta looked up at Jona.
“Come with me, old man. We’ve got business outside.”
“I have no business with you.”
“Take your cards and come with me. You’ll make more money with me than you will with her.”
“I am not a greedy man.”
“Never knew a Senta that didn’t turn a card for the right coin. Well, finish up with the lady and meet me out front. I won’t hurt you. I promise.”
Jona walked to the door. Rachel’s nails dug hard into Jona’s palm. Jona ignored her.
“Look,” said Jona, “you can’t live in fear of these folks. Let’s test them. Let’s see if they can really see us for what we are.”
When We Were Executioners Page 11