Chapter 37
Luitgard and Justin waited for the gates to open. After the incident with the inn keeper, they knew they could trust no one. They dared not even beg for food. Their only goal was escaping Rome. They would figure out survival on the road.
They looked at the guards manning the gate. None of them were familiar. They hoped that the guards felt the same about them. Pedlars, soldiers, and pilgrims filtered through the opening in both directions. As the crowd thickened, Justin took Luitgard's hand in his. They made their move.
As calmly as they could, they walked with the crowds, hoping to blend in. At least they were dressed plainly enough and looked unkempt enough to be no one of consequence. Even the tell Cornelius had claimed about them was no longer present. Luitgard was sure that greedy man was enjoying the money that had been left behind.
They neared the gate. Several more steps and they would be at the guards.
A heavy arm fell onto Luitgard's shoulders. Merek pulled her against his side. She nearly choked as not just her blood but her saliva froze in place.
"You cannot hide from me," he said. "To many are willing to help me in this city."
He turned to three large men at his back. "Take the man," he said. "She will be walking with me."
Two of the men grabbed either side of Justin and lifted him off the ground. He was no willing prisoner but his attempts to fight or flail proved fruitless. One of the men punched him hard across the face to get him to settle down. It worked if only because it knocked him unconscious.
Merek held Luitgard tightly against him. A poke against her ribs told her he would kill her there in the street if she struggled.
"Now, my little pagan," he whispered in her ear. "We mustn't keep an angel waiting."
Merek kept their route to the narrow alleys and quieter streets. Those they came across pretended with a bit too much effort not to see them.
The route was unfamiliar, not that Luitgard would have had much reference. Their escape of the night before had been guided by desperation. In the darkness and making turns simply to change direction, she had no idea of the route they had taken. Now, she had no idea where they were headed or how close they were.
Long after Justin had regained consciousness and begun yelling curses at Merek's back, they arrived at a small chapel. On the side of the chapel was a cemetery overshadowed by thick trunked trees with dense and wide canopies. At the entrance stood a bronze statue of a tall angel, her palms out in welcome. It was the angel from Luitgard's childhood.
Merek stopped before it and looked up into its face. Then, he pulled his dagger away from Luitgard's ribs and held it close to her cheek. He pressed his face against her ear. His nose tickled her earlobe as he whispered. "I shall feast tonight, but for now I need only a drop," he said as he pulled the blade across her skin.
She yelped, which caused Justin to renew his struggling and cursing. She could feel the tickle of her blood seeping down her cheek.
"Calm, my son," Merek said as he let go of Luitgard. She had no chance to escape, the third brute was already holding her arms tightly behind her back.
Merek walked up to Justin, though not close enough to endure any of the kicks aimed at him. "Don't ever think I would leave you out of this," he said. "It is your turn now."
When Justin tried to kick once more, Merek grabbed him by the foot and pulled the dagger across Justin's ankle. Justin cried out. His hose and shoes were soaked with blood within a heartbeat. Merek had cut him much more deeply.
Unconcerned with Justin's pain and bleeding, Merek took the bloodied blade to the statue and pressed the blood to each of the angel's hands. He then took the small white triangle out of his sleeve and placed it in one of the palms.
"It is time Kilchain's deal was ended," he called out.
Luitgard's eyes went wide. In the middle of the cemetery now stood the Goddess of her dreams. Merek saw her too, as did Justin, whose eyes were nearly popping from his head.
Merek gestured for his hired men to follow as he entered the cemetery. As they neared the woman, Luitgard's nose filled with a sweet fragrance. Luitgard could see the wide eyes of the men that held Justin. They said nothing but she suspected they were reconsidering the fairness of their compensation.
"Where is Kilchain?" he asked.
The Goddess' face remained impassive as she looked over Luitgard and then Justin.
"Sending an army against his people has failed to draw him out as you hoped?" she asked but did not wait for an answer. "If you wished to find Kilchain, why have you summoned me?"
"I brought the last of his blood," Merek pressed. "I know you want them."
The Goddess returned her focus to Merek. "To give me what I want, it would help to know the actual terms of a deal," she said. "Justin means nothing to me."
Merek shifted weight. Luitgard had never seen him so unsure. "Then Luitgard then," he said. "You wanted her here and I made sure she got here."
"I made sure she came here," the Goddess corrected. Just when Merek looked near to fleeing, she added, "But you do have something I require." She held out her hand. "The dagger."
It was only then that Luitgard realized the dagger Merek had been using was hers. He had held her so firmly at its tip, that she had not dared look down at it. Now that her attention was drawn to it, she could not believe she had not recognized the ornate dragon upon the white handle.
"You can have it," Merek said, "But I want more than you gave Kilchain."
"You seem to believe it wise to make demands of me," she said. "Your soul is worthless to me."
"If Kilchain can cause you this much trouble, then you better get used to bowing down to me," he shot back at her. Despite his bravado, Luitgard could see his hand trembling.
The Goddess was unmoved by the threat. "Are you sure you want the life of a dragon? Many who have asked for it did not like what it got them."
"Many are fools," Merek said. "I would become the ruler of the world with such power."
"And what do you ask that is more than I gave Kilchain?"
"Immortality," he said. "I want to live forever."
She held out her hand once more. "Very well," she said, "Give me the dagger and we will complete the ritual."
Merek turned to Luitgard. "I want to end Kilchain's Filia Draconis first," he said. "I want Justin to watch as she dies. If I cannot have Kilchain witness what I am taking from him, then it must be Justin."
"You have already taken your revenge on Kilchain when you made sure an army was sent to burn them to the ground," the Goddess stressed. "The dagger."
After a hesitation, Merek turned to hand it to her. At that same moment, Justin had also managed to wrench himself free from the men holding him. They had been overwhelmed by the Goddess' presence. Their grip had been weak. But Justin's leg had been too badly wounded. When he fell from their arms, he did not land standing but fell to his knees.
Fire blazed in Merek's eyes as he lunged to pre-empt Justin's attack upon him. Luitgard tried to break free of the man holding her, but he had not been as easily lulled as the others. His grip held firm even as the two struggling men fell against them and knocked them off balance.
The Goddess simply watched.
Luitgard's captor regained himself before she did. All she could do was watch.
Justin had managed to grip the handle of the dagger with both hands and was trying to pull it away. Merek was pulling on it with equal force so that it remained above them. He smiled. He spit in Justin's face and took the moment of distraction to ram the blade deep into Justin's heart.
The summer heat dissipated as the life left Justin's eyes. The muscles in his face went limp, erasing any evidence of the struggle he had just been having. His hands fell to his sides. His body collapsed into Merek's.
Luitgard screamed. There would have been no hope even if she had attempted to stifle her sobs. She screamed and sobbed even as she tried to pull her arms from the grip of the man holding her.
Merek pulled the dagger fr
ee and stepped back, letting Justin's body hit the ground with all the respect of a felled tree.
"Bastard!" Luitgard screamed at him. "Bastard!"
The Goddess had not moved and appeared as unconcerned as when they had arrived. No one wept for the body upon the ground except Luitgard whose grief made up for all of them.
"The dagger," the Goddess said as she held out her hand for a third time. "My patience is near its end."
As Merek held out the weapon to her, Luitgard focused upon her, the mastermind of all her torment. "Whore!" she shrieked. "You are nothing but a selfish whore!"
Merek and the Goddess ignored her. The woman's fingers wrapped around the ornate blade.
"When do I become a dragon?" Merek demanded.
The Goddess looked at him. "You don't," she said as she rammed the blade into his chest. The last expression upon his face was of complete shock. "Greed overwhelmed your sense," she said as she watched him fall to the ground next to Justin.
That was the last straw for Luitgard's captor. He let go of her and ran from the cemetery. The two who had dragged Justin were close behind.
"You are the last little dragon," the Goddess said. "And with your death, I will finally be free."
Courted Sanctuary Page 39