The Assassin and the Sorceress Ch. 08

Suddenly, Mother looked forlorn, as if realizing the gravity of having just condemned her own daughter. 'What have I done?' her eyes seemed to be asking.

Once she was done with her damning testimony, Father begged to take the witness' seat.

"Absolutely not," said Abel, responding to his request. "The testimony of the town drunk, and a man who has shirked the responsibilities of fatherhood, will be of little use to this court. Further, if you are bewitched by the accused, as your wife has claimed, you may even jeopardize this court's quest to find truth. I will not allow the accused a chance to cloud our wisdom."

Father begged until Lord Abel threatened to have him removed by force.

Suddenly, a strong, familiar voice sounded from the front of the crowd. "Lord Magistrate, then allow me to speak on her behalf, if you will." It was Joseph!

"You are also said to have been bewitched by her. However, this was prior to the day her mother believes she first consorted with the Devil. And beyond your infidelity, you are otherwise a respected man of God by all accounts. I will allow it. Approach."

"Thank you, Lord Magistrate," he said as soon as he was seated. "I would like to start off by saying, in front of all the people of Ash, and God himself, that my infidelity against my then-fiancé was my own sin. Morgana did not bewitch me with magic, nor did she tempt me with her body. I was the one who seduced her. I did it because I pitied her. But it was a mistake. It didn't help her. It only made her pain worse, because it made her fall in love with me. And I didn't have the heart to tell her it was a love I couldn't return.

"That was why she came to me after her mother beat her, and interrupted our family discussion. She wasn't looking to get between me and Rebecca; she was looking for protection! I saw the injuries on her face, and they were severe! No mother who loves her daughter would ever discipline her so harshly! I think what John was trying to say was correct."

There was commotion among the audience now. A few were debating heatedly.

"But none of that is what I came here to say!" he said in a booming, yet somehow gentle voice. "Lord Magistrate, to answer the question you have asked most of the other witnesses: no, I do not believe Morgana is a pious woman of God. But this isn't because she is wicked. It's because she's never been properly shown the way of God. 'Spare the rod and spoil the child,' they say. But the 'rod,' as the saying goes, doesn't refer to a stick to beat children with. It means a shepard's crook. It's talking about a gentle, guiding hand! Her mother beat her severely! Far past the point of discipline! That's not a gentle hand! Her father wasn't there for most of her life to guide her, I've heard. All of her peers bullied her. She's had nobody but herself to guide her through life, in other words. Is it any wonder she turned out so disturbed?"

"Disturbed, is she? So, are you saying she's already lost?" Lord Abel asked him.

"No. Well, not beyond hope, I mean. Anyone who had an upbringing like hers would turn out that way as well, I think. At heart, I know she's a good person. I don't believe witchcraft is the cause for any of the things she's being accused of, but even if it is, we don't know it was her. Most of these allegations have no connection to her whatsoever! The fact that she's basically Ash's social outcast just makes her an easy person to pin the blame on. There's no proof!"

"On the contrary," Lord Abel countered, "the first testimony gives strong evidence for witchcraft, and I am very convinced it is the cause of at least several of the grievances. And if it was witchcraft, then there has to be a witch. It had to be someone, and currently, we have no other suspects. Or who do you suppose it was, if not her?"

"I have no other suspects, but I don't believe it was her doing. But in either case Morgana needs to be helped, not punished. Ideally, this help should have come years ago, but I don't think it's too late to set her on the right path."

"And supposing it was her, are you willing to risk the safety of Ash in the off chance she can be turned away from Satan's will?"

"And Satan's temptation can be incredibly strong, especially for those who have already given in," the vicar added."

"He's right. She may very well be beyond hope. So? Are you willing to put the town at continued risk in order to help one godless wretch?"

"I..." He looked down at his feet for a moment before looking back up. "I don't believe the town is at risk, Lord Magistrate."

"And what if it truly was her who tried to curse your wife with the symptoms of syphilis? Would you, yourself, forgive her for that?"

Joseph looked uncertain. "I believe she's been treated unfairly," he said, after stammering for a few moments.

"Answer my question. Would you forgive her for placing a curse on your beloved wife?"

"Well..."

"Answer! Joseph, you are doing a very poor job of convincing me we should show her mercy. I'll ask one more time. Would you forgive her?"

"Yes! Jesus died for the sins of mankind! And His power is so great that, yes, I believe any sin can be forgiven. If Jesus can forgive her, I believe we owe it to Him to live by his example and try to do the same!"

"Don't speak to me of the power of Jesus!" the vicar hissed. "You know nothing of which you speak! They say the Devil himself can quote scripture to his own ends. So can fools quote scripture to the Devil's end, inadvertently. You would do well to leave such interpretations to the clergy, butcher's son! Turning a blind eye to what this girl has done would only help Satan to maintain his power over mankind."

"I agree. We can't let these things go unpunished, regardless of any excuses. The only question remaining is whether she is actually guilty of these things. Thank you for your testimony, Joseph."

Joseph looked like he had more to say, but regretfully got up from the witness chair and returned to his wife's side.

"Is there anyone else present who wishes to give testimony? Does anyone else wish to comment on Morgana's character?"

There was silence.

"Has anyone else experienced any ails they believe may be unnatural, or the fault of the accused? Can anyone else comment on her perverse sexual nature, or other ungodly acts? Or if that is all, is it time for me to make my judgement?"

After a few more moments of silence, a meek voice came from the crowd. "Yes, Lord Magistrate. She did some things to me." It was Susan. She was invited to take the seat. This was bad!

"Um..." she began, then sat silent as she fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Well?" the Lord Magistrate prodded her after a few moments.

"Something did happen to me. Something very strange. She was right next to me when it happened. I think it was her doing. I didn't know what to make of it at the time, but now that so many people have accused her of witchcraft, I think it was her."

"What happened to you?"

"I..." she began, then stopped again. She stared down at the floor; her shoulders hunched. She really didn't want to tell so many people what I had done to her. She was ashamed of it. Would she suddenly find herself unable to tell the story? Would I be so lucky? Unfortunately, I was not, for she found her words after all.

"I was... bound. In a way that didn't make sense. Like I said, Morgana was there."

"Bound? In what way?"

"I don't know how. It didn't make any sense. Morgana and I had met up to talk about a matter of our friendship. Well, maybe friendship isn't the right word, because the conversation wasn't very friendly. She was angry at me. She accused me of horrible things."

"What did she accuse you of?"

"Nothing important. Things I did to her a long time ago. She wasn't being fair."

"Very well. So, what happened to you? What was this thing you think she did to you?"

"She told me to apologize to her, and made me do some stupid thing to show I was sorry. And when I did, that's when it happened."

"What happened? Susan, you need to give me details."

"I did the thing she wanted, and then... then I was stuck. Just like that. I couldn't move."

"What, like you were paralyzed?" Lord Abel asked Susan

"No, not like that."

"Then what? I need details if I'm to make anything of this, and it sounds like what you have to say is important."

She sunk even further into her chair. "I don't know, it would sound so stupid if I said it. It was like... It was humiliating. And terrifying! I had no idea what was going on. It should have been impossible!"

As Susan spoke, I made the mistake of looking at the audience. My eyes caught Esther's. A look came over her face, one of shocked realization. No doubt she was remembering the strange happenings with her bedpost. Then, a look of distrust. She knew it had been me.

Susan continued. "She tried to help free me, but maybe she was only pretending to help, because it didn't work. And then, when I was bound and helpless, she... she touched me. She started touching me and she wouldn't stop. I didn't even know what to say or do."

"Wait, what?" Lord Abel leaned forward, suddenly intrigued. "How did she touch you? Where? Tell me everything!"

"Well, she started off by hugging me, as if to comfort me. But then, she started doing inappropriate things. She touched my chest. A lot. Then she started undoing my clothes. She undressed me. And then she continued touching me."

Lord Abel was so intrigued by this that he forgot all about how I had bound Susan. He pressed her for more and more details. Eventually, Susan complied and relayed details of how I had touched her. Several members of the audience were visibly uncomfortable as she gave her account. The vicar listened with a disgusting grin.

Finally, Lord Abel had examined her to his satisfaction. He and his Vicar whispered back and forth for a minute or two, before he returned his gaze to her.

"Thank you, Susan. The information you have provided has been highly revealing. There is little doubt left in my mind. Morgana, what Susan has described is horrendous! You have committed sexual acts with another woman! Homosexuality is an abomination before God like no other! And there couldn't be a clearer sign of Satan's influence!

"This court has revealed many elucidating facts. The story told by the preceding testimonies shows you to be highly disturbed, manipulative, and worst of all, a sexual deviant! What Susan has revealed has given me more than enough insight to pass my judgement. The Bible is very clear on what to do with homosexuals; they must be put to death! I require no further proof of your guilt regarding the rest of the allegations. I hereby declare you guilty of witchcraft, and sentence you to death by fire!"

Father and a few others cried out in protest. Only a few. But I didn't hear their words over my own screaming.

"What? NO! I haven't hurt anyone! Lord Magistrate, please!" It wasn't entirely a lie. I had played some mean tricks, though I hadn't done any serious harm to anyone.

"Silence!" he commanded myself and the others who protested. "My judgement has been passed! We will burn her in the town square tomorrow at dusk. No, belay that! We should do it as soon as possible! I don't know what schemes the Devil may come up with if we give him any time at all. We should be done with it while we have the chance! Captain, take her back to the dungeon while preparations are made. I want no fewer than three guards watching her at all times: two to overpower the third, should he show any signs of being charmed by her."

It wasn't fair! I knew I had done some misdeeds, though nothing deserving of death! Even worse, it wasn't any of my misdeeds I was being punished for. He hadn't seemed to care that I had forced myself on Susan, the single thing I felt most guilty about. He saw me fit to die simply because I had done it to another woman. This wasn't justice!

As the Captain of the Guard approached me, I pleaded for him to not take me away. He unshackled my chains from the floor and dragged me with him. I tried to resist, but he was so much stronger than me. I fought and screamed to no avail.

I was terrified! Perhaps if I had known the full extend of the Oculus's power right then, I might not have been. I should have realized how easily I could have escaped unharmed, but I was panicked and not thinking rationally. Right then, I was convinced that if I let the guards drag me off it would be over for me. I had to fight them, and damn that promise to myself I had made!

My mind called out for the Oculus. As I said, at that point I still didn't understand the full power of the Oculus. All this time I had been exploring the boundaries of its beautifully delicate precision and the near infinite complexity of the work it could do. How much sheer power it was capable of, up until now, had interested me very little. Therefore, when I summoned a blast of force to throw the Captain of the Guard away from me, what happened startled even me.

He shot across the room with terrifying speed! I barely even saw him move! One moment he was standing in front of me, pulling on my chains, and in the blink of an eye he had crashed into the opposite wall with a sickeningly loud crunch. The force of the impact knocked a tapestry off the wall, which fell over his crumpled body like a death shroud. He might not have even been alive when he hit the wall; I'm sure the sheer force of my blast would have killed him instantly.

The two guards who had been behind him now laid on the floor. One was dead, with a large, bleeding gash on his temple. The other was alive, though his arm was broken so badly I could see the bone jutting out of his mangled flesh.

There came a collective, startled gasp from the audience, followed by a moment of horrified silence as their minds tried to makes sense of what they had just seen. Then they began screaming. A few were frozen in fear, but most tried to flee, shoving themselves past the guards and cramming themselves in the entryway.

Something hit me hard in the chest. I looked down to see an arrow sticking out of me. It hurt to breathe. I summoned the Oculus again and tried to make the arrowhead disappear so I could pull the shaft out. I hadn't even finished this when a second and a third arrow hit me, one in the shoulder and one in the stomach.

I shielded my face with one arm, while I went to pull the arrow out of my chest with the other. By the time I had erased the arrowhead from existence, I realized another guard had approached me with his sword drawn. He had already raised it above his head to strike. But rather than bat him aside like the Captain, I lifted him off the ground, took a moment to aim, and cast him toward the archers. I knocked two of them down. Maybe that would give me the break I needed. My left lung was starting to gurgle when I breathed. I needed to heal, and fast!

"Regroup! Approach her from both sides!" the Magistrate yelled, still in his throne. "Archers, aim for her head! Kill her! Kill her NOW!"

I realized all it would take would be one to my head to do me in for good. Ignoring the arrows already in me for now, I hardened my skin and my bones. It had been just in time, too, for three more hit me. The arrows couldn't pierce my skin anymore, though they still hit me hard enough to bruise. The one that hit me in the throat was particularly painful.

There were at least ten guards left in the room. Some seemed to have fled, but those who remained followed Lord Abel's orders and attacked me from each flank. I knocked one group of three down. Still terrified of the violence I had unleased on the Captain, I used only enough force to knock them over to keep them away from me. The second group had already reached me. I felt a few spear points hit me. Though they couldn't pierce my skin, it was enough force to knock me off my feet. I rolled over to see my attackers, and, without aiming, I batted them aside.

"Lord Magistrate, I advise we retreat!" It was Gaius.

"She's too dangerous! We have to kill her!"

"We can't! Get everyone to safety! Maybe if we give her time to calm down, we can reason with her!"

"No! Kill her! Kill her!"

But it was too late. What remaining guards there were liked the idea of retreat so much that their commander's orders held no further influence over them. A few of the braver ones, Gaius included, stayed long enough to help the last of the townsfolk evacuate. The others seemed to forget they were soldiers and shoved their way out with the crowd.

"No! Come back! I order you! Don't leave me!" His shouts no longer carried a commanding tone. He was pleading.

The room was mostly empty. I turned to look at the former Lord Magistrate of Ash. He was standing in front of his throne with his sword drawn, but as soon as he met my gaze he recoiled in horror. He took a few panicked steps backward, then tripped and fell back onto his throne. He kept trying to back up, as if his throne were some palisade he could take shelter in, but found he could only go so far. He pointed his sword feebly toward me. I plucked it from his grasp and let it hover in the air, well out of his reach.

"Please! Please! Spare me! I'll do anything you say! I'll be your servant! Please spare me!" He was nearly crying now.

I tried to speak, but coughed blood. After I had cleared my lungs, I tried again. "You were never anything but a peacetime general, Abel. You should have never declared war on me."

I spun the sword in midair until it faced him. He let out one final squeak of fright before I plunged it through his chest, pinning him to the back of his wooden throne. He screamed once, then gasped for air a few times. Shock set in very quickly after that.

The room was silent now, except for the sounds of Abel's shallow, labored breathing. I struggled my way up to my knees. I tried to stand, but that was as far as I could get. I fell back down into a kneeling position, resting my hands on the floor. This was fine. I needed to heal myself. I closed my eyes and went to work, reforming the intricate sacs and tubes inside my lung where the arrow had pierced. I sealed up the hole in the outer layer so my lung could retain air again. I removed any blood and contaminants that had entered the lung. Finally, I could afford to address the less critical injuries. I removed the other two arrows and patched up their holes. The one that had hit me in the stomach had pierced my intestines in several places, and the Oculus found the agents of infection were already spreading. I did what I could to stop it, though stopping an infection was tedious work even for the Oculus. Eventually, I called it good enough; by body could fight the rest of it. I repaired some minor damage to my throat, though the rest of the bruises from the arrows that had not pierced my skin were of little concern to me now.

I stood up. I looked around, trying to figure out what to do. Abel's frightened eyes stared straight ahead. He was still alive, though he seemed to have been resigned to his fate. Several dead guards littered the floor. It was regrettable. In all of Ash, there were only two people I actually wanted dead, and for one of them death was very, very near.

Suddenly, I heard a groan, though it wasn't coming from Abel. I turned, and saw it had been the guard with the broken arm. He was deeply in shock, and had lost a lot of blood. An artery seemed to have been pierced by his bone. Blood poured out of his wound, spurting feebly every second. At this rate, he might arrive at Heaven's door even before his former Magistrate.

In an act of pity, I put his arm back together. The damage was extensive, so it took me a good minute or two to fix everything. As an afterthought, I created more inside his veins, enough to replace what he had lost. The surprise of finding that his mortal injury had vanished without a trace was enough to snap him out of his stupor. He raised his head and looked at me.