The Lamb and the Gray Battle

July 20, 2022

Brantley rushed through his yard into Evie's. Evie spent all her time feeding her animals and she was on the front porch where he expected her to be.

"You would not believe the trouble I went through for this." He shook the 50 page document at her. "But it's finally finished."

Evie clapped for him, made her smile bright and sunshiny. The three dogs jumped around her legs, Lemon getting trampled by the larger two.

"What's it about?"

"The ethics of poisoning Prince Nianzang."

Evie shrieked and the feral tribe scattered.

"It's just a paper, Evie," Brantley said, shoving her arm.

Evie spun, her broomstick skirt flaring out, pushing the crowd of animals and Brantley away. She stomped baack to the porch, started filling bowls with cat chow.

"Why in the world would you write something like that?" she cried between clicks of kibble hitting ceramic bowls.

"Because it's an interesting idea."

"No one in their right mind would poison Prince Nianzang," Evie hissed.

"Someone did," Brantley said, surprised that Evie with all her supposed demon love didn't know that. "It was in 1447. The an Dorcha clan," Brantley explained, butchering the Irish clan name. "Everyone was executed for the attempt and I mean everyone." Brantley slashed his finger across his neck. "Apparently a couple of kids under the age of eight years old were sent to work as feudal slaves."

Evie vibrated, the wind around her picking up. Her cheeks were ruddy and her eyes burned. "Ao Guang has a bloody temper," she gasped.

Brantley studied Evie's tantrum, perplexed. "It's history."

"You still want to work for him?" she snapped, her eyes red with sudden tears.

Brantley was at a loss. Evie was before him, hunched over, her hands covering her mouth. The screams came in pulses, silent, but fierce. Whenever Brantley tried to touch her, Evie hit him. Brantley could do nothing but scan the pages. He wanted Evie to read it, give him feedback, but he couldn't ask her now.

"I figured you of all people would have read Ao Guang, a Complete History."

"No, I haven't," she spit. "That man is a monster!"

Brantley was helpless to his confusion. He checked the fingerprints of his hands, to see if they'd changed. He couldn't reconcile a demon lover who hated King Ao Guang.

Mostly to change the subject, Brantley said, "Dylan is too young for the book, but he begged me to loan it to him. Mom threatened me if I did."

"Jo is a smart woman," Evie muttered, her eyes empty.

"Look," Brantley said, "I didn't know anything about it and I used to go to church every Sunday and Wednesday before I started college."

Brantley chose the topic because it made King Ao Guang sound almost human. The book had a pencil sketch, apparently done by Beelzebub, of King Ao Guang sitting on his son's bed and holding his hand.

Evie screamed suddenly, "ZangZang was only a baby!"

ZangZang? Evie and Dylan took their ludicrous fandom too seriously.

She cried, "He had nothing to do with any of it."

"Exactly."

Brantley thought if he brought her back to facts, Evie might calm down. Telling her to calm down wouldn't work. At least, Brantley had never met a woman it had worked on.

"That's the point of the paper. Prince Nianzang was innocent. Were the an Dorcha clan wrong for attacking him? Was King Ao Guang wrong to retaliate the way he did? Exterminating the whole clan? Eight and above? At that time, both sides thought they were right."

Evie's lip quivered. Her fingers were decisive wiping away the tears.

"I have to write a letter," she said, going inside the little ranch house.