The Guardian Of Empires

21. Steel Through Skin

September 17th,about four in the afternoon.

Theodore was racing his horse across the country toward the south. A straight broad stripe of dusty road cut through the fabric of fields. Above, the sky hung like a borderless sheet of light gray, and the western wind slowly dragged gray clouds across it.

The young man was a bundle of nerves; he peered toward the horizon, hoping to spot a horse rider in a raincoat who carried the death order for Jacques-Louis. Yet on his way, he only encountered occasional carriages, soldiers, merchants. Soon, the landscape began changing: instead of fruit gardens, fluffy crowns of southern pines appeared, along with lavender bushes, olive trees, and pumpkin fields. Theodore recalled his own words said to Ambassador Guillermo four days ago (was it only four days ago?): "If I receive the post of the Head, I will come to the south, to olive gardens and cypresses to celebrate." Well, what a great celebration, indeed. Theodore was ready to give up his posts and powers, St. Jacob's Cathedral, everything he owned and disposed of, if only to spare Evangelist's life, to make sure he is free and safe.

Theodore realized exactly what happened at the secret meeting at Borman's residence and why it happened now. Jacques-Louis had been put behind bars five years ago. He was imprisoned on an unapproachable fortress island, no one knew about him, and things have been done with this man. Lumi-Perro, Borman, and Alfonso had not dared to kill Lazarus, no matter how cruel they were. Probably, they thought he could still be useful. Besides, you must have courage to send a man like Jacques-Louis to death. And then, two events occurred that reminded the bastards of their atrocities. Balzac started ferreting out court cases of the Church through a jurist, and Theodore became the Head of the Synod, receiving, among other privileges, a right to grant pardon to those accused of crimes against the Church. It had rung a bell in someone's head: "Hey, we actually have the almighty Jacques-Louis in prison. What if Theodore finds out, sets him free, and they unite? It's better to act quickly and kill Lazarus before Theodore becomes aware of him. We'll get permission from the Supreme Court, and the Head's deputy will sign the paper."

Theodore vaguely recalled his secretary, diligently fulfilling his duties, wrote in a letter that the new Head should demote his deputy and assign a new one... The young priest ground his teeth in vexation and shame: he had ignored his secretary's words and hadn't considered them important.

Could the death sentence be carried out immediately, on the same day the chief of If-Aghann receives it? Usually, they inform the whole city about an execution, a few days or at least a day in advance so that everyone would have the opportunity to learn about it and attend for entertainment. Theodore understood that the situation was different now: Lumi-Perro and his companions decided to get rid of Jacques-Louis as soon as possible. Yet another circumstance should be taken into account: Jacques-Louis was already put to death once — five years ago in Marescall. The citizens of Benefia were unaware that an imposter for Jacques-Louis had been executed that day, leading most to believe that Evangelist was dead. As a result, Lumi-Perro and Borges would likely avoid a public ceremony, to prevent questioning.

Theodore's sixth sense told him he was running late, so he desperately urged the poor horse on, and guilt for an innocent animal added pain to his heart. His pocket watch showed it was four in the afternoon, and he had been riding for nine hours. Both he and the horse were exhausted and thirsty, as all the water in his flask was gone. The horse was covered in dust, its frisky gallop now a trot, and the only reaction from the whip blows was a nervous flinch.

Soon, mountains appeared in a distant haze to the left, with Marey Ridge that divided Benefia and Italy. Two hours later, a blue stripe of the sea appeared on the horizon, and beneath it, the scattered white houses of Aghann town.