The legacy of the dark blood

Chapter 25

The rebirth

The executioner moved closer to the two men, until he finally deigned to address them in his frighteningly hoarse and aggressive voice.

"Escaping from the courthouse?" He began in a soft tone "YOU FOOLS, did you really think you could outwit the justice of Reich der Finsternis?"

There was a brief minute of silence until the men were encouraged to respond.

"Natural instinct," answered one of them, breathing hastily,

"But what now, do you want to take us back?" asked the other man who had not yet spoken, feeling his heart beating so fast that it hardly allowed a continuous flow of blood in his body.

"No," answered the executioner in a dry voice, "You two and your friend David Rowland were on your way to the courthouse by order of the Duchess. Nevertheless, these are my own dominions and here I am the justice!" he finished with a shout. He paused at the terrified look on the Americans' faces and went on, "and to your misfortune, I don't take prisoners!" Liz did not initially understand what he meant by that, nor who was "the Duchess" or this Rowland - Here, rebellion and irreverence have only one punishment, and that is DEATH".

"NO, PLEASE!" implored the other man "We'll do anything, anything!"

"Well," began the executioner, drawing closer to them with his characteristic soulless look and unsheathing his sword, producing a shuddering noise, "If the Duchess wanted you alive, which is not very common for her, and even less so in the case of American citizens, surely there must be a reason for it. So, I'll tell you the same thing we told the other nosy American agent "Liz knew he was referring to her".

"Are they looking for us?" said one of the men a bit excited until his partner hit him forcing him to shut up.

"Shut up Marvin," grumbled the other.

"I'm sorry Mike. But..."

"SHUT UP!" Suddenly interrupted the executioner with his chilling hoarse voice that managed to paralyze those present after he placed his sword in their direction, "I'm not finished with you yet! What I wanted to say is that your options now are to serve our creed or die. According to what Herr Holzmann told me, you two were accompanying a Mr. Rowland, and with them you went with a Mr.... Rowland, and with them you were going to the courthouse. You have dared to escape from the prisoner's carriage, and I have no idea how you managed it. Anyway, you must know that nothing happens in Reich der Finsternis without our knowledge, so your only way out now is to reveal to us everything you know about Mr. Rowland." The executioner paused briefly and then turned his back on the Americans.

"By the way, they are looking for you. The American woman and her companions had given us a good fight, until now".

Liz kept listening to the speech with an astonished look on her face. She still did not understand the intentions of the abhorrent being, until, from the pockets of his black tunic, he extracted something that caused a feeling in the young agent that almost knocked her to her knees on the concrete. She could not believe her eyes; in front of her, an image was projected that made her feel defeated and impotent. The executioner had again extracted the colored stones, the same ones he had shown her a few seconds before sentencing her to death; but not only did he have in his possession the red and green gems, in the middle of his glove also glittered the blue stone, which as she well remembered, was in the possession of Ulrich and the German police command.

"As I said," the executioner spoke again, lightly moving the gems in his hand, "NOBODY opposes Holzmann's executioner, so don't have any hopes. I know that they are still here, and were it not for the fact that it will soon be dawn and I have unfinished business at the cathedral, I would still be looking for them, the American officer and all those who are still with her, but first, I will personally see to it that no one is looking for you any more".