Chapter 31 #3
“It’s really your fault for thinking you could actually come between the Di Maineri,” Lysa purrs in amusement, flicking her hair over her shoulder with a flourish. “True, Di Maineri infighting is legendary. But we are always family first.”
Nouis glares at Lysa, his fury barely contained by his twitching muscles and the sweat pouring from his brow.
“What now?” demands the cardinal on his knees. He is maybe in his thirties, and oddly respectfully calm, considering how the tables have turned. “You’ll kill us and then what?”
I pause for a long moment, letting that sit on the cold night air before I step closer.
“Only one more needs to die here,” I say seriously, meeting his eye. “I have no desire for war. No desire for bloodshed. I never did. You and your colleagues up there will be presented with my terms. If you agree, you can have your lives and return to the Holy States.”
“What are your terms?”
“Tell the world the truth. Nouis Rizaro manipulated the factions of the continent to war. Nouis Rizaro conspired to bring about an unjust, vile invasion of the people of Halice. Nouis Rizaro blew up the Grand Temple of Halice and murdered every single occupant inside. Nouis Rizaro lied to and murdered his aunt, the Holy Mother—”
“Lies! Lies!” snarls Nouis, his barely contained rage bubbling out of him in a mix of blood and spittle. “All lies!”
“How did it happen? The death of her Holiness,” the cardinal asks, cutting across Nouis’s infantile tantrum.
“In the middle of our peace talks, Nouis went mad and drove his blade through her stomach in a fit of rage,” I answer, meeting this man’s dark eyes. “She didn’t die straight away. I tried to hold her wounds together but they were too great and she bled out on the floor.”
The cardinal nods slowly.
“That matches the story of a former Holy Guard who visited me but five days ago. He insisted I know the truth about her Holiness’s death.” He takes a deep breath and looks over to Nouis with disgust. “I believe the Maestrus.”
“No! Lies! Lies! Lies!” screams Nouis as Bash forces him down onto his knees again.
I step closer to the cardinal.
“Tell the world the truth, return to the Holy States and never come back. End hostilities, and when you elect a new Holy Patron, we can even discuss opening trade once more. But Nouis Rizaro will pay for his crimes here and now.”
The cardinal nods.
“Great Maestrus of Halice, you have a deal,” he says.
“No! No, no!” shrieks Nouis thrashing against Bash’s restraints. Two more Coari mercenaries come to his side to help him hold the criminal down. “You can’t do this! You can’t leave me here!”
I signal for the cardinal to be let up and he gets gratefully to his feet.
“I suggest waiting until that mess calms down. It’s only the beginning,” Lysa says snippily, gesturing to the camp swallowed by fire behind her.
The cardinal nods his acknowledgement before walking away, his colleagues disappearing with him into the night.
Leaving us with one more task.
Justice.
I turn to the caged demon at our feet. Manhandled by several warriors, he frantically thrashes against their grip. I walk closer, and his head snaps to me with a terrifying hysteria in his quivering eyes.
“With your death, I will end a war before it begins. With one life, I shall bring peace to an entire continent.” I walk closer, glaring down at him. “You will never hurt me, manipulate me, or stalk me again. You will die, knowing you are nothing, and that is all you have ever been.”
“You belong to me! You’re supposed to be mine!
You’re mine!” roars Nouis, thrashing against Bashran’s hold.
Bash forces him down again. Tahira and Lysa share the weight of a heavy stone, rolling it into position.
Stone grinds against stone as the makeshift executioner’s block is positioned under Nouis’s shoulders.
Bash holds him down.
“I belong to Halice and my Fate alone,” I say. Idris walks closer, sword in hand and ready to swing.
Nouis laughs, his demented glee cracking through my bones like a spectre. Its fervid frost clings to my veins.
“You think you’ve won. You think this is your victory, but these foreign savages will turn against you. All they do is betray and it’s your neck they’ll come for next,” Nouis says, throwing his head back and cackling hysterically.
I frown at Bash who shrugs as though he has no idea what he’s talking about. Nouis catches that, his insane mirth spilling forth even harder.
“Oh, I learned from your mistake, Renza. Make sure my wound kills my enemy, even if the blows don’t. This is not the end. I will haunt you again. I will stalk you forever because you are mine!”
“What are you talking about?” I seethe.
“You’ll see. I’ll win. In the end I’ll win,” Nouis says, laughing wildly, insanity eating him up from the inside. “Even dead, I get what belongs to me.”
“He’s stalling,” Tahira says. Idris steps forwards. He looks at me, those hazel eyes waiting for the order. I nod.
“I, Renza Di Maineri, Maestrus of Halice, sentence you to death for your numerous deplorable crimes. May Fate judge you cruelly.”
The last curse is all Nouis hears as Idris brings his sword down in a great arching sweep. Crack, smack, thud.
The laughing stops.
Silence reigns.