Chapter ???: Kaneonuskatew in Foresthold
The room was chill. The fire had been neglected and the embers run cold. One would think the house abandoned, but its owner lay in bed, her physician above her. He did not seem to mind the cold.
"Hokolesqua did not like my proposal, Kaneonuskatew said. "He felt that Quanah's mare had been ill before your husband traveled to the Forevergreen so the demon birth we witnessed could not be his fault. Tumecsah was much easier to convince." Kaneonuskatew smiled. "The root exploding at that exact moment was an irrefutable sign. Clearly your husband brought evil back with him from the forest."
Kaneonuskatew sat a chair next to Jaci's bed, and continued speaking to her as if she were awake. Quite the opposite. Her eyes were closed, and she breathed shallowly. Still, Kaneonuskatew was animated in his speech, lifting his arms and waving his hands.
"I don't care if your husband was the cause or not. I have prayed for such an opportunity for years, and it finally arrived." He turned the chair to face the bed. "I hate your husband, you see. I sent him to the Forevergreen with the expectation that he would never return. He did, much to my surprise, so I have sent him to the edge of the world, and he will die in the endeavor."
He looked at her. The tanner had combed her hair and straightened her clothes before he left. Although older, Kaneonuskatew could still see her beauty. He had heard stories of the village's shock when she chose Imsikwatash to be her husband. He was shocked too. A beautiful woman skilled with horses and she shoes someone as pathetic as the tanner. What a waste.
"Your husband represents everything that is wrong with the Mashashony. The gods this, the spirits that, the People, the People, the People. Does he truly believe we are the only race of beings on Circadia? Who wrote my books? Where did the metal come from to forge his knife? Who do the drovers sell our horses to? How can any man be so self-deluded?"
He looked at her face, pallid and chalky from the illness, not the robust copper of a healthy Mashashony woman. He sneered at her.
"You enabled him, Jaci. All those years driving the horses, you must have seen some evidence of others. You knew and you hid it from him. You allowed him to be a fool."
Kaneonuskatew picked up her arm and placed it over his special bowl with a piece missing. He took a knife and pierced the vein at her left elbow. He massaged her upper arm until the blood flowed smoothly from the wound.
"You do not have evil spirits in your blood. It is your ignorance that is killing you."
He picked up her other arm and placed a second special bowl beneath it as well. He pierced the vein and massaged the arm. Blood drained from both appendages, filling the blows. Jaci shuddered and sighed deeply but did not open her eyes. Kaneonuskatew stood above her, running his thumbs down the length of her biceps.
"I hate your husband. And I hate you."
The bowls filled to their edges, but Kaneonuskatew did not stop. He let them overflow, taking a perverse pleasure in it. He closed his eyes and felt the throbbing of her pulse in her muscle grow weaker until he could not feel it at all.
He opened his eyes and looked at the bowls, both overfilled. It took a moment before he heard the bell ringing. The apothecary was confused at first but then he smelled the smoke. Nanu the eagle-eyed boy was sounding the alarm.
Faceless!
Kaneonuskatew ran from the bedroom, looking for Imsikwatash's spear. He found it mounted on two pegs on the wall, leather straps hanging from it to dry.
Of course, he thought. He grabbed the spear-one of the few in the village following the previous day's burning-and headed for the door. Half-way across the room, the door burst open. The hinges ripped from the frame. A man clothed head-to-toe in red robes filled the entrance. His face was covered by a sheer red mask. He had no eyes, no mouth. He was faceless. He brandished a curved sword.
Kaneonuskatew lunged forward with the spear. The raider caught the shaft and struck the apothecary's hand with the pommel of his blade. Kaneonuskatew screamed and dropped the spear. The sword cut across his chest. He fell back, landing seated on the floor. A sharp bolt shot up his spine and he briefly wondered if he had broken his back. Then his chest opened up like a fish's gill, and the blood spilled down the front of him.
"Please, you can have whatever you want," he begged. "Take it all."
The Faceless did not speak. He stepped forward, brought his sword down into Kaneonuskatew's neck, then kicked the body loose. He walked into the bedroom but did not linger. The woman there was already dead.
"Hokolesqua did not like my proposal, Kaneonuskatew said. "He felt that Quanah's mare had been ill before your husband traveled to the Forevergreen so the demon birth we witnessed could not be his fault. Tumecsah was much easier to convince." Kaneonuskatew smiled. "The root exploding at that exact moment was an irrefutable sign. Clearly your husband brought evil back with him from the forest."
Kaneonuskatew sat a chair next to Jaci's bed, and continued speaking to her as if she were awake. Quite the opposite. Her eyes were closed, and she breathed shallowly. Still, Kaneonuskatew was animated in his speech, lifting his arms and waving his hands.
"I don't care if your husband was the cause or not. I have prayed for such an opportunity for years, and it finally arrived." He turned the chair to face the bed. "I hate your husband, you see. I sent him to the Forevergreen with the expectation that he would never return. He did, much to my surprise, so I have sent him to the edge of the world, and he will die in the endeavor."
He looked at her. The tanner had combed her hair and straightened her clothes before he left. Although older, Kaneonuskatew could still see her beauty. He had heard stories of the village's shock when she chose Imsikwatash to be her husband. He was shocked too. A beautiful woman skilled with horses and she shoes someone as pathetic as the tanner. What a waste.
"Your husband represents everything that is wrong with the Mashashony. The gods this, the spirits that, the People, the People, the People. Does he truly believe we are the only race of beings on Circadia? Who wrote my books? Where did the metal come from to forge his knife? Who do the drovers sell our horses to? How can any man be so self-deluded?"
He looked at her face, pallid and chalky from the illness, not the robust copper of a healthy Mashashony woman. He sneered at her.
"You enabled him, Jaci. All those years driving the horses, you must have seen some evidence of others. You knew and you hid it from him. You allowed him to be a fool."
Kaneonuskatew picked up her arm and placed it over his special bowl with a piece missing. He took a knife and pierced the vein at her left elbow. He massaged her upper arm until the blood flowed smoothly from the wound.
"You do not have evil spirits in your blood. It is your ignorance that is killing you."
He picked up her other arm and placed a second special bowl beneath it as well. He pierced the vein and massaged the arm. Blood drained from both appendages, filling the blows. Jaci shuddered and sighed deeply but did not open her eyes. Kaneonuskatew stood above her, running his thumbs down the length of her biceps.
"I hate your husband. And I hate you."
The bowls filled to their edges, but Kaneonuskatew did not stop. He let them overflow, taking a perverse pleasure in it. He closed his eyes and felt the throbbing of her pulse in her muscle grow weaker until he could not feel it at all.
He opened his eyes and looked at the bowls, both overfilled. It took a moment before he heard the bell ringing. The apothecary was confused at first but then he smelled the smoke. Nanu the eagle-eyed boy was sounding the alarm.
Faceless!
Kaneonuskatew ran from the bedroom, looking for Imsikwatash's spear. He found it mounted on two pegs on the wall, leather straps hanging from it to dry.
Of course, he thought. He grabbed the spear-one of the few in the village following the previous day's burning-and headed for the door. Half-way across the room, the door burst open. The hinges ripped from the frame. A man clothed head-to-toe in red robes filled the entrance. His face was covered by a sheer red mask. He had no eyes, no mouth. He was faceless. He brandished a curved sword.
Kaneonuskatew lunged forward with the spear. The raider caught the shaft and struck the apothecary's hand with the pommel of his blade. Kaneonuskatew screamed and dropped the spear. The sword cut across his chest. He fell back, landing seated on the floor. A sharp bolt shot up his spine and he briefly wondered if he had broken his back. Then his chest opened up like a fish's gill, and the blood spilled down the front of him.
"Please, you can have whatever you want," he begged. "Take it all."
The Faceless did not speak. He stepped forward, brought his sword down into Kaneonuskatew's neck, then kicked the body loose. He walked into the bedroom but did not linger. The woman there was already dead.