Page 38 of Sins of the Stone

With that, Omar pinned the paper to the table with a dagger and then pulled her to the door. Once it was open, he shoved her through it, pushing her to the ground in front of a crowd of people. A group that she once lived among. She fell to the earth as a cloud of dirt plumed around her. One man with a milky eye looked up at her assailant.

“What’s going on?” he questioned. Omar pointed down at her as she pulled herself to her knees.

“She is unclean and must be punished for her sins,” he said, stepping down from the porch. A whisper flew through the crowd as Ursulette felt herthroat tighten.

“We will lure the monster back so he can be bound in chains and easier to manage,” he said. “It probably led the siege against our village. And she—” he pointed to Ursulette as she brought herself to her feet, “—has been fraternizing withit.”

“That’s not true!” she exclaimed. “We had nothing to do with it! We have just been living our lives—”

“The monster lover speaks only lies.” Omar cut her off. “Do not believe a word that comes out of her defiled mouth.” Ursulette clamped her jaw shut as tears welled in her eyes. Dread filled her body. Truly, this was a nightmare. The thing she feared most of all was finally coming true. No, not the return of the demons or the desolation of the village. It was her and Ramuz’s death at the hands of the people she once called her own.

* * *

Because of their slow pace, it took them a handful of days to return. Ursulette felt her body trembling with the weakness of starvation. She never realized how rotten hunger made you feel until she was drowning in it.

Finally, they approached the ruins of the village. She felt the memories of her first visit after the carnage creep up, and she bit down on her tongue to suppress tears. The image of the cradled child and mother was seared into her memory like a brand, puckering and scarring the inside of her eyes like a festering wound. And Omar was so cruelly ripping open the scab like the heartless monster he was. But Ursulette knew better than to assume he lacked a heart. His heart was the reason all of this was happening.

They passed the broken gargoyle statue before continuing on. She was disappointed to see that none of the corpses had been buried. They were still there, without a proper resting place and rotting in the warming sun. Her throat closed up again like another round of tears was coming as the thick stench of death clouded the air, along with a swarm of buzzing insects.She stepped over a charred, blackened body and suppressed a scream.

They finally reached the village’s center and stopped in front of the gallows, making Ursulette’s heart skip. She hoped that she would have a chance to talk them out of it, but she feared that they were more interested in seeing her swing from a rope than hearing the desperate pleas of someone Omar deemed a sinner.

A familiar tapping noise and uneven footsteps caught her attention as she pulled her head up, seeing Giles wobbling over hastily on his injured leg. His face held a concerned expression on it.

“Ursulette, what is going on?” he said with an ache in his voice. His furry brow was pinched as his eyes scanned the group. Ursulette opened her mouth to speak, but Omar cut her off before the words left her lips.

“She is associating with a creature in a sinful manner. It contributed to the destruction of our village. It’s best to let me handle this,” he said sternly. Giles looked at her, almost looking more hurt than anything. Knowing that he may have felt betrayed by her actions broke her heart. She hoped he did not believe Omar’s lies over her own words.

“Is this true, Ursulette? That he contributed to our demise?”

Her face burned. She was slightly grateful that he did not mention the sinning aspect. Even so, this was not a pleasant conversation, especially with the nooses swinging in the wind just over his shoulder, taunting her.

“That’s not true. I promise you that. I—”

“Do not listen to what she says, Giles,” he said. “You are naïve if you do. She had relations with it. That should tell you the nature of her character.” Omar stepped between them, his eyes dark, like his gaze would control everyone around him. It was only because he was the only one uninjured. If others were healthy, they could overthrow him.

“Ursulette…” Giles couldn’t seem to find the words to speak. She felt her misery flare into rage, thinking of how they had done nothing wrong. Despite that, the threat of death hung over their heads.

“That doesn’t matter! I swear to you, he saved me, and he had nothing to do with the siege.” Giles’ eyes were burning into hers, and she only hoped he would hear her heart. “He is only angry because of jealousy! Please believeme, Giles…”

Omar spun around, balling his fist and striking her in the face. Ursulette cried out and stumbled backward, unable to defend herself with her bound hands. A tear fell into the slice on her cheek and made it burn with her sadness.

“Shut up, whore!” Omar roared. Giles looked at him with a stern expression.

“I think this level of violence is unnecessary, Omar,” he said. Ursulette’s heart skipped as she saw Omar wrap his hand around the hilt of his sword and draw it from its sheath. She gasped as he held it out in front of him, pointing it directly at Giles.

“Do you hear her lying tongue? She does not speak the truth!” he snarled. “Perhaps I shall strike you down for aiding her.” Ursulette’s heart jumped again, and without thinking, she stepped between.

“Stop it!” she cried. “I don’t want all this trouble because of me. Just get it over with if you think you can.” In all honesty, she wasn’t sure Omar had the guts. How could he slaughter a helpless woman? It was just another layer added to his cowardice. But madness sometimes drove people to do rash things, like killing those perceived as sinners.

“No, not yet. Not until he realizes his human is missing and comes to rescue her,” he said, a sinister smile creeping across his face. “If you can atone for your sins, you will be spared.” Ursulette lowered her eyes at him.

“And my gargoyle? Will you spare him?”

“I wouldn’t even consider it.”

“I will not!” she snapped, feeling her anger bubbling again. Omar sheathed his sword, returning her steely expression.

“Fine, have it your way. Sit in jail and rot until we are ready to execute you.” Once again, the storm of emotion she was holding inside unleashed, and she felt her vision blur with anguish. She saw Giles watching in awe and horror when she attempted to wipe them away on her shoulder.

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