Page 43 of Sins of the Stone

A whisper went through the remaining citizens, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying over the roar of blood pulsing in her ears. A torch was lit, being held by a man beside the gallows. The noose was around her neck. Ifthis wasn’t finality, she wasn’t sure what was.

Omar turned to Ramuz, still atop the gallows, looking down at him with an expressionless face. Like he was prepared to smite two living creatures. Like he thrived on it.

“For the crime of forbidden relations, defined as a romantic relationship or intercourse between humans and monsters, and contributing to the destruction of our village, you, creature, have been sentenced to burn until you are dead.” Once again, the crowd exchanged mutters and concerned glances. Ursulette wasn’t sure they wanted to see a woman hung until death or a living being burned alive, but none of them protested.

They were complacent, just like she once was. Now look where that got her. A noose was around her neck, and the most precious being she had ever met was a breath away from being set alight. When she looked back at Giles, she noticed him wipe a tear away.

Omar glanced at the man holding the burning torch in front of Ramuz, pointing to him. “Light the fire,” he commanded. “Burn it.” The man’s shoulders drooped. Of course, this was not an everyday spectacle. Living creatures were going to die. Ursulette only hoped that someone would stop this madness before the fire connected with the logs. Still, the man hesitated. It was unnatural to crave needless death, especially when they already witnessed countless tragedies.

“Are you that much of a coward that you will not scorch a creature that caused our destruction?” Omar asked.

“But, Giles said—”

“Giles has not kept you alive this long, has he?” he snarled. “He cannot lead and tend to the wounded, no? I have contributed to your survival.Ilead you. Therefore, you must bend to my will. Burn him, or I will burn you.” The man’s eyes widened as he glanced at Giles before tossing the torch onto the fire. The flames began to crackle in an instant, gobbling up the logs and popping with anger.

“No!” A scream ripped through Ursulette’s throat as she watched the blaze increase in ferocity, consuming the pile of logs below Ramuz. She continued to sob as Omar approached her, his eyes cold. There was no soul behindthem. Nothing.

“You still have one more chance to prove yourself not to be a sinner,” he said, grabbing her chin and forcing her tear-filled eyes to look into his. She grit her teeth, feeling the urge to lash out.

“Never!” she snapped. “I would rather die.”

“Is that your wish?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will grant it.” He released her from his domineering grasp and turned to the man beside the lever. “Kill her,” he ordered. The man gave him another cautious glance, surely not wanting to end up injured like Giles. Or worse, at the wicked end of his wrath.

“Have you done this before?” the man asked. Omar’s scowl said it all, and Ursulette knew precisely why he was asking.

The body resisted death, and if executed poorly, she could strangle instead of having her neck snapped. Or worse, she could be decapitated and have her blood rain down upon all the people too scared to speak up. She knew they did not want this. They all witnessed carnage and destruction before. This was just another layer of unnecessary violence.

“No, I have not,” Omar said. “It can’t be that hard to kill a whore.”

“The rope length must be right, or she will suffer.”

“Then let her suffer! She has crushed me and rejected me. I do not care if she is tortured, burned, or flayed,” he roared. “Get rid of her!” The fire was still crackling, destructive as ever. It slowly approached Ramuz, licking at his feet as his eyes pinched shut, hoping to avoid his burning hot doom. Her heart leaped to her throat for perhaps the final time, knowing this was the end.

She looked to the crowd again, hoping to see Giles one last time before she perished. She hoped her expression would say all that would need to be said before she entered the afterlife. Her heart shattered as she saw that he was not in his place among them. He probably couldn’t bear to watch. There would be no goodbyes. That was just one final confirmation from the universe that all hope was lost.

“Now!” Omar said.

“She shouldn’t suffer, Omar. That’s cruel.”

“I will do it myself then!” he snapped, racing over and pulling the lever. Her heart skipped as the floor fell out from beneath her. The only thing keeping her upright was the noose strangling her. The man was right. This was suffering.

She could feel the pressure of the rope stopping the breath from reaching her lungs. The veins in her face popped with hues of purple and red as her neck strained against the pressure. Her tongue bulged from between her lips as she felt her eyes flutter shut. A warm tingling was racing through her body, undoubtedly caused by the sweet release of death.

Chapter 28

Ramuz

Ramuz watched in horror as Ursulette dangled from the end of the noose, her hands clawing at the fraying rope around her neck, to no avail. Her face was turning a sickening shade of purple as she attempted to stay awake, as the breath was stopped from entering her lungs.

Even though the fire was quickly approaching and sweat was dripping down his body, the pain was no match for the ache in his heart, watching helplessly as the woman he loved was suffocating before him. A tear spilled down his face, as he fought against the metal chains that held him to the post. But he had seen objects like these with the unnatural glow in the past, and knew it was fruitless.

The fire was angry, lapping at his feet as nature’s anger devoured the logs piled around him. Tragedy joined them, and it would separate them in the most gruesome way possible. Logs were popping as the fire grew, nipping at his legs as he grit his teeth, wishing this was all just a bad dream and we could wake up and feel his precious human beside him.

The flesh on his feet was sizzling, filling the air with the cruel stench of death. Uneven footsteps drew his attention, even over the roar of the fire. When he turned toward the disturbance, he saw Ursulette’s friend Giles shuffling over to the pile. His brow pinched with curiosity as the old man silently wandered around the back of the fire, stepping straight onto embers and suppressing a hiss of pain.

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