Page 29 of The Executioners Three
The Hangsman is rising.
Next are the crows
To block out the sun.
Then twice rings the bell,
To warn everyone.
The Headsman is coming.
Third comes the ice
Wreckt upon the stones.
Thrice rings the bell.
No chance to atone.
The Disemboweler is hunting.
Last is the heat,
A sign it’s too late.
No bells are rung
When the Three leave the gate.
The Oathmaster is waiting.
Freddie read the poem three times, her eyes lingering on the parts about bells ringing and crows blocking out the sun…
And of course, the part about a hangsman.
With cool detachment she would later be proud of, Freddie set the book on the shelf. “Hey, Div?” She dipped her head out of the aisle. “Can I borrow some paper?”
“Uh, sure.” Divya frowned but did tear a sheet of notebook paper from her binder. “Did you find something about the murder?”
“Maybe.” Freddie hurried toward her.
“For real?”
“Maybe,” Freddie repeated. She obviously didn’t think anything in this poem wasreal,but she couldn’t deny the similarities between what she’d just read and what had been happening in recent days.
She wanted to ask Kyle if this was the poem he’d seen as a boy.
And she wanted to ask her mom if she knew that this book and its poem were in here. After all, Mom had been the driving force behind the archives. She had built the keyword system that had led Freddie to this poem. So surely that meant Mom at least knew something about this book and where it had come from.
Yet as Freddie twisted to return to the poem so she could copy it down, Divya said, “Hey, do you smell that? It’s like the school dumpster after Taco Tuesday.”
The hairs on Freddie’s neck stood tall. She inhaled, deep and full. Nothing. Nothing.
Then the scent hit her nose. An awful, revolting scent like rotten meat left for days in the sun. Andexactlylike she’d smelled in recent days.
Before Freddie could reply that oh yes, she smelled it, the lights flickered and snapped off.
Divya yelped. Freddie fumbled over to her friend in the dark. She found Divya right as Divya found her.
