All rights reserved by the author, and unauthorized
duplication is prohibited.
The Scapegoat
Kdis bared his teeth at the clockwork mongrel that ran
across his path. It was an inauspicious start to the day, and he spat to chase
off the bad luck.
It was bad enough that Kdis had to play escort to Tehs
today. Tehs was round-bellied, ruddy skin greased with an unguent that was
rumored to be made from the rendered bodies of the dead. The rumor was false,
but persisted. Tehs also had a taste for boys, and although Kdis was no longer
a sprog, he had seen Tehs look more than once in his direction.
Tehs was waiting, of course, leering at Kdis as he
crossed the Plaza of Justice. The House of the Carnifex was black stone, and
the dais out front was rusty with the blood that had spilled across it over the
years. The block was nightwood, as black as the stone, even where the axe had
chipped away at it. Tehs was fondling the wood, beady eyes dark with things
Kdis did not care to name.
"Hello, pretty." Tehs slurred his words, and
Kdis tried not to sigh aloud. Tehs had chewed karrak again. Dangerous, given
what Tehs knew, and what Kdis was.
"Lord Carnifex." Kdis kept his voice flat,
refusing to be baited into reaction. He checked the timekeeper on his belt, the
gears whirring quietly as the sun disc moved around the dial. "Is a
conveyance desired?"
"You make it sound so interesting, pretty."
Tehs tittered, and Kdis struggled not to bare his teeth. The last time, Tehs
had insisted Kdis pull the cabriolet, instead of the clockwork dray. Tehs had
not spared the crop, and the smell of Kdis' own blood had been maddening. Kdis
had been hard pressed not to turn and take the crop from Tehs, and bury it in
the creature's ass. Kdis was an assassin, after all.
"But no," Tehs continued. "We do not have
far to go." Kdis watched Tehs stroke the brass horns he had gotten
implanted in his forehead.
"Where does the Lord Carnifex need to go?" Kdis
did his best not to breathe in, but despite his best efforts, his nose wrinkled
as he caught a whiff of something rancid. Did the man not bathe?
"Lead us to the Square of Scholars," Tehs said,
his voice just a shade too high to be truly imperious. The only royal thing
about Tehs was the cancriform symbol of the Seaborn that he was permitted to
wear, as the Crown's own executioner.
Kdis nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He could feel
the beady eyes as Tehs walked behind him, surprisingly light-footed for such a
robust beast. The skin between Kdis' shoulders itched from the weight of that
look.
When they arrived at the Square, the Seaborn Crown had
assembled in all their majesty. Tehs' step faltered, and Kdis heard the fat
man's breath hitch at the sight.
The Father stood, the intricate mask he wore rendering
him remote and unknowable.
"Carnifex, you have failed the Crown." The
Father's voice was amplified, ringing off the buildings that surrounded the
Square. Not Lord, not any longer. Tehs was finished, and Kdis would be free.
"Most Sublime, how have I done so?" Tehs was
sweating in earnest now, and Kdis longed for a breeze to clear his nostrils.
"Do you know this sprog?" The Father stepped
aside, and one of the Crown stepped forward, masked as was custom. Kdis felt
himself shiver when he saw the slight limp.
"Most Sublime, when would I have been permitted to
gaze upon glory?" Tehs' voice wavered, and Kdis knew the beast had
recognized the youth.
The Father's voice was loud enough to make Kdis' ears
ache. "This offspring of our own blood was sent forth, unmasked and
unknown, to learn of the world. By what name did you call him?"
Tehs did not answer, and Kdis smelled the acrid tang of
the man's urine as he pissed himself in fear.
"Blossom." The masked youth spoke clearly, and
in the silence, his voice echoed. "So you called me, as you pulled off the
petals of my clothes. Your tongue tasted the nectar of my rosebud, and you filled
me with your pollen. Pretty words spoken to hide ugly deeds."
"Most Sublime, it is not so," Tehs protested.
"Who can attest to this?"
Kdis stepped forward, baring his teeth in triumph as he
lifted the patch that covered his clockwork eye. "I watched you, monster.
I saw you rip the clothes from him, and I saw you bury your pathetic cock in
his innocent ass. I heard his screams, as you took him. You laughed at him when
you were done, and dared him to tell anyone what had transpired."
Kdis pressed the palm of his gauntlet, the blades
springing free. It was not the Father he looked to, though. When the masked youth
nodded, Kdis buried the blades in Tehs' heart, twisting them savagely. "I
am not your pretty, and he is not your blossom."
***
The unmasked youth reached for Kdis' arm, looking at the
blood that had spattered above the gauntlet. Kdis shivered as the hot tongue
dragged across his skin. "You were magnificent. No one's killed for me
before. Will you stay by my side now?"
"Always, Majesty." Kdis looked down at the eight-legged
crest of the Seaborn, golden against his skin. It was all he wore.
"If you're going to be my acknowledged lover, you
can at least use my name." The youth twisted to look at Kdis, laughter in
his voice. "Say it for me. The world won't end."
"Won't it?" Kdis looked at this highborn youth
who had wanted him, no matter the consequences. Had he ever had a choice? Tehs
had been a convenient scapegoat for innocence abandoned, and freedom was
ultimately an illusion. The assassin smiled at his Seaborn master, his heart's
desire. "How can I refuse you, sweet Saipio?"
The youth pulled a willing Kdis closer. "That's better,
my pretty. Much better."
(For anyone who cares, the prompt words were: cabriolet, cancriform, and carnifex.)
No comments:
Post a Comment