Sinner by Mark Teppo

Author:Mark Teppo [Teppo, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781469219295
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2012-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

IRA

The door leading to the back room opened suddenly, bumping the man who was standing in front of it. Andreas, who had been shaking his head slowly as Raphael ended his narrative, grabbed his sword and leaped to his feet.

“No,” Raphael admonished. “Wait.”

Andreas ignored him, striding across the common room. The man at the door stepped forward, drawing the long knife from his belt, and Raphael caught sight of the other guard drawing his own sword as he crossed the common room toward Andreas.

The situation, already fraught with tension, was going to erupt in violence.

The inquisitor stepped out of the back room and stopped at the sight of the approaching Shield-Brethren. He stared at Andreas coolly, no hint of panic on his flat face. The guard who had been standing at the door raised his knife in a defensive position and readied himself for Andreas’s attack.

Andreas’s hand tightened on his sword, and though he kept it at his side, Raphael knew the guard was an excellent choice, both offensively and defensively. Andreas might look like he was not ready to fight, but such lassitude was merely an illusion.

The inquisitor’s gaze flickered from Andreas to Raphael and back. “I thought I made myself abundantly clear,” he said, his voice cold and authoritative.

“You did,” Raphael said as he stood from the table. “We were just leaving.”

The inquisitor raised an eyebrow but did not move otherwise. For all his bluster, he knew not to provoke the young man standing before him.

“Brother Andreas,” Raphael said. “We are leaving.”

The second man had paused halfway across the room, his sword drawn but not yet raised aggressively. Raphael measured the distance between them as well as the obstacle presented by the table and the distance between the man and Andreas. He would not be able to stop the man from attacking Andreas from behind, but he would be able to warn the Shield-Brother with a word.

Andreas stepped back and turned so that he could see both men and the priest. His grip did not lessen on his sword as he split his attention between both men, waiting for them to put their weapons away. The priest made a noise with his tongue and put his hand on the arm of the knife-wielder next to him.

The other swordsman lowered his weapon.

Andreas, his weapon still held at his side, walked slowly past the second man, his eyes never leaving the other’s face. Watching for some change of heart, some flicker of aggression.

“I have rendered a judgment,” the inquisitor said.

Andreas froze, not quite past the second man, and Raphael slowly shook his head in dismay.

“She is an unrepentant heretic,” the inquisitor continued, a grim smile tugging at his lips. “I tried to help her back to God, but she refused. She has tasted the blood of the Devil and she does not wish to return to God’s embrace.” He made the sign of the cross. “I have given her to the secular authorities—what little exists in this speck of a village—and they have declared that she will be burned at the stake.

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