Grantville Gazette XIII by Eric Flint

Author:Eric Flint [Flint, Eric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science fiction; American, Fantasy, Seventeenth century, Space Opera, Alternative histories (Fiction); American, General, Science Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy fiction; American, Fiction, Short Stories
Published: 2011-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

- Chapter 10

When he got to the forge, he found Thomas stirring the coals with his back to the two Bavarians,

pointedly ignoring them.

"So," Thomas said, turning abruptly. The look on his face was grim. "After Magdeburg, where did you

go?"

"South to Halberstadt," Karl said, "We stuck it to the Jews there, then followed Father Tilly to Eisleben."

Yossie froze.

"Thale?" Thomas said. "Did you go through Thale?"

"I don't remember the names of the places we visited. Why do you care?"

"Because I come from Thale," Thomas barked. "I lived my whole life there, my smithy was there, until

your accursed army drove me out."

Yossie hardly heard a word after the words "we stuck it to the Jews." Karl had said it in passing, as if it

had hardly been important. Yossie knew Jews from Halberstadt. Two families had arrived in Hanau's

Jewish quarter a decade earlier, bringing stories of mob violence to rival the horrors Yossie had survived

as a small child in Frankfurt.

Yossie wanted to confront the Bavarian, but for a Jew to confront a Christian was to invite disaster. Just

the day before, Yossie and Rabbi Yakov had spoken at length about whether it was time to tell people that

they were Jews. The Americans of Grantville were proud that they didn't ask about a man's religion.

Yossie and his companions hadn't set out to live like Spanish Marranos, hiding their Jewishness in fear of

the Christian world. That is what they were becoming, and they didn't like it.

They were fairly certain that it was safe to tell the Adduccis that they were Jews. Shortly before the two

Bavarians had arrived, Yossie had even begun to think that it might be safe to tell Thomas. Now though,

the arrival of the Bavarians made it clear that there was no safety.

While Yossie's recovered his composure, Thomas was losing his.

"Why d'you care 'bout this place, this Magdala?" Karl asked.

"Because I was there!" Thomas choked out. "For a month, I thought I'd found a new home on the road

between Jena and Weimar, and then your damned foragers burned me out."

"I was just a pikeman!" Karl said. "Not a general."

Thomas grabbed Karl by the throat and shoved him hard against the chimney of the forge. "It was

pikemen like you that killed my daughter!"

"Stop," Yossie shouted. "Karl didn't kill your daughter."

"No," Thomas said, slowly loosening his grip. As he let go and backed away, he looked almost as beaten

as Karl.

Yossie found that he was shaking. As he offered a hand to Karl, he wondered what had come over him.

From childhood, he'd been taught not to interfere in disputes between Christians, and he was fairly certain

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