East of Ashes (17 page)

With his mind and spirit at ease, Joash lay down on his side on the little straw that was provided for bedding and promptly fell asleep.

-------

Kenan, magistrate of Avignon, considered himself a fair and honest man. In his line of work, the former was a necessity to see justice done, but justice was not always a matter that received extensive attention in these times.

More often than not, power games and expedience interfered with justice. Still, he tried to make sure that every accused man under his watch received fair treatment and that when he was required to look the other way when sentences were passed, he had done all he could to ensure it wasn't too far off the mark.

But something about the man brought to the dungeons a fortnight ago bothered him. Kenan prided himself on being an excellent judge of character and this prisoner simply didn't strike him as someone who could commit cold-blooded murder.

Yes, behind his clearly gentle nature there lurked a steeliness that could be called upon when needed, but most likely only when defending others as was evidently the case during the fight at the inn in Arles. But to go to a man's room in the dark of night - after having protected him earlier - and not only slit his throat, but stab him 43 times? And
only
because
he
ha
dn't agree
d
with his politics?

Kenan found that very hard to believe.

The man sitting opposite him, however, was a very different story.

He was good looking, with stabbing eyes and a dangerous atmosphere about him. Looking at his lop-sided grin, Kenan had no trouble imagining him capable of such brutality.

But by the look of things, he also had the pope's ear - which in these times was becoming a more powerful weapon with each passing day. It hadn't always been like that, but since the start of the Crusade, the pope's political influence had been growing tremendously. Kenan feared where that would lead them all to.

Gedi - as he had introduced himself earlier - had arrived in Avignon two days before Joash was arrested. He had presented Kenan with the dagger believed to be the murder weapon and informed him that only three other guests had stayed at the inn in Arles the night of the attack and of Lord Gaal's murder. And that all three of them were gone the next morning.

More importantly, however, he knew who the dagger belonged to.

According to Lord Gaal's surviving bodyguard, Joash had the dagger tucked into his belt when they
had
arrived at the inn, so it was a clear assumption that he was also the owner - a fact that Joash admitted to upon questioning.

Of course, he allege
d
to have lost the
dagger
sometime before the attack, saying that when he
had
needed it during the fight, it
had
no longer
been
in his belt. The magistrate had to admit it was a very convenient story - too convenient - and would have dismissed it outright. Most soldiers
he
knew would be acutely aware of it when one of their weapons went missing.

The trouble was, he couldn't shake the feeling that somehow Joash's story was true.

Gaal's bodyguard sa
id
he had left the inn on Lord Gaal's instruction shortly after the attack to go look for reinforcements. He had objected to leaving his liege unprotected at the inn, but clearly Gaal had considered himself safe in the same building as Joash and his companions, following their protection during the attack.

Upon the bodyguard's return with a garrison of soldiers the next morning, however, they
had
found Lord Gaal's butchered body in his quarters. On the floor in the corner of the room the murder weapon
had
la
in
discarded, covered in blood.

Upon inspection the bodyguard quickly discovered that Joash and his two companions were nowhere to be found.

Watching Kenan's face, Gedi had no difficulty in guessing his thoughts. It would be best to remind the magistrate of where his allegiances ought to be.

"As I said, the pope expresses his deepest gratitude for your assistance in apprehending the murderer of one of his most trusted emissaries. He asked me to ensure you that he would not forget your loyalty," he said evenly, carefully watching Kenan's response.

Fully aware that he was being scrutinised, Kenan sought to deflect the attention away from his doubts: "And you say the pope wishes to attend the hearing in person?" he asked.

"Most definitely. I received word just last night that he should be able to come to Avignon in August."

"August? And what am I to do with the prisoner for the next eight months?" Kenan asked surprised.

"Keep him locked up in the dungeons," Gedi replied, "But make sure he's still alive in August. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how upset the pope will be if he arrived in Avignon only to find that the man responsible for a close friend's murder is no longer available to stand trial for his crimes," he added softly.

Kenan swallowed involuntarily at the thinly veiled threat. Matters were clearly beyond his control. It would be prudent to have it decided by a higher authority.

"As you wish," he answered, but then decided to risk a question: "Forgive me for asking, but do you know what happened to Joash's other companion? The man known as Lamech?"

Gedi was irritated by Kenan's presumptuous question, but decided to answer him. In his experience, it was often more effective to follow up the stick with a bone.

"Our sources tell us he has joined with the Crusaders and has reached Antioch."

"And you are certain he didn't have anything to do with the murder?"

Now Gedi was getting angry: "He is fighting a holy cause! It is blasphemous to suggest he had anything to do with this devilish act," he said dismissively.

Kenan nodded his head in assent. What information he had been able to gather about Lamech made him think it more likely that he would be involved than Joash, but he ha
d
already pushed too hard.

He sighed.
It
was
Joash's knife after all
.

-------

--- Avignon, April 1098 ---

Sitting on the banks of the river, Leala was engaged in a desperate act - the only remaining thing she could do: writing a letter.

In the three months since Joash
had been
arrested on the ridiculous charge of murdering Gaal, Leala had exhausted every avenue she could think of to get him acquitted but to no avail. Everyone was waiting for the pope to arrive in August.

In the meantime, Joash was locked up in that dungeon. At least they were feeding him relatively well.
No point in executing a corpse
, she thought cynically.

She had cried until her tears
had
r
u
n dry; wrestled with God until she had no more words to formulate a prayer. At times she felt like she was screaming into the wind, her words blown to shreds before they were even uttered. And all the while that still small voice in her spirit was reminding her of the words of Isaiah:

"When Your judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."

She didn't understand what it meant, but somehow the words brought immense comfort when doubt wanted to destroy her faith. All her life she had served the Lord with all her heart and she had believed He had blessed her with only good things - and kept harm away from her - because of her faithfulness.

And then the inn
had been
attacked on that terrible night. It
had been
hard to deal with it at first, but she had managed to fight her way through it. But now one of her pillars had been removed, forcing her to face a reality beyond anything she had ever experienced before.

Not even her cousin
had been
able to give much comfort. Leala had hoped that she would be able to shed some light on what had happened that night, but she
ha
dn't ha
d
much information to add. After the attack Gaal went to his room - and in the morning his bodyguard
had
found him dead.

And Lamech was gone. Which
wa
s why she was writing a letter to him now.

The thought had come to her the previous night while she was praying. She had been pleading with the Lord for help when the thought suddenly just came to her.

It was a desperate move, but she couldn't resist the overwhelming compulsion to write to him, though she didn't put much trust in him. It wasn't that she
had
suspected him of wrongdoing, but him joining the Crusade
left her
incredulous. She prayed to
the Lord to forgive her for thinking so poorly of him, but she just couldn't believe that his motivation was pious.

Whatever his reasons for joining the Crusade, she was sending this letter to him at the Crusader camp near Antioch, hoping that he might have seen something before he left. If he was still alive, she prayed that he would receive the letter.

What he did with it, however, was entirely up to him - and God.

CHAPTER 10

--- Antioch, May 1098 ---

--- Lamech ---

Lamech moved his arm slowly, testing it to see at which point the pain flared up. With each passing week he
had
managed to get more out of it as it healed slowly. Fortunately it was a clean break and it mended without leaving him crippled - thanks to Othniel.

When the Caracen army
had
arrived in February to reinforce the garrison of Antioch, he had to sit out the ensuing battle. Othniel threatened to cut off his arm himself if he didn't let it mend first. Truth be told, in his state, he probably wouldn't have been able to help much.