by John Booth
“That will do.”
Daniel had to half-carry Dirk, which was far from easy as he also had to carry the lantern. They reached the tunnel when they heard a terrible scream in the distance.
“Your woman?” Dirk gasped as Daniel helped him to sit down.
Daniel grinned. “The work of my woman, for sure. That cry is from a man.”
Dirk looked at Daniel dubiously. The screaming went on and on and seemed far too high pitched to be that of a man.
“I’ll leave you the lantern. I’ll be back soon.” Before Dirk could protest Daniel was gone.
Jalia sang jolly tavern songs. Unlike Daniel, she didn’t know all the words so she made them up as she went along. Jalia had never been noted for her singing voice.
“And the serving maid does like it up, like it up, like it up....”
Daniel broke in. “Are you trying to kill someone with that singing?”
“Can’t. I’ve already killed them.”
“If they were alive, I expect they’d be grateful they’re dead.”
A glow began around Daniel’s hand. Soon it was bright enough for him to find one of the lanterns and light it.
Jalia searched Mac’s body for her second knife and gave a cry of relief when she found it. She looked up from the floor to see Daniel giving her a most peculiar look. It seemed to be a mixture of admiration and horror.
“What?”
“Now that’s a nasty way to kill a man.”
For a second Jalia thought that Daniel was talking about Mac, but his eyes were elsewhere. She followed the direction of his gaze and began to giggle. Gran was squatting in front of them. But for his slumped head and limp arms Jalia might have thought him alive. His buttocks stopped less than a foot from the floor, impaled on the spear like stone. A pool of blood spread out in a perfect circle around him although there was no sign of a wound.
“It seems that Gran is not like a serving maid,” Jalia said. Daniel gave her a puzzled look.
“He didn’t like it up at all.”
The End
Jalia will return in Jalia at Bay
