The Black Horseman

            Gwynn was no longer crying. Gwaynn tried to lift his head and was surprised when he succeeded. Pain shot through his neck and shoulders, and he gave an involuntary whimper. He looked over at his sister and mother; both hung limply, heads down, their loose hair hiding their faces. Gwaynn painfully glanced around the courtyard. It was not very large, with the keep and main quarters running along the western side, the stables to the south, and the main gate along the eastern wall. At the moment there were only three Zani near the gate. He wondered vaguely where all the other soldiers had gone, and a ray of hope went through him that perhaps his father and older brothers were not dead, as was reported, but were in fact leading an army back to rescue them all. Hope fled as he watched the soldiers come to attention as a man rode through the gate. He was dark, dressed all in black and he rode upon a black horse. Gwaynn shivered. The dark man was followed by two additional riders, also wearing black and finally by two very large black dogs. At first Gwaynn did not understand, and then he heard his mother begin to cry.

            As the man rode closer, Gwaynn could see that his pants and cape were trimmed in red, and at last he understood. This man was an Executioner from the Temple Islands. This man was death; this man was the Black Horseman. Despite his growing fear, Gwaynn studied him closely as he rode slowly around them and over to the stables, once there he dismounted. His companions followed him and likewise dropped from their horses. Gwaynn watched them from the corner of his eye, unable to turn his head farther without a great deal of pain. One of the men took the reins from the Executioner and led all of the horses into the stables. The other man leaned against one of the wooden posts supporting the roof, and watched as the man from the Temple Islands walked slowly toward the scaffolding, the dogs following eagerly behind him.

            The man moved without hurry, around to the front of what was left of the Massi royal family. He glanced only briefly at Gwaynn, his eyes lingering for a long time on Gwynn before they finally moved to his mother.

“My name is Tar Navarra,” he said just above a whisper, and Gwaynn could hear the pride in it. “Are you the Lady Marie Addent Massi?”

Gwaynn’s mother said nothing, but the Executioner seemed unconcerned.

            “Are you the Lady Marie Addent Massi?” he asked again. But again, no one answered. The man’s eyes went back to Gwynn, moving slowly along the soft lines of her body. Gwaynn saw that his sister was now awake and watching everything intently, but she made no move or sound, like a rabbit stilled by the gaze of a wolf. The Executioner threw back the right side of his riding cape and slowly drew a single kali from its scabbard. In all, the weapon was perhaps three and a half feet in length and about three inches in width at the base. It was tapered to a point that looked needle sharp. The kali was the primary weapon of the Temple Islands and was almost always used in pairs. Even now, some debated whether the weapon was a long knife or a short sword but such conjecture did not cross the minds of any of the people hanging before the Executioner.

            Gwynn’s breathing became loud and shallow as Tar Navarra’s eyes found hers for a moment before mercifully moving back to her mother’s.

            “Are you the Lady Marie Addent Massi?” he asked for the final time.

            Still Gwaynn’s mother said nothing.

            “Yes…yes, she is the Lady Marie Addent Massi,” Gwynn blurted, hoping that the fact that they were royalty made all of this a mistake somehow. “I’m her daughter, the Lady Gwynn, and this is Gwaynn, my brother.”

            Gwaynn stared at his sister, amazed at her courage, but he still felt in his heart that it would do no good. This man planned to kill them all.