The Spells of Paradise

Chapter 36: The Sin of Corruption

Chapter 36: The Sin of Corruption 

Bertha felt herself being thrown like a limp sack into the Magistrate's study. She landed on the floor with a crashing thud and gasped out in pain, tasting blood in her mouth.

"Get up," the Magistrate growled.

Bertha coughed and struggled to breathe. Her mind was whirling, still in the clutches of utter shock.

What was happening?

"Get up, damn you!" The Magistrate growled. He was keeping his voice down, but there was still conviction enough to scare her.

Bertha thought he would kick her while she was down. She felt the stickiness of the blood seeping from the cut on her neck. It wasn't deep, but it wasn't shallow either. She quite literally feared for her own life.

"You tried to double cross me?" He snarled. "I am the Magistrate! You are nothing, do you hear me? The sister of a criminal, a lowlife? You would be penniless without me! Destitute!"

She spat out some blood.

"Get up!"

Bertha struggled to her feet and shook her hair out of her face. She glared at the Magistrate, but managed to force out a smile.

"So," she crossed her arms under her breasts. "I finally got under your skin."

The Magistrate clenched his jaw and lifted the knife. "You will pay for what you've done."

"It's rather hilarious that it took you this long to figure it all out," Bertha scoffed. "Trust me, I am not on Lucy Quincy's side, Magistrate. I go with the highest bidder, the man who takes the initiative. You were slow to the race, so you lost."

"You would so easy provoke the man who is standing with a knife?" The Magistrate asked. "In my line of work, Ms. Denning, that gets a person killed quite brutally."

"Oh, kill me if you wish!" Bertha scoffed, placing a hand over her cut. "You're halfway there, are you not? But what would that gain you, sir? I go missing, and people will ask questions. You think I am no one? Think again. Men of means are using me to spy on you. If you kill me, they will know."

The Magistrate did not lower the knife. "I know you were behind James Boatwright leaving. Where did he go?"

Bertha smiled and said nothing.

"Make no mistake, I will have you eliminated in ways that will never be traced back to me," the Magistrate advanced on her. "Talk."

Bertha looked him right in the eyes. "No."

"How dare—"

"You are no man," she said, shaking her head. "If you were, you would put that knife down, and admit your mistake. You want to sabotage someone, you have to be patient, and accept that it won't happen simply because you snap your fingers. A real man waits. A real man plans."

The Magistrate said nothing to that.

"You have a choice now," Bertha continued. "If you want to kill me, do it. If you decide otherwise, stand aside so I can go to my room, it has been a very long day."

"A long day for a woman who does not know where her loyalties lie," he thundered. "How can I let you off free when I know you're betraying me?"

Bertha cocked her head to one side and studied the Magistrate from head to toe. "I see my actions have hurt you," she approached him slowly.

The Magistrate did not lower the knife. "I should have you arrested."

"For what, Magistrate?" Bertha asked. "As far as the law knows, I have done nothing wrong. And I doubt you will want to reveal your corruption by justifying my arrest. Really, I am innocent in all of this. I just wanted to avenge my brother, and I did. Now, I am reaping the benefits, there is no legal crime in that, is there? Only a moral one, and I couldn't care less about saving my soul," she reached forward to stroke his face. "Lower the knife, let's talk."