IGMS Issue 8 Read Online Free PDF

to the golem," he said. "Just one."
    But Braslava knew that wasn't true. A molech had an appetite. It would require many children. A multitude of roasted babies.
    Anja set her jaw in stubborn defiance and stepped back.
    The golem stirred.
    "Ah," said the
volhov
. "I was wondering how long it would take the shem to fully digest. Rise, golem. Stand before me."
    The golem stood. Something about the lines of its face had changed. This was not the pleasant and calm golem from before. This was something else -- ferocious, wise, angry? She could not tell.
    The
volhov
pointed at the golem's loins. "This holy thing was created to multiply and replenish the earth. Of course, it could not mate before, but my shem has now removed all such bindings. I shall have not only a molech, but I shall also have its progeny. A dozen children could route an army. Do you see? You will help me one way or the other."
    Anger flooded her. Men! Eve may have been duped to make a mistake, to take a little bite, but men, men could swallow great quantities of evil.
    The
volhov
stood. "I am going outside to fetch some water. You think."
    Braslava's face went slack with horror.
    Who could have predicted this? Who could have guessed that the golem, which she had fancied like a stupid girl, would turn into abomination?
    Even if she did not tell them who had recently given birth, the
volhov
would find them. He would go door to door like Pharaoh's men and demand his sacrifice. And the very first door he would thrust open would be Mislav's. That lovely baby boy would be his first sacrifice.
    She could not let it happen. But who could resist the power of this wizard?
    Would to God, she thought, we had an Elijah's fire, a Gideon's horn, an Abraham's ram.
    The thought rebounded back at her. It possessed her. An Abraham's ram. They needed an Abraham's ram. She looked up at the golem. Was it possible?
    Outside, one of the soldiers said, "This ram ought to make a fine dinner."
    The ram bleated.
    The golem's ram that had appeared in the moonlight to be whole, without blemish or spot.
    She pitched her voice low. "Anja," she said.
    Anja glanced at the soldier and stepped closer. The golem stood like a statue.
    Braslava whispered, "Take the mint gathered at the river. Take the ram. Get them to Mislav. Tell him we must have blood for the lintel and posts of this golem."
    Anja shook her head. "Mislav is not a Jew. He is not even a proper Christian."
    "He is a holy man," said Braslava. "Confused or heretic, he is all we have."
    Anja nodded. She stood taller, set her jaw, adjusted her tunic. The old general was back. She turned and walked out the door. Outside, a soldier commanded her to halt.
    "If we are going to sacrifice," she said in a loud voice. "We are going to do it right. You tell your master I shall bring the sacrifice within the hour."
    Braslava heard the door of the pen where the ram was kept open. She heard it shut. A man commanded two soldiers to go with her and Braslava feared -- would Anja be able to make the sacrifice?
    Shortly thereafter the
volhov
returned. "Golem," he said. "You may untie her."
    The golem moved behind Braslava. It undid the ropes that bound her.
    The
volhov
said, "You are wise to cooperate." He held a cooper's hammer in his hand. He pried off the lid. The shutters were still closed and the hut fairly dark, otherwise she didn't know if she would have seen that the contents of the barrel shone with a sickly green light.
    Braslava held her damaged hand to her chest. She rose from the chair, glanced up into the golem's face, and stepped over to look inside the barrel.
    The
volhov
ignored her, unrolling a leather bundle of odd iron tools on the table.
    Four eels, each as long as one of her legs, swam in the water, twisting their thick mud-colored bodies about each other. They had tiny, pig eyes. Their mouths hung open, showing their needle teeth. She could not tell if it was the pale belly of the eels or the water itself that glowed. The water stank