The Black Sentry Read Online Free PDF Page B

of his animals were killed.
    “The Prosecutor has found this man guilty of failing to pay tribute to the Sentinel . We all must give our Master the first and best part of the bounty. But Joseph Anton did not. He hid his wealth and evaded his duty.”
    “If I had given all that the Sentinel demanded,” Anton said, “my wife and daughters would have starved.”
    “The time of choosing is upon you, Joseph Anton,” the Acolyte boomed . “The Laws and Ways of the Sentinel permit no exceptions. What will it be—exile or execution?”
    As D aman knew too well, exile was even worse than transportation.  It meant total separation from this or any village, living alone with no access to food or protection from the Creepers and the Savages. Most villagers considered exile a coward’s way out, or a fool’s. Death was a certainty either way. The only difference was that execution would be quick, while the death resulting from exile might be protracted and painful.
    “Ex ecution,” Anton said.
    But what would happen to Anton’s children? They would be left without a provider. Their only hope was that his former wife would be assigned a new husband, but that seemed unlikely, since she was no longer of childbearing age.
    Anton was led to the center of the Arena . A canvas drape was placed over his head. “This is the Shroud of the Sentinel,” the Acolyte intoned. “From this day until the time of your execution, you are no longer a part of this community. You are no longer of the Sentinel.”
    How harsh that must be, Daman thought, to be irrevocably separated from everything you’ve ever known. Despite the fact that he had been told since birth of the wisdom of the Sentinel’s Laws and Ways—it didn’t seem right.
    He hated the feelings swel ling up in his heart—but he couldn’t make them go away. This wasn’t right. This simply wasn’t right.
    “So it is now and ever shall be for those who fail the Sentinel . The Laws and Ways are wise and must be obeyed.”
    The crowd repeated his words . “The Laws and Ways are wise and must be obeyed.”
    This litany continued for several minutes. Although he knew the words, he found he could not make himself repeat them. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw the parents of Evan, the boy who had lost the Winnowing, slinking out of the Arena, their eyes streaked with tears. How could they endure the pain of knowing with absolute certainty that they would never see their son again?
    He glanced to one side and noticed that, once again, his own father was looking at him.
    “It is the Way of the Sentinel,” his father said, without much feeling , answering the question he hadn’t asked. “The Sentinel is a good and kind Master.”
    He didn’t reply–because the thoughts boiling in his brain were too unformed to express. He had always admired his father, and he had always valued his opinion. But how could his father blindly accept what was so unjust? How could he respect someone who was willing to live with such inequity?
    And what was happening to him. He did not remember even feeling this way about the Sentinel before. But now his anger all but overwhelmed him.
    A moment later, Anton disappeared from sight. The cloak that had been placed atop him fluttered to the ground.
    The Acolyte resumed his incantation . “Thus be delivered all those who have sinned against the Sentinel.” He brought the Celebration to an end. “Remember all that I have told you. Remember the Laws and Ways of the Sentinel. Go now and live in harmony as the Sentinel has proscribed.”
    Daman left with his family, but he did not feel jubilant or festive. His stomach churned and his head throbbed. What is wrong with me? He felt as if something had snapped inside his brain. Or perhaps, a missing piece had fallen into place.
    He remembered the word the Acolyte had used–Rebel . Was this what it was to be a Rebel? Was he thinking like the fiends who had terrorized the world of the Ancients with