The Thief's Tale Read Online Free PDF Page B

men-at-arms relented, and Jager descended the stairs. The cellar below stored sacks of grain and flour. Hilder sat upon one of the sacks of grain in his black coat and trousers, gazing at his hands.
    “What are you doing?” said Jager.
    “Sitting, I think,” said Hilder.
    Jager gave a sharp shake of his head. “Don’t play games with words! You lied under oath, you said you did this…this terrible thing!”
    Hilder nodded. “You are correct.” 
    “Why?” said Jager. “Are you sacrificing yourself to save Paul? He doesn’t deserve it. He murdered Thomas, he made that poor woman a widow…”
    “I’m not doing it for Paul,” said Hilder.
    “Then for who?” said Jager.
    “For you,” said Hilder.
    “What?” said Jager. “Don’t lie for me. I…”
    “And for myself,” said Hilder, “and for House Tallmane. I made a deal with Sir Alan. If I confess to the crimes, he will ensure that I spend the rest of my days under house arrest. You and Dagma will be unharmed, and Sir Alan will ensure that the widow and her children are supported.” 
    “But that…that is wrong, Father,” said Jager. “Paul murdered that man. He should suffer for it, not you.” 
    “I know,” said Hilder. “But I am a servant, Jager. I serve the House of Tallmane. And this…this is how best I can serve them.”
    “They don’t deserve it,” said Jager.
    Hilder smiled. “The honor of service has nothing to do with the object of service. Our traditions are what is important, and how closely we hew to them. Not…”
    “Damn your traditions!” said Jager. “Damn them if they lead you to this. Father…”
    The door opened, and the men-at-arms descended the stairs.
    “It is time,” the sergeant said. “The Comes commands your presence in the great hall.” 
    They took Hilder from the cellar, and Jager followed.
     
    ###
     
    “Hilder of Caudea,” said Rilmar, “this, then, is my sentence. I have my doubts about your confession. Nevertheless, you have given it freely, and the law is clear that a confession outweighs the testimony of eyewitnesses. Therefore you are convicted of the murder of Thomas, freeholder of Caudea. Do you recant your confession?”
    He looked at Paul as he spoke, his eyes narrowed.
    “No, my lord,” said Hilder. 
    Jager’s hands curled into fists at his side.
    Rilmar sighed. “So be it. By my authority as Comes of Westhold, I convict you of the murder of Thomas, freeholder of Caudea. Because of the particularly heinous nature of the crime, because you murdered a man in front of his wife and children over an animal of little value, the sentence shall be carried out at once.”
    Hilder looked at Sir Alan, his face trusting and calm.
    Alan remained impassive, but Paul smirked.
    Two men-at-arms seized Hilder, pulled a black hood over his head, and forced him to kneel over a bench, and suddenly Jager realized what was about to happen. 
    He suspected Sir Alan had not mentioned the details of the sentence to Hilder.
    Jager shouted in protest, and two men-at-arms grabbed him and dragged him from the hall. He fought and screamed and cursed, but to no avail. They were too strong. Another man-at-arms stood over Hilder, a massive axe in his hand. 
    He raised the axe high.
    The blade came down with a wet, meaty thud, and crimson drops spattered across the floor of the great hall.
     
    ###
     
    A week later Jager found his sister at the rooms she had taken in the village’s inn.
    “Jager,” she said, her voice hoarse, her eyes bloodshot. “I am so glad you came back. I thought…I was afraid that you might have done something foolish.” 
    Jager shook his head. “I settled matters with the Comes’s men. Sir Alan might have dismissed us from his service and put us out, that was his right. But even he would not dare to deny an inheritance.” It still stung, speaking of Hilder, and every time Jager closed his eyes he saw the blood splashing across the floor. “Father had quite a bit of money saved