The Gathandrian Trilogy 03 - The Executioners Cane

could discover about Simon, Iffenia and I were, all along, meditating on other, perhaps more ancient, stories. As you have discovered, the Tale of the Book of Blood was one of them.”
    Annyeke blinked. It was as she had dreaded. The Book of Blood was the one book in the elders’ library which was never opened for fear of what lay there. She couldn’t help shivering at the knowledge the Chair Maker and his wife had plundered it. What had they found within its pages?
    The man opposite her laughed once more, and she felt the sudden pressure of his mind on hers, like the onset of a winter storm. “Ah, Annyeke, we found much riches in it, such quantity of them you could not dream of. All our partnered lives Iffenia and I had dreaded the certainty of death and the terror of being apart, but the Book of Blood took away our fear. We knew if we followed its wisdom, the wisdom of the earth and not the sky, we would find the everlasting link between us, which meant we would never be alone, not even after death. Can you see how happy that made us and how we had no other choice but to follow the teachings we discovered?”
    Annyeke knew there were no words to respond to this story of his, so she said nothing, and after a moment or two he continued, perhaps seeing something of what she held in her thought. Still, in spite of his insistence of joy, the Chair Maker told her the heart of his tale in something approaching a whisper. His eyes clouded over as she watched him, as if reliving the experience over again.

    *****

    It happened one winter evening. I was late back from my initial meeting with the elders, as it was the time when I was about to become one of them. We had even meditated together. Iffenia was waiting for me on the threshold of our home and the sight of her made my blood sing. She must have been looking out for my return. I knew before I reached her side there was something different about her; the shifting colours of her aura were rippled with black. She was hiding a secret from the minds of others she planned to reveal to me alone.
    “Come,” she whispered as I came nearer and she reached for my arm. “I have something to show you and something to tell.”
    Inside, shadows encroached the familiar shapes of my home and I followed my partner through the narrow hallway and into the bedroom. I thought she would share her day with me in the eating-area as she cooked, but that was not her plan. She gestured to me to sit upon our bed and I did so, gazing up at her with a smile. I eased my mind to hers and felt her warmth envelop my thought.
    Instead of allowing me to sense her purpose, she shook her head and returned my smile. Do you trust me?
    The answer to her question was simple: with all that I am.
    Iffenia nodded and hunkered down next to me. She reached under the bed and drew out something rectangular that glittered crimson. I knew what it was at once. From its heart flowed fire and blood and I couldn’t help myself, I veered away and stared at her. How did you get that and why have you brought it here?
    The elders we re busy with other matters so whilst you met with them, I slipped into the library and searched amongst its most hidden texts. I knew the Book of Blood was the one I wanted, but I did not think to find it. I assumed the elders would have hidden it in their secret library the people talk of, but they have not yet done so. Our stories tell us of the ancient power of its legend to bind a couple together in life and in death too, and of the joy it can bring, so I took hold of it in the Great Library’s silence and weaved a mind-trick to fill its space. I do not have the strength for it to last more than a day-cycle but we will explore this book’s magic tonight and I will return it tomorrow. Nothing will be lost but everything gained, I promise you.
    I did not know Iffenia could act in such a way, even through all the time of loving her, and I was about to open my mouth, tell her to return the dreaded book to our Library and pray none had sensed its absence, when she touched my arm. At once our thoughts connected and I could see to the full the reasons and the possibilities behind what she had spoken of.
    Yes, and so easily, such magic was part of the power of the Book of Blood, but it is also hidden deep within our own blood. I could not see, and I still do not see, how what she wanted to do was wrong. Who would not want to link more closely with the one they love? It gave us both hope and