Deeds of Their Past - 8. Chapter Eight

Arriving at the crossroads, Nathan dismounted, unsure which direction to take. The short ride had calmed him, yet the seed of anger and despair still burned within. Untying his waterskin, he took a long draught while gazing out at the four directions, including the road back to Summerton. They offered no solution.

His thoughts returned to Brohm. His plan to lay low at his father’s farm was solid, but Nathan questioned if he was taking advantage of him. Drawing a long sigh, he purged the big man from his mind.

Ignoring the roads, Nathan eyed a grove nestled within the long grass plains. It looked inviting, and he decided to lead his horse in that direction. It was a small wood, but would easily hide him for the night. Tying his horse by a creek, he lay against the trunk of a tree. The appetite he had earlier was gone. Instead, he felt drowsy, and the shade of the trees in the warm afternoon sun invited him to sleep. Drinking again, he closed his eyes, listening to the wind gently rustle through the leaves.

* * *

Nathan woke with a start.

The warm afternoon was gone. He found himself in a dank stone dungeon, lit only by a torch flickering nearby in a sconce. His naked body shivered in the cold. Manacles around his wrists, holding his arms in the air, bit into his flesh, and tight shackles pinched around his ankles. Gripping the chain and testing the strength of the rivets in the stone ceiling proved fruitless.

Nathan had no memory of how he got here.

A groan to his left told him he wasn’t alone. In the dim light, the silhouette of a large naked body hung in similar restrains. It looked like Brohm, but he couldn’t be sure.

“Hey,” Nathan whispered. “Hey! Wake up.”

The man roused from his stupor, and seemed just as confused by his predicament. “Wha? Nathan, is that you?”

“Brohm! What in hells is going on?”

“I . . . I dunno. I don’t remember how I got here.”

“Can you pull yourself free?”

Brohm took hold of the chain, yanking hard, but only found resistance. The sound of keys on a ring jingling stopped him, and more torchlight appeared beyond the barred doorway, down a corridor.

“Have my guests finally woken up?” a voice called out.

Neither Nathan nor Brohm said a word, and held perfectly still. An older man appeared in the doorway, his round belly protruding from a greasy leather apron. Fitting the key into the lock, he opened the gated door.

“I’ve not much time, so we’ll have to perform the abridged version of this,” the man said, placing his torch into another sconce on the opposite side.

Near Brohm was a table lined with various knives and tools of torture. As soon as the big man saw them, he shuddered in fear. “Whoa, wait. What’s this about?”

The torturer picked a terrifying hooked blade from the array, and stepped toward Brohm with a wide grin. “Your friend over there is going to tell me what I need to know, otherwise I’ll gut ya,” he said, poking at Brohm’s belly for emphasis.

“I’ll tell you anything,” Nathan blurted. “Just don’t hurt him!”

“You’d give up everything just to save him?” the old man asked in astonishment.

“Yes!” he said without hesitation.

“Well then, spit it out.”

Nathan hesitated. “W-what do you need to know?”

“I’m not playing games here. Tell me now, otherwise—”

“Please, you don’t need to do that. Just tell me what you want.”

The old man ground his teeth, staring at Nathan in disbelief. For a moment, horrific silence filled the room.

“One last chance,” he warned.

“I swear, I’ll tell you everything. I just don’t know what you want.”

“You’re a fool.”

“No! Please don’t!” Nathan cried out.

The old man rammed the hooked blade into Brohm’s belly, piercing deep. With a swift pull across, a clean cut opened him up, blood and intestines pouring out. Brohm, hands chained to the ceiling, could only watch in horror and scream in agony.

Nathan shut his eyes from the grisly scene, but couldn’t shut himself from Brohm’s desperate wails. It lasted for what seemed an eternity, but finally, mercifully, he fell silent. Opening his eyes, he saw his limp body hanging from his bonds, gore everywhere. His stomach lurched, and he swallowed acrid bile.

The torturer stood next to the body, prodding it with the hooked edge. “He didn’t last very long,” he said, annoyed.

Turning his attention to Nathan, he slowly walked over to him. “So, how long will you last, Nathan?”

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, sobbing.

“Nathan.”

He didn’t know what to say. The old man crept closer, bloody hooked blade in hand.

“Nathan!”

“What?”

“Nathan, wake up!”

“W-what?”

* * *

“Wake up,” Brohm said, pulling on his arm.

Nathan gasped for breath, finding the big man down on one knee beside him, concern written across his face. The trees swayed above, warm summer air brushing across his sweaty face.

“You okay? You were tossing and turning. I reckon you were having a bad dream.”

Nathan bolted up and hugged the big man fiercely, barely able to touch his fingers with his arms around his barrel chest. Caught off-guard, Brohm simply held still. After a moment, Nathan pulled away to find a bemused smile on the big man’s face.

“What happened?”

Nathan tried to erase the image of Brohm’s horrible death, and ignored his question. “How did you find me?”

“I followed your trail.”

“My trail?” Nathan asked, surprised.

“I know you told me not to follow, but—”

“Gods. I’m so sorry, Brohm.”

“What? Why?”

“For keeping you in the dark. I never explained why I said not to follow me. It seems death comes to everyone I know, and I don’t want that for you.”

Brohm waited patiently for Nathan to continue.

“But I feel . . . safer when we’re together.”

Brohm’s face was unreadable for a moment, but then offered his crooked smile, puffing up his chest. “You feel safe with me around, huh?”

“Listen, I’ll tell you the whole story. Then you can make the decision if we travel together or go our separate ways. But before we do that, we should set up camp.”

After taking care of the horses, Nathan retrieved the bundle of food Griff had prepared for them. They decided against building a fire. The last thing they needed was more trouble during the night. They sat across from each other and began to eat, watching the sun near the horizon shine its golden rays through the trees, drawing long shadows.

“So what was it you wanted to tell me?” Brohm asked.

“I guess I should start with Graham.”

“Who’s that?”

“He was a merchant I knew. We were . . . lovers.” Nathan stumbled on the last word, unsure of Brohm’s reaction.

Once again, the big man’s face became unreadable. “What happened?”

“Remember when we first met, I said someone died because they knew me? It was Graham.”

“Did you find out who killed him?”

“Oh yes,” Nathan said darkly. “I exacted my revenge right then and there. But you see, it was my actions that started the whole thing. I was to blame for Graham’s death.”

“Your actions? What do you mean?”

“I was hired to kill a mark, which I did. The mark’s brother wanted revenge. He managed to find me, but killed Graham by mistake. It was at night, and we . . . we were sleeping in the same bed, you understand?”

Brohm nodded.

“The brother killed Graham, and it all happened because of me,” Nathan said, staring into the setting sun.

“You loved him?” Brohm asked softly.

Nathan turned to gaze into his green eyes. They bore right through him. “I did.”

Brohm offered a sorrowful smile. “Sorry.”

Nathan stared back at the sun. Only the tip was left, its edges wavering. “After that, I vowed never to fall in love again. Never become attached to anyone. But that’s something easier said than done.”

“Have you thought of, you know, changing your profession?”

“This is all I know.”

Brohm nodded. “Yuh, I hear you.”

“But something’s got to change. I have to change. I’ve lost two good friends now, and history has a bad habit of repeating itself.”

“What did you do to Helmsley to make him so angry?”

Nathan sighed. “I took a contract around a year ago for his son, except I didn’t know that detail until now.”

Brohm’s eyes went wide. “What? How could you not know who you were killing?”

“The client told me it was someone important, but didn’t reveal who. The coin he offered made up for the risk.”

“But was it really worth it? The lives of your friends?”

Nathan looked back with hurt eyes. “Of course not, but how was I to know this would happen?”

“It’s a big risk messing about with royalty,” Brohm said. “You must’ve reckoned something bad would’ve come from it.”

“I covered my tracks, but clearly not well enough. Samuel and Danny paid the price for my greed, and Helmsley’s still out for blood. That’s why I keep pushing you away. I don’t want you killed like every other friend I’ve had.”

Brohm pondered Nathan’s words before speaking. “Well, even from all this death, you did save a life.”

Nathan was puzzled.

“Mine,” Brohm said. “All these actions ended with us meeting, and escaping.”

Nathan wiped his eyes. “How did you end up in that cell anyway?”

“A fight at a tavern got out of hand. Some guy was pissing me off and I let my fists do the talking. I was pretty drunk and didn’t know when to stop hitting. Didn’t mean to kill the guy, it just sorta happened.

“I was lucky it wasn’t the city watch that took me in. They wouldn’t have left me in a cell long before deciding what to do.”

Silence fell between the two men, allowing night insects in the darkening woods to fill the space.

“So, you know everything now. What should we do?” Nathan asked quietly, not wanting to break the silence.

Brohm seemed deep in thought, weighing his options before finally speaking. “Well, somebody’s gotta protect you. I reckon it might as well be me.”

“Be serious. Nobody said I needed your protection.”

“I am being serious. I owe you my life.”

“I hate to think you feel obligated because of that. If that’s the reason—”

“It’s not. I reckon we’re better off sticking together,” Brohm said. “Besides, I’ve grown mighty fond of you myself.”

Nathan’s heart missed a beat. “Why are you such a good friend to me?”

Brohm shrugged, and scratched his bald head, trying to hide his face. It was hard to tell in the failing light, but Nathan thought he was blushing.

“Maybe we should try to get some sleep, yuh? It’s gonna be a long ride to my Pa’s farm.”

“How far is it?” Nathan asked.

“I reckon if we leave before dawn like we did this morning, we should get there before dusk. It’s an easy road, but a long one.”

They settled down and lay on the earthy floor of the forest, but Nathan wasn’t tired. All he could think about was the man beside him. Nathan let out a quiet sigh of resignation, knowing that the infatuation he had would only grow stronger.

In an attempt to quiet his thoughts, he gazed up at the stars peeking through the gently swaying leaves. They twinkled softly, and after a time, Nathan’s mind was at peace.