"Get up at once." She commanded, striking him at his arm.
Rafael stirred, wondering what the matter was. She slapped him and he was immediately aroused to wakefulness. He gasped, "You're-"
"Elizabeth not Myra, I know."
"I can explain."
"There's no time for that."
"Why? Did something happen to Myra?" He jumped to his feet.
"No, but something will happen to you if you're here for much longer."
He was taken aback, "You knew I was here all along."
"I'm only half-blind. I reckon I see a lot farther than you lot too at that and I may be aged but I'm sharper than you'd think. Now leave through the back. Some men are on their way here and they don't mean well.
Rafael rushed out but she stopped him at the fence, "Don't forget this, whatever it is." She said, handing him the contraption. He took it and hugged her,
"I won't forget this."
She clicked her tongue, "I won't bet on that." She said, "Now, go. And follow the river." He nodded and left the house behind.
Elizabeth had barely reentered the house when they arrived. A chariot pulled up at the gate and the two guards flanking the driver jumped off, rushing into the house, they overturned everything like Elizabeth wasn't there and rushed back out as Ichabod got down from the carriage.
"We didn't find anyone within save an old woman." One of them reported and Ichabod looked back, into the carriage,
"Are you sure this is the place, Leah?"
"Yes, milord. Look that's her grandmother." She pointed and Ichabod's eyes landed on the woman, standing in her doorway and scowling at them. He walked into the compound.
"Woman, where is your granddaughter?"
"I sent her off a short while ago, to fetch some herbs for my ill health. Is that why my house has been turned on its head? Is this over her absence from castle duties? Did she do anything wrong at the castle?"
"You ask too much. He said derisively and turned to leave, however, his fear of TSOI stopped him. "Inform your daughter, she is to appear at the Roth's castle once she returns, these men will stay behind, to escort her."
"Ask them to tidy their messes while they're at it."
Ichabod, however, walked on, without any indication that he'd heard and left with Leah.
************************
Myra was on that rock by the shore when he arrived, the day was already nearing full swing but this part of the kingdom still carried those sounds peculiar to dawn. She'd curled into a fetal position and it shattered him just to see her like that.
"Myra."
There wasn't any response. He touched her and she flinched, then moved farther away. He went around to the other side, his legs in the water. This time he took hold of her shoulders and raised her to a sitting position despite her struggles. "Myra now's not the time for this!"
"Get your hands off of me!" She pushed him and he landed in the water.
"Don't be so selfish Myra! They've come for me! He barked, swinging an arm in frustration. He watched her expression change with a bit of satisfaction. "This morning, I barely escaped. I need to get my memory back. That tune, tell me where you know it from, I need to go there."
She looked a lot more compliant now, she even got into the water, "It's not somewhere you can go now. It's a tune, from before the scourge." She said, but he was no longer looking at her.
Rafael had felt something strike his leg, it was wrapped in sheets. He took it from the water, opening it a bit. The cross gleamed in the light, just then, she said the last two words. He gasped, the events flashing across his mind.
Rafael looked at her but the setting was different now, the world was ablaze, her hair had turned red and slowly, in his eyes, she became someone completely different, a fragment of his painful past.
She was yelling his name, he tried to reach for her but it seemed like the world was turning on one side, drawing him with it.
"Elysha!" He yelled, just before it all went black.
*****************************
"What's taking her so long?"
Elizabeth eyed the guard who'd just spoken and hissed, she'd respected herself with the other man, his sinful presence was overwhelming but these guards were alone now and they'd ransacked her home without care. There was no way she was relating with them.
****************************
When Rafael came to, Myra was sobbing over him. She'd managed to bring him ashore and had probably given up on trying to revive him. He coughed up a bit of water and she hugged him to her bosom, gasping for breaths to calm herself.
"I remember."
She shuddered, her hold on him loosened and she hesitated, unsure of how to react.
He leaned off her and took hold of Fus which now lay beside him, getting to his feet. "I am Rafael but I had to take on the persona of Lord Forsythe to make them pay."
"Who? The sinners?"
"Yes, every one of them."
"What did they do to you?"
"They took everything away. My family, friends, my whole life. All in one night.
She gasped.
"I am the sole survivor of the scourge. I am a Saint and this blade, he held it up to the light, "Is a sacrament, Fus. It belonged to Elysha, daughter-"
"I know who Elysha is, she cut in. There were tears in her eyes, and she swallowed before she spoke, "You're a saint?"
"The last there is."
She got up, "So, you're telling me, that you're the only saint left?"
"Yes." He replied; a puzzled look on his face like he wasn't sure of how to place her reaction.
Suddenly, she slapped him. He staggered backward, caught off guard, and shot her a questioning look. He caught her arm on the second swing and pulled her, "What is wrong with you?"
"That's my line coward." She spat and he let her go, taken aback.
"I'm many things but a coward isn't one of them."
"Only because it's all you are. My goodness, Rafael, you're a saint. A saint, and yet you've covered it up and lived like a sinner all this while. You've even sinned, or you wouldn't have been accepted in Sodom.
"I heard you turned the whole of Gomorrah into one family and now sit at their head and now you tell me you're a saint? No, you're not. You can't be one of them. You're lying. That's right, you're lying. Just like you're doing with everyone else."
"No Myra I-"
"Do you even know what it means to be a saint? I watched them, in their immaculate sultans bearing their sacraments, and wished I could become one of them. I'd imagine how I would hold my head up with pride and proclaim anywhere that I was a saint. Even if I was just a Priest and yet you-"
"I had no choice." He said through gritted teeth.
"Nonsense, you have a sacrament. It's not one of the seven but it's still a sacrament, Elysha's blade at that. You have your prayers, wage a one-man crusade against them and give them all a taste of salvation. That's what a saint would do."
"That's suicide."
"No, that's martyrdom."
"I'm no martyr."
"What are you then? Surely you're not an Apostle, we won't even be having this conversation. You're not a Cardinal, you don't possess any of the seven and you don't even seem qualified at all, neither are you a Martyr, you lack Sanctus Ordinalis, the 6th, and also, the guts for the job.
"Nor a Bishop, you lack Pentecost, the 4th, and I doubt you've got enough Spirit left to spare. You're not a Confessor, you lack Contrition, the 5th, and I can tell you really need a one, nor a Priest, you don't even own a sacrament and the sultan is just proof that appearances can be deceiving. So tell me, what are you?"
He stared at her, he knew she was smart but this caught him off guard. She really knew a lot.
"A saint." The words tumbled out of his mouth as a last resort.
She scoffed and turned away, "You're not even trying to sound believable."
"It's the truth. Believe it or not and I didn't choose this path. It chose me, I-" He faltered, his voice breaking off.
"Who was Elysha to you?"
"She was my first love."
Myra watched his face for a few seconds and continued, "Elysha was my idol. Despite her age, she'd already become a cardinal. I believed she would take over from Ayzikel, her father, as the next apostle. Her life showed me that nothing could stand in the way of hard work and determination."
"It wasn't just hard work and all that, he mused while she watched him. "Sainthood was part of her, like an innate talent, he sighed. "She was special."
"For once, in this conversation, I feel like you're telling the truth. So why are you doing this? Is this what Elysha would've wanted? Is this what she would've done?"
"I am not Elysha!"
She watched his expression with that outburst, "You're not Rafael either."
"You don't understand." He turned away, she came closer and touched him, but he flinched, her hand hung, slowly returning to her side.
"You haven't given me a reason to."
"I can't tell you any more than I have already." He said, walking away.
"See? Just another difference between you and Rafael."
"We are the same person Myra, you know that." He stopped and faced her.
"No, Rafael is a saint, she enunciated. "You're a sinner." Her eyes were glistening and her lower lip quivered. "Rafael was the person that arrived at my house that night. The man I-" She hesitated and turned away, splayed fingers of one hand covering her eyes.
Rafael sighed, "I've got to go."
"You're just gonna leave like that? Go back to them? To her?"
Rafael looked at her through narrowed eyes, "I don't understand."
"Tell me something, Lord Forsythe, do you love Lady Medea?" Her voice faltered, she looked at him, swallowing a hard one.
Rafael's lips pressed together and his voice took a firmer tone, "I don't think I'm required to answer that."
"Of course, my lord," she bowed. When she looked up, he was gone.
****************************
Myra had barely walked in through the gate when the men attacked her, taking hold on both sides. This time the basket fell apart and the few herbs within scattered about.
"Let me go!" She struggled to no avail.
"Are you Myra?"
"Yes but-"
"We have orders to bring you to the castle at once!" And she stopped resisting.
Elizabeth came out then and Myra's heart broke, what was she going to tell her now with all this? The question barrage would do the job if these people didn't finish her off. As they led her away, a more important question arose within, what was she going to say when asked about him?
************************
"Did you make contact with Lord Forsythe after he left for Sodom?"
Medea hesitated, this man was the second in command over all the sinners, he could probably tell if she lied, the seconds were ticking and the room seemed to be pressing in on her.
She looked around, Ichabod, the Roth, lady Leah, and the two guards were all there. She was expected to have provided an answer by now, she looked down, there was no way she could deny it now. "Yes," she answered.
Ichabod smiled, finally, some good news. "Where is he?" He got up, rubbing his hands as he walked towards the window.
"I can't say."
Ichabod paused, the smile faltering, he tilted his head and turned, looking from Myra to the Roth and Leah then back at Myra. He walked to her, his eyes narrowing. "Why is that?"
Myra was sure her heart pounding so hard, it was ringing in her ears, her throat dried up and she managed to force out few words, "I met him, 3 days ago."
The smile was completely gone now, "Get her out of my sight," he said, pressing his lips together. The guards rushed and took her by the elbows, she didn't resist, the relief almost knocked her out.
They took her out of the room and she managed on her own once their assistance was gone, she leaned against one of the pillars once she got outside and gripped her chest, she needed to slow things down for a bit.
Ichabod stood with a clenched jaw, the veins in his neck throbbing clearly. Neither the Roth nor lady Leah could think of anything to say or do and the guards had, in wisdom, remained outside. He left wordlessly and the whole room heaved a sigh in relief.