Up went the whip. There was a slight pause before it came down on Eda’s back.
Blake flinched as if the leather had hit her own skin. Her eyes widened in disbelief. The betrayal she felt threatened to drown her. When Harlan raised the whip again, she could barely believe it.
‘Stop,’ she said, maybe out loud or maybe in her head.
Lyndal was crying behind her now.
‘May she recognise the devil in her,’ the priest said. ‘May she cast him out and be conscious of her sins.’
Harlan lifted the whip and struck Eda again.
‘Stop!’ Blake shouted, stepping forwards.
Someone grabbed her arm, and she turned to see Birtle.
‘You’ll only make it worse,’ he whispered.
How much worse could it get?
Birtle pulled her to him, the way a father did, shielding her view. She could still hear the whip though. Harlan seemed to have found a rhythm. Or perhaps he was trying to block out the priest’s voice.
‘She has sinned against you!’ Father Garsea went on. ‘You are right in judging her!’
The people of Chadora may have been driven by desperation to worship Belenus, but their Catholic roots were ever present.
Blake covered her ears, and they roared in protest.
‘Fill her mind with wisdom.’ The priest’s voice was a distant hum. ‘Let her be free once more.’
Silence.
Blake’s hands fell away from her ears. She looked up just as Harlan threw the whipatthe defender he had taken it from. He went to untie Eda, who was shivering but dry-eyed.
‘Is she not supposed to remain tied up there until the setting of the sun?’ Prince Borin asked from atop his horse, looking to the warden for confirmation.
‘His Highness is right,’ Shapur said, moving forward.
Harlan whirled around. ‘It’s done. Now you want her left here to freeze?’
All the muscles in Shapur’s face tightened.
Harlan drew a slow breath. ‘I’d like permission to release her to her family.’
Shapur nodded once before stepping back.
‘Move!’ Blake shouted at the people standing in her way.
She met Harlan’s eyes as she stepped up to Eda. His were full of remorse, and hers were pure fire.
‘I’ve got you,’ Blake said, tugging the torn dress up and covering Eda’s icy shoulders. She pulled the now loosened piece of rope off her sister’s wrists just as Eda’s legs gave out. Blake caught her. When Harlan stepped forwards to help, she pulled Eda away from him.
‘You’ve done enough.’ Then, leaning in so only he would hear, Blake added, ‘Come near my sister with a whip again and I will wrap it around your neck and watch the life drain from your eyes. Your father can hang me from any wall he chooses.’ She gathered Eda closer. ‘I won’t stand silent next time,Commander.’
Chapter 20
The physician squinted down at the red lines striping Eda’s back. He said nothing for the longest time as he poked and prodded. Blake’s stomach was twisted into knots as she waited for him to speak.
Harlan had done that.
