Free Wellspring of Chaos by L. E. Modesitt Jr. Page A

cooper’s knife, the cooper is a man skilled with the use of a knife, and the cut was made with a less skilled hand. Fourth, the cooper had no signs of blood on his tunic. Only one person did, and that person had to be the killer of the blackstaffer.”
    “No!” Kharl exclaimed.
    “Silence!”
    “Keep your trap shut,” hissed one of the armsmen holding Kharl.
    The justicer looked squarely at Charee. “You would have let your consort die for an act you committed. That is most heinous. You have been found guilty of the murder of the blackstaffer Jenevra.”
    “No… no…” The slightest of sobs escaped Charee.
    Reynol turned his eyes upon Kharl. “You did not kill, but you allowed the killing to take place. Further, you resisted the lawful authority of the Watch. Of both offenses are you guilty.” The justicer turned and looked to Lord West. “The woman Charee has been found guilty of murdering the backstaffer, and the cooper Kharl has been found guilty of failing to protect the defenseless under his care and of resisting lawful authority.”
    “So be it,” intoned the lord. He looked to Charee, who looked down at the polished stones of the floor, then to Kharl.
    The cooper returned the gaze of the Lord of the Quadrant, fearlessly.
    “The sentence for the woman Charee is death by hanging. The cooper is sentenced to twenty lashes for neglect, and another ten for insolence to civil authority. Let the sentences be carried out immediately. Justice delayed is justice denied.” West struck the silver chime that rested on the desk of the dais before him. “Justicing is done.”
    The two armsmen tightened their grip on Kharl.
    “You aren’t going to make trouble, now, cooper?”
    “No…” Kharl choked.
    How could he? What could he do, with armsmen all around him, and the insufferable swell Egen and another group of armsmen standing by? He watched, silently, as Charee was half carried, half dragged, away.
    “Just turn real easy, cooper.”
    Kharl turned. He still didn’t understand. Charee couldn’t have killed Jenevra, could she? Why would she have done that? It didn’t feel right.
    His legs moved, and he saw, but he was not really aware of what he saw or where he walked, not until the armsmen brought him up short outside in the courtyard under the gray sky, just short of the center flogging frame.
    “Now, we’re going to untie your hands, cooper. You try to get away, and it’s another twenty strokes. That makes fifty, and most men don’t live with fifty.”
    Kharl nodded. He understood, not that it mattered in some ways, but he didn’t see any point in doing something stupid that could get him killed for nothing.
    Once Kharl was secured to the flogging frame, Captain Egen appeared, stepping forward and motioning the armsmen away, including the one with the whip. He stopped less than two cubits from the cooper. When the captain spoke, his voice was soft and very low. “Usually, we do the flogging first, but then you wouldn’t be able to see what happened to your consort, and I want you to see that, cooper. I want you to understand that Lord West is the law. I want you to understand that it is not ever a good idea to think that you should judge or question your betters.” Egen paused. “Now, do you have anything to say?”
    Kharl had plenty to say, but not where he was. “No, ser.”
    “You should never have intruded on the affairs of your betters, cooper. Perhaps you can learn. If you cannot… well, you will see how you’ll end up. It’s only a matter of time.” Egen smiled and stepped back.
    Kharl wanted to look away, but thought that would be cowardice of a sort. He watched as Charee half walked, and was half dragged, up the steps to the scaffold platform. Overhead, the gray clouds roiled and darkened, but without thunder, and without rain.
    Two of the armsmen tied her wrists together, behind her back.
    “I didn’t do it—” Charee’s words were faint but clear. “I didn’t. She was