Seventh Gate 4

Will had been plotting murder in his mind for weeks, but couldn’t for the life of him figure out how to do it. His theatre had been closed for months because of the plague and people were screaming for blood. He cursed himself. Duncan had to die, but how? He mumbled and trudged.

“Kings are men. Men die because they make stupid mistakes. Women. Pride. Drink. Love. Power. Greed. War. Suicide.” said Will to the light the lantern cast before him. He continued to muse until he heard the dogs bark. Will remembered the king’s dogs, three mastiffs, each with the blood of a Minataur, that defended the winding hedge. Playful and gentle with each groundskeeper, maid, and messenger, friendly to family, butler, or child, each canine was built to bring down a bear, and wanted to. The curs were delighted to safeguard anyone from the king to his newest visitor, yet each took just as much pleasure finding the rare intruder to the property. Though Will had been in the palace many times as both performer and friend of the court, the barking gave him pause. Had he been given leave to use the shortcut?

Will was so frightened his bones hurt when he remembered the miniature minotaurs patrolling the grounds.  He stopped short when the sound of women’s giggling followed by the deep joyful yips of big dogs landed in his ears. He’d been warned before setting off through the King’s forest. He had been warned of worse than beasts; Will blew out his light.

Near Seventh Gate, vagrants and whores, troubadours, and actors gathered where the forest backed up against the city. There, they spruced up their acts, mended costumes, traded wares and tales of witches in the forest. Playwrights bartered for performers and performances. Some of the playhouses would send a man in search of an actor or an acrobat. Performers driven by their need to see and be seen collected about in small camps. They liked each other’s company. They were the lowest of the low, yet most exalted.  Lights flickered under canopies and fires burned. Soft music, serious talk, and hearty laughter floated over all the little camps’ gray smoky whirlpools above their fires.  The players and vagabonds, like anyone who’d ever been in the dark of the woods, told each other frightening tales and warnings of the incredible creatures, ugly witches, and voodoo queens that lurked deep within the woods. Of course, these seasoned travelers from near and far all bragged disbelief and slapped their knees with laughter, but few slept easy.

Simon collapsed behind a troupe of actors. Pain and fear had driven Simon through the alleys until they grew wide, and then they were gone.  He kept his head down, and saw little but his feet taking long wide strides, and his tears that dropped onto his covered broken hands. The blood from his injuries hardened in his heavy wool cloak. Their itching and throbbing made him feel more helplessness and desperation than pain.

His hands made him sick.  The forefinger of Simon’s left hand bent from the middle knuckle toward the little finger of the same hand. On his right hand, each bone on his right hand had been snapped, like beans. The bones at the ends of his middle finger and thumb stuck out from their flesh. And the blood, there was so much blood.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Mangled sticks replaced Simon’s elegant fingers that created beauty and precision. He had worked all of his days and long into the nights balancing the tiniest of clock components. Now, Simon’s mind was a roiling thundercloud. He saw nothing but darkness ahead of him.

  Florie, a wise woman with the gift of second sight and the curse of royal blood, found him. She, and King James’s other ugly aunt Mary, and Rue, his favorite courtesan waited in the shadows of the grove. Florie had gone on ahead of her two companions to meet their quarry. She was to bring him in for the ceremonial healing. They had followed her as far as their clearing behind the palace where Rue, the youngest and most powerful of the three, cast a perfect ring of salt, their circle of protection, wide around the cauldron’s fire where they intended to summon a giant.

 Simon woke to Florie’s voice in the half moon’s light. “Get up. Come with me.”

His eyes must have been enormous with surprise as well as pain when Simon looked up into long wagging jowls, wrinkled and grayed with time. Delighted yellow, green eyes concentrated on his face and beakish nose. Simon hadn’t seen anyone happy to see him since his mother was alive. The old eyes memorized his face then laughed at him.

“Such a face. Get up then. Let’s get you fixed. Rue needs you.” said Florie. She giggled when she got herself under one of his great arms. “Work with me, man. It’s your hands, that’s troubled, your legs ain’t broke. Get up.” 

The old woman, much stronger and straighter than she appeared, levered and heaved to help the giant to his feet. She pointed to a path beside a white blooming bush. “Through here,” she said. Simon followed the odd matron without question. 

“Rue and Old Mary will take care of your hands. We’ve seen you coming for a long time now. We cast the calling spell. We been waiting for you.” said Florie. “Hurry, now. Rue will have a fit if your hands start healing wrong-wise. The fixing will hurt, it won’t be perfect, but you’ll live. Now move, man. We don’t have til the sun comes up. Go.” She gathered the dusty hem of her cape that revealed a bit of red silk. Then she picked up a long forked stick, and led Simon into the woods.

 Florie kept a tight grip on his elbow and led the way through the black forest. Branches snapped around and behind them in the dark.

They picked their way through the trees and somehow stayed on a path. Brush and branches picked at his legs. Before long, Simon saw light from a fire and heard two women.   

  Crippled with laughter, an ancient slattern with egg-like eyes and no neck wore a crown of woven sticks and lily of the valley, leaned heavily on a smaller hooded woman.  A coarse linen cape covered all but the black lace hem of a dowager’s garb. A large purple velvet sack with a red satin ribbon hung around her waist. The other, a smaller, hooded woman, bent double, tripped, cackled, and fell squarely on her behind next to a huge boiling pot on the fire. 

“Stop,”said Rue.They paused their laughter and wiped their tears at the sound of crunching footfalls.

“No, You stop,” said Mary. She burst into laughter again.

 “By the pricking of my thumb…” said Rue, and fell toward the older woman like a drunken old man, ugly laughed, and snorted. She let the tears of laughter roll from her eyes, when she laid back on the ground, while her laughter hung in the air like the carillon on Sundays. They had summoned their giant.

Rue rolled over to catch her breath and crawled up to her knees. Finally she stood and panted. 

“Bring him in, Florie.” said Rue. She was still giggling when Simon stumbled into the circle. She tried to be serious.  Rue and Old Mary pivoted to face Florie and Simon and looked from his face to the stiffened wool around his hands. The women exploded with laughter again.  Simon looked down into her black mourning eyes. Set in a cloud of black wiry hair was the face of a mighty and powerful angel. Rue unwrapped his hands and tossed the crusty black cloak into the boiling pot. The sour stench of rotten blood and wool filled the air. The noxious spume filled Simon’s beak. 

Rue touched each one of Simon’s bloody wound’s with the tiny point of her right index finger. With each touch she spoke in a strange and husky voice. When she spoke, the others repeated her words. The three chanted, louder and louder, with no laughter. The words rang  and muddled in Simon’s ears like bells. “Boil…cauldron..trouble..” All three women wrapped their hands around Simon’s broken bones. They turned him slowly clockwise three paces, then moved him counter clockwise nine. Their chanting grew louder.  Mary and Florie, the moonstruck chorus,  swayed, smiled and giggled, folded their hands as if in prayer, and stepped away from Rue and the giant.

Simon was bent nearly in half and his face was close to Rue’s. She let go of Simon’s hands to stroke his face. Rue traced one of his tears with her finger, then held his hands again. Her black eyes never left him.  Simon howled when her hands gripped his fingers like a blacksmith’s vice. He fell in a heap of three guffawing women. 

Rue sang a song of thanksgiving for the healing that had come. Her voice was loud and strong. It soared and blended with the smoke and sparks from the flames. She began to dance around the heap of giant by the fire. Florie and Mary stood on either side of Simon, eyes closed, palms up. The two old women swayed to Rue’s rhythm. A grey cat hissed and darted out of the woods and sat by Rue’s feet. “Grey Maulkin’s come. It’s done,” said Rue.

“Sit up, now, big man,” said Mary. She moved to help the giant stand. Rue laughed again. 

“You can’t help that giant to his feet by yourself, you egg-eyed old cow,” Florie said to her sister.

“I’m polite. At least I can offer my assistance, Florie. I don’t see you moving your fat arse over here to help the poor dear,” said Mary. 

From the bushes, Will heard a voice he didn’t believe could be of this world. It was harsh and soft, dark, and velvety, a musical song he’d never heard before. The voice was strong. It stood up and commanded attention. The voice could still a crowd or rouse one with a shout or a whisper. Will heard the voice of a woman of presence in an accent he’d never known.. He’d heard stories of witches and monsters in the forest too.

The voices stopped and music of crickets and bullfrogs reverberated throughout the wood.

Will stayed hidden in the brush just out of sight. An old woman walked into the clearing with the giant from the clock shop. He was bent over, clasping his hands together in obvious pain. 

All three women gathered round the great broken creature.  Simon fell on one knee, crumpled like a great black stork. The women’s hysterical laughter rustled the leaves on each of the ash trees on the edge of the king’s forest. 

Will moved for a better view.  All he could hear were painful deep breaths