Frank Riley

“ Under it, she was already dressed in the translucent death gown. Her thick, blond hair, much longer than the fashion of the day, fell nearly to her shoulders. On her feet were the silver sandals she would later remove, along with the velvet robe, just before stepping up on the pedestal in the execution circle.
The two jailers, each in skull cap and long black sleeveless robe, led her to the prisoner's bench below the dais where the judges would sit. The sight of her was a torment to Jacques, the ripping open of an old scar. ”

“ An FBIT man rushed toward them with a microphone. With one terrible look, Jacques sent him scurrying back.
"Ann ... Ann ..." he cried. "What have I done?"
Her glazing, pain-filled eyes cleared for a moment, and drew him closer. In them, for all the pain, there was peace at last. No reproach, no disappointment. Only peace. And he knew then, what he should always have known: That when a man lived as one with Death, he could not give less to any person, nor expect more.
Ann's fingers crawled through the dust and touched the toe of his boot. ”

“ Sir Mallory interrupted, striking a hearty note of sincerity. "Your services have been deeply appreciated in these difficult times. Yet, we must always take the long view! Particularly 'this one time', as you say. Technology has rushed us into a world without need for strife or conflict, but man has not yet matured enough for such a world—and he needs release to prevent dangerous explosions. Believe me, Sir Jacques, it would not be wise to postpone today's execution!" ”

“ The Chief Justice, regally stern, led the procession of judges, clerks and pages across the arena. They mounted the platform, stepping in cadence. When the robed and bewigged judges were all seated, the Bailiff raised his staff and the crowd settled down with a buzz of anticipation. ”

“ Ann interrupted.
Her unexpected words brought a startled gasp from the spectators. The judges leaned forward alertly.
"According to the evidence ..." the Chief Justice began again.
"He wasn't a man!" Ann cried scornfully. Her glance flickered across at Jacques. "There are no more men."
Ponderously, like a slow moving river that would not be diverted from its course, the Chief Justice returned to the facts of the case:
"Ye speak in riddles, Lady Ann! The evidence makes it full clear that the victim was a man...."
"Evidence!" Ann gestured toward the breathless stands. "There is your evidence! ”

“ What irony that out of all the years of their lives they should come back together at this moment. An impulse tugged at him to snatch his pistols from the squire's silver box and try to take her from the arena, daring any to stop them.
Then he realized that the Bailiff was standing again, that the hundred thousand spectators were surging to their feet. Trumpet fanfare blasted from the main tunnel, signalling the arrival of the judges. Instinct brought Jacques to his feet. Ann remained seated, and rose only after the jailers nudged her with their curved staffs. ”

“ Sir Mallory stepped back, spreading out his hands as if to show Jacques there was nothing more he could do about it.
Jacques stood tautly erect, impassive, while his mind reeled on a hairline balance between defiance and submission. He knew that more than this one issue would be decided by his next words. His entire professional life was involved, everything he had trained and fought for since he had been selected for the service at the age of thirteen. A wrong word, and he could be dismissed by the Bureau. ”

“ An ugly undercurrent rippled close to the surface. Was this woman going to win a reversal, in spite of all her insolence? If she did, the whole holiday would be spoiled, since there were no other executions on the docket. Better to have stayed home and watched films of old executions on the FBIT's nightly vidcast!
Jacques looked away from Ann to watch the Chief Justice. The lines in Jacques' face were like gouges in a metal casting.
Acutely aware of his role, the Chief Justice stood up and drew his robe about him with great dignity, taking care to face toward the TV cameras on the north tower. ”

“ After the execution, he would be moved to his black silk tent in the center of the camping grounds.
While the squire fluttered around him, eager to be of help, Jacques removed his short-sleeved dacron shirt, kicked off his sandals and stepped out of the comfortable shorts he always wore for traveling. The squire gaped with awe at the [Pg 35] sight of his muscular body.
"M'Lord, truly thou art a powerful man!"
Jacques looked down at him with mixed contempt and amusement. The squire was a thin, pale little man, with the pinched look of nearsightedness about his eyes. ”

“ During the long spartan years of his training, the isolated years of monastic living at a time when youth burned strongest in him, the image of woman had become a haunting dream, unreal as the moonlight streaming through his curtainless window, untouchable as the mist of a summer morning. ”

“ Jacques only scowled in reply, but he knew that this rumor, at least, was true. The last woman had been back in the Fifth Judicial District. A flint-faced murderess with the shoulders of a man. But the horror of firing the coup du mort into her naked, contorted body still came back to haunt his dreams. For weeks afterwards he hadn't been able to touch the women who came so eagerly to his tent during the wild execution night Festivals. ”

“ The little squire picked up the white tunic and brushed it off dejectedly. If he missed this opportunity to serve as squire to the Lord High Executioner, his name would rotate to the bottom of the list and he might not have a chance to serve again before it was time to make up new lists.
Jacques strode to the window. Lady Ann of Coberly. The name could mean anything or nothing, according to the whimsy of the lower courts. Lady Ann.... Ann! But it couldn't be her—Or could it? Jacques looked far down the years to a youngster just out of training, eager to prove himself in the execution arena. ”

“ Ann shrugged, and the loose robe slipped lower on her shoulders.
"I suppose so, but is it necessary to waste all this time? You've got [Pg 42] the record in front of you!"
The judges exchanged significant glances, and a delicious shudder swept through the stands. Jacques felt time running out on him. At best the chances of a reprieve for any prisoner were small, and in face of Ann's attitude....
The Chief Justice's expression congealed into judicial impassiveness.
"Ye are charged with taking the life of a man," he began solemnly. ”

“ They were a modern adaptation of an ancient design, and had become official death weapons after earlier experiments had convinced the FBIT that few 22nd century men were strong enough to handle the swords and lances of chivalry. ”