East of Ashes (29 page)

As she stood here today she knew she shouldn't worry but it must
have
be
en
clear to everyone around her that she was failing miserably in that department. Any moment now she was going to have to call Lamech to testify in Joash's defence - and she still wasn't sure what was going to happen.

She had no choice but to trust the Lord. She knew she was supposed to have done that from the start, but her heart was struggling to let go.

The pope waved for her to begin.

Here we go
, she thought.
Lord, I have nothing else to lean on. There is only
Y
ou. Forgive my lack of faith - and
please
save Joash!

She turned to Lamech and motioned for him to get up. Then she turned to face the assembly.

"Lamech was also at the inn that night in Arles," she said. "He and Joash had helped Lord Gaal's bodyguards to fend off the attack on the inn."

Then she turned back to Lamech, deciding to throw it all in and cut to the heart of the matter: "Did you see anything that night that would prove Joash's innocence?"

She held her breath as Lamech looked at her with sadness in his eyes.

"I'm afraid I did not," he answered at last.

His words sent a shockwave through her and she just stared at him.
Then all is lost
, she thought as her legs threatened to cave in.

Around them the officials were all talking at the same time. The prosecutor was roaring with laughter. He got up and walked over to Lamech. As he passed her, Leala's legs couldn't hold her any longer and she slumped onto her chair.

When the hall had grown quiet again, the prosecutor asked Lamech: "So you didn't see anything that would prove Joash was innocent?" Condescension dripped from his voice.

"I didn't," Lamech replied. Then added pointedly: "But I also didn't see anything that would prove his guilt."

The prosecutor seemed to falter and considered this for a moment.

"So let's say for arguments sake Joash didn't murder Lord Gaal, who did? You?" he asked.

"No..." Lamech said slowly. The prosecutor immediately noticed his hesitation.

"But?" he asked.

Lamech was staring at the floor. Then he seemed to come to a decision and looked up.

"But I had planned to."

Questions were screaming for attention in Leala's mind as she struggled to comprehend what he was saying. She half expected everyone to begin shouting at the same time but the silence around them was deafening. The only indication that Lamech's words had hit a nerve
,
was when a few of the officials leaned forward in concentration while they listened.

Next to her, however, Joash was looking at Lamech with bulging eyes and a gaping mouth.

The prosecutor was smiling dangerously at Lamech.

"So you planned to murder him... Why?" he asked.

Lamech turned to look at Joash and Leala before he answered.

"I was deeply jealous of what I could see forming between Joash and Leala... and, frankly, I wanted to kill Joash for it," he said, remorse written all over his face as he looked at them.

"But I also knew that if I killed him, Leala would be lost to me anyway. Then Joash and Lord Gaal got into an argument about the Crusade that afternoon and I thought that if I murdered him instead - whom I didn't care for anyway - using Joash's dagger, then the blame would shift to him and he would be out of the picture. I even went as far as to steal Joash's dagger when he wasn't looking."

Leala couldn't believe her ears, but the look on Lamech's face was enough to convince her that it was true - and that he was deeply sorry for it. In his eyes she saw love - for both of them - and regret.

"So why didn't you do it?" the prosecutor prompted.

Lamech heaved a deep sigh and then looked at him: "Because during the attack I saw how deeply Joash cared for Leala. It was like my eyes had suddenly been opened and I
really
saw how much he loved her - I just couldn't take her away from him. And so I left, dropping the dagger outside the inn in the dark."

The prosecutor seemed to consider his words for a moment before asking his next question.

"You couldn't take her away from him because you had lost a loved one yourself, correct?"

"Correct."

"Tell us about that."

Lamech hesitated, the pain in his eyes leaving Leala breathless.

"My wife was murdered a few years ago," he finally said.

"And you found her murderer, didn't you?" the prosecutor asked.

"Yes, I did."

"What did you do?"

"I wanted to kill him - and almost did. But then my father burst into the room and stayed my hand."

"What happened then?"

Lamech hesitated again, but decided to hold nothing back. It was clear the prosecutor knew anyway.

"I found out my father, who was a bishop, had heard the murderer's confession the day after he killed my wife. And that he had absolved him from the act - for a fee."

Leala's ears were ringing with every word, but even as her mind fought against it she knew it to be true.

"When I confronted him about it, he tried to deny it. But after I threatened him, he confessed."

"So you killed him," the prosecutor said.

Lamech dropped his head, unable to meet anyone's gaze as grief and remorse flooded through him. And yet, in that moment of pain, he could feel something like a hand silently come to a rest on his shoulder in comfort - just as it had in Antioch.
Do not fear, my son
, the Holy Spirit whispered in his spirit,
I AM with you
.

It gave him the strength he needed and he looked up at the prosecutor.

"Yes."

The hall exploded in an uproar. Joash looked around him, silently shaking his head as the officials shouted down judgement upon Lamech. Leala kept her eyes upon Lamech and was amazed to see how peaceful he looked, despite the pain and remorse that he was clearly feeling. It was as if he had known this would come.

And then she realised he had, all along.

The prosecutor was pacing in front of them, trying to hide his glee by looking thoughtful, but he was failing miserably.

When the pope held up his hands for silence, the prosecutor stopped in front of Lamech.

"Here's what I'm struggling to understand," he said, "You admit to killing your father, but not Lord Gaal. Do you really expect us to believe that you didn't kill him too when you clearly harboured resentment towards the church - and had ample motive to do so?" he added, gesturing towards Leala and Joash.

"Whether you believe it or not, doesn't matter," Lamech replied calmly. "It remains the truth regardless."

"The truth?" the prosecutor scoffed. "The truth is you killed your father, then Lord Gaal - and then joined the Crusade to try and win absolution. But you didn't find it, did you?"

"No, I didn't kill Lord Gaal," Lamech began, but the prosecutor waved his words away and continued as if he hadn't even spoken.

"You didn't find any absolution because your heart was defiled by Satan. You joined the Crusade to seed discord amongst the Lord's soldiers and to continue Satan's work!"

"Yes
,
my heart was defiled by Satan, but the Lord saved me and cleansed me!" Lamech tried to interject, but the prosecutor shouted him down.

"So you admit to being an agent of Satan and a murderer but now want us to believe that all of that should just be forgotten because 'the Lord
saved
you
’
?"

"No
,
of course there are still repercussions for what I ha
ve
done..."

"It's only when the church grants you absolution that you will be cleansed
,
but I can see that your heart is so full of evil that you don't even want to admit the full extent of your sins!" The prosecutor was positively shouting.

Lamech wanted to retort, accusing the church of trying to manipulate God the way they saw fit, but then held his tongue. He knew this was the path the Lord had shown him to take and he was going to follow it, no matter what. It helped his emotions to settle down and he simply met his accuser with a steady gaze.

The prosecutor was about to launch into another tirade when the pope interrupted him.

"That's enough," he said. "I have heard all I need to hear."

The prosecutor bowed and then took his seat.

Leala watched the pope with bated breath as he considered his next words. Next to her she could feel Joash shaking with anger. He was looking at the prosecutor and seemed ready to grab him by the throat. She laid her hand on his arm and he turned to look at her.

Seeing the love in her eyes, he calmed down slightly and leaned over to kiss her forehead. Then they both turned to look at Lamech.

He was standing watching them, smiling from ear to ear, clearly basking in the love between them. Leala felt like hugging him to pieces as she fought back tears. It was magnificent to behold the change the Lord had wrought in him. The peace radiated from him in waves so strongly that it was almost visible.

It was, in a word, beautiful.

The pope cleared his throat. When they were all watching him again, he stood up.

"From what I have heard here today, it is clear to me that you are indeed guilty of not only your father's murder, but also that of Lord Gaal's."

Leala knew she should feel shock, but the pope's verdict was by now too predictable.

"It is also clear to me," the pope continued, "that you feel no remorse and that you do not repent."

"And so the only way to stave off Satan's work is for you to be executed tomorrow morning."

The pope motioned for the guards to come forward and then ordered that Lamech be taken away.