“Come with me inside, Bastion. You should rest.”
Bastion spit on the ground. “I don’t want to sleep. I want to watch these boys work. I want Mia to see these stakes and consider what she has done.” Bastion drained the last of the flask and stifled another yawn again.
“You were up all night. I heard you.”
Bastion looked away, so Stefan pressed further. “I’ll not doubt you again about your work. Only recently have I begun to understand mine. But you should lie down in the dormitory. The day ahead of us is a long one.”
Bastion needed help standing. Stefan led him to the dormitory, feeling Bastion become heavier with every step, leaning against Stefan. He began murmuring like a child, speaking about strange things like his generous nature and women’s inconstant temperaments. Stefan deposited him onto a bed, lifting his legs onto the straw mattress, resting his arms at his sides.
He leaned down and called Bastion’s name but heard no reply. Stefan slapped Bastion, hard. He did not move. The flask had done its job.
Stefan reached into Bastion’s bag and removed a key, placing it in his own bag.
“Good-bye, Bastion.”
Ava pried his fingers off the lock, then bent her head down and tried to bite them.
“Stop!” Stefan said.
“What are you doing? I’m going to die today. Bastion promised.”
“You don’t want to die.”
“Yes, I do.”
“You want your son back. Dying won’t do it. Dying is no assurance you’ll see him again in heaven, either.”
Stefan swung the cage door open. Ava pushed herself against the back bars of the cage, cowering.
“Don’t do this to me, Father Stefan. You don’t have a child. You don’t understand.”
“I am beginning to understand, Ava. That is why I cannot leave you caged.”
“No, please, I would die a thousand deaths for my son. Please don’t stop me.”
“Only one death was ever needed. And it is not yours.” Stefan’s heart ached for her. He had learned so much about God since reading from the Bible, but there was no time to tell her of everything. He said a silent prayer that wherever she went next, someone in that village would have a Bible. And read it.
He stepped back away from the open door. “I should have done this a long time ago. Come out of there, Ava.” He extended his hand. “If God intended for you to suffer for your sins, why did He send His own Son to die for them? You must never again punish yourself. That is the only blasphemy you are guilty of, not witchcraft. This punishment, the condemnation you have heaped on your own head, these are the true blasphemies. Jesus died, and your sins are no more. You are beloved. Take your freedom, Ava, today. Do not wait. You are beloved.”
“You’re wrong!”
“I cannot force freedom on you. And you are still His beloved, even if you remain in this cage. Because you are forgiven, only you should have this.” He held out the key to the cage door. “I want you to come inside the church.”
Ava stared in horror at it, transfixed. She did not move. Stefan threw it inside the cage, getting it close to her feet.
“Good-bye, Ava. I cannot express how you have helped me. You were presented to me as a witch, but I saw a woman. I thank God for that.” He could think of nothing else to say and grinned at the irony of words failing him now. They had failed from the moment he took the priesthood, and this was as it should have been. He had learned so late the ways of the Shepherd. If only he had read the Book so much sooner.
As he walked away, he heard the slam of metal on metal and glanced back. Ava had pulled the cage door closed, crouching down in it, glaring at him. He bit his lip and kept walking. He hoped that the next time he opened the door for a prisoner, there would be less resistance.
Chapter Twenty-six
“Father.”
Mia heard the jailer greet Father Stefan, his chair scratching against the polished wood floor as he did.
“Would you do a priest a kindness?” Stefan asked.
“Yes, of course,” the jailer replied. “You made quite a sight sitting up there with Bastion. I rejoiced to see you join our cause.”
“Yes, well, there are more changes to come. Now, for my favor?”
“Anything.”
“Leave.”
“What?”
“You can return tomorrow. I haven’t thought through all the details of what will happen after the burning, but that should be right.”
“I don’t understand, Father. The burnings are in a few hours. I can’t leave the witches here without guard.”
“Please, son.”
“I can’t just—”
Mia heard a wet snap and a loud collapse, then Stefan’s voice. “Well. Throwing a punch is as easy as it looks.”
Father Stefan stood at Mia’s cell a moment later, peering in at her. He twisted and slid the lock across itself, pulling the door open.
Mia sat, unable to move. Dame Alice didn’t rise either.
“Are you able to walk?” he asked them.
Both women nodded.
“Good.”
“Where is Alma?” Mia said.