Chapter 16

The masks fall and arrive

Alerted by a scream, every minister rushed to the bathroom. They saw Cherryblossom's condition. They turned pale at the sight of the fresh corpse lying in the bath. Deep dagger lacerations were visible on his throat, his still open eyes showed an expression of surprise.

"Not you, my friend," said a grizzled old man in a red toga. He tore the mask from the corpse’s face. He showed it to the whole assembly gathered near the door. "Whose mask is this and what does it mean?"

Minister Peachseed, a disabled man using a stick as a cane, told him. "There’s only one possible culprit, the Indomitable. He arrived just before Cherryblossom's death."

The straw hat minister regained his composure. He scratched his chin and commented. "Minister Peachseed, the Indomitable is a murderer, but he was waiting for Cherryblossom outside when it happened.  He can't be outside and inside at the same time."

Peachseed pointed the window. "Minister Orangeflower, look at the window, there are leaves at the bottom of the opening. Someone forced it open. Probably the Indomitable... I’ll go get him, he owes us answers."

Minister Orangeflower looked down on the handicapped minister. "Who do you think you are? It’s the Indomitable we’re talking about! A great assassin like him would be so clumsy? If the Indomitable would have killed him, the corpse would have disappeared. This is clearly the work of an amateur."

The disabled tree-man looked out the window. The Indomitable was sitting across from a barn as if still waiting for Cherryblossom. "That's what we're going to see," Peachseed said before rushing out as fast as a disabled man could, jostling the other ministers in his path.

"Come on. He's our guest!" said Orangeflower.

The handicapped tree-man walked out, slamming the door behind him. Once outside, he hobbled across the lawn to join the Indomitable.

Furious, he raised his stick in the air "Indomitable! Come inside!"

"Why? Where’s Cherryblossom?" replied the assassin, getting up.

Minister Peachseed muttered without smiling. "Cherryblossom’s no longer in his normal state."  He spat at the assassin. "Because of you."

You’ll suffer thought the Indomitable. He pretended not to have heard it, running towards the manor, and kicking away Peachseed’s cane in the process.

The handicapped man started swearing, trying to find his cane but the Indomitable was already gone.

The Indomptable went inside; he sat in the center of the room, looking at Minister Orangeflower in puzzlement. "Where’s Cherryblossom?"

As Orangeflower tried to respond, another minister cut him off. " Indomitable, Minister Cherryblossom was murdered in the bathroom,  his throat cut. Exactly your modus operandi..."

The Indomitable stood up with a strange calm. He took off his hooded suit, revealing his bald head and bloody shirt. The assassin removed it and placed it on the table, the metallic smell spreading through the room.

"You see this sap? It’s none other than that of your sworn enemy Xidor Cèdre. Why would I kill my employer?".

The other minister swept the room with his eyes. "If it's not you, who is it?"

The Indomitable replied wryly. "Someone who was inside; I was outside."

Minister Peachseed bursted into the mansion, a handful of leaves in his free hand. "And this hair? If that's not a sign that it's you!"

The assassin put his hand on his dagger and answered with a straight face "What hair?"

The whole assembly froze on the spot, terror rising from their throats.... Only Orangeflower kept his composure.

Distraught, he jumped down from his chair and went towards them manor’s door.

He stood in front of it like a stone statue. "Nobody leaves. The murderer is among us."

The disabled minister woke from his stupor and jumped towards the man in the straw hat, ready to run away... "Minister Orangeflower, let us out, we’re innocent. The Indomitable is lying! None of us would kill a prominent member of the aristocracy."

Orangeflower swung around and threw himself at the disabled man. "What a joke, Minister Peachseed."

Peachseed fell, knocked over by Orangeflower.

Orangeflower picked up the disabled man by the arms and admonished him.

"Now that Xidor Cèdre is dead, any of y’all would kill to get Cherryblossom’s job. It could be you!"

In shock, Peachseed began to spasm and stutter. "It...isn't...me."

Orangeflower slapped Peachseed. "It's you!" He slapped him again . "Minister Cherryblossom was going to write a letter to Prince Atord; he had a quill in his hands.... But you killed him first!" He shouted at him "Prince Atord would have made him prime minister for life, blocking you the reins of supreme power."

Peachseed's eyes closed and he began to stammer..." Suppositions!. Cherryblossom was my friend..."

Orangeflower shook him violently. "Really? And this feather? And this mask?" shouted Orangeflower.

Minister Peachseed's eyes narrowed. "I don't know..."

"I'll tell you; this mask is a symbol of the brotherhood of the mask bearers. According to my sources, you often do business with them, bribing politicians, murder, theft, disappearance."

Minister Peachseed exclaimed with bruises covered cheeks and barely any strength "Nonsense, the brotherhood is gone. José is dead."

Orangeflower spoke to him in a soft voice as if he were speaking to a young child. "Really? José's execution was never publicly aired. Several of my sources say they even saw masked people walking the streets, sometimes even approaching the mansion. You have the keys, you could have let anyone in.

The Indomitable signaled Orangeflower to let go of Peachseed.

"A man with an identical mask was walking around the city, there are witnesses."

"Where is him?" said Orangeflower, dropping suddenly Peachseed, who grunted with pain...

"In the ghetto."

"Take me to this man," said Orangeflower,  dusting  his straw hat with his fingers.

The Indomitable pointed each member of the meeting, one by one. "Come, all of you, you can no longer accuse me; I’m innocent."

"We'll see.... I'm the innocent one," said Minister Peachseed, glaring at Orangeflower and the Indomitable.

Peachseed's legs were shaky, and he struggled to get up.

He followed the Indomitable outside. Orangeflower followed, preferring to keep an eye on Peachseed; the other ministers did the same.

They walked through the streets. A thick darkness lit the way, disturbed by the glow of the white moon. The creaking of the wind accompanied them, and a smell of shit floated in the air. This neighborhood had existed since the Xidorville’s founding two years ago.  King Xidor had promised the poor peasants that they would get a better life if they joined his new capital, but that never happened. Too many people had joined the capital and a great competition for the few hundred jobs related to the city’s construction had arisen. Only those who had contacts in the merchant guild could get a job.

Only the Arbolarbre clergy and Prince Atord had taken care of these poor people, providing them with the materials to create makeshift dwellings. The money was taken from public funds by the clergy, which made Xidor angry. Xidor stopped financing the Clergy from that day on and Jimmy Acajou, the Arbol Maestra [1]of the time, disappeared. No one knew where he was except for the Clergy and his friends.

The Indomitable and his gang saw his name written on the front of a dilapidated house in the rat-infested neighborhood.

As they read the inscription, a shadow came towards them revealing a black and white mime mask in the moonlight.

"José is dead."

The ministers opened their eyes wide and surrounded the beggar.

"José is dead? Where does this mask come from and what is José doing? ANSWER!" Orangeflower grabbed the beggar by the collar of his vest; shreds of fabric crumbled and fell to the ground.

The beggar knelt and implored the minister. "Don't kill me! I’m only a beggar. A man who   was wearing this mask paid me to walk around and say "José is dead. His name was Mimar, Mimar the third mask."

Orangeflower released him, letting the beggar breathe. "The third mask? So, the Brotherhood of the Mask Bearers has the nerve to go public. José is alive and well...what is he planning?"

Minister Orangeflower turned to Minister Peachseed on his left and pointed at him.

"You, you had an honest man executed and then lied about your involvement. You used this Mimar as a henchman, you paid José. On top of that, you didn't hesitate to accuse an innocent man. Give him what he deserves, Indomitable."

The Indomitable drew a dagger and leapt towards Peachseed.

Minister Peachseed shouted, shielding his face with his hands. "No!, I did deal with José to get a ministerial position, but I didn’t kill Minister Cherryblossom, he was my friend. Please let me live, I had nothing to do with this."

He knelt at the Indomitable’s feet. "Please. God is watching."

The Indomitable gagged at Peachseed's miserable behavior.

Ark, Pitiful...

The Indomitable cut Peachseed's throat cleanly. His body crashed to the ground and attracted the attention of a cluster of large black rats that came to gnaw at his flesh. The beggar who witnessed the assassination scene fled towards a dark alley. The Indomitable looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

Minister Orangeflower looked at the Indomitable and gave him a final bow.

"Thank you Indomitable for ridding us of Xidor and that despicable minister. Here's your money. Cherryblossom unfortunately didn't have time to pay you for Xidor's assassination."

Minister Orangeflower approached the Indomitable and handed him a purse full of gold coins. The Indomitable whispered in the minister's ear, a petty smile on his lips." Thank you, my contract is now complete.... You can now leave for new horizons. Mimar sends his regards."

He stabbed his dagger into Minister Orangeflower's heart.

"hugh, hugh, it was you..." the man shouted, spitting sap.

The other ministers watched, petrified as Minister Orangeflower's body emptied.  The Indomitable drew his horseshoe dagger and delivered a flurry of blows to the back of each minister.

They fell, one by one on the ground staring at the assassin. Life left their eyes, those showing the same terror that Cherryblossom’s corpse showed.

All this time, it was the Indomitable. The Indomitable had killed Cherryblossom, Peachseed and Orangeflower; now they were depriving them of their lives. Why? Yet he had been paid...

The Indomitable weighed his purse and counted the number of ministers at his feet.

The count is good... another fulfilled contract.

He stole Minister Orangeflower's straw hat and started walking towards the royal palace; Xidor was waiting for him.

A smell of snow, strange so far from Oakvalley...

A dozen shadows suddenly appeared before his eyes. They encircled him, all of them wearing a red and black mask except one.

The brotherhood of the mask bearers.

[1]  2 The Arbor Maestra is the supreme leader of the Arbolarbre clergy.