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Chapter 31: Whispers of the Night and Tears of the Morning

He quickly covered his eyes and told me," Hide it now."

"Why?" I asked.

"Just hide it!" he instructed once more, growing stressed. So, I did as he asked. I silently walked over to the bunk beds, and hid the book in the pillow case in the upper bunk. I then sat down in one of the chairs.

"You can open your eyes know." I instructed. Why is he so worked up over a book? I asked myself.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"What has Capricorn told you?" He answered with a question.

"Nothing, other than I would understand once I had read it." I replied.

"Just, don't tell me how it ends." He sighed as he lay down on the bottom bunk.

"I don't know about you, but I'm beat." He said as his bag rustled.

"Alright already." He groaned, opening his bag.

"Mind opening the window?" He asked. I had hardly opened the window when Gwin jumped up on the window still. There was a pipe to the immediate left of the window which he scurried down, and disappeared into the night.

"Could you leave them open? Otherwise, he'll be scratching on the window at five in the morning." He stated. I turned off the light and climbed into the top bunk.

"Dustfinger?" I whispered.

"Hm?" He replied.

"What do you think an immortal is?" I asked. He took a long time to think about his answer before responding; I had almost thought that he had fallen asleep.

"I think that it's more than not being able to die. I imagine someone who's immortal to be flawless, without a weakness. I guess I'd call an immortal a perfect person. I don't see the point of thinking of such things though. No one's perfect and no one will ever be. Why do you ask kid?" He replied.

"No reason." I lied.

"Good night, Dustfinger." I whispered into the night.

"Good night, kid." Dustfinger whispered as well. I closed my eyes and fell asleep. I slept soundly through the night. The cold didn't wake me, and neither did the red sunrise. It was Gwin sitting on my face. I removed the sleepy marten from my face, climbed down, and closed the windows that were letting below freezing air into our room. I sat down in the chair closest to the window and waited for dawn.

First light was beautiful in the mountains of Italy. Dawn spread her rosy fingers across the horizon, banishing the blackness of night, first coloring it a deep blue, then slowly lightening it to that baby blue. The edge of the sky still had a pinkness to it, and the clouds had an undertone of purple, when Dustfinger awoke.

"He wake you up?" He groggily asked.

"He thought that my face would be warmer than your bag." I explained.

He scratched Gwin's ears and said," He seems to be taking a liking to you. Maybe he'll decide to stay with you." Gwin chattered in response.

"I just can't get rid of you can I?" He asked the marten who snapped at his fingers.

"You want to grab some breakfast?" He asked as he ran his fingers through his hair, making an attempt to clean himself up.

"Sure, but I suppose Capricorn will pull me over once more." I said as I straightened my skirt and quickly braided my hair. We started over to the devil's chapel.

"So what was last night all about?" Dustfinger asked, kicking a stone along the pavement.

"Capricorn wanted to impress me. I didn't change my impression of him though." I answered.

"And what would that be?" He asked, stopping in front of the chapel.

"He's a pawn of the devil." I stated. Dustfinger laughed at this.

"Most people think that he is the devil." He said, regaining his composure. The door suddenly opened, and Basta was standing in the doorway.

"Thanks Dustfinger. I was about to go get her." Basta said. He ushered me over to the head of one of the tables, where Capricorn was sitting. This time he wore a light blue suit. He seemed very fond of pastels, although they did nothing for him. The men in there were groggy, but they took notice of my presence, and were wary of me.

"Seeing a beautiful face always brightens my day." Capricorn flattered as I sat down. Unlike the men, he was alert, trying not to miss a single detail. I sat down at his right and he waved Basta way. He sat down a little way down to sit with Cockerell and Flatnose.

"Did you read much last night?" He asked, biting into an apple.

"No, adjusting to the altitude difference is taxing so I decided to get some rest." I explained, noticing how the men were staring at me, as though they could not believe their eyes.

"Shame, it's a great read, I should know." He hinted.

"Have you told the men about what I am, or is this how they react to all strangers?" I asked.

"Yes I did. They don't seem to believe me though." He answered. I had a feeling that I knew what would come next, and my heart went out to Dustfinger, who had no idea.

"Maybe you would like to give them proof? Ah, Darius!" Capricorn asked as a man walked up.

"This is Darius, my reader." He introduced. Darius was a rather short man; he wore glassed, and wore black like the rest, but didn't look comfortable in it.

"G, Good morning m, mi, miss" He stuttered.

"Elizabeth is fine." I told him. He gave me a weak smile, happy that I didn't ignore him.

"He is three doors down on the right if you need a book." Capricorn informed me.

"I'll make sure to stop by." I replied, my words aimed more towards Darius than Capricorn. Daruis's face lit up at this, bowed, and walked away with a lightness to his step.

"Basta has told me that you have already met Flatnose, and of course, you know Cockerell. If you can't find Basta while I'm way, you can go to them if you need anything." He said, pointing to the trio. The rest of breakfast was simply small talk. He waited until the chapel was full. The men were obviously hanging around, hoping that they would get their proof.

When the last of the men ambled in he caught Basta's eye, and stood up. I followed him, knowing what was to come. Not many noticed when he stood up, but those that did, quickly spread the word. The tension in the air changed from nervousness to excitement. It was suddenly quite in the chapel, all eyes on us.

"I know that most of you doubt the integrity of what I told you last night, and I know that the few of you who believe it want proof. Well, here's your proof." Capricorn told the men. When he finished speaking, Basta stabbed me in the chest.

Here it was again, the sharp pain, so intense that I didn't even have the breath to scream. Basta removed his knife and cleaned it just like before. I coughed, and tasted blood in my mouth. My blood spilled out onto the floor, my knees began to lose their strength. The more blood I lost, the weaker I got. At least I can breathe this time. That was the only thought running through my head. I heard Dustfinger screaming my name as I fell to the floor. I heard the silence of the men and Basta's cruel laughter. The edges of my vision began to darken; it looked as though I was looking through a tunnel. I felt a pair of nervous hands on the wound. It was Dustfinger. What vision I had left was blurring, and his frantic voice was muffled.

I felt his tears drop onto my chest. He knew that it was futile, so he squeezed my hand. Everything took effort, breathing, blinking, and even holding my head straight. I managed to get two words out before my vision went black. They were," I'm sorry."

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