Chapter 288

• They left the scene of the crime quickly. Old Gustav had collapsed, dead with the force of the blow. Though Phillipe had hit him with the blunt end of the axe, the old man had died instantaneously.
• Proserpina hugged Philippe and wondered silently why he seemed to feel no remorse for having killed a man. But the youth seemed frozen and exhausted. Would he become like Lucien, she thought, holding him in her arms, pitiless when it came to his enemies and anyone who threatened his loved ones? For she had watched in horror as, with his hands bound, her lover had tackled the woman holding the gun and brought her to the ground.
• Siek Toth had reached the spot, by now and had taken stock of the attack. Enfolding Lucien in a hug before barking orders to his men, he insisted that they leave at once. Lucien needed medical help. His wound was bleeding again, staining the rough cloth around his chest a deep crimson. As they raced away from the place, Proserpina glanced back. The menacing dark silhouettes of the trees, their gnarled, dry limbs reaching to the sky, was a sight she would forever associate with death, she thought and shuddered. Lucien, who had pulled her into the crook of his arm, glanced down at her and said nothing his mouth seeking hers urgently.