Page 42 (1/2)

Joan, acting largely on her own, rallied a group of soldiers and peasants and townsfolk and captured an English stronghold Then another And then she began to capture entire towns and was able to get the Dauphin—the French king in waiting—officially crowned

Then things took a grilish The French abandoned her to her fate, and she was dragged before a truious court

, which found her guilty of heresy in part because she had worn

She was taken to the town square and tied to a tall pole, and dry as piled around and beneath her The fire was lit

Derek’s brother had reveled in the details The way the flames would at first have war her eyes The jeers and insults of the crowd The way her clothing would have been the first thing to burn, the way it would have curled and sun

Blistering skin A s for breath as the heat baked the air in your lungs Skin bursting open

I told Messenger I was sure, you see, that he would never inflict anything so inhuman on Derek

At the start of an to sweat He began to lick his lips nervously And as Messenger listened iht That’s not right No No way”

His voice grew panicky Oriax’s eyes glittered with an eer just listened Just listened and did not stop me

“Okay, aaame!”

“You have done well,” Messenger said to me

“I think he’s scared now—I think he gets it,” I said, pleading Derek’s case

“Yeah, yeah, I ame!”

“Too late,” Oriax purred And then she began to sing in a low but veryset to an ancient h I did not at that moment recall the name and only later retrieved from memory that it was called “Greensleeves”

She sang this: