Jonathan eyed Wyatt and I nervously. Understandable. I planned to kill Wyatt the moment Jonathan's back was turned. A smile worked its way up inside of me. Reaching for the corners of my mouth as Jonathan says to Rician:

"Let's go for a walk, shall we?"

"Out of the question," said Rician.

"I'm only thinking that we might prefer some privacy."

Yes, I thought, a little privacy would be very useful.

"Oh, is this the vagary's spy network behind you?" Rician mocked. "Besides, taking a walk is exactly what we need to speak about. The fact that I can't. Because of these."

He gave a swift kick to one side of the wagon, spilling bodies onto the barren ground. The corpses were in various states of decomposition, and the ones from the bottom of the pile, now exposed, gave off a stench that sent Fati running back for the house.

"These are all for you, Jonathan."