From the dead man, death drew a green gem from his lips and added it to its purse. The new queen gazed in awe, while her servant stared in terror.
‘It is valuable, lord death?’ asked the queen.
Death glanced askance, the queen barely beneath its notice. ‘All souls have value. Some more than others. This one is trivial.’
The queen frowned. ‘That is my father. He was a great king.’
Death shrugged. ‘And yet.’
‘There is some mistake,’ said the queen.
‘No mistake,’ said death. ‘I don’t know the quality of a soul before it is out of its mortal socket. But doing this work so long, I sometimes get a feeling of when a soul will be great. This one, for instance.’ Death pointed a bony finger at the terrified servant. ‘This one, I think, will make for an exquisite soul. We shall see.’
The queen shot a furious look at the servant, then back to death. ‘But-’
Death was gone, leaving behind an air of tension tighter than before it’d arrived.
Paddy Dobson
13th June 2023