Chương 72: For the Babies

Kasia sat across the table from Hecate. Hecate was talking, but the words weren't registering. The Swamp Devil. Hecate killed the Swamp Devil. No one had ever been able to harm him. Not since before Kasia was even born. Her parents had told tales of entire squads going into the swamp to kill it. None of them ever came back. He was the reason why no one got close to the swamp, and Hecate had killed him without even realizing who he was. Then when she found out who he was, she just shrugged it off and made a joke.

Hecate nodded enthusiastically, the disturbing mask bobbing up and down. Kasia could still barely believe it, but Vasil had confirmed it. Hecate had entered her world like a storm—or maybe more like a fire—and Kasia's entire life had changed in an instant. Not only had Hecate saved her and Kuba despite not knowing them at all, she'd fed them, given them a safe place to stay, and clothed them in the most expensive gear Kasia had ever seen. The pants and tunic she was wearing were worth two gold. Two gold!

People would kill for a lot less, and Hecate had just given it to her without asking anything in return. Kasia hadn't known much kindness in her life. There was Kuba, of course, but ever since her parents died the folks in town saw that as a free pass to take advantage of them. They were poor and weak, so it's not like they could do anything to stop them. But then Hecate showed up. One by one she'd eliminated everything that threatened them. Bartek. The inquisitors.

Even the Swamp Devil, though she hadn't known it at the time. She was like a guardian angel sent by Stvora. Except it couldn't be Stvora. Stvora had clearly forsaken her. And now Hecate wanted to walk them straight into a trap. Hecate's logic wasn't very convincing, and most of the time it didn't even make sense, but there was something about her that made you want to follow her. Something about her that made you feel like you'd be alright, even though you shouldn't. And she had been alright.

From the moment Hecate stepped into her life she'd been in more danger than she'd ever been, but at the same time she'd never felt safer. Hecate was unlike anyone Kasia had ever seen. At first, she'd thought Hecate was like a hero from the stories, despite how they'd met. But it was very clear now she was something else entirely. She wasn't calm and composed. She was quick to anger and she certainly didn't fight fair. Anyone who threatened her instantly died. No warning, just death. Such power.

Could Kasia have power like that one day? By Hecate's side, anything felt possible. She thought about the Inquisitor, his head now dangling off one of Hecate's pistols. Was nothing sacred to her? Should it be? Had Kasia been thinking about the world wrong all along? Even Vasil had said the world wasn't fair, the System wasn't fair. Kasia had spent her whole life following the rules, keeping her head down, trying to be good and kind and not cause trouble.

Living life and following all the rules had only brought misery to Kasia. Yet the one person who didn't seem to follow any rules at all had brought her nothing but kindness, saved her from her hopeless situation, and treated her like she actually mattered. Was this how it was supposed to work? Had Hecate figured out the secret to the world while everyone else was busy praying to a god who never answered?

Maybe the rules were just there to keep people like Kasia weak, and people like Hecate were the only ones truly free. Could Kasia be free? Could she be happy? Hecate had given her hope, allowing her to believe she did have a future, that she could decide her own fate. Maybe Hecate's fire had lit a spark inside of her as well, a small ember burning deep inside her chest. It was a tiny thing, hungry for air and fuel to grow into a blaze of its own.

For the first time, she didn't feel like she was destined to rot, to be stepped on. For the first time, the weight of the world didn't feel like it was crushing her; it felt like something she could finally push back against. Hecate folded the map and got up.

"Alright, let's do this." A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Kasia stood and followed her. As they walked toward the exit Kasia said, "I still can't believe the Swamp Devil is dead."

"Excuse me," the innkeeper called.

"What did you say?" Kasia turned to him.

"Uhh…"

"Did you say the Swamp Devil is dead?" Hecate stepped between them.

"Is he dead? Is he dead? He's super dead! Heard it with my own two eyes!" Kasia raised an eyebrow. The innkeeper looked slightly confused as well. Hecate pointed at the door.

"That lady on the wanted posters did it! Hecate… Hecate of… I don't know. Hecate something. She said she was tired of him snatching babies and the Church just letting him. Said his baby snatching days were OVER. She said if Stvora won't do it, then BY HER PALE GRACE, I WILL!" By now a small crowd had gathered, all gasping and whispering.

"The Swamp Devil is dead?"

"No, it can't be!"

"The Swamp Devil?" Hecate hunched over, then spread her arms as wide as they would go.

"They say she fought it with her bare hands! Twenty feet tall it was—no, thirty! Eyes like burning coals! Breathing black fire that could melt a man's bones!"

"Oh my god!" one of the spectators exclaimed.

"THIRTY FEET?!" someone else shouted. Hecate leaned in closer to the crowd and whispered conspiratorially.

"They say it still had a baby clutched in its claws when she found it. They say she ripped its arm clean off, and saved that poor child from certain death."

"The baby!" a woman shrieked, clutching her chest.

"The sweet, innocent babe was saved!" Bewildered, Kasia looked around. What was going on? Hecate nodded solemnly.

"The sweet innocent babe was saved. And guess what?"

"What?!" someone gasped.

"As she stood there in front of the demon, she told it: 'Your reign of terror is over, for I, Hecate of Asteria, will protect the proud people of Silesia!'""YEAH!" Someone shouted.

"But then… despite only having one arm left, the towering devil laughed in her face.

'NEVER!' it growled, its voice like thunder.

'I will eat ALL the babies! Every last one!'" More gasps. Someone fainted."'Not on my watch!' the brave—and very beautiful—Hecate exclaimed."

"How beautiful?" someone asked.

"The MOST beautiful!" Hecate said.

"And then!" Hecate threw her arms up dramatically.

"The Swamp Devil opened its mouth and unleashed its demonic baby-melting hellfire directly into her face! Black flames!"

"NO!" the crowd screamed. Hecate pointed at no one in particular.

"But yes! It engulfed her, burning hotter than the sun! But Hecate just stood there. The Devil screamed, 'Why won't you burn?!'""And what did she say?" someone asked.

"She said, 'Fire doesn't scare me. I am the fire.' Then she caught the fire in her hands, crushed it into a tiny ball, and—" Hecate made a swallowing sound— "ate it! And there she stood. SMILING. Completely unharmed. Not a single strand of her beautiful, perfect, absolutely magnificent hair was even singed."

"IMPOSSIBLE!"

"BY STVORA'S GRACE!"

"A MIRACLE!"

"She didn't even have a weapon!" Hecate continued, her voice rising.

"Just her bare hands and the fury of a thousand wronged mothers! They say she beat it to death with its own severed arm! Beat it until there was nothing left but pulp!"

"With its OWN ARM?!" the innkeeper shouted, his face red.

"WITH! ITS! OWN! ARRRRRMMMM!" Hecate shrieked, punctuating each word with a fist pump. The crowd erupted. People were crying. Others were hugging strangers. Someone started chanting "HE-CA-TE! HE-CA-TE! HE-CA-TE!" Hecate raised a hand, palm flat.

"Alright, alright, calm down, calm down." The chanting slowly died down.

"And you know what she said right after she finished it?" The entire room leaned in.

"What did she say?" someone whispered. Hecate looked around at all of them.

"She looked down at that baby, safe in her arms, and she said..." She paused for effect.

"...'This is for the babies.'""SHE'S A SAINT!" someone cried out.

"HECATE IS A SAINT!"

"SAINT HECATE!" Hecate shook her head quickly, raising her hands again.

"No, no. She wouldn't want you to call her a saint. Wouldn't even want you to call her a goddess, though with hair that shiny and perfect, she might as well be one." Several people nodded solemnly at this wisdom.

"She was just doing what she could," Hecate continued.

"For the good people of Silesia. Because she felt the Church had abandoned them." Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd.

"That's probably why they put up those posters," Hecate said thoughtfully, as if the idea had just occurred to her.

"Can't have a real hero make the inquisitors look bad. Hell, maybe they even planted the Swamp Devil there in the first place. Makes you think, doesn't it?" The crowd's murmurs turned angry.

"They DID abandon us!"

"Where were they when our children went missing?!"

"The Church doesn't care about us!"

"And now they want to hunt the woman who saved the babe!" a woman spat.

"By Stvora, it's a disgrace!" Kasia's eyes went wide. Was Hecate... starting a riot? Hecate put her index finger to the mask's mouth slit.

"Shhh. I've already said too much. I've put all of us in danger by telling you this, so please don't tell anyone. The Church wouldn't be happy if this got out." She gave a small, satisfied nod.

"I must go, but remember this: your babies are safe now, thanks to Hecate." And with that Hecate grabbed a still stunned Kasia by the arm and pulled her out the door." This is for the babies!" she wheezed as soon as the door closed behind them.

"Kasia, did you hear me? Oh, man, Phisto is going to be so jealous he missed this!" Kasia stood there, thoroughly perplexed. What just happened? Hecate opened the satchel slightly.

"You think they're going to spread the word?"

"They are absolutely going to spread the word," Vasil said.