two arms were on the right side of its body, a leg where the other arm should be. And the second leg was positioned in the center of the lower portion of the trunk, looking much like a tail.
Soth felt his knees go weak and his heart beginning to creep up into his throat.
This was no child of his.
This was the spawn of Evil, the offspring of one of the dark and evil gods.
Soth took another glance at the child and grimaced.
It wasn't even a child.
It was a monster.
And even if there wasn't a dark god at work here, then it could have easily been the work of some other hideous:: beast; a centaur perhaps, or a satyr What else could have) caused such gross deformity of the human body?
The thought of Korinne with another man-with another creature-sent anger flaring through Soth's body.
He wrapped the thing back in the blanket and held it at arm's length.
'Have you seen him?' asked Korinne, her voice soft yet proud. 'Is he beautiful?'
Madness roiled in the pit of Soth's belly, slowly making its way to his brain. 'Take it!' Soth said to Istvan, holding the child out to the healer.
'What's wrong?' asked Korinne.
'So you think the beast beautiful, do you?' Soth shouted.
'Have you been so blinded by love for the devouring dark that you can't even see the evil offspring you've created?'
'What?' cried Korinne, struggling to sit up. 'Let me see him. Let me see my boy!'
'Boy?' said Soth, walking over to Istvan and snatching the blanket from his hands. He unwrapped the child and held it high above his head. 'Is this your boy? Or is this the product of monstrous infidelity, evil faithlessness?'
Korinne simply looked at the child, blinking in disbelief.
Her mind was reeling. Finally she shook her head. 'No, I've always been faithful to you.'
'Liar!' He shook the child as he spoke and Istvan quickly retrieved it.
'I have been, I swear to you!' repeated Korinne.
'Then how do you explain that… that monster?'
'My boy?' Korinne asked, looking to Istvan.
She paused in confusion and then suddenly her face became a mask of terror. She turned her wide eyes upon her husband. 'It's your fault. You were the one who created it!' 'Has your lover made you mad as well?' shouted Soth.
'Your seed wouldn't give me a child, so I paid a visit to the hedge witch who gave me a child… the child you couldn't produce.'
'So, it's born of the blackest sort of magic,' Soth hissed.
'No, the blackest of souls,' replied Korinne.
For a moment, Korinne's words sent a spike of fear through Soth's heart.
'Istvan,' he called. 'Leave the room. Now.'
Istvan made ready to leave, carrying the child.
'Leave it there!'
Dutifully, Istvan set the child in the bassinet and left the room, locking the door behind him.
Soth turned to face Korinne.
'What madness moves your tongue?'
Korinne was in tears. 'The witch told me the health of the child would depend on the purity of your soul. I knew you'd been intimate with the elf, but I could never imagine you'd done so much evil in your life that you could produce such a… such a…' Her voice trailed off and she began to sob openly.
Soth looked at her, the words causing a sudden touch of fear to become mixed in with his rage. If it were true, if the child's health depended on his virtue, it was no wonder that it had been born a… A sort of madness began to seep into his mind as he realized that, as much as he'd tried to avoid them, his father's sins had become his, had become his child's.
The sins of the father, passed on from generation to generation.
'What have you done?' Korinne shouted between sobs.
'What black deed have you done?'
Soth's eyes narrowed as he glared at Korinne. The sudden shock he'd felt at her words had been erased by rage.
And now, utter madness was overtaking him. A potent mixture of rage, anger, jealousy, and self-hate. It consumed him like flame, controlled his actions.
Without answering her question, he drew a dagger from the belt around his waist and held it before him in his fisted right hand.
'What… what are you doing?' she screamed, her eyes wide with terror.
'No, please-'
He was at one with the madness now.
As he moved toward Korinne, the sounds of her screams were suddenly mixed with the sickeningly hoarse grunts of the newborn child.
Minutes later there was only silence.
Caradoc and Istvan had been waiting outside the chamber while Soth was inside with his wife and newborn child.
Why Soth wanted to be alone in the room, particularly without the help of the healer, Caradoc didn't know.
What he did know was that if Soth wanted to be alone in the room, then it was up to him to make sure he remain undisturbed.
When Korinne's screams began, Istvan abruptly got up from where he sat and desperately wanted to gain access to the chambers. It was his job, after all, to heal the sick and ease the suffering of those in pain. But rather than allow him entrance to the room, Caradoc had moved in front of the door, blocking Istvan's way.
'Perhaps it would be best to wait until milord calls you back inside.'
Istvan had been troubled by this, and well he should, thought Caradoc, because there was something strange about the birth of this child. So much pain, it wasn't right.
Nevertheless, both Caradoc and Istvan's allegiance was sworn to the lord of the keep and it was their duty to follow his orders.
When Korinne's screams grew louder, Caradoc himself had wanted to break down the door to find out what was happening, but he steeled himself against the impulse and cast a cold eye toward Istvan to make sure the healer did not move.
And now they waited patiently for the appearance of Lord Soth, Caradoc cleaning his fingernails with the end of a stiletto, Istvan doing a variety of stretching exercises designed to ease the troublesome pain in his joints.
The door suddenly moved, then began to swing open on its hinges. Soth appeared in the doorway, his long black hair hanging down from his head like tattered threads, a touch of gray apparent around the temples and streaked throughout with wisps of white.
'Is everything all right, milord?' asked Caradoc.
Soth shook his head. 'No, I'm afraid it isn't.'
'What's happened?' said Istvan, getting to his feet.
'Unfortunately, both milady and the child… died during childbirth,' said Soth, his voice surprisingly calm. He looked directly at Istvan.
'Despite your best efforts.'
'But I-' Istvan began to say.
Soth cut him off with a hard look, then turned to face Caradoc.
The seneschal shivered as Soth's cold eyes seem to cut right through him.
'I said, milady and the child died during childbirth.' He said each word slowly and clearly. 'Despite the heroic
