A Proper Killing

A complete grimdark short story. About 6,700 words, a 30-minute read. For the three nights of the Moon Dance, the lord will lie cold in his good coat. The men guarding him must stay awake. Any guard caught with a weapon during the watch will hang on the fourth morning. Pell has a household to keep in order. He also has the lord's promise that, at the next Seating, he will petition for Pell to receive a surname. Pell has waited years for that. He is tired of keeping other men's accounts with nothing worth writing beside his own name. Getting the household through three quiet nights ought to help. But Ossek wants to take his son away from the manor, and Pell has nobody he trusts to take the old man's place at the door. The boy will have to wait. There is always some reason he has to wait. On the second night, the moths will not brush free of the lord's collar. Pell brings the lamp closer. The lord is still cold, and the watch is still Pell's. Whatever happened in that room, he will have to answer for it when the lord wakes, and Pell would much rather report how he dealt with the trouble than ask for help. A Proper Killing is a standalone story set in the world of Entfalten. For adult readers, with no prior reading required.