Naomi Grim: Complete Novel (Parts 1-4) (The Silver Scythe Chronicles) Read Online Free Page A

it's
disgusting. I would have rather her let you put us to death."
         Surprisingly,
Dunningham chuckled at this. "If you're thinking of making a similar
arrangement, I might have considered it had your execution not already been
scheduled and announced. It's too late to turn back now. Pity."
         How
many Grims had he made this "arrangement" with? I pressed myself
against the carriage's door, trying to get as far away from the vile creature
as possible.

Chapter 37
     
    The
carriage came to a stop. Reynold opened my door and I stepped out. I was dizzy,
but I was determined to walk on my own. He wrapped my cloak around me and
lifted its hood over my head.
         He
pushed me ahead. We were on concrete now, which was not easy on my feet.
         "Hold
on," he said after a few moments, "there's steps."
         That
meant we had made it to the stage. Every Grim in Nowhere had to be standing in
the square watching, but I heard not a sound. They wouldn't be permitted to
speak until Dunningham told them to.
         Reynold
led me up the wooden steps and across the stage. At last, he removed the
blindfold. At first I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the light, then I was
awed by the sea of black hoods standing in front of me. I had never witnessed a
gathering from this perspective. Everyone looked solemn. No one looked happy to
be there, as they had in previous gatherings. Maybe because my father was
popular and respected in Farrington.
         I
spotted my family in the front row. They had been required to stand there. Dorian
looked down.  I couldn't see his face since it was covered by his hood. Bram
scowled, as usual. He looked at me, made eye contact and then looked down like
Dorian. Mother held a black lace handkerchief to her face to keep herself from
crying out loud. Her mother had given her that handkerchief and one day she
would have probably passed it on to me. Father had one arm around her, holding
her up. He looked at me, gave me a small smile, and nodded.
         After
seeing my family, I looked around the platform for the first time. To the left
of me was Dunningham's podium, where he prepared to make his speech. To the
right of me were the gallows. I was being hung. I looked at the rickety wooden
frame with a noose hanging from it. The gallows had been built hundreds of
years ago, but had never been replaced because they were sacred.
         I
should have known better than to wish for a quick painless death. I had done a
horrible thing to my fellow Grims. I wondered how long I would hang in that
noose before I died.
         From
the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Doyle walking onto the platform,
wearing a crisp black suit and polished leather shoes. He stood by the steps
with his arms folded against his chest. I was happy I'd thrown up on him.
         I
looked across the crowd of black hoods and wondered what Dunstan and the Foragers
had planned. He'd said this would be the perfect time, since we'd all be in the
same place, so what was going to happen? I hoped my family and friends wouldn't
be hurt.  
    Dunningham
took a sip of water from the platinum goblet on his podium. "Dear fellow
Grims, we are gathered here today to witness the execution of a traitor. Naomi
Grim is charged and convicted of a grave crime—interfering with death. Now she
must satisfy death's appetite by giving her own life. Let this be a message to
you all. Do not go against the Covenant."
         Another
Watcher, not Reynold, led me over to the gallows. I spotted Keira and Chase.
Their families stood together behind mine. Mother began to sob loudly as I
walked up the steps and to the gallows’ platform.
         "Silence!"
Dunningham bellowed. Father tightened his grip around Mother's shoulders, and I
hated Dunningham more than I already did for yelling at her in her grief.
         I
stepped onto a large wooden block. The Watcher removed my hood and slid the
rope around my neck. It was rough and coarse