Mattias and Elias walk me through the sheriff’s compound. I have seen parts of it already. It is grand in a way not many places still are. It is cleaner than the world outside the walls. It is maintained, gardens cultivated. It strikes me that there must be some kind of benefit to the crushing dominance the sheriff exerts over all those in his domain, and this is it.
I am used to dirt and broken things. I have never been anywhere clean or nice. I have never looked as I do now. But the cost of all this beauty is pain and suffering.
The closer we get to the grand building where the sheriff waits for me, the more nervous I become.
“Mattias?”
“Yes?”
“You shouldn’t take me to them,” I suggest hopefully. “You should take me and keep me for yourselves.”
Mattias and Elias exchange looks over
