A masked man walked with fire and lit the haystack under him. He watched the man being hugged by flames till. He screamed, and so did Roderick. When the flames left, there was just a figure which did not even look like a human which had foam bubbling out of his mouth.
Roderick had already urinated on hay, hoping it will make combustion tough. He wanted to die of suffocation by smoke rather than being touched by fire.
When the executioner thought Roderick had an enough dose of fear, then he signaled to light the fire. Wasting no second, another person lit fire on the stick. More crowds gathered around to watch. People lifted their children on shoulders so that they could have a better view.
Wetting his pants didn’t help him much. Roderick realized it when he started to feel heat on his feet.
“Please make it rain and save me!” he yelled as flames touched his flesh opened by blisters.
The evening sky became darker with clouds in a second. There was a sound of thunder and the droplets of water. Drop after drop, the fire lost its head and disappeared altogether.
Nobody moved. It seemed like they were enjoying rain more than burning a man. Drops even fell on the dead body beside them.
I can control rain? He wondered but when he made rain as per his wish then he was confident.
People danced, leapt in joy, fell but stood again in joy. Even the executioners made their delight visible to whom they were about to execute. Executioner caught a dagger and freed Roderick.
“You ended the draught.” People praised him.
“Your execution is pardoned.” Executioner said, “Thank you very much. We thought you were an evil wizard, but you helped us.”
“Confine this headless monster.” People now wanted entertainment out of Headless.
“No! No! Don’t kill him.” Roderick ran around.
“Why?”
“He and I are inseparable.”
“He looks separated though.” Executioner wondered.
“I mean, my powers depend on him….at some scale….”
People were hesitant for a while. But they untied him regardless.
“Please stay with us.” People started to plead them, “This place needs you.”
Was the rain a fluke? He asked himself and made it rain again for about a minute.
“I can’t stay with you guys here.” Roderick made it clear.
“We beg you. We beg you.” Villagers chanted.
Roderick thought for a while and spoke, “Only if you find me who decapitated him. Or….” He couldn’t speak from there.
“Or?”
He realized he couldn’t delegate what he was told to do.
“Or I’ll just go.” Roderick answered.
