Tale of the Penitent Thief

Now seemed to be the best time he would ever have. He did not know who the boy was but he appeared to have some kind of connection with the leader of this group. Was it his son? He could not hear what was being said between the man and his Magi masters but he sensed danger for all of them. He leapt to his feet and overpowered Tiran’s man that stood next to him and took his dagger from him. He crept forward in the dark and quickened his approach to the boy when he knew that the light of the fire would expose him. He grabbed Dismas by the hair and put his dagger to the boy’s throat. He was careful at this point not to expose his back to anyone that might get close to him.
Tiran stood just far enough from the boy after Mathias grabbed him that he was in no position to take action. All the same, his dagger was instantly out and ready for action if the right moment presented itself to him.
Mathias was clearly nervous but he was already committed to this action so he knew he needed to see it through regardless of the outcome. The real predicament he was in was that both he and the Magi knew that he would do no harm to the boy and the Magi were now certain that Tiran was not a man to back down, especially since the boy he held probably meant nothing at all to him.
“Everyone just drop your weapons and leave and I won’t kill the boy!” Mathias nervously shouted.
Mathias clearly did not expect Tiran’s reply of, “Go ahead and kill him, he means absolutely nothing to me.” He was confused by this. It made his next choices more difficult for he had not counted on this answer.
Gaspar hoped to diffuse this situation by trying to talk Mathias into letting the boy go before anyone got hurt. “Mathias, let the boy go I order it!”
“No master. I have to save us all from these bandits. We can’t let them kill us.”
Gaspar pleaded, “Mathias, let them boy go, you won’t hurt him, you know you won’t. Don’t put him at risk. Let him go.”
Mathias became more agitated because now he clearly did not know what to do. This was a dangerous moment for Dismas because, in shaking, the man had begun to cut the boys neck by accident. A dark red trickle began to run down his neck and they all knew he was in trouble.
In Dismas’ desperation he knew only that he was about to die and he was afraid. Without thinking he made a grab for the hilt of the knife and it startled Mathias. Mathias had been so concentrated on protecting himself from Tiran’s men that he did not realize that the boy might be the one to take action.
Tiran detected the brief moment of surprise and made a quick grab for the boy. The sudden movement of the man prompted Mathias to step back, and in doing so, he tripped on a bedroll behind his foot. Tiran had a hold of Dismas’ cloak. When Mathias fell he was still clutching the boy. It was just enough to twist Dismas around where he faced Mathias with the hilt of the knife now in Dismas hand. The weight of the boy falling plunged the knife deep into Mathias’ chest. He let out a gasp of air and breathed no more. Death was quick for the man.
To all who had seen this, it appeared as though the boy had turned on the man who held him and pushed him to the ground and put a knife in him. When Dismas stood up he looked at everyone. He was in shock. What had he done? It was an accident. He had not meant to kill the man, but here he stood, over the man’s body and his death had been his fault.
Tiran, clearly surprised by what he witnessed, was the first to speak. “Well what do you know? The boy’s got talent. Can’t say I saw that in him, but I am impressed.” He looked at the Magi. The event clearly distressed them a great deal. They must have been close this man. “How about you three telling me know where the rest of the money is and we’ll be on our way.”
Balthazar directed the man to a hidden pocket on one of the saddle bags on the ground to his right. In there, Tiran found what was left of the money the Magi were hiding. The hidden pocket was designed to protect the last of their money in case they were ever robbed. Apparently it served no useful purpose this time.
Dismas was still in shock over the death of the man they called Mathias and he stood in the same spot without moving. It appeared to everyone who saw him that he was a cold blooded killer and that his intention in just standing there was to strike fear in all that saw him. Nothing could have been further from the truth. As he looked at the Magi still on the ground he could see they were all looking at him with contempt. He was ashamed. He turned and walked away. He retreated back to his assigned post with the livestock. Jotham looked at him in terror. He had seen what just happened and now he was terrified of his own brother. As Dismas approached him, Jotham grabbed Gestas and hid behind him as if to protect him from his own brother. Gestas said nothing, but held the boy’s shoulder to comfort him. As Dismas passed him, Gestas looked him in the eye and smiled. At last, they had something in common. They were both killers.