After Humanity

Chapter Fifty-Four

Magnus

It had not taken long to clean and dress the carcass, though Magnus could not deny that the quiet following the animal's passing was an uneasy one, filled with a degree of sadness he had not felt in slaughtering one of his stock for some time. Of course once the head was removed and the body unidentifiable, the task was easier. It always was so. There was a transition, a metamorphosis in which every creature he raised for consumption went from a living being, to meat. Once an animal passed fully from life, the flesh that remained truly did become a separate thing. That was as it should be.

    No matter how many times he took life to obtain sustenance for himself and others, Magnus respected the fact that his food had to die in that process and the realization always brought a certain subtle sadness. But it was a cycle of living and dying that had existed since the being of time. All survived off of the death of other living things, from the sheep that ate the tiny shoots of green grass reaching for the sun, to the wild predators that hunted for prey, to farmers like himself.

Still, in spite of his desire to deny it, Magnus realized that Rachel had indeed been different from the others he'd raised in the past. In their ability to communicate, it was always more difficult to avoid becoming somewhat attached to his human stock, but with an animal so young and innocent, the separation had been that much harder. He would miss her. And yet, Magnus was content. He had taken the creature from suffering when she needed his help and, in the end, she had indeed been happy.

When he was finished with his task, Magnus carefully wrapped the animal's head in a clean cloth to present to Alice. It had been her only real request. A token which she might bury to allow the others to grieve Rachel's passing. He had seen the gesture as entirely reasonable, though the level of sentimentality it seemed to show worried him. She'd never asked for such a thing before. He thought back to his fears that Alice would never truly forgive him for taking the young one's life and felt a wave of uneasiness fill him. He shook it off as best he could. There was nothing to do for that now. What was done was done.

The profit he would make on the animal was significant and the friendship it had helped him establish with his new benefactor was an important one. The increased income Fin could provide would allow him to raise more animals in the future, giving that many more a chance to escape the brutal trade so many of his competitors engaged in. In her death, Rachel would help others to have a better existence. Still, with the carcass hung in the cooling room, Magnus was glad to leave the bloody work behind.

The other animals he would leave for his assistants to deal with over the next two days before Fin would come to retrieve his purchases. Magnus had had enough death for a time, he'd decided. Though he would not have broken his promise to Alice that he handle the child's end himself, he knew that he did not have the heart to slaughter any more young creatures at present.

He'd told Alice he would meet her after the task was done to deliver what he could of Rachel's remains and it was not difficult to find her. She'd agreed to meet him at midday by the lake. He could see she was already there when he arrived, her small form visible even in the distance.

Magnus took a deep breath as he went to her, his heart beating unsteadily. He never thought he might feel this level of trepidation in facing Alice, but the idea that Rachel might have finally been the one to draw a wedge between them was unbearable.    

What would it mean if she truly had grown to hate him for the creature's death? he wondered. Would they live the rest of their days refusing to communicate with one another? He had no intention of revoking the vows of protection he'd granted so long ago. Even if she never spoke to him again Magnus knew he would keep her in the same luxury as she was accustomed to now. He could not fault her for her humanity after all. But he could not help but hear Torvald's comments echoing in his head. His brother had suggested that putting the older woman down might one day be in her best interest.