What happened next was so fast and so unexpected that it took me several seconds just to process it. Xena’s hand moved up and across and a fountain of red arced towards me, splashing the front of my T-shirt. I flinched and turned my face away but not before I felt droplets, warm and burning, against my cheeks. When I turned back, Xena was holding the piglet upside down by its trotters. Blood ran, a thick stream, from its neck, pooling into the dirt. The piglet spasmed a couple of times and stilled. Even then, I didn’t really understand what had just happened. I put a hand up to my face and it came away red.

It was then I screamed. I think it was then. But whenever it was, it was difficult to stop.

Xena slapped me across the face, at least once, but maybe twice. Hard.

‘What the hell’s wrong with you?’ she yelled. I don’t know if it was the shouting or the slap, but I suddenly found my screams had jammed in my throat.

‘You killed that pig,’ I whispered. ‘You cut its throat.’

She glanced down at the body she still held. A knife, red and dripping, was clenched in her grip, its blade snug against the animal’s legs.

‘Course I did,’ she said. ‘How else was it gonna die? Of harsh words and a broken heart?’

‘You murdered it.’

She put her face even closer to mine. Instinctively I took a step back.

‘Are you crazy?’ she hissed. ‘Murder? Murder is what happens when your parents are stopped in the street and beaten to death for nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Murder is when one of your fancy hospitals turns away one of my people and leaves him to die in the road like a dog. Because the drugs that could’ve cured him are kept for the likes of you and your parents. Murder is when …’ She took a deep breath and turned away. She wiped her forehead with a blood-stained arm, dropped her head and stood still for a moment. When Xena turned back to me, her eyes had lost some of their fire.

‘Sorry,’ she said. She took another breath. ‘I should’ve guessed you’d react that way.’ She glanced down at the body in her hand. ‘I slaughtered this pig as quickly as I could. They’re not pets, they’re food. I made it as painless as possible. I …’ She shook her head. ‘Your brother is here,’ she continued. She gave a nod over my left shoulder. ‘Go talk to him. I have to gut and clean this animal and I don’t think you wanna be around for that. Go talk to your brother. And I am sorry, Ashleigh. I didn’t think and I should’ve done.’

18

18