Bull says “The reverend told me the archbishop says it would be a sin to leave them on the cross on the holy day. If you want I can whip her to death.”
“Fuck the archbishop. She dies from being crucified” Tree growls.
Just before sunset, Archbishop Wragg comes to Reparation Hill. He secretly admires the naked women writhing on the crosses. Tree sees him and asks “What do you want?”
The archbishop says “Reverend Longueprique tells me you are not going to put the women to death tonight.”
“I am putting them to death. When they die is up to them” Tree replies.
The archbishop looks up at Genevieve squirming on her cross. He says “Haven’t they suffered enough?”
Tree says “Apparently not… they are still alive.”
“But tomorrow is a holy day. I would not want people skipping church service to come to this hill to gawk at these women” Archbishop Wragg exclaims.
“You’d hate for your collect to be smaller than usual. They stay there till they die” Tree growls.
Darkness felt on Reparation Hill. The women are left in their misery nailed to their crosses. They are lit only by the bonfire the guards keep to stay warm.
In the distance there are a few lights glimmering from Copulatia, the city they once ruled but would never go to alive again.
During the night, the cool air torments Adele, Desiree, and Genevieve. Their bodies, burned all day in the sun, ache as their muscles painfully cramp.
As the sun rises, Adele and Genevieve have succumb to the tortures of the cross. Desiree looks down at the guards.
Desiree’s last words were “You have killed me…”