完美的临终 A Good Death

玛迦很快就要死了——这是第十四次。她又一次咬下腐烂的苹果。败坏的果肉不出意外地感染了她的身体。女演员踩着人濒死时蹒跚的脚步，尽力喊出临终的台词

Magga was about to die for the fourteenth time. She had bitten into a rotten apple–yet again. Its putrid flesh had, as always, infected her with carrionshade. The actress went through the motions of stumbling to her death while shouting her final words for all to hear.

“噫，人生只当一场惊梦!虽然太迟，但惟独现在我才醒觉，有幸得见万物的煌煌富丽。”她的哀叹逐渐细弱下去。

“Oh, but how wondrous a dream is life? Only now—too late!—do I wake to see its myriad of splendors,” she bemoaned.

这时，一股烟雾卷着闪粉扑来，千珏盛装出现在舞台上。按照传统，他们虽说是一对魂灵，但只会由一位演员装扮。他的头上盖着两副截然不同的面具，一步步走向玛迦。一张白色的羊脸朝着她说：“哈!何人正恳求最锋锐的箭簇?来，孩子，让你贯通心房的热血冷于空无的拥抱吧。”

With a puff of smoke and glittering powder, Kindred made a grand entrance upon the stage. As per tradition, they were played by one actor, his head covered by two opposing masks. He approached Magga, the white mask of the Lamb facing her.

如同前十三次一样，玛迦熟练地拒绝了他。她撕裂耳膜的尖叫里，满藏着自己对这个角色的精到拿捏。听到这声惨呼，羊转了个半圈，露出另一幅面具——一张狼脸。

“Hark! Do I hear a plea for my keenest arrow? Come, child, let the warmth of your heart fade into the cold embrace of oblivion.”

“你尽挣扎，却不使临终迟延片刻。”狼低吼着说。

Magga refused, as she had thirteen times before. Any nuance in her performance was buried beneath the ear-splitting delivery of her scream. On cue, Lamb spun around, revealing the second mask–that of the Wolf.

“我不过是一个可怜的年青侍女!请怜悯我，你的四耳更能听清我悲切的哀哭。”

“There is naught ye can do to stave off thine end,” growled Wolf.

在场的观众似乎完全陶醉在奥菲伦姆剧团精彩的演出之中。瘟疫与战争的流言正在邻近的城邦里肆虐散布，以死亡为主题的剧目能够风靡也就不足为奇了。

“I am but a poor young maiden! Please, let my piteous cry fall on all four of thine ears.”

饰演双子的丹吉，俯视着半卧的女演员，夸张地亮出了一对木头做的尖牙。玛迦迎着慢慢靠近的狼牙亮出脖颈，然后拉动了缝在衣领处的机关。随着台下一阵兴奋的惊呼，红色的绸带迸射开来。观众们终于得偿所愿了。

The audience seemed enraptured by the unfolding dramatics of the Orphellum Mechanicals. With the twin threats of plague and war on the tongues of those in neighboring protectorates, death dramas were all the rage.

Denji, the actor portraying both Lamb and Wolf, descended upon the young actress, awkwardly baring wooden fangs. Magga offered her neck. At the threat of Wolf’s bite, she triggered the device sewn into her blouse’s collar. Ribbons of red fabric unspooled to the delighted pips and yelps of the audience. They’d gotten what they paid for.

剧团的人拖着疲惫的身子爬上了四轮马车，准备开往针溪郡。天穹中不见半点星光，只有一绺乌云横在半空。

By the time the Mechanicals had staggered back to their wagon and set off in the direction of Needlebrook, there were no stars to be seen. Instead, a veil of clouds stretched across the night sky.

剧团的老板，同时也是唯一的剧作家，厄鲁席恩又一次跟大家解释说，针溪郡的票房一向很有保证。他跌跌撞撞地围着马车绕圈，手里拎着他给自己的犒赏——帕尔从村民那里骗来的一瓶酒。

Needlebrook always delivered a good audience, Illusian, the company’s owner and sole dramaturg, explained once more. He staggered around, drunk on his own accolades—as well as the wine Parr had grifted from the locals.

夜色渐深，剧团众人中突然爆发了争吵。翠娅和丹吉对剧情的编排提出了猛烈的质疑，整个故事非常的俗套：悲剧发生了，死亡要来了，女孩死掉了。厄鲁席恩争辩说，过于复杂的剧情只会有损一场精心设计的死亡桥段。作为众人之中年纪最轻的一员，玛迦暗地里同意翠娅和丹吉的说法，但她识趣地没有出声。要不是搭上了剧团的大篷车，她现在的处境肯定要糟糕百倍不止。由于厄鲁席恩在艺术创作上的独断专横，已经有好几个演员离开了剧团。他粗暴的态度，以及在剧作方面显而易见的平庸，剧团里已经挺长时间没有新面孔加入了。因此，当奥菲伦姆剧团愿意签下玛迦时，她由衷地觉得感恩。即使在将来，她要做的就是在舞台上一次次地死去。

The night wore on, and the troupe had descended into bickering. Tria and Denji lambasted their playwright over the quality of his plots, which fell into a predictable structure: tragedy strikes maiden, death finds maiden, death takes maiden. Illusian argued that complicated plots detracted from a good death scene.

厄鲁席恩命令车夫帕尔停下马车，就地扎营。他还在为刚才丹吉和翠娅的诘难感到痛心。这位酒意汹涌的艺术家拽出自己的铺盖，摊在马车边上最好的地方，然后把其他人的睡袋和床垫扔到高高的草丛里。“忘恩负义的戏子，只配睡在野地里，”厄鲁席恩厉声说，“搞不好你们能捡回做人的礼节。”

Magga, the youngest of the bunch, agreed with Tria and Denji’s diagnosis, but kept her mouth shut. Had she not stowed away in the wandering troupe’s wagon, she would certainly be somewhere far more miserable. Luckily for her, the Mechanicals had recently lost several actors due to Illusian’s insistence on complete artistic control. Because of his attitude—and obvious mediocrity—they were facing a drought of fresh faces. And so, the Orphellum Mechanicals agreed to contract Magga to die in all their dramatics for the foreseeable future. For which she had been grateful.

剧团的人们围坐在篝火边，低声交换着各自的见闻。丹吉和翠娅环抱着彼此，沉入了梦乡，口中还在喃喃念着他们未出世的孩子的名字。他们一直说着，要是哪天剧团停在了让德勒——一个富足又美丽的小镇，他们就会结束流浪的生涯，在那里抚养儿女长大。

Illusian was still smarting from Denji and Tria’s words when he motioned to Parr, their wagoner, to stop and make camp. The inebriated auteur set out his bedroll in pride of place next to the wagon. He then threw the rest of the bedding into the long grass nearby.

玛迦往火堆挪近了一点，这样一来，噼啪的火焰就能稍稍掩盖她的旅伴们令人厌烦的鼾声了。但是睡意依然不见踪影。玛迦躺在垫子上翻来覆去，脑子里全是当她的领子喷出血红的彩带时，台下观众的脸孔。美丽少女死于自己天真烂漫的本性——厄鲁席恩绞尽了脑汁，也只能想出这种浮夸的情节而已，但也正是这样残酷的场面，才能刺激到浅薄的观众们。

“Ungrateful players can sleep in the wilds,” Illusian spat, “where they shall hopefully find their manners.”

最终，她爬起身来走进树林里，想安抚一下自己烦躁的情绪。

The rest of the troupe built a fire and swapped stories. Denji and Tria had fallen asleep in each other’s arms while whispering potential names for their unborn child into each other’s ears. They had nattered on about the day the traveling company would stop in Jandelle, a town so perfect and peaceful they would set aside their vagabond ways to raise their child.

Magga moved closer to the crackling fire so its pops and whistles would drown out the irksome affections of her traveling companions.

But sleep never came. Instead, Magga tossed and turned, thinking about the looks on the audience’s faces as the coiled spurts of blood unfurled from her neckline. A pretty maiden struck dead by her own naïveté was all the theatrical pomp Illusian could muster, but the crowd lusted after the gruesome façade.

Eventually, she left her bedroll and set out into the woods to soothe her unsettled mind.

在死一般寂静的夜里，玛迦漫无目的地闲逛着。突然，她的面前出现了一座小丘。土丘上长着矮小的青草，周围竖着几块石板。尽管没法看清上面的铭文，但她的手指很容易地分辨出石板上蚀刻着的图样——千珏的一对面具。这是一座坟墓，确切的讲，是一座古坟。

In the dead of night, Magga came upon a low grassy mound with slabs of standing stone at its base. Although she could not read the inscriptions, her fingers traced the familiar etching of Kindred’s twin masks. This was a place of the dead, a burial site built long ago.

她感到脖子后面窜上一股寒意，忍不住抬头看去。玛迦立即意识到了自己眼前的是什么东西——在夜色笼罩的舞台上，她曾一次次地直面他们残忍的形象。但可怜的丹吉让她感觉不到一丝恐怖，尤其是此刻她才真正明白恐怖二字的含义。羊灵蹲在古坟前饱受侵蚀的拱门上，而永远忠诚的狼灵则掩在她的身侧。

She felt a chill on the back of her neck that compelled her to look up. She was not alone. Magga immediately understood what she saw, for she’d encountered a crude impersonation of them night after night. But poor Denji couldn’t begin to instill the dread washing over Magga. Before her, perched on a weathered barrow-archway, was Lamb herself, flanked by her ever-faithful counterpart, Wolf.

“我听到，一颗活心!”狼灵黑色的双眼兴奋地闪动着，“是我的了?”

“I hear a beating heart!” said Wolf, his black eyes twinkling with delight. “May I have it?”

“未必，”羊灵答道，“我感到她正惧怕。开口，美丽之人，宣出你的名姓。”

“Perhaps,” replied Lamb. “I sense she is afraid. Speak, beautiful one. Tell us your name.”

“我……我想先知道你们的。”玛迦结结巴巴地说，脚下慢慢向后退去。狼灵迅捷地飘到她的身后，化成实体，躁动着凑近了她。

“I-I would have yours first,” stammered Magga, stepping backward. Her slow escape was halted by the speedy Wolf, who materialized unsettlingly close behind her.

他几乎是贴着她的耳朵说道：“我们的名字，很多。”

He spoke directly in her ear. “We have many names.”

“在西方，我是易拿，他是押尼，”羊灵说，“在东方，我为十玑，其为一玡。但在任一处，我们名作千珏。我常是狼灵之羊，他便为羊灵之狼。”

“In the West, I am Ina to his Ani,” said Lamb. “In the East, Farya to his Wolyo. But we are Kindred everywhere. I am always Lamb to Wolf, and he is always Wolf to Lamb.”

狼灵耸起背，嗅了嗅空气。

Wolf reared up and sniffed at the air.

“她在玩一个无趣的游戏。”狼灵说，“和我们玩新的。追，逃，咬!”

“She is playing a boring game,” said Wolf. “Let us play a new game, one of chasing and running and biting.”

“她并非在玩耍，我的狼。无非惊惧使她失却了名字。已到唇边，不敢出口。不必心忧，亲爱的人，我已寻得你的名字。正如你已知道我们的称谓，玛迦。”

“She is not playing, dear Wolf,” said the Lamb. “She is frightened and has lost her own name. It hides behind her lips, afraid to come out. Worry not, dear child, I have found your name. We know it as you know us, Magga.”

“对……对不起，”玛迦一直在结巴，“今晚不太合适——”

“P-please,” Magga stammered. “Tonight is not a very good night for—”

狼灵懒懒地咧开嘴，一条肥厚的粉色舌头趟过唇边，喉咙里滚动着格格的怪笑。

Wolf’s great pink tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth, and he proceeded to cackle.

“追捕的良辰，每夜合适!”狼灵大笑。

“All nights are good nights for pouncing,” said Wolf, laughing.

“每日亦然。”羊灵淡淡地说，“天光更利箭矢。”

“All days are, too,” Lamb said. “With light comes a clear shot.”

“今晚连月亮都没有!”玛迦放开喉咙，哭天抢地。这是厄鲁席恩教她的——动作再夸张一点，让后排的观众也能看得清楚。“乌云层叠半空，光芒从你我眼中逃散。我无法瞑目，因为临终时只有黑暗环抱周围!”

“There is no moon tonight!” cried Magga. She used what Illusian had taught her—to gesture grand, so those in the back could see her movements. “It is hidden by a blanket of clouds, tucked away from my eyes and yours. Without the moon, what would be the last thing I would see?”

“我们看见，”羊灵轻抚着手边精致的长弓，“圆月常在。”

“We see the moon,” replied Lamb, as she caressed her fabled bow. “It is always there.”

“也没有星星!”玛迦没有放弃，不过这回她打算收敛一些，同时放低了音量：“夜空本该荧荧灿灿，仿佛碎钻满天。但我又有何资格，在你们现身时苛求眼前尽是美景呢?”

“There are no stars!” said Magga, trying again, this time gesturing smaller and speaking quieter. “No menagerie of twinkling diamonds, glittering in the midnight hue. What more beautiful view could one hope for whence one meets Lamb and Wolf?”

狼灵咆哮着说：“叫玛迦的人，玩起了新把戏——‘拖时间’。”

“This Magga-thing is playing a new game,” growled Wolf. “It is called ‘stalling.’”

狼灵停住躁动不安的身子，支起了脑袋。他偏过头，狼灵侧对着玛迦，说道：“我们玩‘先追后吃’!如何，叫玛迦的人?”他将尖牙上下一磕，发出怵人的响声。

Wolf stopped moving and cocked his head to the side. He turned his sideways snout toward Magga before speaking. “Can we play ‘Chasing the Magga-Thing and Bite Her to Bits?’?” Wolf clacked his fangs together loudly for effect.

“我们来问。”羊灵说，“玛迦!你愿受狼的追索，或我的飞箭?”

“Let us ask her,” said Lamb. “Magga! Do you prefer Wolf’s chase, or my arrow?”

玛迦全身发起抖来。她惊慌地转动眼珠，不愿放过这最后一瞥中所看到的任何一处细节。作为安息的地方，这里也不算太糟。草木葱茏，夜风静谧，身旁还立着一座斑驳的古墓拱门。

Magga was trembling now. Her eyes raced to take in every last detail of the world around her. It wasn’t such a bad place to depart. There was grass. There were trees. There was the ancient archway. There was stillness to the air.

“我愿尝试羊的箭。”她低声回答，一边望着树木身上粗糙的树皮。“正像幼年时，我想象自己一路攀爬，直到坐上最高处的细枝。唯独这次，我可能永不会停。这是否——就是随你而去的感觉?”

“I would prefer Lamb’s arrow,” she said, looking at the rough crusts of bark on the trees. “I’ll imagine myself climbing to the highest boughs, like when I was a child. Only this time, I will never stop climbing. Is that what it is like to go with you?”

“虽是好的想法，但不确切。无需惊怖，孩子，我们只是取乐而已。今夜是你前来，而非我们寻到了你。”羊灵说。

“No,” said Lamb, “though it is a nice thought. Fear not, little maiden, we are just having our fun. You have come to us tonight; we have not come for you.”

“叫玛迦的人，不能追了。”狼灵的话音里带着一丝失落。“但附近还有别的——随意追咬的美味!羊啊，快走。我饿了。”

“I cannot chase Magga-thing,” said Wolf, with a hint of disappointment in his voice. “But there are other things nearby. Other things ripe for the chasing and the biting. Hurry, Lamb. I am hungry.”

“至此，我们心悦你的演出。我们将祷护你的技艺，直到重逢那日。”

“For now, know that your theatrics have pleased us, and we will watch them until the day we meet again.”

狼灵仿佛一条雾气缠身的灰蛇，掠过了玛迦身旁。他飞速地穿过林地间的高草，隐没在树林中。玛迦回过头，拱门上也已经空无一物。

Wolf passed over Magga and disappeared into the woods. The shadowy beast snaked away through fields of tall grass. Magga looked back toward the weathered barrow. Lamb was gone.

她惊慌地逃走了。

The actress fled.

当玛迦回到营地时，眼前只是一片破坏殆尽的废墟。那辆曾为她挡风避雨的大篷车，被从内到外洗劫一空，车架子倒在地上，还在闷烧着。满地都是扯碎的衣服和毁坏得看不出原样的器物。

When Magga returned to the encampment, she found it in utter ruin. The wagon she had only just begun to call home had been ransacked and reduced to a smoldering husk. Bits of clothing and ruined props lay strewn across the campsite.

她在离丹吉睡下的地方不远处找到了他的尸体。他是为了保护翠娅而死的，而她此刻就躺在丹吉身后。看来凶手把两人的尸体拖到了同一处。从地上的血迹来看，他们死前没有痛苦太久。丹吉的手指和翠娅扣在一起，似乎还在留恋着彼此的触摸。

She found Denji’s body near where he’d slept. He had died protecting Tria, whose corpse lay behind him. Judging from the trails of blood, their deaths had not been slow. They had dragged themselves toward each other, their fingers entwined in one last caress before death.

玛迦还看到了厄鲁席恩。他在死前换掉了两个强盗的性命，然后与帕尔一起被困在马车里，烧成了焦炭。

Magga noticed that Illusian had managed to kill two of the bandits before being burnt to a crisp along with Parr in the wagon.

一地狼藉中唯一完好的事物，就是丹吉的那一双面具。玛迦把它们捡起来，捧在手中端详了一阵，然后轻轻地盖在自己脸上。狼灵的声音遽然传来。

The only thing that remained untouched were Denji’s Lamb and Wolf masks. Magga picked them up and held them in her hands. She placed the Lamb mask over her own eyes and heard the voice of Wolf.

“追叫玛迦的人。”

“Chase the Magga-thing.”

女孩疯狂地跑向针溪郡，一次也没有回头。

The maiden ran the distance to Needlebrook, never once looking back.

金环剧场，座无虚席，无数双闪光的眼睛汇成了一片海洋，全都兴奋地注视着天鹅绒织就的大幕。国王夫妇与一班臣子也坐在剧场里，焦急地等待着剧目开演。当黑色的帘幕缓缓升起时，每个人都安静下来。

The Golden Round was filled to the brim with a sea of twinkling eyes, all glittering in excitement at the velvet curtain. The king sat in the theater with the queen and their advisers, all eagerly awaiting the onset of the dramatics. Everyone hushed as the black curtain lifted to reveal the actors.

玛迦坐在后台的换衣间里，外面的观众齐齐噤声不语，等待着她的登场。玛迦细细端详着镜中的自己：青春的荣光从她的瞳仁中早已消散多年，只留下一头苍灰色的长发。

Magga sat in a quiet dressing room under the stage. She heard the crowd fall silent as she studied herself in the mirror. The luster of youth had faded from her eyes years ago, and left her with a long shock of silver running through her hair.

“夫人，您的戏装还没穿好呢!”剧场管理焦急地说。

“Madame!” said the stagehand. “You’re not in costume yet.”

“不急。孩子，等到最后一刻。”玛迦淡然。

“No, child,” Magga said, “I only dress at the last moment.”

“现在就是最后一刻啦。”管理举起玛迦一身行头里最后的两样东西：一张羊脸，一张狼脸。正是当年奥菲尔伦剧团留下的那套面具。

“It is the last moment,” said the young stagehand, holding the two final pieces of Magga’s costume: the same Lamb and Wolf masks from her days with the Orphellum Mechanicals.

“愿您今夜的演出如有神庇。”剧场管理恭敬地递上两副面具。

“May your performance be blessed tonight,” the stagehand said.

玛迦已经准备好了。她温柔地将面具覆在脸上。一阵熟悉的寒意攀上她的背脊，与那个夜晚毫无二致。她全身心地接纳着，一如往常。

Magga prepared to leave for the stage. She slipped the masks over her head. The old chill from the dark barrow crept down her spine. She welcomed it—as always.

她拖着滑步，踩着羊灵优雅的步态登上了舞台。全场屏息。玛迦身子一弓，又变成了嗜好逗弄猎物的野蛮狼灵，吓得观众汗毛倒竖。作为双子死神的化身，她在舞台上飘忽无定，既将永久的宁静赐予痛苦挣扎的人，也会毫不留情地撕裂生者的喉咙。直到所有人纷纷起立，爆发出狂雷一般的掌声时，她的演出才宣告结束。

She enthralled the audience as she glided onto the stage, embodying Lamb’s graceful movements. She thrilled the crowd with her rendition of Wolf’s playful savagery. She, as the twin deaths personified, eased the suffering of her fellow actors, or ripped it from their throats, until the crowd stood on its feet and erupted in thunderous applause.

一切都如此逼真。观众们献给玛迦的爱戴无人能及，因为只有她能够演出一场精美的死亡。

It was true. All audiences loved a good death, and they loved Magga’s more than any other.

甚至连国王与王后都站起了身，向她投来赞许的眼神。

Even the king and queen were on their feet in praise of her work.

但玛迦的耳中听不到任何掌声和欢呼。她感觉不到脚下的舞台，也感觉不到其他演员跑过来挽住她的胳膊一起鞠躬致谢。她的胸口被一股尖锐的疼痛绞住了。

But Magga heard no applause and saw no ovations. She didn’t feel the stage beneath her feet, nor the hands of her fellow mummers in hers as they bowed low. All she felt was a sharp pain in her chest.

玛迦勉强抬起头向观众望去，只见每一张面孔，都不再是人类的样子——要么是羊，要么是狼。

When Magga looked out over the audience, every single face was either a lamb or a wolf.