into this world. The Drummond might have been here first and you the one to follow. Thats true - but I must find him . . . And seek an end to this terrible feud! cried Wo. Soldier, listen to yourself! You may have been a ferocious enemy to the dog-people, and others in this world, yet you have always fought with honour. Just the one time, with my kinsman Vau, did you overstep the mark, for that unconsciously brought to mind your old antagonism, the old wrong you suffered the assault of a bride. Vau had scarred the beauty of the woman who was your wife and so you took revenge. All this can be understood, if not approved of. But now it should be over. Two brides dead, two families stripped to the very core, with one member of each left living? That is enough. Forget this Drummond. Live your life now. There was great sense in what Wo was telling him, yet Soldier still felt a pull, an urge to plunge his sword into the last Drummond. Surely then it would be all over and only then? Yet, if he were to reflect on his feelings when other Drummonds had died something he could do now the memory of his old life had returned - he would admit to feeling no great satisfaction, no settlement of his anger, no sweet sense of revenge. If anything, he had felt more agitated, more angry. Part of that anger was with himself, for being seduced by thoughts of revenge, for allowing rage to control him. Guilt was as heavy a burden as a feeling of injustice if not heavier. The still, small voice of calm was the only sanctuary from hurt and injustice. Not to forgive or forget, but to stand aside from revenge, to avoid indulgence in destroying the destroyer. To remain aloof from the great violence which fuelled a feud and turned it into a wild fire of torture and death impossible to halt. You are coming to the right decision, said the raven. Leave it be, Soldier. Leave it be. Soldiers head came up. You know what I am thinking? I guess it, said the bird. I can read your facial expressions they take me on a journey through your head. You humans are very transparent, wouldnt you say so, Wo? The dog-headed man nodded, emphatically. Yes easy to read. But the Drummond is here, seeking my death, groaned Soldier. Am I to stand by and let him kill me? If he attacks you, of course you must retaliate, said Wo, but do not be the first to initiate violence. Every man has a right to defend himself. But do not seek him out, goad him, provoke him. Remain conscious of his presence, but otherwise ignore the creature. Soldier suddenly felt hypocrisy working. This, from a dog-head? he said. You plunderers, pillagers, rapists? Why, you live by raiding farms and wayfarers, let alone joining together to attack cities. What right have you to lecture me on violence? What you say is true. There are those among the head clans who follow the Hannack way. The Hannacks cannot help themselves. They have the brains of sewer rats. They have human form but they have the intellect and the mind-set of a low predator like a shark. We, on the other hand, are quite bright in comparison. Yet there are those among us who preach barbarism as the only way of life left open to us. I make no apology for them, or for myself; I only offer advice to someone who in the last few days - I have come to admire. You once acted in a brutal and bestial manner do not now return to that way, or I believe you will regret it. Soldier sighed and began to pack his horse. You are right. You are both right. I still live by the sword, it is true, but it is the honourable sword of a soldier and not that of an assassin or murderer. One must live within rules, within laws, or perish in the mire of the utterly depraved and deviant. I have not finished fighting wars - there is the question of Humbold and Zamerkand to settle - but if I must fight, it should be with reluctance, when all else has failed. I will try to negotiate with those inside the walls of Zamerkand. If they will give up Humbold, I will settle for that. I
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