by Dave Duncan
“What we found … It was heartbreaking. We were far too late to help. Our lads must have put up a good fight, but the odds had been hopeless. By the time we arrived, the ships were ashes and the tribes were heading for Tombe itself to do a little recreational looting and raping. I was so mad I ordered, ‘No quarter,’ but I don’t think what I said made any difference. The numbers were on our side then; we slew without mercy. Tombe River ran red under the moon. Of course, the next day, when we started up the river, we found more of the same—Benesh corpses everywhere.
“But now we’re ready to clean up the interior, the villages: the women and children. Benign can have a slave girl in every kitchen. We’re going to depopulate Muhavura and sell it off as garden plots.”
Lots of suffering. Podakan would have been pleased. He would have been pleased whichever side lost.
“Irona!” The big man pulled his chair closer and bent so far forward that he could peer up at her face. “Where are the Shapeless? Did they join in? Haven’t they arrived yet?”
When she didn’t speak, he grew louder. “Irona! I must know! There were reports of Shapeless seen in Tombe, but then they disappeared. Irona 700, tell me!”
“Gone,” she whispered, wishing more than anything that he would just go away.
“Gone where?”
Shrug—don’t know.
“Will they be coming back?”
Shake.
“You’re sure of that?”
Nod.
He regarded her doubtfully, perhaps wondering if she were a Shapeless herself.
“Is it the casualties that are worrying you? Don’t worry about that! Yes, you brought an army here and then staked it out as a lure and ordered me to keep the main army away until the prey took the bait, but don’t worry about it! Such things have to be done in war sometimes. You won! You saved the Empire yet again. We saw a few Shapeless, but they sort of melted and disappeared and that was that. Saw the game was up, I expect. So it won’t be held against you. They’ll fete you back in Benesh when you get there. You’re a shoo-in to be the next First, Irona!”
She closed her eyes. Let Ledacos or anyone have it. Veer was dead, Podakan was dead. Ambition was dead. She would refuse all Source Water and just die.
“If we can stop worrying about Shapeless now,” Meluak said, “there’s another little war waiting. All the allies rallied to our call this time—some more than others, o’ course—all except Genodesa. So it’s next! The loot will be incredible, gold and art and slaves galore. The allies are all salivating at the thought of their shares. I think I’ll just let them loose and turn up for the sharing-out.”
To the victors the spoils.
The big man rose and put the chair back where he’d found it. “One other thing you won’t have heard yet. The Genodesans didn’t just sit back with their arms folded. They put Ledacos 692 to the sea death. That’s why they’re marked for destruction.”
Ledacos? It took a moment to sink in. Podakan, Veer Machin, and Ledacos—those three had defined her life, and now they were all gone. All of them.
The dam broke at last and she began to weep.
“That’s good,” Meluak said, rising. “Tears are human.” He went away, shutting the door and leaving Irona to sob.
About the Author
Dave Duncan was born in Scotland. After graduating from the University of Saint Andrews, he moved to Canada, where he worked as a petroleum geologist for thirty years. He is the author of many science fiction and fantasy novels, among them A Rose-Red City, Magic Casement, and The Reaver Road, as well as the historical novel Daughter of Troy, which he published under the pseudonym Sarah B. Franklin. Under the name Ken Hood, he wrote the Longdirk series, which includes Demon Sword, Demon Knight, and Demon Rider. Children of Chaos (2006) was nominated for both the Prix Aurora Award and the Endeavour Award. Duncan is a founding member of SF Canada. He continues to live in Canada with his wife, children, and grandchildren. Visit the author at daveduncan.com and openroadmedia.com/dave-duncan.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Dave Duncan
Cover design by Andy Ross
978-1-5040-0592-0
Published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
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