Killing

Radachia Searveeth was the last person in the world you’d expect to have fuzzy yellow pajamas with pink roses on them. She was more the sort of person who’d as soon kill you as look at you, and even when she did just look at you, you weren’t completely sure you weren’t better off dead. It’s not that she was a bad person or anything, but seeing her running down the street in the middle of the night, strands of hair flying loose from a long braid, feet bare, clad in aforementioned pajamas, well, something was going on. Especially since she was holding her bow, and her quiver was slung over her pajamas.
　
Running outside to see what was going on probably wasn’t the wisest thing to do, but my curiosity tends to overrule my common sense. If I’d been woken up by the commotion, at that hour, I probably would have rolled over and went back to sleep, but since I hadn’t been able to get to sleep at all, hadn‘t even tried, I welcomed the distraction.
　
I was already dressed, so I grabbed my knife and ran after Radachia. “What’s going on?” I called.
　
“Nothing,” she snapped. “This doesn’t concern you, Kimithy.”
　
“So whatever’s not going on doesn’t concern me,” I said, running alongside Radachia.
　
She turned her full glare on me. “That’s right. Go home.”
　
At any other time, I would have turned tail and fled, curiosity be damned. Radachia was that intimidating. But the prospect of going home, sitting sleepless and trying to avoid thoughts that could not be avoided, was far worse than anything Radachia could do or say to me. “No.”
　
I’d expected her to yell or scold or glare more, but she didn’t. She stopped abruptly and scrutinized me. It was dark, and we were standing in the darkest of shadows, so I don’t know how well she could actually see me, but I felt as though she was peering into my very soul. “You’re too young to get involved in this. You’re, what, sixteen?”
　
I was fifteen, but I was hardly going to say so. “I’m old enough that….” I didn’t go on. My nightmares were my own. I wondered for an instant why I was volunteering for more, but didn’t rethink myself. Whatever it was couldn’t be worse than staring at the bloodstain on my floor and seeing ghosts. But I didn’t want to talk about that. “I have a knife.”
　
I think Radachia would have said more, but she must have heard something, for she froze, then whispered, “Run!” and we ran.
　
We took a crooked path, turning down side streets and between houses, and when we stopped again, it was in the darkest of alleys. “Fine,” said Radachia. “Listen, Kimi. There are… things, who will kill everyone if we don’t stop them.”
　
“That makes everything perfectly clear,” I said.
　
“This is no time for sarcasm.”
　
Personally, I thought it was always time for sarcasm, and never more so than then, but I swallowed my reply and asked instead, “What do you mean, things? What are they? Why will they kill everyone, what can we do, and why is it up to us to do it?”
　
Before Radachia could speak, at least one of my questions was answered. A group of men appeared out of the darkness and descended on us. I say men, but they weren’t, at least not completely. They had the heads of spiders. I screamed.
　
I could feel Radachia’s irritation, and cut off my scream abruptly. I clutched my knife in a sweaty hand. The things were advancing, making ominous noises and brandishing weapons. I raised my knife, prepared to strike. The nearest fell down dead, one of Radachia’s arrows in it’s heart. Then another was down, and then they were upon us, and all I knew was hacking and stabbing at them in fear and horror, and trying to avoid being hacked at or stabbed myself.
　
We were outnumbered. And they had the heads of spiders. At least maybe I’d die a hero, I thought, but it was small comfort, because I didn’t really want to die.
　
I’d probably killed some, though in the confusion I didn’t really know. Then a blade was coming at my face, and I was going to die. I squeezed my eyes shut and was surprised to find, several seconds later, that I was still alive. The one who’d been about to kill me was lying dead at my feet, several arrows embedded in his back.

I looked around. There were only four of the things left alive, and they were all fighting Radachia. One grabbed her bow and snapped it in half. She’d gotten one of their swords and was fighting desperately, but one against four is long odds even for Radachia. It took everything I had to run into the fray rather than away from it, but I did, knife ready. It was dripping blood, and I took a huge gasping breath and told myself to hold it together for just a few more minutes. I took them by surprise, and stabbed one of the things in the back. The others turned on me, and it was all I could do not to be killed. And then they were the ones who were dead. Radachia isn’t the best person to have behind you, if she’s your enemy.
　
I looked around at the bodies scattered on the ground and the puddles of blood they lay in and realized that I too was covered in blood, and not all of it was the enemy’s. I’d been stabbed in the arm, my side had been grazed, and a long but shallow cut ran along my face. I began to cry.
　
Radachia ignored my tears and looked at the wound on my arm. “It didn’t hit anything serious,” she said. “And it’s the worst. You’ll be fine.”
　
I couldn’t stop crying. I hated it, the hot tears running down my face and making my cut sting even more, the runny nose and beginnings of a headache, the embarrassment of having hysterics in front of Radachia. She bandaged my arm with a strip of cloth she’d gotten from somewhere as I sobbed on. She glanced at me side, but it had already stopped bleeding, and gave me another piece of cloth to hold to the cut on my face.
　
I used it to wipe my eyes first, then pressed it hard to my cheek. I took a deep, shuddering breath, and looked at the battle scene around us, and tried to decide if it was worse that what awaited me at home.
　
“We should go now,” said Radachia.
　
“Yeah.”
　
It was dark, and I hadn’t been paying much attention to where we’d been running earlier, but Radachia walked me home. I was glad, until I arrived. There were guards in front of my house. Were they really here already? I didn’t want anyone, especially Radachia, to see this. “I’ll be fine from here,” I said, a few doors down from my house.
　
“It’s on my way. You did well, Kimi. I’m sorry you had to, but you did.”
　
“You too.” I had to say something.
　
Radachia grinned. “Of course.”
　
With each step I took towards my home, my dread grew. I was almost to the front steps when the guards grabbed me.
　
“You’re under arrest, you murderous bitch,” one of them said.
　
“He tried to kill me,” I said feebly. I knew it was useless to protest. He’d been a guard, and if a guard tried to kill you, you were supposed to let them, or at least that’s what the guards seem to think. And in my heart I felt guilty. He’d only been one man; couldn’t I have gotten away without killing him? Or maybe I should have just let him kill me. Why should I think my life was more valuable? The guards clearly didn’t. I didn’t feel the same way about the spider-headed things. They’d had the heads of spiders, and I still couldn’t quite associate that with them being in any way human. But the man I’d killed earlier, in my own home, had been.
　
“What is going on?” demanded Radachia.
　
“This doesn’t concern you.” I echoed her words from earlier.
　
“Like hell it doesn’t. That didn’t even work on you, and I’m twenty times nosier than you are.” She turned to the guard. “What is going on?”
　
“Exactly what it looks like, ma’am. We’re arresting this girl for murder. Now, you just run along out of here before we decide to take you in as well. You’re just as covered in blood as she is.”
　
“You could try. We were wounded in battle against men with the head of spiders, Garry. Do you know what that means?”
　
“That I have my choice of sending you to jail or the madhouse?”
　
“Gods, doesn’t anyone know anything anymore? It means war, but I’ll deal with that later, and with more important people than you. Now, let this girl go.”
　
“She murdered someone.”
　
“Oh, well. The two of us also personally killed seventeen men this evening. They happened to have the heads of spiders, but that doesn’t make any difference in the fact that they were alive, and then we put arrows and knives through them, and then they weren’t alive anymore. They would have killed us, and the rest of the town and probably most of the rest of the country as well, and it’s quite possible that their comrades still will. They would have killed everyone. They would have killed you, Gary. You too,” she added to the other guard. “And if the man Kimithy killed was still alive, they would have killed him too. That makes it about even don’t you think?” Radachia glared at them fiercely. They seemed to wilt.
　
“Erm,” Gary began, “Well, that is to say, it’s not really up to us.”
　
Radachia raised the sword she’d taken off our foes. She smiled sweetly in a way that was somehow even more intimidating than her glares. “How about we just agree that it’s not up to you, it’s up to me. All right? Now let Kimi go. I’ll see to it that your superiors authorize the decision.”
　
“Can you really do that?” Garry’s partner asked.
　
“Yes,” Radachia said firmly
　
The guards looked at each other. “We’ll release her into your custody,” Gary told Radachia.
　
“That will be suitable.” And the guards left.
　
“You have to get out of here, quickly,” Radachia told me. “I lied about being able to deal with their superiors.”
　
“Oh.” I was surprised, and grateful, and it took a lot of effort to keep myself from crying again. “Are there really going to be more of those things?”
　
“I’m afraid so. And worse. I think it’s likely that once it’s widely learned that you helped fight off the first ones so that we’ll at least have a little warning, you’ll be pardoned. So all you’ll have to do is hide out for a few days. I’d offer to let you stay with me, but after that little discussion it would be obvious. Is there anywhere you can go?”
　
“Yes.” There was a tree I knew of, with branches that wove into a kind of basket. When I was younger, I’d slept in it just for fun, now I could sleep in it for a few nights. I’d manage. “What about you? What are you going to do now?”
　
“I’ll have to tell everyone what’s happening and convince them of what it means. And I’ll be sure to lobby for your pardon, as well.” Radachia smiled. “But first, I’m going to go home and change out of my pajamas.”

An Honest Enemy

I was surprised by the knock at my door; it was late, the night was dark and the wind shook the trees as if it were trying to break their necks. Nobody would want to be out in that. My surprise at the knock, however, was nothing compared to my utter astonishment at the identity of my visitor.

“I need your help,” she said without prelude. I thought about what it must be costing her to say those words, to me. We had never been friends, to put it mildly. She clutched her cloak tightly against the cold. The dark eyes that peaked out from under the hood did not quite meet my gaze.

“Why?” I wasn’t sure what I was asking. Why me? Why should I help you? Why do you of all people need help at all?

All hope fled her. Her face fell, her shoulders slumped, and her voice was that emotionless tone of trued despair as she murmured, “I shouldn’t have come,” and turned away.

“Wait,” I called, and she turned back towards me. Xaria had been an opponent, even an enemy, but a worthy one. At times I’d hated her; at times I’d feared her; at times I’d done everything I could to bring about her death. But I had always respected her, and seeing her like this, her spirit defeated, brought me no joy. I let her in.

I had a fire blazing, so it was warm inside. I offered Xaria refreshment; she declined. We sat down and wondered what to say. The silence grew uncomfortable, so I began with the obvious. “I heard you were dead.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“I didn’t believe it.”

“No? Then you have more confidence in me than anyone else, Diren. Unwarranted confidence, really. It was too close.”

“What happened?”

“We won.”

I gave her a look. “I am aware that my lord is dead and yours is wearing a crown.”

“Yes, well, consider yourself lucky!”

“I do, actually. I find retirement rather pleasant. But that wasn’t an answer.”

“To put it plainly, I’m dispensable.”

“I spent ten years trying to dispense of you, Xaria. I assure you, it’s quite difficult.”

“If the arrow had been an inch higher, I’d be dead. Not my first close call, of course, as you know. Still, it was the first from my people. I’d given everything in his service, and the minute it pays off he tries to have me killed. Afraid to lose his newfound power, I suppose, so I got as far out of the way as I could and made it discreetly known that I had bowed out of that sort of thing. I bought a little house in a small town and started to live as an ordinary person. I think I would have stayed there, if I’d had the chance. I’d been there a month when my house burned down. I ran into the woods and stayed there for a few weeks—you know, far up north, where nobody goes. I was hunted down and barely managed to get away. So I went back to civilization. I still had friends, I thought, who could help me out until I figured out what was going on and how to stop it. I was wrong. You remember Madrithi? She pushed you off the cliff in Almingtorn? And Perd, I don’t know if you ever met him personally, but we worked together often. All three of us would have died for each other, once. Madrithi tried to blow me up. Perd poisoned me. When I woke up from that, lying in a dung heap, I decided to really go underground. I used a false name, took a job peeling potatoes in the kind of place no one would ever think to look for me, wore a disguise. A man with a knife showed up two days later. On my way out of the city I was attacked four times, and I was shot at twice on the way here. So maybe it used to be difficult to kill me, but Lord Okrilch, sorry, King Okrilch is in a position to do difficult things, because I put him there!”

I listened gravely. It scared me, hearing Xaria was out of her league, because she’d always been the only one who was my equal. We’d both been the best, and I doubted her abilities had changed with her victory. Perhaps it didn’t concern me. Why should I care that my enemy was being hunted? It only meant others were doing my job for me. But then, we weren’t enemies anymore. Lord Zaloth was dead and Lord Okrilch was King Okrilch, and there was nothing for us to fight over. It had never really been personal.

“Do you have a plan?” I asked her.

She hesitated, then shook her head. “No.” She sounded ashamed.

“Well, I do. There’s a reward out for your death?” She nodded distractedly. “I mean to claim it.”

She looked at me sharply, suspicion in her eyes.

“No,” I assured her. “But think about it. It would only seem natural if I’m the one to kill you, and if you’re assumed dead, your problems are over.”

“You’re right, that I’ll have to play dead, but I don’t know if it’ll be that easy. If I’m seen, the whole thing starts over again.”

“Obviously you’ll have to stay away from anyone who’d recognize you-“

“I’m a national figure; everyone recognizes me now.”

“If you stay hidden for a while, they’ll forget eventually.”

“Maybe, but I seem to have exhausted all possible hideouts.”

“You should be safe enough here; it’s the last place anyone would ever look.”

“You mean here, here? In your house? Diren, I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

We discussed it, and she agreed, eventually. We also agreed it wouldn’t be safe for me to go to the palace, so I sent a messenger to deliver the news that I’d killed Xaria, along with a pendant she wore as proof.

Two days later, the messenger returned with a bag of gold as a reward.

“So they must’ve accepted it,” I said to Xaria.

She nodded, and, impulsively, I think, kissed me.

“Thank you,” she said, when the kiss was finally over.

“You know, I had thought that I might end up killing you, but I never thought you’d thank me for it.”

Vengeance

I skulked in the darkness, listened at keyholes, prowled the secret passages in the walls. I saw and heard everything that went on in that godforsaken place. Every plot, every crime, every intrigue, every secret. What I knew could topple the kingdom and destroy those who clutched it to their cold, iron little hearts.

But I couldn’t do anything with my information. It wasn’t just my status, or lack of it—even the lowliest can wreak great havoc with that kind of knowledge, if they do it right. But I was as mistrusted as I was mistrustful. And if they knew how much I did know now, how dangerous I was, and the extents I would go to destroy them… I wouldn’t survive the night. So I stayed out of the away of those who meant me harm, but only just far enough out of the way as to see without being seen. I lived in the shadows, soaking up secrets, waiting. And when I got the chance, I would be avenged.

And finally, the chance came. Or at least, the opportunity to make a chance. I heard a whisper that a delegation from Agrivaia was to arrive, in a last ditch attempt to avoid war. And I began to plot.

The night they arrived, I stood in the shadows in the back of the hall as our king welcomed their diplomats. I watched their every movement, observed the tension between their leader and our king, picked out who each of the major players must be. The older, well dressed man was the ambassador, of course. The woman next to him had to be the princess, though she hardly looked the part—her dress was formal enough for the occasion, but not fancy, and her face was more sensible than pretty. Still, she was clearly the highest ranked among them, and the deal they hoped to make included her marriage to King Onisy. The two women—girls really—next to her were her ladies in waiting; then came a few minor nobles, and the man my plan hinged on—Taield, the Agrivaian spymaster.

I observed him carefully throughout the evening. Though I was too far to hear words, and he was of course civil to his hosts, he seemed… wary. Duly wary, to my mind, and I smiled inwardly. Perhaps I had a chance. I followed him back to his room, then snuck around into the secret passage, and watched him from there. It wasn’t particularly interesting. He wrote at the desk for a while—a report, and a personal letter, I thought—then went into the connecting bathroom and came back a bit later wearing only a towel. He blew out the lamp and went to bed. I waited long enough to be sure no one joined him, then retreated into the passageways of my own lair.

I made my move the next evening. I dressed in my most seductive outfit and used the normal hallways to get to his room. I knocked on the door, and when he opened it, said in my sultriest voice, “I have a present for you.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not interested.”

“I know; you’re happily married,” I said, pushing past him into his room. Once I was inside and out of earshot of any possibly passersby, I told him, in my normal voice, “It’s not what you’re thinking. At least hear me out.”

“Fine.” Taield shut the door and locked it, and I saw he was holding a dagger in one hand, but as he wasn’t being particularly threatening, I ignored it. I took a seat on his bed, and he turned the chair at his desk to face me and sat there. “How did you know I’m married?” he asked, true curiosity, as well as worry, in his voice. Because that wasn’t common knowledge; it was well known that he kept his private life private—a wise precaution, for someone in his line of work. I would have done the same, if I’d had a family to keep secret.

“I know everything,” I told him. He didn’t laugh at me—a point in his favor.

“Is that what this is about then?”

I pretended not to know what he meant. “Your wife?”

“Your knowledge.”

“Yes.”

He waited for me to say more. I waited for him to say anything. Finally, he did. “Is this a warning, then? Or blackmail?”

I laughed. “No, I told you. I’m here to give you a present.”

“That present being information.”

“Yes.”

“From whom?”

“From me, of course.”

He regarded me carefully.

“Who do you serve?”

“Myself.”

“Then who are you?”

“Me? That hardly matters. I’m nobody, really. Better to ask, what do I have for you?” As I spoke, I leaned back against his wall, subtly reached into the passage behind it, and withdrew a package of papers, which I hid behind my back.

“I’ll bite, what do you have?”

“Information on Onisy’s plans for conquering Agrivaia, what he means to do to Princess Aldasha, the truth about what happened to his first wife, the truth about how he took the throne in the first place, and various other tidbits you may find interesting.” I handed him the packet of papers, notes I’d carefully, dangerously, written out in preparation for this.

“Are you saying he plans to attack Agrivaia, after the treaty is signed?”

“No, no. I’m saying he’s planning for Agrivaia to attack him after the treaty is signed, and crush you in a defensive move. I’m not asking you to take my word on it; surely you have spies who can verify my information?”

He stared at me.

“I’ll give you some time to read through those and look into it. I’ll talk to you again tomorrow night.” I got up and started for the door.

He stopped me. “Wait. What’s in this for you?”

“Does it matter? Perhaps I simply enjoy watching things burn. Metaphorically speaking, of course.” I left.

When I returned the next evening, Taield was not alone. I was about to bolt when I realized the second figure was Princess Aldasha. She was sitting on the bed, where I’d been the previous evening, so I took a seat on the floor.

“As far as I’ve been able to find out, your information’s good,” Taield said.

“I know it is.”

“We mean to act on it,” Aldasha said.

“We…?

“No one else knows,” the spymaster said. “I had pieces of the information verified by my informants, but only the three of us know the whole thing. You’ve been invaluable in providing this information. Do you want to help us make our plans?”

“Yes, if you’ll have me.” I was surprised at the offer, though of course I’d planned to be involved, but I’d thought I’d have had to work from behind the scenes.

“The question is, is there any way to avoid war?”

I shook my head. “If the treaty fails, it means war. If the treaty goes ahead as planned, he kills you and starts a war.”

“What if we reveal his plan?” Taield mused.

“Reveal how? You can’t just say Aldasha won’t marry him because he’s going to kill her; he’d use an insult like that as an excuse to declare war.”

“No…. We’d have to wait and prove it, first,” Aldasha said slowly.

She exchanged a glance with Taield. “You can’t risk it,” he said gravely, and I realized what she was thinking.

“You mean, marry him? Let him try to kill you?” Aldasha nodded. “But that would still cause a war, wouldn’t it?”

“Not if I’m the only one left to wage a war against.”

We sat in silence, considering it.

“You know he won’t kill you himself,” Taield said.

“I think he will, actually,” I argued. They looked at me. “It’s just… more his style. He strangled his first wife. Of course, you still have to be open to the possibility of an assassination. What you should do is….” I outlined my plan.

We argued it over for a few more hours, working out the kinks, and of course, some changes were made to it during the following months.

But half a year later, Princess Aldasha and King Onisy were wed, and Aldasha was crowned queen. I waited in the passage outside their bedchamber. Taield guarded her during the ceremony and on the way back to the room, and just after I saw the newlyweds enter the room, he joined me. We watched in tense silence as they consummated their marriage. We had to, he could have tried to kill her at any moment, but that barely alleviated the awkwardness.

Finally, he grabbed her throat. Aldasha screamed, a gargled, choked, scream, but we hardly needed the warning. I burst into the room, holding a tiny jeweled dagger, stabbed the king, right in the heart, and disappeared back into the passage.

I watched as Aldasha grabbed the dagger, then ran to the door and screamed, “Help! Help!” Guards burst into the room, and Taield went around and followed them. I watched Aldasha tearfully explain how her husband had tried to kill her, and she’d stabbed him in self-defense, and he was d-dead! Angry red marks had appeared on her throat, and her story wasn’t questioned.

So Aldasha took the throne. As far as I saw, everyone was glad; Onisy had not been a good king. She made me her spymaster; Taield was to return to Agrivaia, and his wife.

“So, are you happy with the way things turned out?” he asked me before he left. “You never did say what your motivation was.”

“No,” I agreed. “And I never will. But I couldn’t be happier.”

Fighting Evil

It is well known that Lord Mavirug de Angriss is the cruelest, most foul abomination of a ruler ever to massacre hundreds of his own people. Being of a righteous disposition, I gathered a host and led a march on his stronghold.

The fortress of Angriss is a fortnight’s march away, across plains that are only a few blades of brownish grass away from being a desert. It was an arduous journey, but my men were hardy. Still, you can imagine my surprise when, perhaps three days from our destination, a solitary figure on a white horse rode up from behind us. Who would be traveling alone through this desolate wasteland? As the horse drew closer, I was astonished to see that its rider was a beautiful woman. When she reached us, she dismounted and greeted me warmly.

She said her name was Amalethia. That was all she said of herself. When I politely pressed her for her destination, she, also politely, evaded the question. She listened intently when I told her of my mission. “I have heard that this Lord Mavirug is quite a tyrant,” she commented.

“He’s pure evil,” I agreed.

She shook her head. “No one’s purely evil.”

I smiled at her innocence. “There are bad people in this world, miss. It’s sweet that you like to think the best of them, but facts are facts.”

Amalethia regarded me steadily. “I’d hardly say I think the best of him, my lord. I’ve known people who’ve been in his dungeons. All I’m saying is that there’s some good in everyone, and it would be a shame to kill it.”

“Even if you’re right, any shred of decency in the man is far outweighed by all the evil he’s committed.”

“But wouldn’t it be better to kill the evil in him, rather than killing him?”

“Well, miss, I certainly wish that could be done, but as it is the choices are to kill him or to let him continue on with his barbarities.”

I wouldn’t say she was convinced, but she dropped the argument, smiled sweetly, and said, “I wish you the best of luck with it, my lord.”

It was not safe, for a rider alone in those parts. I asked her to accompany us, and when she refused, sent Sir Dayathen, one of my knights, to accompany her. She wanted to be off immediately, so I watched them ride off into the horizon as we made camp for the night.

I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I was quite taken by her beauty, her mysteriousness—she never had told me where she was from or where she was headed, her naïveté, which was not that of a fool but of a sweet girl who assumes the rest of the world is that way. I hoped she never learned otherwise.

It was three days before we reached the fortress of Angriss. I was surprised, and duly suspicious, to find it seemingly unguarded, drawbridge down, portcullis open.

I commanded my men to wait and storm the fort if I had not returned in an hour, and walked over the drawbridge.

As I entered I heard noises to my left. I turned that way and found myself in a great hall, full of people feasting. They seemed to mostly be peasants, and many looked to have been hurt. They seemed… relieved, and suspicious, as if they had witnessed a miracle but didn’t believe it.

“What’s going on here?” I inquired of the person nearest the door, a woman with a scarred face and a missing hand.

“Lord Mavirug released us all from the dungeons,” she told me. “Some of us’ve been in there for years without a hope of release but death, and then yesterday he comes down, opens the gates, and tells us how he’s done wrong, and is sorry, and of course we think it’s some sort of trick, that he’ll kill us or worse if we come out, but he’s on his knees sobbing about how sorry he is, says we’re to take all his possessions as recompense and he’s off to redeem what’s left of his life or some such thing. I rather think he meant it, believe it or not, and I’m not sure I do. Maybe I just died in there and this is the afterlife.”

I made my way through the rest of the castle. It was by turns utterly deserted or full of former prisoners looting the building. I left them too it, and finally made my way to a room at the top of the highest tower. It had, I realized as I entered, been Lord Mavirug’s bedchamber. It was full of priceless treasures, but was dominated by a large, luxurious bed on which a figure was collapsed. I though at first it was one of the prisoners. It took me a moment to recognize Amalethia.

She was barely conscious. Her face was worn and exhausted, but her eyes fluttered open, and at seeing me, she managed to mumble, “I did it,” before collapsing into unconsciousness.

“Dayathen!” I called out, looking around for the knight I’d sent to guard her. He came through a door from a connecting chamber. “What happened?” I demanded.

“Well, after we left you, she had us ride straight here. I cautioned her against it, but to no avail. She told me she would do what she wanted, and I could accompany her or not, so of course I did. We arrived here at dusk yesterday, and she managed to talk her way into the keep and right into here. I’m not sure how she did it, he was outraged and I kept thinking he would kill us, but somehow he just let us right in. She told me she was going to do something; that it was very difficult and I had to promise not to stop her no matter what happened. I didn’t want to, but I promised. So then she went right up to him and put her hands on his head and… I’m not sure what she did. She started having these spasms, and it seemed to me she was fighting something. I wanted to stop her but I’d promised so all I could do was watch. She was shaking and screaming, and then he started doing the same. It was agony just to watch; I can’t imagine what it must have been like for her. Anyhow, finally they both passed out, and a couple of hours later he woke up and started sobbing and apologizing with all his heart for everything he’d ever done in his life. I don’t know what she did, but it was like what she was saying, killing just the evil in him, I guess. Anyway, he left, and she’s been drifting in and out of consciousness ever since. At one point I think she said she needs rest, though it's so hard for her to talk I can’t be sure. And she’s said, “I did it,” a few times.”

We stayed with her as she regained her strength. Finally, the next morning, she managed to sit up in bed. “I’ll be better soon,” she told me when I asked after her health. She gave no explanation of what she’d done.

“You were right,” I told her. “I thought you were just naïve, but I was wrong and you were right.”

“I know.”

“How do you do it?”

“It’s not something I can explain. You just have to do it.”

“Could you teach me?”

She waved an arm weakly. “Would you really want to learn?”

I could see the price, of course, but killing has its price too. “Yes.”

“Once I’m better. There’s a man in Yilthent that wants to kill all foreigners….”