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‘Grandfather, tell me!’
‘You will know, Wisest … I tried so hard that you wouldn’t, but … you will …’
A sigh rose up fro softer upon it
‘And the anson’t make you happy …’
‘Grandfather’
‘Because at the end of a Rhega’s life … there is nothing’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘All you are , Wisest … is darkness and quiet’
‘Grandfather’
Silence
‘GRANDFATHER!’
Darkness
His own echo returned to hi into the forest It see in his nostrils as the sound faded, dying with every whispered repetition as it slipped into trees that had suddenly gone quiet, leaving hiht beca heavier on his heart with every repetition
Alone Again, again, again
No matter how many spirits he found, how s he surrounded hi hi
Except that word
‘Again, again,’ he whispered, sainst the bone iain and always … always and again …’
‘Again …’
It was not hirandfather’s voice It certainly was not the scent of either of them that filled his nostrils and drew his head up His lip quivered at the odour: pungent, iron, sweaty, faface
The creature appeared farther down the ravine, black against the assault of sunlight, but unmistakable Its frame was thick, tall, laden with the contours of overdeveloped e of sharpened -jawed face scanned the rocks He recognised the sight i up in a quiet snarl
Feain,’ she snarled, her voice grating ‘Until you tell reen filth’
‘Shi-neh-ah! Shi-neh!’ the creature at her blood-covered feet spoke a language he did not understand ‘Maah!’
At a gli akin to a bipedal lizard … or it had been bipedal before both its legs had been crushed It now strained to craay on long, lanky ar the sands of the cliff they stood upon stained red Over the corpses of other creatures, identical to it but for their severed limbs, split chests and lifeless eyes, it crawled towards Gariath
It caught sight of him, looked up Its yellow eyes ide, full of fear, full of pain, tre with a life that flickered like a candle before a breeze It reached out a hand to hi its words to the point of agony
They never came
‘I don’t have tiface seized the creature’s long tail, hauled it up with one hand ‘You have exactly two breaths to learn how to speak overscum!’
‘MAW-WAH! MAW-WAH!’
The sounds of its shrieking ainst the sand stained with its own life, straining to find some handhold as it was hoisted up by its tail Gariath saw its eyes wide as it looked to hi in its eyes, the familiar fear and pain that he had seen in so many eyes before
‘RHE--’
One breath
Her thick blade burst out the creature’s belly, thick ribbons of glisteningout She paused, twisted it once, and dropped the creature The blade laughed a thick, grisly cackle as it slowly slid from the creature’s flesh
Gariath continued to stare at the creature’s eyes, at its mouth He saw only darkness Heard only silence
‘Hey’
It was the sheer casualness hich she spoke that face Her expression was blank, unamused and only barely interested in hi it in the sand as she dusted blood-flecked hands together
‘They co white eyes at him, she snorted ‘No You aren’t one of them, are you?’
‘No,’ he said
‘That’s fine,’ she said ‘You want to fight, yeah?’
He wasn’t sure why he nodded
‘That’s fine,’ she said again as she sat upon a rock with a grunt ‘Just give me a moment’
He wasn’t sure why he waited
‘What are they?’ he asked, at last
‘Those Green Things?’ she replied with a shrug ‘They don’t have names, as far as I know They don’t need na has a narunting ‘Gariath’
‘Dech,’ she said, slapping her shoulder ‘Carnassial of Arkklan Kaharn, chief as and--’
‘I knohat you are,’ he replied ‘I’ve killed a lot of you’
‘No fooling?’ She grinned at hily Red One, they called you You cut open a lot of warriors, you know I knew a few of the froood at what you do’
‘You’re calm about that’
‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ she asked ‘Don’t getto be personal or anything It’s just what I do It’s what you do Just like dying was just what those warriors did’
‘I don’t follow’
‘Yeah, I don’t bla it, which is why they’re always rushing around They don’t knohat they’re supposed to do’ She gestured to the eviscerated lizard-creatures ‘Take These Green Things We got plenty of theainst us, so for mercy, sos were …’ She looked up at hi down their faces e kill one of them That’s what baffles me’
‘They mourn’
‘Why?’