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My head’s poundin The hotwind circles the tent I can hear the chatter of voices outside I feel distant from myself Like I ain’t in my body The tent walls bluster an threaten In an out They close in on me There’s a roarin sound in my ears

I stand So does she She reaches up to ers rest on ht of what you believe in, she says Never, no matter what happens What one person does affects the le garment of destiny

As I halt froritty I’m numb I cain’t believe it Auriel cain’t help hts to the blood hts

What now?

What do I do?

The voices shout at me from the bottom of the hill Everybody that was there when I went in to see Auriel is still hangin around Her people My Free Hawk gang All waitin, eager to be told what coonna happen My heart starts to pound I need to think I head away from them, fast as I can

They coht? cries a man

We don’t, I says loudly I don’t turn to look I keep walkin

We need guns, calls another man Bows an arrows

No weapons, I says This ain’t no blood vengeance

We got guns in plenty It’s Creed’s voice More’n we’ll ever need, right here beneath our feet Tunnels full of ’ereat furore erupts Then why’re we here? We’ll go it alone! No weapons? That’s crazy

I raise my voice to be heard above the noise It’s the sht!

Climb up where they can see you Here! says Sli’s little cart stands nearby The one I rode here in with Manuel I hesitate a moment, but Slim an Tommo’s already seized me by the elbows They hoist me into the back of it Then the crowd’s surroundedinto speech

There won’t be no fightin, I says There ain’t no need to At least, not the kinda fight you think The sht at all

I turn as I speak, so’s everyone can hear me

DeMalo makes out that he’s powerful, I says Unbeatable I’roeaker by the day He don’t know it He cain’t see it An it’s happenin right unner his nose

I look out on the sea of faces They’re silent Listenin The hothips at our clothes an hair I feel the red hot risin high in ht To convince them

The people of New Eden are slaves, I says Each an every one, make no h many in New Eden bear that injustice But they all wear the slave bonds of fear So long as we live in fear of this tyrant, we’ll always be his slave Right now, at this moment, the people of New Eden are castin off the slave chains of fear Yes Yer children, yer friends an yer neighbours DeMalo don’t know it DeMalo cain’t see it An it’s happenin right unner his nose