"No, I already accept your supremacy as a swordsman. We fought for kingship once before the tribal way and you won. Now I'm fighting for leadership the cowardly Valisar way...I'm using cunning. And it seems I've won."

"Do you truly believe people will follow you?"

"If they don't-"

"They'll die?" Loethar finished for him.

And Stracker laughed. "The Denovians will become our slaves, our workers."

"And what of the people who are tribal but have intermarried, have children who are half and half?"

"They can choose to die or become slaves too. There will be no mixed blood. The tribes must remain pure."

"You are mad."

"This was always my creed. I haven't changed."

"What would our father think?"

"My father hated that you pitied me."

Loethar knew this to be true. "And what would our mother think of your ambushing me as I bring you her ashes?"

"She always knew I would kill you. Surely she tried to warn you?"

Loethar spat blood out. "In her way, yes. But I never thought you would try anything with our mother still present," he said, glancing at the chest containing her ashes.

Stracker shrugged. "I'm not as sentimental as you are."

"I can tell."

The general grinned. "It's good to see you humbled like this, on your knees before me."

"Stracker, I'm not humbled. My mortal body crumples as anyone's would, but in my mind I laugh in your face at your pathetic intentions. The army follows you because it follows orders. But when misery takes a hold and you begin to lose control, that same army, these very men who do your bidding now, will rise up against you. You don't understand leadership; you only understand the blind obedience of a dumb dog. Oh yes, you feel you're taking initiative now but it is purely the snapping of that dumb dog railing against its master. A dumb animal doesn't survive very long without someone to control it, feed it, water it, train it. You-"

Loether never got any further; Stracker hit him so hard he bit off a piece of his own tongue, his mouth filling with blood as he hit the ground, unconscious. He never felt the beating he took.

"String him up," Stracker commanded finally. "He can die in the forest, hanging by his neck. No honorable tribal sword will tarnish its blade with his blood."

Watching, hidden, Gavriel swung around, looking stunned. Elka turned to him, equally shocked.

"The emperor?" she mouthed.

Gavriel nodded. "I can't believe it."

"Should we stop them?" she whispered.

"No. Let them kill each other. I'll enjoy watching him die; he might already be dead. He looks it."

Elka looked back as the men picked up the slumped, unconscious captive; she'd only recently heard her friend's chilling description of all, that this very man had inflicted upon his family, his friends and, more widely, his countrymen. The Davarigons, after all, had been spared the effects of the push for empire. And though she understood that Gavriel had suffered much at this man's hands, all she could see now was a helpless man who had been beaten senseless by thugs and was now about to lose his life.

"Gavriel," she began, as the warriors dragged Loethar toward a nearby tree. "This is what it looked like when the imperial guards were beating you. I sat in the shadows just like this and I made a decision to help you."

"We're going to watch him swing."

"No."

He glared at her. "Did you not hear anything I told you on our journey here?"

She laid a hand on his arm, feeling the tension beneath her palm. "Listen to me a moment," she urged. "Everything we've heard back from the Set in the last five or six years has been positive, has it not?"

He looked away, scowling, but she knew he was listening.

"If not for your memory returning, you would be none the wiser about this man. You would feel as outraged as I do that he is about to go to his death with no fair trial, no way to defend himself-"

"He has no defense!" Gavriel hissed beneath his breath. "He doesn't deserve a def-"

"He deserves to die, I agree, but perhaps he should be given the opportunity for a formal execution. He is an emperor."

"He is a usurper."

"He is a king in his own right. And his former cruelties aside, we've had many a conversation back home about how the Set has begun to flourish under his rule. You know the trade routes have opened up for us directly as a result of Loethar's new policies."

"Elka-"

"No. Ask yourself, now that you're a Set man again, whether you want to be ruled by that evil-looking thug of a brother," she said, stabbing a finger in Stracker's direction.

Gavriel turned sourly to regard Stracker. "Half-brother," he corrected, shaking his head.

"Right," Elka said. "So we are not going to permit Loethar's death today, even if we have to take him as our own prisoner."

"Are you going soft in the head?"

"I would have thought bringing Loethar as your captive to present to your king would be a fine homecoming," she baited.

Gavriel clearly couldn't dismiss her logic. She watched him consider, and hoped the Valisar king was still alive, and still in these parts. He finally nodded. "What do you suggest?"

Relief coursing through her, Elka reached behind her. "We'll stun them," she replied, pulling her catapult from her belt with glee.

"Don't look at me like that, Bleuth," Stracker growled in Steppes language.

"General," the Green began reluctantly, "I would advise you against this action." Loethar hung limp between the two men. A third Green was throwing a rope over the chosen branch.

"Haven't got the stomach for it?" Stracker taunted.

"I think it is a rash move that you may regret. I am your friend; I hope I can say this to you without recrimination."

"We are friends but you are also my subordinate. And you will follow orders."

Bleuth nodded. "I will indeed. But I am first trying to prevent you..."

"What?" Stracker demanded as the Green trailed off.

"This is murder, Stracker."

The general laughed, pasting a feigned look of confusion on his face. "That is no stranger to me."

"Murder of tribe. Murder of family. Murder of a brother. Murder of a king. Murder of the emperor. Most of all, the murder of a man who spared your life once."

"And has treated me like his servant ever since!" Stracker raged. "I was prepared to walk in his shadow if he'd become an emperor I could be proud of. Instead, he has turned us into Denovians. Our blood is being diluted, our culture is being lost, our very memories of who we are and what we stand for are being diminished. He has let us down."

"What will you tell people?"

Stracker shrugged, uncaring. "Anything I like. My brother left the palace, grief-stricken at the loss of his child, rode into the north and was never seen again. He says he told no one where he was headed and I believe him; my brother is secretive. His disappearance can become one of the empire's mysteries."

"I have to say this: I don't want to be a part of murdering our emperor."

"I am not giving you a choice." Stracker looked over at the man with the rope and added, "Put it round his neck and hoist him. He's near enough dead now. He'll be none the wiser."

Stracker saw the three guards share a glance. "Are my orders to be disobeyed?" The two other men shook their heads, clearly more scared of their general than their broken emperor. "Bleuth?"

Bleuth gave a wry half grin. "I know you'll kill me if I don't."

"You can choose to stick by your principles if that's more important to you than loyalty to your general, to your people, to your culture."

"It's wrong."

"Not in my eyes. We fight for leadership on the Steppes."

"Only when our tribal ruler dies."

"He's going to die very shortly."

"By murder."

"Choose your side, Bleuth!" the general ordered, tiring of the debate.

The man hung his head. "I won't defy you, Stracker."

"Coward!" Stracker said, laughing. "Hang our prisoner!"

Slowly, the two Greens hoisted Loethar into the tree.

"That's it, boys," Stracker urged, "get his feet right off the ground. Good." He clapped. "Now tie him off. Farewell, brother."

Elka took the leader out first, her pebble hitting him in the temple expertly. He dropped like the stone that struck him, his body crunching heavily to the forest floor. The three guards looked surprised and the pair holding Loethar above the ground had their mouths open comically when the other took the next stone, collapsing like his general with a shout of pain.

The two other guards let go of the rope but it had already been tied off and Loethar swung, his toes just missing the ground. Elka shot another stone, felling one of the remaining guards. His companion shouted in fear, drawing his sword. Elka, aware of her distinctiveness, remained hidden. "Cut him down!" she called to Gavriel from behind the trees.

The guard thought she was speaking to him and backed away from Loethar, shaking his head. "I have orders," he stammered in Set. Gavriel emerged from the trees as Elka took aim with her fourth stone. The man began to babble at Gavriel, wondering where his slingshot was, but without pausing, Elka hit him in the thigh and he screamed and fell over. "I didn't want him to have a slash at you," she said to Gavriel. "Quick, get him down."

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he growled over his shoulder.

Elka ignored Gavriel, and reloaded her catapult.

"Please," the guard urged, still at Gavriel. "You don't need to-"

"Oh, but I do," Elka murmured to herself. She squinted, took very careful aim and let the sling hurl the stone straight at the man's temple. He made no sound but keeled over sideways.

"Is he alive?" she asked, finally emerging to help.

"I hope not." Gavriel had cut the rope and Loethar's body had slumped once again to the ground. "Another high body count, I see," he said conversationally as he undid the rope from Loethar's neck.

She looked around. "Last time I left men dead. I didn't want to this time. But they'll have horrible headaches, possibly split skulls."

"How can you be sure they won't die?"

"Lots of practice," she said, looking at her catapult before she put it away. "Now, let me look." She pushed Gavriel aside and placed her head close to Loethar's chest. Finally she looked at him. "Bad news for you. He's alive."

"Lo's wrath!" Gavriel replied. "A half-dead emperor and my sworn enemy and now I'm stuck nursing him back to health. Is that your plan?"

"I nursed you."

"I wasn't a war-mongering murderer."

"Yes, but I didn't know that. You could have been."

"This is typical of you, Elka. You think your calm reasoning will always win."

"It usually does."

"I wish you'd lived through what I had to. You wouldn't feel this way about this animal."

"With him alive and captive, perhaps you give your king some bargaining power." She shrugged. "This way Stracker will know that someone witnessed his treachery, that he didn't clean up his tracks well enough. Even in their language I could see that this older soldier was not thrilled about killing the emperor."

Gavriel nodded. "So, before the thugs wake up, what do you suggest?"

"He's badly injured. But we have to get away from here. He's not even conscious to chew some seeds so he'll have to put up with what ever pain we cause." She hoisted Loethar onto her shoulders. "Ah, this feels familiar."

Gavriel scowled. "Let's go, wherever we're going."

Thirty-Two.