‘Did he, indeed? Fetch him to me.’
‘Yes, lord. He had the best interest of the villagers at heart, lord.’
‘I’m sure that he did,’ said Viruk amiably. ‘Fetch him.’
The woman returned with a jug of wine. Viruk tasted it. It was cheap, young, and remarkably sour. Looking up at the woman he ordered her to wait outside.
The large man re-entered the building just as she was leaving. Behind him came an elderly man dressed in a full-length tunic of green wool. ‘You are Shalik?’ said Viruk.
‘I am, lord,’ he answered, offering a deep bow.
‘Tell me about yourself.’
‘Little to tell, lord. I have been headman now for seven years, appointed by the General.’
‘You have a family?’
‘Yes, lord. A wife, four sons, two daughters. We have recently been blessed with two grandchildren.’
‘How nice,’ said Viruk. ‘Now, you gave away five of the General’s wagons yesterday. Would you explain the thinking that led to this deed?’
‘There were thirty raiders, lord. They could have sacked the village. Instead I negotiated with them. At first they wanted all the wagons, but I am a skilled negotiator. They settled for five.’
‘And why do you think they needed these wagons?’
Shalik blinked and licked his thin lips. ‘To … carry goods, lord?’
‘Indeed. Without the wagons they could not have plundered farms and settlements. As a result of your negotiation they filled their wagons with the General’s property. Because of your skill they felt empowered to slaughter the General’s workforce. Not so?’
‘I was protecting my village, lord.’
‘Men make choices,’ said Viruk, with a smile. ‘Sometimes they are good choices, sometimes bad. You made a choice. It was a bad one. Now go home and cut your wrists. I will come by to examine your body before I leave. Go now.’
Shalik threw himself to his knees. ‘Oh lord, I beg of you … spare me!’
The emotional display irritated Viruk, but he did not show it. ‘You aided the enemy, man. The penalty for such a crime is your execution and the deaths of your entire family. Do this small thing, Shalik, and your family can go on with their lives, secure in the knowledge that you saved them. For, if you are not dead within the hour, I will come to your house and I will kill your wife, your four sons, your two daughters and your grandchildren. Now be gone, before I regret my generosity.’
The large man led the weeping Shalik from the house. He returned moments later.
‘You are now the headman,’ said Viruk. ‘What is your name?’
‘Bekar, lord.’
‘Well, Bekar, the next time raiders approach you will deny them any aid. Is that not so?’
‘It will be as you command, lord.’
‘Good. Is Shalik’s house better than yours?’
‘It is, lord. He is a rich man.’
‘He is a dead man. His property is yours.’
‘Thank you, lord.’
‘Now send me one of the village whores. It has been a long day and I need the services of a woman.’
‘There are no whores in the village, lord.’
Viruk stood and gave the man a broad smile. ‘You could become one of the shortest-lived headmen in history, Bekar. Is that what you want?’
‘No, lord. I will fetch a woman immediately.’
Chapter Seven
There were many things that Sofarita wanted to say as she stood in the doorway of her father’s house. She wanted to look into the Avatar’s pale eyes and tell him she loathed him worse than any plague. She wanted to ask him how he could consider rutting when a good man was sitting with his family, telling them he was being forced to kill himself. Yet she could not. For despite her pride, and an irrepressible personal courage, she knew that to anger this man would bring terrible retribution on others. Sofarita would have willingly spoken her heart to this man, even in the sure knowledge of death. Yet the Avatar, this slim young killer, would have no compunction about killing her entire family. Perhaps the whole village. To risk such a tragedy would be foolhardy in the extreme.
Instead she stood in the doorway, head bowed, hands clenched tight beneath the red shawl wrapped around her slender shoulders, hoping that the racking cough she had endured for the last three months would not ruin what chance she had of placating this man of evil.