Spinning he sent the blade slashing through the air -and into the neck of the knifeman, who was creeping up behind him. The blade sliced through skin and tendon, smashing the vertebrae and slicing through both jugular veins. The man’s head flopped to the right and his legs buckled.
The swordsman had struggled to his knees. ‘No!’ he cried, as his friend died.
‘No?’ queried Viruk. ‘The time for saying no was before you attempted this ridiculous assault. I wouldn’t mind -save for the fact that you knew who I was. You have no idea how insulting that is. I mean, two of you!’ Crouching down before the kneeling man he reached out and dragged the scarf clear. The face he saw was young, barely out of his teens. ‘I take it you are Pajists,’ said Viruk.
The youngster nodded, then a gleam came into his eyes. ‘Yes. And proud to die for the cause. I may not have been good enough to kill you – but one day someone will. Kill you and all your foul kind.’
‘Perhaps,’ agreed Viruk. ‘Now why don’t you tell me the names of those who sent you?’
‘Never!’
‘That’s what I thought,’ Viruk told him with a wide smile. ‘It does make matters so much more simple.’ With one sudden move he swept the sword up and plunged it into the young man’s belly with such force that the blade penetrated his back. ‘Hurts, doesn’t it?’ said Viruk. The swordsman screamed and sagged forward into the arms of his killer. Viruk kissed his cheek and pushed him away.
Rising, he remembered his soiled boot. Wiping it clean on the clothing of the dying man he made his way back to the palace to report the attack.
The Questor General sent a squad of soldiers to the spot, but by the time they arrived the bodies had been spirited away.
‘What do you remember about them?’ Rael asked Viruk, who was sponging blood from his black silk shirt.
‘They were young and not very skilful,’ said Viruk. ‘But they were waiting for me. One of them said as much. Called me Viruk the Killer. I can’t believe they sent only two. Do you think they were trying to annoy me?’
‘They didn’t send only two,’ said Talaban, moving forward. ‘Someone else was close by. Otherwise they would have had no time to remove the bodies.’
‘Ah,’ said Viruk. ‘That’s more like it. They sent three – but one of them was a coward. Even so, three is still somewhat of an insult.’
‘You were unarmed, Viruk,’ Rael pointed out. ‘They probably thought three would be enough.’
‘I expect you are right,’ said Viruk. ‘Can you still see blood on the shirt?’
‘I think it is gone,’ Rael told him. ‘Now, can you think of anything else? Anything at all?’
Viruk thought about the question, picturing the events once more. ‘No,’ he said at last. ‘They came at me from the darkness. It was all over very quickly.’
‘Then get home and rest, cousin,’ said Rael. ‘And this time take a sword.’
‘He is a fool,’ said Talaban, after Viruk had gone. ‘Had he kept the swordsman alive we could have questioned him.’
‘As he said, they came from the darkness,’ Rael pointed out.
Talaban shook his head. ‘He was unarmed. He took the swordsman’s blade and killed the knifeman. That left the swordsman unarmed. He could have captured him.’
‘I know that!’ snapped Rael. ‘But Viruk is not a thinker. He likes to kill. That is his talent, and his obsession. But if we are speaking of fools, Talaban, let us review your report to the meeting. Was it your intention to create enemies here? You spoke of arrogance, and your summation of Avatar characteristics was offensive. How did you put it? If these newcomers are anything like us they will be arrogant and convinced of their superiority and divine right to rule. Because of that you angered Niclin and he sought to have your crew put to death. Had Questor Ro not supported you it would have happened.’
‘I merely spoke the truth,’ said Talaban.
‘Pah! The truth. Why is it that men always believe the truth is like a single crystal, hard and unchanging? What you perceive as arrogance, others see as pride. You want the truth? You cannot have it, for it is based on perception, like a beautiful woman. Where one man sees a whore, another sees an angel. When you spoke of our arrogance the Council looked at you, and what did they see? A man who despises his own people, perhaps.’