Kysumu stared down at the dead face of a man he had loved.
The voice of Lu Fang came from the balcony above. ‘Are they dead? Are they gone?’
‘They are gone,’ said Kysumu, striding from the house.
Two days later Lu Fang had been stabbed to death in a market square.
Now Kysumu looked back and wondered just why he had longed to be a Rajnee. Around him he could hear the coarse, gutter language of the Riaj-nor. What a fool I have been, he thought. Everything I was taught was based on lies. I have wasted my life trying to be as great as the original heroes of legend. And now I find they are part beast, part man, and have no honour in them.
Yu Yu Liang approached, squatting down beside him. ‘They will come, you think, the demons?’ he asked.
‘They will come.’
‘You are still sad?’
Kysumu nodded.
‘I’ve been thinking about what you said, Kysumu. I think you are wrong.’
‘Wrong?’ Kysumu gestured towards the warriors. ‘You believe they are great and mystic heroes?’
‘I don’t know. But I was talking to Song Xiu, and he was saying that the meld affects the body in a number of ways. One of them is that no Riaj-nor can sire children.’
‘What is your point, Yu Yu?’ snapped Kysumu.
‘Whatever you think of them they did defeat the enemy. But once they were all dead – of old age or whatever – who could replace them? Ordinary men did not have the strength or the speed. So the elders had to find special men. Men like you, Kysumu. It is not about a lie. It is not about trickery. It doesn’t matter that the original warriors were Joinings. The order of the Rajnee has always been . . . pure. That is why they have inspired our people for centuries. I know I am not putting this well. I am no debater. You were raised to believe in stories about a great warrior people. Well, they are great warriors. They did fight and die for us. You were then taught to believe in the Rajnee code. It is a good code. You do not swear, you do not lie, you do not steal, you do not cheat. You fight for what you believe in, and never give in to evil. What is wrong with that?’
‘Nothing is wrong with it, Yu Yu. It just isn’t based on truth.’
Yu Yu sighed and pushed himself to his feet. Song Xiu and Ren Tang walked across to join them.
‘The gateway is an hour’s march from here,’ said Song Xiu. ‘It will be guarded. One of our scouts picked up the trail of a small group of Kriaz-nor. It is my belief they saw our arrival, and will have communicated it to their masters.’
‘There are going to be demons among those ruins,’ said Yu Yu. ‘They will come in a mist. Big black dogs and white bear creatures and serpents.’
‘We have fought them before,’ said Ren Tang.
‘So have I – and I’m not looking forward to doing it again,’ said Yu Yu.
‘And you shouldn’t,’ said Kysumu, his voice gentle. ‘You have fulfilled your part in this, Yu Yu. You were chosen to find the Men of Clay and you have done this. But from now on other skills will be required. You should make your way back to the coast.’
‘I can’t leave now,’ said Yu Yu.
‘There is nothing more you can do. I do not mean this unkindly, but you are not a swordsman. You are not Rajnee. Many of us – perhaps all of us – will die upon that plain. It is what we were trained for. You have great courage, Yu Yu. But now is the time for other skills to come into play. You understand? I want you to live. I want you to … go home and find a wife. Have a family.’
Yu Yu was quiet. Then he shook his head. ‘I may not be a swordsman,’ he said, with great dignity, ‘but I am the pria-shath. I brought these men to this place. I will lead them to the gateway.’