Descending Road - SOMETHING CRAWLED THERE by Dana W. Paxson

SOMETHING CRAWLED THERE

1563 4D

Brittle, tense, the two men embraced. To Andrew, Mentrius‘s face looked old and tired; the man wore an older City uniform now, one that fit him poorly, and the loss of his darker skin pigment made his age more apparent. They sat down in soft, low chairs in the dimly-lit side room, while the discussions among the victorious colls continued in the great chamber.

“Our paths have gone far apart,” Andrew said, “But we seem to have come to a crossing.” One more crossing, this time with the man who almost killed Engel, who almost killed me. Why am I doing this?

Turiosten said to Andrew, Your kind have so many crossings. I don’t know how you bear it. To Andrew it sounded like genuine compassion.

“I’m glad the fighting is done,” Mentrius said, nodding. “It left some awful damage behind, too many dead. We have generations of work ahead of us.”

“I want your help,” Andrew said. “We’re blood brothers. The colls have to bury their differences. You tried to kill me, and then you tried to kill my son. Why did you break our oath?”

Mentrius did not speak for several heartbeats. Then he said, “It was a hard war. I made some bad choices. Your son, well, if I had refused to follow Arlen‘s order, he would have sent the Argazindari to do it. They would have cut him into small pieces.”

Andrew nodded, and pressed on. “He told me you had sent choppers after him. I knew they were Arlen‘s.”

“Wait. Your son is alive?” Mentrius‘s face brightened.

“He was badly hurt, but yes, he’s alive, thanks mostly to some friends. He said the choppers were slow, for choppers. That’s partly what saved him.”

“I trusted he’d be faster than the ones I sent. I’m sorry. It was oath against oath, and what could I do? I’m in your hands, Andrew, just like the first time in the mountains.” Mentrius massaged his face, and waited.

“As I said, I want your help.”

“Why are you giving me the benefit of the doubt? You could have me jailed, or executed, or sworn off as an enemy. I broke our oath.”

“I know.” Andrew dug out the cartridge with Mentrius‘s blood on it. “Here’s how you can redeem the oath. Join me now, and let’s set an example for the others here.” He took a long, bitter breath, looked down at the rich carpet, and hoped he wouldn’t be tested again, so hard.

“Andrew?” Mentrius broke the silence. “I’ll do it.”

Andrew said, “Are you sure?”

“Yes. But could you tell me just one thing?”

“Of course.”

“How is Leil?”

Andrew stopped breathing for a second. He couldn’t hit Mentrius with this, not now, but he couldn’t ignore the question either. Turiosten kept silent. Andrew looked back and forth on the floor, as if something crawled there, alive but dying.

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

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PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
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	SOMETHING CRAWLED THERE 1563 4D “Mentrius.” “Andrew.” Brittle, tense, the two men embraced. To Andrew, Mentrius‘s face looked old and tired; the man wore an older City uniform now, one that fit him poorly, and the loss of his darker skin pigment made his age more apparent. They sat down in soft, low chairs in the dimly-lit side room, while the discussions among the victorious colls continued in the great chamber. “Our paths have gone far apart,” Andrew said, “But we seem to have come to a crossing.” One more crossing, this time with the man who almost killed Engel, who almost killed me. Why am I doing this? Turiosten said to Andrew, Your kind have so many crossings. I don’t know how you bear it. To Andrew it sounded like genuine compassion. “I’m glad the fighting is done,” Mentrius said, nodding. “It left some awful damage behind, too many dead. We have generations of work ahead of us.” “I want your help,” Andrew said. “We’re blood brothers. The colls have to bury their differences. You tried to kill me, and then you tried to kill my son. Why did you break our oath?” Mentrius did not speak for several heartbeats. Then he said, “It was a hard war. I made some bad choices. Your son, well, if I had refused to follow Arlen‘s order, he would have sent the Argazindari to do it. They would have cut him into small pieces.” Andrew nodded, and pressed on. “He told me you had sent choppers after him. I knew they were Arlen‘s.” “Wait. Your son is alive?” Mentrius‘s face brightened. “He was badly hurt, but yes, he’s alive, thanks mostly to some friends. He said the choppers were slow, for choppers. That’s partly what saved him.” “I trusted he’d be faster than the ones I sent. I’m sorry. It was oath against oath, and what could I do? I’m in your hands, Andrew, just like the first time in the mountains.” Mentrius massaged his face, and waited. “As I said, I want your help.” “Why are you giving me the benefit of the doubt? You could have me jailed, or executed, or sworn off as an enemy. I broke our oath.” “I know.” Andrew dug out the cartridge with Mentrius‘s blood on it. “Here’s how you can redeem the oath. Join me now, and let’s set an example for the others here.” He took a long, bitter breath, looked down at the rich carpet, and hoped he wouldn’t be tested again, so hard. “Andrew?” Mentrius broke the silence. “I’ll do it.” Andrew said, “Are you sure?” “Yes. But could you tell me just one thing?” “Of course.” “How is Leil?” Andrew stopped breathing for a second. He couldn’t hit Mentrius with this, not now, but he couldn’t ignore the question either. Turiosten kept silent. Andrew looked back and forth on the floor, as if something crawled there, alive but dying.