“It looks like it's dead, doesn't it?” Avon said as he leaned closer to inspect Mercy. She had been silent for a good thirty seconds now and Raini had to admit it was difficult to think of her as something living. She felt that if she turned her back on it for a moment, she would forget it was even there.
“It's like a statue,” she admitted.
“Its skin is some form of metal, I think. Not iron, noy steel, maybe another alloy,” he whispered. Raini shrugged, unless Avon could figure out a way to kill it, she didn't really care what it was made from.
“We have made a decision,” Mercy said, and Avon flung himself backwards and yelped just enough to lose any dignity he had.
“You mean you have something to offer us?” Raini said as Avon collected himself. Part of her hoped that this was all now over. That they would leave, and nothing would ever be heard of them again. She was on the cusp of saving her people, but most of her knew that such things were never that easy.
“Yes. You will be saved for last.”
“Wha...?” Raini said, the hope evaporating. “What do you mean by that?”
“Our Kings are offering you the choice to be pacified last,” Mercy said. Raini felt her mouth go dry and she glanced at Avon again. His face was as hard as stone.
“That is worthless,” he said, his voice sounding dead.
“That is our offer.”
“Not good enough.” Avon snarled and went to pull on the cannon's lanyard.
“Wait!” Raini shouted loud enough to make Avon hesitate. “Can we meet these Kings; can we negotiate with them directly?” Again, Mercy did not respond for a few seconds. Avon gritted his teeth and Raini wondered if he would just snap and fire the cannon anyway.
“Yes, you can. That is the outcome we expected from these talks.” Avon was looking furious now.
“So, your first offer was just a bluff?” he said. The lanyard twitched in his hand.
“No, it was simply an alternative.”
“Fine, Raini would you organize the details please, it's been a long day,” Avon said as if he no longer needed to worry about Mercy or the rest of the Scatha. He began to walk away but Raini wasn't about to be dismissed like that.
“Of course, Lilis, would you show our guest to my stateroom.”
“Yes Cap’n.” Even on her own ship Raini still needed to show deference to Avon, but she could at least try to keep him in sight. Besides, she was still running on adrenalin and at that moment felt like she would never sleep again.
“Where can we negotiate with these Kings then?” she asked Mercy, wondering if they could all fit on the deck of the Sea Dancer, there could be hundreds of kings.
“You are heading north, correct?” Raini nodded. “Towards a fortress of some sorts. They will meet you there.” Raini smiled. She wouldn't be alone when she entered the history books for saving her clan, at least she would have some help. Well, maybe once the Protector Generals had taken over, they'd let her stay in the same room as long as she promised that she wouldn't say anything. That was worth at least a footnote.
And if it all went wrong, they had one of the largest fortresses in Kasom lands along with twenty thousand protectors to back them up. Mercy may not have been threatened by pistol shots, but the hundred or so siege engines that had ringed the fortress would surely ruin her day, and if the Kings came without a decent sized escort, perhaps if they were overconfident, then maybe they could use force to achieve a better settlement.
“Good, we should be there in about two hours.”
“Do you believe that these negotiations will make any difference?” For a second Raini was taken aback, it was not the usual type of question you asked before negotiations had even begun. Carefully she walked towards Mercy until she was close enough to see that the three huge glass eye pieces appeared to contain thousands of smaller ones. In unison they blinked at her. She could see her own reflection in them.
“Why are your people even here, why come to this world, why land?”
Mercy appeared to consider this answer for some time. “We are searching for life; we travel to a new world and if life is not found there, we take whatever resources we need and spend some time building up of numbers before traveling to the next.”
“But... but we're alive? Can't you tell?” No, Raini thought. It could not be that easy.
“You have no soul. You are a... facsimile of life. A false life created through simple chemical reactions.”
Raini blinked and wished she'd paid more attention in the school to this kind of thing. How was it that we defined life again?
“I have a soul,” was all she could think of saying.
“Where does it go when it is destroyed?”
“I don't know. We don't know, that's the point really. All we believe is that wherever it is we'll all be there.” She hadn't paid much attention in religious studies either. Hadn't the clans once believed that all the dead went to one of three gods before Den had come along and beaten them out of thinking like that. “Where does yours go?”
“Into a different body. It is a trivial thing for something that is truly alive.” Ok then, Raini thought. Let's try something different.
“From what I remember the way we define life is that we do several things. We consume resources, we reproduce, are capable of movement and produce waste, we also respond to things.” This couldn't be this hard Raini knew, wasn't the old saying, 'I think I exist, therefore I do' relevant here?
“Fire consumes resources, such as oxygen and produces waste. It grows and reproduces, it moves, and it will respond, in a way much like yourself, to primitive stimuli, such as wind.”
“But, no, you’re stretching the definition of the words. Fire isn't alive, it's a reaction, we're alive.” Raini said. She hated this sort of discussion. She was right, she knew it, how could this creature be so stupid as to not reconsider it? There had to be more ways of explaining it.
“Tell me. You do not consider fire, or a rock alive, but what about a tree, or a horse?” Mercy asked. Raini smiled and hoped that this was some sort of progress.
“They're both alive. In their own way. We don't see something as not being alive just because they don't live the way we do.” Her old schoolteachers would have been proud. Simply make them accept that other living things could do life differently, the rest would fall into place.
“In that case” Mercy said and looked down at the deck.” You have killed hundreds of living things to produce this ship, every day your species kills tens of thousands of living things for food or sport. That is something that we would never do. It is barbaric. If you are truly alive, then you slaughter other living creatures for your own needs and amusement. You consume them or build your boats out of their bones. You have no mercy or compassion for them. No Raini, it is best that you are not alive.” Raini held up a hand.
“Technically true, however...” Raini heard the words die in her throat. She took a deep breath and tried to think. “However, we are different. We’re intelligent.”
“If intelligence is the definition of life, then compared to us, you are not alive. You are closer to the animals that you ‘kill’ than to us. If you and they are both alive, and all life is equal, then you cannot possibly deserve to exist.”
“Yes, but-” Mercy stared at her. Raini closed her eyes and breathed out. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll be back with something better.”
***
Two minutes later Raini stormed into her stateroom and swore loud enough to wake the dead. It was different for them, she told herself. Every animal ate something else; it was part of nature, wasn't it? Just because they cut down trees and ate other living things to survive didn't mean that they weren't alive! Of course, now that she was away from Mercy Raini could think up a dozen responses. Each one so perfectly logical that she couldn't think of a way that Mercy could argue against them. She slammed her hand down on her small table and winced when she spotted Avon lying on a collection of chairs that had been pushed together to form an impromptu bed. At least he was polite enough not to steal her small bed, although he had acquired her old cloak and was fast asleep. It must have truly been a long day for him.
With a sigh she walked around to the other side of the desk and collapsed in her chair. The dozen or so maps on her desk swam in front of her eyes. Raini glanced at the small clock sitting next to the maps. It was just past one in the morning, which meant that her body would be expecting her to get at least a few hours’ sleep fairly soon. She knew from experience that if push came to shove, she could go on for about thirty hours before she really began to suffer. Still, it wouldn't hurt to get some sleep while she still could.
A knock on her door snapped her out of it and Raini straitened up in her chair before calling out, “come in.” The door opened and in stepped Sinas, Tain and three marines. She recognized the first two as Vinal and Dini, two young men who had impressed Sinas several times in the past. The third was Tasargin. They walked in like men expecting a fight and Raini had just enough time to snarl a curse before Sinas raised a pistol to her face.
“Put it down you idiot,” she said determined to get the first word in.
“Sorry Captain, but we really don't want you interfering while we take care of the prisoner,” Sinas said, sounding almost genuine.
“Take care? You mean murder in cold blood. The Dead have rules against that, and you know as well as I do that their punishments can be a little extreme.” The Dead did have rules, rules that transcended normal clan laws. Rules that if you broke you would be paid a visit that if you were really lucky you wouldn't live to regret it. It was one of the reasons why Raini didn't like the Dead clan. Murder a prisoner and your body would end up in seven different parts of the world but start a war that would end up killing ten thousand people and you'd just get a warning. These days it required a massive amount of belligerence and conquest to get the Dead to actually do what they had actually been established to do.
“I don't see many of them around here Captain, what with us being in the middle of the sea and all that,” Sinas said.
“And you Tain? Am I going to have to fight you as well?” Unlike Sinas, Tain kept his eyes to the deck and mumbled back at her.
“Sorry Captain. We just think it would be best if you agreed to stay here for a while.” Raini’s own pistol was lying on her desk, just out of reach. It was already charged so if she hit with all her shots, it would take twenty seconds to kill them all. Much faster than a black powder pistol, but she doubted that the desk would provide enough cover to hide behind. Besides Vinal and Dini didn't have pistols, they'd just use their swords. Two on one wasn't great odds at any time.
“And if I refuse?”
“I always wanted my own command.” Sinas said with a smile.
“Oh, that was a mistake,” a new voice said, and Raini could see Avon pull himself up out of his makeshift bed, a very finely crafted mag pistol in his hand.
“Stay out of this old man,” Dini said, and Raini saw the big marine take a step towards Avon, sword in hand. “I don't want to have to hurt you.” Avon put a hand over his mouth, as if stifling a laugh.
“Can't everyone just stay a little calm. We don't need violence here,” Tain said. He raised his hands slightly and Raini could see that he was unarmed. Two verses three then, not as bad as one verses two, but if it came down to a fight Avon wouldn’t live long enough to make much of a difference. She doubted he'd ever fired a pistol in his life.
“I didn't ask for your help Avon,” she said, easing one hand forward towards her pistol, if she could just get Sinas's eyes off her for a moment.
“But you do need it. Jackal stood alone but you don't have to.” And there it was. Sinas turned to Avon for just one seconds and said, “What are you on about old man?” By the time he turned back Raini had her pistol in one hand and was aimed right at him.
“I'm giving you one last chance to stand down Sinas. We have bigger problems right now and so far, you haven’t been helping me all that much.” Talk about an understatement she added silently to herself.
“Jackal didn't stand alone,” Tain said. A mixture of confusion and anger crossed Sinas' face. Tain shifted slightly and Raini caught a glimpse of a small knife being slid into the palm of his hand. She swallowed, aware that something else was going on here.
“To Den's grave with this, we don't have the time. Dini, Vinal, Tsargin take care of this old man, Tain, lets show Captain Raini a thing or two about what we do in a proper fight.” Dini grinned and took a step forward, sword in hand. Tsargin and Vinal flanked him.
“Leave him to me lads.” Tsargin said. In that instant Avon fired the pistol and Tsargin's head jerked back before he fell to the floor like a rag doll. There was silence for a moment as everyone realized that no one could hear the sound of Avon's pistol recharging.
“It must have been the last round in the battery.” He said and threw the pistol down as if it was just a broken toy. The metal of a surgical scalpel glittered in his hand. Dini looked down at the body of Tsargin, and then back up to Avon, he bared his teeth.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“An old man, with a little knife like that. Should be fun.” Dini said and took a step forward, bringing the sword out for a single strike at Avon. It was the last sound he ever made. Without a single sound Avon lunged forward, dodged beneath the sword and suddenly the scalpel was flashing across Dinis throat. The scalpel didn't even slow down as Avon went to one knee and sliced open the back of the marines' legs. Vinal, eyes wide in terror leapt forward and half yelled, half gasped as Tain's own knife entered the small of his back.
Avon stood and turned on the falling Dini. He grabbed hold of the dying man and pulled him up so he could whisper in his ear. Gone was all the pleasantness and weakness, replaced by steely anger that not even Younie had possessed.
“You have failed the Dead, you have failed your people, your sentence is death and excommunication,” he said, then dropped the man. Vinal was kneeling on the floor gasping. “That'll take a while to kill him,” Avon said. He reached down and collected his pistol, placed it to Vinals forehead and repeated the mantra before firing.
Avon turned back to Sinas and Raini. “This thing is so quiet on the reload people always assume it's empty, but I needed the practice with the scalpel. It's been at least two weeks since I've had to cut someone up and if I don't do it too often, I start to get... edgy.”
Sinas just stared at the now blood-soaked surgeon, a blanket of pure rage across his face. He opened his mouth to speak but Avon got there before him.
“Think about who you want to fight very carefully. I've been cutting up people in so many different ways for forty years now, your erstwhile friend here has been one of us for two decades. Do you really think you have a chance against either me or him?” Thank you so very much you son of a bitch, Raini thought. She would never have dared to say it though.
Sinas came to the same conclusion a moment later and brought the pistol up to fire, but Raini was already dodging to the side. She fired at the same time and heard the breaking of glass from the window behind her. Raini's own shot missed, and she saw the wood splinter an inch from Avon's head.
One. They both drew their swords and lunged forward. Raini's longer and thinner blade barely stood up against Sinas's heavy blows. She still held the pistol in her right hand and her left was not nearly strong enough to go onto the attack. Sinas rained down blow after blow, forcing her to step backwards past her desk and up against the broken window.
Two. She parried the next blow, but it almost knocked the sword right out of her hand. Sinas snarled and struck again, a great over arm blow that was meant to split her skull apart. Raini tried to dodge to the left, tripped, fell awkwardly and only just managed to get her sword up in time to stop the descending blow.
Three. She still hadn't regripped the sword properly and she felt the sword being slowly pushed out of her hand by Sinas. It clattered to the floor and Raini had just enough presence of mind to dive forward and roll onto her back.
Four. Sinas's sword missed her by an inch, but he drew back quickly and, standing triumphantly over her, he knew he had all the advantages. Well, all except one. He kicked Raini's sword away even further from her. “Idiot child,” he spat. “You used the wrong hand.”
Five. “Not really,” she said. Bending upwards she pushed the barrel of the mag pistol into his guts, heard the wine of the capacitors as they reached full charge and fired. A second later and the body of Sinas fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Raini kicked the body and screamed at it, the mag pistol recharged itself and she fired again, knowing he was already dead but not really caring. Eventually she stopped kicking Sinas and sat back down on the deck and took a deep breath. A minute later and a hand was offered, she took it and was pulled to her feet.
“You've not really done this sort of thing before have you,” Tain said. Raini's hands were shaking, she could hear her pulse thundering in her ears. She swallowed hard.
“Never anyone I knew. Never for these reasons.” It was more or less true. She looked at the two men, then at the four corpses. Or was that technically six. She tried to get her breath back. “So, your both in the Dead clan?” Avon grinned and gave her an exaggerated bow, Tain with his arms folded across his chest just nodded. He looked pale and half as shaken as she felt.
“Anyone else on board?” Raini asked while trying to suppress a shudder.
“Not that I know of,” Tain said then shrugged. “But they wouldn't tell me even if there was, that's the point.” Raini looked at Avon, the stance of a highly experienced killer was already beginning to slip away from him. His shoulders lowered, his posture lost its confidence and the smile faded. The scalpel too had vanished.
“Is that what all that nonsense about the Jackal was? You were trying to find out if you were going to have any help?” she asked him. Avon, the old doctor, now stood in front of her. He shrugged as if the entire thing meant nothing.
“I knew I was going to get help. There is always at least one agent on a ship like this, and if there was a mutiny, I knew they would have gotten themselves involved.” Tain turned around to him.
“And you had to use that pass phrase?” he asked.
“The only one I could remember at the time, it's not like I was expecting it.”
“One moment please.” Raini said as a thought occurred to her. She glanced at her own mag pistol and saw that the barrel containing the two rails was warped. It would need replacing before firing. Five shots, or was it four? Raini couldn't remember, even so it had held out as long as she should have expected it.
“If I have this right then your job, Tain, was to become part of a mutiny, and-”
“End it,” he said with a slight hint of defensiveness.
“But Sinas was locked in the brig, and the marines were at their station.” Tain's lip curled up into a grimace. “There was no mutiny until you went to see Sinas. So, you let him out, helped him select some members of the crew, got them all weapons and lead them up here. They'd all be alive if it wasn't for you.” If anything, the pulse in her ears had become louder. They had been her crew members, misguided, or perhaps just lead along by Tain, but they hadn't been bad people. Well, everyone but Sinas hadn't been.
“There was a good chance it would have happened either way sooner or later. Maybe not today, maybe not even this year, but considering what's going on I thought it was best to get it over with quickly.”
“Did everyone here deserve to die?” There was a hint of steel in her voice, impotent with two trained killers in the room, but it was there.
“They joined of their own free will, I'll admit that I selected those most likely to mutiny in the first place, but they choose to do this,” Tain said.
“That doesn't make it right you clanless sadist.” A brief flicker of something flickered across Tain's face.
“They wanted to kill you!” Avon said.
“They wanted Sinas in command, they wanted the creature outside dead, but they were still part of my crew, people I've served with, and you just got them all killed.”
“So, what do you expect to do about it?” Tain said. That was the whole problem wasn't it. You couldn't kill the Dead; you couldn't do a thing to hurt them.
“Don't feel too bad about it, it's our responsibility,” Avon offered.
“It's not that easy,” was all she could say. “Now get the hell out of this room and send for Luit and Lilis. We've got a negotiation with the Kings of these creatures in two hours, and I need to do some planning.”
***
She had Luit and Lilis dragged the bodies out of her room, and with deference to the custom of the Dead clan they threw them overboard. It was an ignominious end. With no grave or monument there was nothing left of them. Eventually they'd even be removed from all records in the clan. That was the point of excommunication. In a single act of defiance Raini noted the incident in her small notebook and cursed that there was nothing else to do.
The creature watched the bodies being dragged away impassively, then turned to look at Raini.
“I do not understand. Why are they called the Dead Clan?” she said. Raini rushed up the creature, she wasn't sure what the rest of the crew were thinking, but the last thing she wanted Mercy to know was that the Dead had anything to do with the bodies.
“How much of what went on between us did you hear?”
“All of it. I can hear every conversation that is happening on board this ship.” Raini looked around. The crew were ignoring her, except for one gunner called Case who was manning the cannon with the strange object inside it. He was too far away to hear much though. Tain and Avon were standing by the door of her stateroom, deep in discussion. Ensign Kayvie was at the wheel while Lilis and Liut had gone to wash the blood off themselves.
“Why do you want to know?”
“Because I was given a measure of curiosity, and it is one of the few mysteries that we have not found the answer to.”
“Why don't you read a book then.” Raini said, remembering the copy of the Story of Jackal she kept in her desk draw. “Or can't you do that?”
“We will read everything,” Mercy stated, “but not until you are pacified. Why are they called the Dead Clan?”
Raini sighed and relaxed a little. Would it really hurt to tell her? “Centuries ago, a man called Averon conquered the world and established the clans, but in the pursuit of his enemies he became bloodthirsty. At the very end he ordered the slaughtering of his final enemy, a people called the Den. Almost all were innocent civilians. Legend has it that after his household cavalry had finished riding down the last of the Den refugee's, their leader, a man called Jackal, was able to mortally wound him. As Averon lay there dying he realized what he had done. How he'd enslaved the clans, killed thousands out of hatred. He saw the dead in front of them and begged them to return to life and tear down his empire.” It was the abridged version of course, but Raini didn't feel like putting on a performance of the entire three-day play.
“What happened?”
“The book of Jackal simply says that the Dead answered his call. If you ask a modern historian, they will tell you that that last bit was either made up or was just the injured survivors being organized by Jackal into the first of the Dead Clan. They've been trying to stop wars and empires ever since.”
“I see,” Mercy said. “Why is the excommunication such a punishment?”
Raini sighed and began to roll up her left sleave. “Avaron and the Den's fought because the Den's above all else wanted to be remembered. They did this by building the largest monument in the world, we call it Den's Grave, they thought it was big enough then no one would ever forget them. They tried to enslave everyone to do it. Avaron fought them and when he founded the clan he came up with another solution.” She held up her wrist to the creature.
“Ink, etched into your skin,” Mercy said.
“It's the name of every one of my ancestors, right down to Avaron's third brother. As long as one of us is alive then all are remembered. Excommunication, whether done by a clan or by the Dead removes your name from this list. It means you never existed, and no one will ever remember you.”
“I understand now that you consider yourselves alive.”
“Good,” Raini said, “That's the best news I've heard all day.”
“You are just misguided. You have never met life before, so you do not know what it is.” Ah, well at least it was a start. Younie had once told her that the death of any lie began with a little crack of doubt. The shadow that Mercy was casting began to shift slowly and she realized that it was getting brighter.
“Captain!” Kayvie’s voice shouted from the helm. She turned to look at him and found him pointing to the bow of the ship. A part of her wondered about the lookouts, another wondered how she'd managed to miss several hours before sunrise. Then her brain finally kicked into gear, and she turned to look at the source of the flames.
They'd reached the great fortress of Raven’s Bluff and found it burning. The flames were almost as high as the fortress itself, scattered around it, like small broken toys she could make out the siege engines and trenches that had been built by the Kasom. Just visible in the raging firelight and with help of her telescope she could make out the mounds of bodies or every so often a lone corpse, broken and twisted.
Raini glanced up at the look out and saw him utterly frozen, as was the rest of her crew she realized a moment later. Even Avon and Tain had stopped talking.
“Den's Grave,” Case muttered.
“Keep it together,” she managed to say to him. It was more for her benefit than his. She took a deep breath, trying though strength of will force her emotions to behave. “Kayvie, take us inshore,” she shouted. “Everyone, man your stations, guns out and loaded.” She needed to give them something to do, not to take their minds off the scene, that was impossible, but to remind them that they were here to stop it.
The crew's reactions kicked in, and they began to move but Raini could see that they were still preoccupied by the sight. She glanced back to Mercy, the creature hadn't moved, hadn't even reacted to the devastation. Had she already known what to expect?
“You want the meeting to take place over there?”
“Yes. I will guide you.”
“And it's going to be safe for us?” What would she do, Raini wondered, if Mercy said no.
“It will be, you are meeting the Kings, all others have been told to leave you alone.” If that was the case, and if there were any wounded there… She glanced around the deck, saw that Luit had been abandoned by Lilis and was staring out the remains of Ravens Bluff.
“Luit, get your kit together, you’re going ashore. I'm going to need your help.” The surgeon nodded and without saying a word ran below deck.
“The Dead will also help.” A voice said behind her. Raini spun around to see Tain standing there, arms crossed. A little way behind him, wearing an expression that suggested he knew what was about to happen next, was Avon.
“No. This isn't your place,” she said. Tain's eyes widened in surprise.
“Our place is everywhere. I'm going.” Raini shuddered, remembering what had happened to the mutineers. People that Tain had fought alongside of for years.
“No, it isn't. Your remit is to prevent fighting amongst the clans, to prevent the clans from creating empires. Neither of those things are going to happen here.” Tain's lip twitched a little.
“This is the Return of the Dragons; we are in control of everything.”
“No. My ship, my rules.” She put her hand to her pistol and stared into Tain's face. With a muttered curse he turned and walked away.
“You really don't like us, do you?” Avon said, a hint of playfulness in his voice.
“What could have possibly given you that impression?” He laughed a little and smiled.
“So why is that I wonder? Is it just because we killed those who were trying to kill you and take your ship?” She took a step forward until she was only inches away from Avon's face.
“You interfere. You meddle, you say you do it for a just cause, but often get it wrong. But worst of all, you think the ends justify the means, that as long as you stop a war it doesn't matter who, or how many you kill or torture.”
The playfulness in Avon's expression vanished, so did the image of the good doctor. “I see,” he said, his voice empty of emotion. “Did you ever wonder where you get these beliefs from?”
“I have eyes, I have a brain.”
“Tell me, in the past ten years, how many cases of torture have there been? I mean real cases, I want names, I want places, I want dates.” Her mind went blank.
“But you do torture people, everyone knows that.”
“How many?”
“How would I know that? Do you think such things get around?” Avon smiled bitterly.
“That's the point, stories like that do get spread around, intimidation and all that, but how often does it actually happen?”
“That means you still use fear and intimidation though.” She was having bad luck with arguments today, but this time at least, she was sure she was right. “Besides, I saw you and Tain in action, I saw how you killed”
“Yes, you did. You saw an act by a veteran soldier and,” at this he reached into his pocket and pulled out his scalpel. The blade flashed in the fire light as he spun it around. “Another old soldier who has spent the past twenty years cutting people open and is, if I might say so, probably the best damn surgeon who ever lived. I did after all, practically invent the practice. Now, let me ask you a question, who hates the Dead most of all?”
“Those who want power?”
“Correct, are they usually the common soldier? Or the Clan Elder?” Raini swallowed.
“The Clan Elder.” She admitted.
“And who was it that educated you, that told you what books you could read, what plays you could see? Who was it who can dictate every element of your life?”
“The Elders.”
“And who do you think had the most experience in shaping young minds like yours?”
“Yes, I get it Avon, don't be so patronizing,” he smiled again.
“But you have to admit I do it so well. I'll admit that we may at times be a sadistic bunch, but so are the Clan Elders. The only difference is that they do it to maintain or increase their own power. You are nothing but a pawn to them Captain Raini. Your mind has been moulded to think what they want you to think and don't believe for a second that they won't sacrifice you for the 'good of the clan.'”
“They work to defend the clan as much as anyone else,” she said, although it already felt like the deck was collapsing beneath her.
“Believe me Captain, I've met most of them, from every single clan. They are all the same. They speak a lot about reforming, about protecting everyone, about peace and prosperity, but the power has gotten to each and every one. They are all happy sending people like you and Lilis or Luit to die solely because it serves their purpose. Do you understand?”
“Do you know what your problem is Avon?” She said as she stared up at the old man. “You are far too arrogant.”
“That's because I'm usually right,” he said with not a single hint of irony.
“No, it's not that. It's that you don't give us any credit, you think you’re the only person to have worked these things out. Younie used to say much the same thing. Your no different than the Clan Elders, lording it up above us just because you've joined a secret club that lets you get away with murder.” She could feel her hand curling up into a ball as she spoke. Didn’t she already have enough to deal with?
“When this is over Captain, I'd think you'd make a fine recruit to the Dead,” Avon said. His eyes flicked to her hand, but the smile didn't shift even a little. “You argue your points and you’re one of the few people who still cares about morality. I think you'll do well in these up-and-coming negotiations.”
“But you still want to join me?” Raini could see she wasn’t going to win. He offered a small bow and she sighed. At the end of the day there were worse people to take along. “Fine, let's see how good you are without that scalpel.”