“What are you doing?” Tane asked.

The guards were right on their tail, and Mish was about to say something. When she saw Cory with his dagger ready to kill, she paused and halted the others.

“We haven’t faced trial yet, Tane. So I can’t let you teleport yourself,” Cory said, his face covered in the red light of his dagger.

Tane went wide-eyed. “Shift! It’s called a shift! And I refuse to allow this to happen,” Tane said with her queen-like coolness, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Grick steadily shook as the Sonofs tried to aid him, one eye on the Prophets.

“I will help him, but I go as well,” Tane said. She took her bracer and fitted it on.

Cory pushed his blade nearly up against her neck. “You make one thought about tele, shifting, and you’ll join Grick in death,” Cory bit.

Tane nearly erupted in fury for about half a second, then quickly repressed it, glaring down at Cory.

“You’re walking a thin line, Cory,” Tane said, her words the hiss of a rattlesnake. “After what you’ve done, I would watch your steps.”

“We’ve both done wrong, Tane. That’s why I need to make sure we come to justice for it. If that means I have to lose my blade because I let this man live, then so be it!” Cory said, his hand still firm on the dagger. “Just do it now!”

Cory could tell that Tane was going to pause once again, so he flicked his blade’s edge toward her. She made the slightest twitch.

“Fine, but know that you’re finished,” she said.

“I said I don’t care,” Cory said, and eased off a bit.

Tane turned, slowly, and faced the cot. She extended her hand to Grick, who looked like life was quickly draining out of him. Her eyes flickered to Cory, to Grick, and back to Cory, and her bracer began to glow. At that moment, Cory could see a faint shimmer start to surround Tane. Without thinking, he grabbed her arm and sucked her energy out.

The glow disappeared, and Tane squealed as she turned pale, staring at Cory as her power drained out of her body.

“I told you, Grick only!” Cory shouted, the ice-cold power of White flowing into him. As he felt the location and link in his mind, he pulled off Tane’s bracer and put his hand on Grick’s trembling body. Power surged from him and into the dying soldier, and as Cory concentrated all his fury into sending the man to safety, Grick flashed and was gone.

Tane collapsed to the floor, breathing desperately. Cory shuddered, and fell to his knees, the stolen White power evaporating from his body. Mish instantly ran over to him, picking up the bracer and helping Cory stay erect.

“You… Red… fool!” Tane shouted through gasps of breath. “You have violated one of the highest codes of the Sevens Prophets! You have—”

“Shut up you liar! I know all about your manipulations, how you tried to manipulate me again. Even after all this, you still tried to shift yourself!” Cory said, and let loose his anger. Tane’s power had opened his mind. He could see all the people in the camp, could feel Tane’s wrath. “If you’re what it means to be a Sevens Prophet on Soul, then I want out!” Cory turned, and ran out of the tent, wanting to shift himself far, far away. But the White power was already gone, and he knew he’d destroyed his life. All he knew was Grick would be safe, healed by the Golds.

Hours later, Cory thought back on what he’d done. He knew there was no way he could explain this situation to the Prophets, on Soul or elsewhere. He had stolen a Prophet’s power against her will. Many considered that no less than rape. As Cory watched the well-guarded Tane walk a few dozen feet ahead of him, he could tell she felt the same.

The Sonofs broke camp at a slow pace. Since the rush to heal the wounded Grick was unnecessary now, and since Jesson was on the mend, along with the other wounded Sonofs, they could travel to the Sonofall with more ease. The morning was misty and cool, and the hills had a soft and earthy feel to them, giving Cory a strange sense of calm that nearly eased his mood.

The party trudged along casually, here and there people singing a light tune. A little to Cory’s right, a small group of Sonofs were competing to compose the best Jawl (a four-line poem the Sonofs loved) to describe a strange set of angular trees that were jutting up out of the side of a nearby hill. Meln walked along close to Cory, a strange sense of joy in his eyes. Cory didn’t know where Jesson was, but he wished Mish was in sight. He wanted to apologize to her.

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“You seem upset, my friend,” Meln said. They walked along in silence for a while. Cory appreciated this man’s delicacy. “Mish informed me of the event.”

A large animal, like an enormous, brown, furry cow without horns meandered across the hills a mile or so off. Cory thought they’d been wiped out.

“If you don’t wish to speak of this, that is fine. But I want you to know how I feel about it,” Meln added.

“Is that going to make me feel better?” Cory asked, not meaning to be rude.

“Perhaps. But I think you will appreciate it.”

“I’ve had plenty of time to consider what I’ve done, Meln. And no offense, but I’d really not like to talk about it right now. The short of it is, I’m not sorry.”

They walked along, the path becoming greener in patches as it melded with the grass.

“I was going to say the same words,” Meln said with a smile. Then the large man laughed a deep laughter. He opened his mouth wide, leaned his head back, and laughed.

Instead of being confused like Cory, several Sonofs joined in.

One Sonof behind them shouted, “Laugh at the hills, and they reply, why do you laugh — because, said I!”

Several joined in, laughing at the Jawl and the hills. It soon died down.

“Okay, you keep randomly laughing. What’s that all about?” Cory asked.

“I’m merely releasing my pleasure at what we are going through,” Meln said with a smile. “You’ve passed a crossroads, Cory, and I’m glad to have seen it.”

Cory blinked, and tried to laugh. Only a grunt came out, and he wondered if Meln had gotten enough sleep the night before. Cory thought maybe he’d missed a joke of some sort. “But I haven’t crossed anything. All I’ve done is said I wasn’t sorry,” he said.

“Exactly. You stood up for yourself, and are firm in that which you believe.”

“Are we still talking about me here?”

Meln’s brows fell, and he looked down at Cory with concern. “Such doubt now. Why is it you always unnecessarily humble yourself? Think of all that you’ve done these past days.”

“Besides ruined my life?” Cory kicked a rock in the path.

“And how have you done that?” Meln kicked the rock out of Cory’s way.

Cory wished he hadn’t done that. He liked kicking the rock.

“I’ve broken so many codes I can’t think straight,” Cory said, and saw another stone further up the path. “I endangered lives, and because of what I did, dozens of people died. The only thing I did right was save Grick’s life, but because of the way I did it, I don’t think I’ll be able to stay a Prophet.” Cory kicked the stone, but stubbed his toe into the ground. The rock moved slightly, and the pain in his foot felt good. It gave Cory a focus for his anger.

Meln laughed again.

“Look, I really don’t like you laughing at me, okay,” Cory said.

“I apologize sincerely. But you have to forgive me. The blinds of perfection are not over my eyes,” Meln said.

Cory sighed, shaking his head and not understanding. “Blinds of perfection?”

“You seem to think that every action you take won’t have consequences,” Meln said, and let out a quick, loud laugh.

Cory had no idea what had gotten into the previously mellow man. His mood had changed, but the wise face stayed the same.

“I laugh here, and across the ocean it spawns a storm to destroy a man’s home. This is a balance, my friend. Life does not exist in all good and all evil. In the same way, no good action can come without something bad as well. It’s life,” Meln said.

“You mean me saving Grick’s life means someone, ‘over the ocean,’ is going to die?” Cory asked. He chuckled at the thought, unwillingly catching onto Meln’s mood.

“What I am saying is open your eyes to the good as well as the bad and you’ll begin to see the whole picture. In front of you, every man and woman you see is alive, now, because you decided not to kill us. Tane up ahead is alive because you chose to forgive her and give her a chance at forgiveness from us. And your fallen soldier, Grick, lies in a hospital because you placed him there.” Meln put a reassuring hand on Cory’s shoulder. He thought better of it, though, and kept it behind his back.

“But over fifty Sonofs died because I didn’t attack Tane,” Cory said. “I violated so many laws that I’ll lose my blade. How many lives will be lost because I won’t be there to help now?”

Meln nodded, comfortingly, and said, “The laugh of a man, Cory. So laws were broken. So you angered others. Unfortunates are unavoidable. And no one here blames you any longer for your inaction. We see how much you respect Tane. We know it would have been impossible for you to attack her, and how much it must have hurt to do what you did. You saved all the lives you could while still standing up for what you believed in. Does that not make you right?”

“What about the codes?” Cory asked as they began to climb a very high hill. The path was cut from wet, rough rocks, but not a foot stumbled on the ascent.

“Violating a code does not make an action wrong. Situations arise where your judgment, not laws, directs your actions.”

“But doesn’t that mean laws aren’t necessary?” Cory asked as he nearly slipped, but caught himself.

“Not at all. It simply means they are not absolutes,” Meln said. “We must be prepared to suffer the storm if we want to laugh.”

Cory thought on this as they climbed. Meln looked at him, expecting Cory to say something, but the Prophet remained quiet.

A cry went up as the front of the Sonof band reached the top of the hill.

Mish came bounding down to Meln as Cory saw the Sonofs line up behind several warriors with tower shields raised.

“Meln, Meln! The Uniteds are here!” Mish shouted as she reached Meln. “They’ve assembled a legion and now lie in our path!”

Determination came over Meln, and he shouted, “Assemble the battle lines!”

Mish nodded, and gave Cory a hopeful smile before running to tell the other men and women to prepare for battle.

Meln ran to the top of the hill as the sound of shouting seemed to fall from the sky. Cory followed, worried for what he might see.

About a hundred yards away, the United Legion charged. They came in droves down a small hill across a flat, grassy valley. Armored pikemen led the way, and blades and crossbowmen prepared to attack. The Sonofs would have no time. This was a vengeance force, Cory realized, designed to slaughter the men and women they thought had killed Jesson and the other Uniteds.

“I have to stop them,” Cory said.