Double Suns - Twisted Mirrors - Episode IV (ePub)

The wolf pups had smelled the fresh blood, and in the heritage of their ancestors raised their noses and began to howl. And as their cry reached the wind and mixed with the screams of the wounded, all those in the valley knew the avenging angel of death had begun its march.

Again the head appeared. The Klaskov fired--Red watched as the head rolled out into the clearing and a short fat body slowly fell behind it. As he aimed the Klaskov at the remaining pile he heard someone from behind it yell, "It's the Avenger! The Avenger has returned! Run for your lives! We cannot stop him!"

General Matar had heard the sound of the wolves and with his lips smiling back over his long ivory teeth looked back at Red and hissed, "I think it will be a long time before the Legion forgets this sound. The little ones there, with their wail add a certain finality to the situation. When the tales are told of this battle they will be spoken of with honor."

Watching the Limpeds bringing their prisoner to the General, Red thought for a moment about what Silack had said and replied, "Yeah, I guess you're right. When you think about it, in many ways customs of humans could be considered just as fucked up. For example, selling kids into slavery. Hell when I think about it even my kind do it. Take a sixteen-year-old hooker on the streets of New York City. She's a slave just like those Vietnamese kids Crazy Charlie told me about that gave blow jobs in the nobber bar in Saigon. Yeah, when you think about it the whole human race is pretty fucked up. Maybe these lizards aren't so bad."

Silack waited a moment and then answered, "All creatures have their loathsome ways driven by hunger and greed, Red. Humans are really no different than any other. Someone sees hunger and manipulates it to their advantage. These children you speak of--I assume they were on your home planet? Well anyway, I suppose they were hungry and the way of surviving was to sell themselves. Of course, they are slaves... slaves to their hunger and to a civilization that allowed the hunger to exist so it could be manipulated by the unscrupulous. It is the same here on Sorn."

Out of the shadows of the trees, Red walked up to the little man, and as he did so he saw the man's pale yellow eyes widen slightly in surprise. Then through the Klaskov's interpretive circuits he heard the man mumble, "The Avenger! With the Limpeds? DeBarrak, the lying cur, told us you were dead!"

The man put his hand up under his chin and in thought nodded, "Yes, it might be possible. He will be exposed at the auction tomorrow. He has slaves to sell. Certainly, he will be there and in the open. He has taken much from the people--too much."

Then looking up at Red and General Matar he asked the question, "Would you consider a trade?"