Not like this, it wasn’t meant to be like this: rain, wind, water, night, King Xau staggering out of the churning river beside a staggering, stricken horse, the horse’s foreleg spurting blood, skin hanging in ribbons; Atun examining the mare by wavering torchlight, shaking his head; the...
Read MoreIn humid heat, up and down a low hill along a goat track, carrying shield and sword, sweating, ran King Xau, his guard Li at his side. Another town burnt. Nothing Xau could do. Stationed along the way, his other seven guards and twenty of his cavalrymen (horseless, standing guard)....
Read MoreSix years old, youngest of the demon’s servants, didn’t cry when the king roused her after the demon’s death; nor when, an hour later, she remembered the cut-off scorched scream her dad gave, aflame; nor when, towards evening, a fishmonger recognized her and offered to see her back to...
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