Shadow's Son by Shirley Meier, S.M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein ...
Shadow's Son by Shirley Meier, S.M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein ...
Shadow's Son by Shirley Meier, S.M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein ...
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Generated <strong>by</strong> ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html<br />
"My Fater vass no saint; I know. I've only had that rammed down my zhroat, a lot <strong>by</strong> perfect strangers,<br />
all my life. But when Habiku ordered him to killzhymata , he didn't. Else you never would have met <strong>and</strong><br />
loved her. Some say it was greed; maybe it was mercy, you ever think of dat? Zo she came back, <strong>and</strong> he<br />
was ruined either vay. Because of deir hate, her und Habiku, which you saw for yourself; he got caught<br />
between, he got betrayed himself <strong>by</strong> Habiku."<br />
"Zo beme ! He had to feed us all. If you can't win,cheat , you say yourself! How vere the rest of us at<br />
fault, my mother, my brother, <strong>and</strong> I, <strong>and</strong> the servants, who all lost deir places? Beme . Be me <strong>and</strong><br />
Francosz. Fater pushed us away, ven you took us as your prizes, ya; if he'd clung, you vould have torn us<br />
out of his arms. Unaden you cut our hair, und made us strip,right dere in front owfa crowd owf Zak,"<br />
—the lividness had turned red, now, <strong>and</strong> the eyes were bright with the beginnings of tears—"made us<br />
strip und leered at us und made everyone laugh und den chased und beat us naked all de vay to<br />
the Knochtet Voorm… zight. You don't underst<strong>and</strong>zight . No, you do—you chust vanted to ruin it. It<br />
was the vorst blow to hiszight , <strong>and</strong> mine, if I may be permitted to have some, Okhyd-hird who says<br />
only you give mezight , the very worst that could be in the vorld, that you took me into your house, <strong>and</strong><br />
made meyour daughter. Und it burns myzight further still now, dat you say these things."<br />
"And my brother, Francosz! I don't know vether anyone else is left alive in my family, but Ido knowhe<br />
issn't. Maybe he vould haf died, if you had left us—but maybe not! Definitely not, if you vould haf left<br />
my family alone! He died inyour, your <strong>and</strong>zhymata's , feud!"<br />
"You took us to get your own back, for the rotten vayyour parents treatedyou —as if dat vassour fault I<br />
Ofcourse I agreed to let you adopt me—think about it! Vat else vould I,could I, have done? In your<br />
own words: scutwork somewhere! You don't <strong>and</strong> never did treat me like a mother does—more like a<br />
slave-driver! And you call yourself Mother. How dare you! Howdare you !"<br />
The girl was trembling from head to foot.Maybe some of it's fear , Shkai'ra thought,but more than half<br />
is anger. " So:chiravesa ," Sova said, evening her voice. "Be me <strong>and</strong> imagine all that, if you want to be<br />
my mother."<br />
Shkai'ra took a deep breath, <strong>and</strong> stared out to sea frowning. "Don't know now the woolheads do this all<br />
the time," she muttered under her breath to herself. "Makes my brain hurt."It's sort of like meditation .<br />
She was suddenly aware of Megan st<strong>and</strong>ing near, drawn <strong>by</strong> Sova's raised voice, but didn't let it interrupt<br />
her imagining.<br />
"Well," she said, after several minutes. "You're quite right, Schotter's deeds were no fault of yours or<br />
Francosz's or the others." She inclined her head toward the distant coast, in the direction of Arko.<br />
"Kurkas made a mistake, <strong>and</strong> peasants get their houses burned down <strong>by</strong> warriors from nowhere; that's<br />
the way the world works. I took you two on impulse, red-angry-drunk-on-rage, because he'd tried to kill<br />
me <strong>and</strong> my love <strong>and</strong> I wanted to make him suffer; about the consequences to you, I just didn't think, that<br />
was sheer stupidity. Not that I'd wish it undone; it can't be.A-hia , what's more common or futile than the<br />
wish to be able to do it over?"<br />
"Making you strip <strong>and</strong> run through the streets was, umm, crueler than I intended. I'd been told Thanes<br />
didn't like to be seen naked, but didn't realize how seriously they took it. Strange… another point to my<br />
stupid impulsiveness <strong>and</strong> lack of empathy, as Megan told me at the time. So you're quite rightly angry at<br />
me for that; I apologize. I was raised a savage, what can I say? No harm to yourzight was intended, to<br />
my people a child that age doesn't have any to begin with." A thin smile. "I don't think anyone will treat<br />
you so again <strong>and</strong> come off harmless from it, eh?"<br />
"Sometimes,khyd-hird , some places, it doesn't matterhow veil youvedam fight!"