Hollow King by Dante O. Greene

Author:Dante O. Greene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Robot Dinosaur Press

EIGHTEEN

FORTY-SEVEN IN A ROW

It had been only Maiele’s intervention after the tavern brawl that had kept Barridur from being jailed with the two other men he’d fought. One had insulted Valhide, and weeks of pent in anger had overflowed. Barridur had punched the bastard hard enough to break the man’s nose and cheekbone and split the skin along his knuckles.

A pair of guards who’d just walked in had stopped the fight before anything more than a couple of ceramic mugs had been destroyed. Maiele, who’d been in the back of the tavern with Valhide, had assured the guards of Barridur’s character and then led him home. She asked why he’d given into a fight and he told her.

“I wanted to kill him,” Barridur said, the admission scraping the inside of his mouth. He looked away. “I know Valhide wouldn’t want it but he’d mocked her and I... I couldn’t let that pass.”

“Cruelty is easy. It’s selfish and shallow. It’s weakness promenading as power.” Maiele twitched one shoulder. “Anyone can be cruel, you know. Just as anyone can choose violence to solve problems.” She pointed at his bandaged hand. “Compassion comes from strength. Find the strength to be kind, and become stronger still to show mercy.”

He’d seen cruelty aplenty, and her words hit him with a profound weight that unsettled him at his core. It was a choice. Violence, brutality, humiliation—those too were choices one made towards others.

“Is that what your goddess commands?” he asked.

“She’s not mine,” Maiele said with a faint smile. “She belongs to Herself. It’s Her principles I follow. She never said it was painless or easy to be gentle in a callous world, but I think it’s worth it. You remember the ones who were kind to you just as well as you remember the ones who were cruel—and She remembers better than us all.”

Barridur swallowed, dropping his gaze. He was too ashamed to look at her any longer.

Gently, Maiele laid her palm over his bandaged knuckles. He tensed. She stroked the side of his wrist with her thumb.

“Being strong isn’t a one-time thing,” Maiele said. “It grows like a tree in your soul. You nurture it. You have to decide, each day, whether you will grow strong so you can withstand the cruelties of the weeds, or let the rot inside your heart. It’s not easy, and it takes courage—because you have to quell the baser part of yourself, the part that was trained to hurt rather than be hurt. You understand?”

“Not really,” he whispered. “Though I get why there are so many assholes in the world.”

She laughed. It was a hearty sound, full of warmth and without malice. “You’re a good man, Barridur. You value your honor. I’ve seen your compassion, too. I know it’s hard when you’ve been hurt so badly by other men. All I’m asking is for you to try and build your strength so you can withstand the temptation of weakness.”

“I can try. For you.”

“And for yourself,” she said, then pulled his hand up and kissed the side of his thumb.

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