him, its wild eyes
swirling in fear or rage, was the largest boar Drom had ever seen.
The
swine dropped its head and charged at once, its long, thick tusks
leading the way. Drom had seen animals like this before. His father
had often caught them rooting through his fields. He knew just how
dangerous they could be, and the larger the animal the more dangerous
it was. This boar was easily four hundred pounds, and Drom knew it
would be more than capable of killing one sorvinian alone by himself,
especially one that didn't know the first thing about how to defend
himself against it.
He
remembered what Garan had said to him that morning.
Never
run from an enemy. If you're going to die, do it with dignity and
face your enemy head on.
Drom
realized belatedly that he wasn't carrying any sort of a weapon, but
he still had his strength. If he had to be, he could be just as
dangerous as this wild animal. He braced himself and held his ground.
Drom
heard a strange sound, which he realized only afterward was the
singing of a bow string being loosed. Only a few feet in front of him
the huge hog toppled and, snout first, skidded across the ground to a
halt. The animal screamed and squealed loudly. The arrow Garan had
fired from his unseen position had gone through both of its back
legs, pinning them neatly together.
As he
came out of the brush into Drom's sight he pulled a long dagger and
tossed it on the ground in front of Drom. He stared at the weapon at
his feet, not comprehending.
"Slit
its throat," Garan instructed, already unstringing his bow.
"Why
didn't you kill it?" Drom asked, perturbed. He hadn't expected
to have to kill one of the animals they were hunting. He had thought
he was being brought along to carry the carcasses back to camp.
Surely a killing shot would have been easier to accomplish than the
one the assassin had made.
"Because
I want you to kill it," he replied casually. "Remember I
told you that you would have to follow my instructions? Well, now I'm
instructing you to kill that boar. You should do it quickly. That
animal's in a lot of pain right now. It would be cruel not to put it
out of its misery."
"I've
never killed anything before," Drom protested. "I won't be
eating it, so why should I have to be the one to kill it?"
Garan
stepped right up to Drom, ignoring the injured boar behind him. Even
though Drom was at least six inches taller than him, it seemed as if
Garan loomed over him. He stopped only inches from Drom's body.
"You
say you want to learn to become an assassin, and yet you balk at
killing this animal? What makes you think you'll be able to kill a
man, one who might be able to fight back, when you can't even kill
this boar that's trapped in front of you? Well, this animal isn't
going anywhere, so until you're ready to kill it, you're going to
stay right here and listen to it scream in pain. If you want it to
stop, if you want its pain to end, it's up to you to end it."
Garan
stepped back and refused to say another word. Drom stared down at the
dagger at his feet in horror. He was not certain he was ready to kill
anything, even to defend himself, but it was much harder to think
about killing a defenseless creature. Had the boar still been able to
stand and was still charging him as it had been only moments ago, he
might have felt differently, but this poor creature could not harm
anyone in its present state.
The
boar continued to squeal, a high pitched sound that echoed loudly in
Drom's ears. It tried to rise, but with both of its back legs pinned
together it was not going anywhere. Drom knew that in time, if left
on its own, it would likely die from blood loss, or simply from the
shock and pain of its wound. It was just in so much pain, the sound
of its screams so loud, that Drom began to feel ill. When it became
unbearable he reached down and picked up the knife below him.
He
bent down over the boar.
I'm
just going to put it out of its misery, he thought to himself. Put an end to its
swirling in fear or rage, was the largest boar Drom had ever seen.
The
swine dropped its head and charged at once, its long, thick tusks
leading the way. Drom had seen animals like this before. His father
had often caught them rooting through his fields. He knew just how
dangerous they could be, and the larger the animal the more dangerous
it was. This boar was easily four hundred pounds, and Drom knew it
would be more than capable of killing one sorvinian alone by himself,
especially one that didn't know the first thing about how to defend
himself against it.
He
remembered what Garan had said to him that morning.
Never
run from an enemy. If you're going to die, do it with dignity and
face your enemy head on.
Drom
realized belatedly that he wasn't carrying any sort of a weapon, but
he still had his strength. If he had to be, he could be just as
dangerous as this wild animal. He braced himself and held his ground.
Drom
heard a strange sound, which he realized only afterward was the
singing of a bow string being loosed. Only a few feet in front of him
the huge hog toppled and, snout first, skidded across the ground to a
halt. The animal screamed and squealed loudly. The arrow Garan had
fired from his unseen position had gone through both of its back
legs, pinning them neatly together.
As he
came out of the brush into Drom's sight he pulled a long dagger and
tossed it on the ground in front of Drom. He stared at the weapon at
his feet, not comprehending.
"Slit
its throat," Garan instructed, already unstringing his bow.
"Why
didn't you kill it?" Drom asked, perturbed. He hadn't expected
to have to kill one of the animals they were hunting. He had thought
he was being brought along to carry the carcasses back to camp.
Surely a killing shot would have been easier to accomplish than the
one the assassin had made.
"Because
I want you to kill it," he replied casually. "Remember I
told you that you would have to follow my instructions? Well, now I'm
instructing you to kill that boar. You should do it quickly. That
animal's in a lot of pain right now. It would be cruel not to put it
out of its misery."
"I've
never killed anything before," Drom protested. "I won't be
eating it, so why should I have to be the one to kill it?"
Garan
stepped right up to Drom, ignoring the injured boar behind him. Even
though Drom was at least six inches taller than him, it seemed as if
Garan loomed over him. He stopped only inches from Drom's body.
"You
say you want to learn to become an assassin, and yet you balk at
killing this animal? What makes you think you'll be able to kill a
man, one who might be able to fight back, when you can't even kill
this boar that's trapped in front of you? Well, this animal isn't
going anywhere, so until you're ready to kill it, you're going to
stay right here and listen to it scream in pain. If you want it to
stop, if you want its pain to end, it's up to you to end it."
Garan
stepped back and refused to say another word. Drom stared down at the
dagger at his feet in horror. He was not certain he was ready to kill
anything, even to defend himself, but it was much harder to think
about killing a defenseless creature. Had the boar still been able to
stand and was still charging him as it had been only moments ago, he
might have felt differently, but this poor creature could not harm
anyone in its present state.
The
boar continued to squeal, a high pitched sound that echoed loudly in
Drom's ears. It tried to rise, but with both of its back legs pinned
together it was not going anywhere. Drom knew that in time, if left
on its own, it would likely die from blood loss, or simply from the
shock and pain of its wound. It was just in so much pain, the sound
of its screams so loud, that Drom began to feel ill. When it became
unbearable he reached down and picked up the knife below him.
He
bent down over the boar.
I'm
just going to put it out of its misery, he thought to himself. Put an end to its
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