The Sorcerer's House by Gene Wolfe

would show signs of it, I'm sure."
    "You're telling the truth," Emlyn informed me.
    "Thank you. I'm glad you realize it."
    "I'm good at that, and I might as well tell you. Do you like your brother? The truth now."
    "No. You want the truth and you shall have it. I love my brother. We shared our mother's womb. . . ."
    "But you don't like him."
    "May I explain? He's terribly afraid people will think him weak. Why, I don't know--I only know he is. He's bad mannered, because he thinks good manners are a sign of weakness. I . . ."
    "Yes?" Emlyn struck the floor with the butt of my stick. "Now tell the truth!"
    "I won't say I have good manners. That's for others to judge. But I try to be well mannered, and I'm quite certain George thinks I'm weak. Not just because of that, or even largely because of that. There are other reasons."
    "Does he hurt people?"
    "Yes, but so do I, only too often."
    "And animals?"
    I shrugged. "I eat their flesh."
    "So do I." He hesitated; and I tried, unsuccessfully, to guess what hewas thinking. At length he said, "I gave you my name and my brother's. What's yours?"
    "Bax." I held out my hand "I don't suppose you want to risk shaking hands with me, but I'm entirely willing to shake yours if you are. There will be no treachery."
    He smiled and we clasped hands; then he said, "Want your stick back?"
    "It doesn't matter now, does it?"
    He shook his head and handed it to me. "You said you'd give me the triannulus back."
    "Is it yours?"
    "It's Father's. I borrowed it, and I have to return it."
    I said, "Then I'll certainly give it back to you."
    "The longlight's mine. I made it. I'd like that back, too."
    "Are you sure I have it? I don't know what it is."
    "When you first saw me, when I dropped the triannulus, I was carrying a light. Did you get it?"
    "Your candle? Yes, I did." I tried to recall what I had done with it. "Is that the longlight?"
    He nodded. "This is somewhat technical I'm afraid. Have you used the triannulus?"
    "I wouldn't know how."
    "Give it back to me and I'll show you."
    I asked a few questions about his father after that. Emlyn described him and explained that he had tired of his sons squabbling and gone away, leaving them to settle their differences.
    "I take it you haven't."
    He sighed and shrugged. "He's my brother. I hope someday he'll understand that I'm his."
    We went downstairs together, and I got the apparatus down from the closet. "Your brother looked in there for it," I told Emlyn, "but he missed it. He was so angry he broke my window. That woke me up, and we fought."
    "He broke your window?"
    I showed it to him.
    "He isn't like that." Emlyn sounded thoughtful.
    "Not like what?"
    Emlyn sighed. "There's hot anger and cold anger. Hot anger is when you yell and stamp and break things. That's the way I am when I'm angry."
    I said, "I understand."
    "Cold anger is when you smile and wait. An hour later, or a week, you do something horrible. That's the way Ieuan is. Do you understand that, too?"
    I said I thought so. "That's why you gave me back my stick, isn't it?"
    "You're right. Lies almost always sound false to me. So I didn't think you were lying, but I wanted to be sure. Why did Ieuan break your window?"
    The question surprised me, I admit. I said that I had thought he broke it because he was angry; and if it was not that, then I had no idea.
    "It wasn't, and it would be good for us--for me, anyway--to know why he did. Breaking it made you so angry you attacked him? Didn't you say that?"
    "Yes. Hot anger."
    Emlyn nodded absently. "Is there someone you can get to repair it?"
    I knew there was some putty left and tried to recall how much glass I had. "I'd rather make the repair myself. I repaired it a few days ago."
    Emlyn jumped as if struck. "
You
repaired it?"
    "Yes, I did. I'm not a skillful worker, but--"
    "I understand. This could be important. I hope so. The window possesses some property that Ieuan doesn't want you to control. That has to be it. Think very carefully now. Did