Zenak by George S. Pappas Page B

employer? You forget, Tabilo, I too was a mercenary. Now tell me. You’re doomed anyway,” Zenak said.
    â€œWhy not,” Tabilo answered as he jumped into a different position causing Zenak to knick him in the shoulder. “A priest.”
    â€œWhat’s his name?” Zenak asked.
    â€œVokar,” Tabilo replied. Even in his fear Tabilo smiled a little at Zenak’s obvious discomfort.
    At this reply Zenak hesitated for only a slight moment, but Tabilo, mature in battle like Zenak, took full advantage of the long-awaited hesitation and turned and ran for the nearest mark a half karn away. Zenak did not chase him but dropped the point of his sword to the ground and watched his adversary run.
    â€œShall I ride him down?” Habor asked.
    Zenak looked up at Habor somewhat dazedly and looked around him. He had become so engrossed in his duel against Tabilo that he had not realized that the battle was over, the mercenaries soundly defeated. He was also confused and saddened at Tabilo’s reply even though he was not surprised. Despite his sadness and anger, he could not help but smile at Tabilo, who in his haste, tripped over bodies trying to get to the lone mark.
    â€œNo,” Zenak replied to Habor. “Gam, come here.” The war mark quickly trotted to Zenak’s side and nuzzled his nose in Zenak’s face. Zenak patted Gam, pulled out his longbow, and took an arrow out of the quiver. He casually put his longbow into firing position and aimed it at Tabilo. By this time Tabilo had reached the mark but was having trouble mounting. The mark kept moving away and biting Tabilo. The poor animal only wanted its master, not Tabilo. Finally, after some heavy beating from Tabilo, the mark allowed him to mount him. All this time Zenak carefully took aim. Once Tabilo had successfully mounted the mark, Zenak let his feathered death arrow fly. Tabilo never realized what hit him as the arrow passed through his throat. He wheeled a bit on the mark but somehow stayed on. Then the mark trotted quickly in Zenak’s direction, not because of any action by Tabilo, but because it was easier to go that way for there were less hindering bodies of warriors. The mark bearing Tabilo trotted right up to Zenak’s side. Zenak looked at the mark and eyed Tabilo. Then Zenak mounted Gam. Tabilo could now see Zenak, and he tried to talk but the only sound he could make was a soft gurgling noise as he slowly drowned in his blood.
    â€œNo suffering for a warrior,” Zenak said as he sliced Tabilo’s head off.
    Zenak turned away from the convulsing headless body of his long-time enemy and early friend and studied the situation. From what he could discern at least half of his marksmen had met their end on the bloody battlefield that day. Zenak shook his head. Even to a man who lives by the sword, the stench of death is a sad, worrisome smell. This man, this warrior, always has the feeling that death should be conquered. Maybe that’s why a warrior loves to fight: if he lives to fight another day, he has conquered death. He has proven that life is the stronger side of this two-headed coin—Life and Death.
    Habor came up to Zenak and reported, “Two thousand mer­cenaries are left. I know that you ordered all of them to be killed, but they threw down their weapons and raised their hands. I couldn’t order unarmed men killed.”
    Zenak stared quietly at the large, littered battlefield. He turned and looked at Tabilo’s gruesome head and said, “Good. There has been too much death today. Brand the mercenaries’ right cheeks with a Z so they will always remember their most useless battle and let them go. Do not let them go, however, without this warning: tell them if they are ever caught in Deparne again, they will be disemboweled on the spot.”
    Habor smiled broadly and rode off to relay the orders.
    The sun was bloody red as it tottered above the horizon revealing the