The Tiste Andii strode up to him and laid a hand against his chest. Paran felt nothing untoward. Rake stepped back. 'Oponn may have been within you in the past, but it seems the Twins have hastily withdrawn. I see their signs, but no god controls you now, mortal.' He hesitated. 'Their treatment of you was ... unkind. If Caladan Brood was here he could heal that ... You're no longer Oponn's tool.' The Tiste's eyes remained blue, but they'd lightened to the colour of the sky. 'But your sword is.'

There was a squawk nearby and both turned to see a Great Raven alight on one of the Hound's bodies. It plucked out an eye and gobbled it down. Paran fought back a wave of nausea. The huge battered bird hopped towards them.

'This man's sword, Master,' the raven said, 'is not Oponn's only tool, I'm afraid.'

Paran shook his head, his only surprise the realization that nothing surprised him any more. He sheathed his sword.

'Speak on, Crone,' Rake commanded.

The raven cocked its head at Paran. 'Here, Master?'

Rake frowned. 'Perhaps not.' He faced the captain again. 'Hold on to that weapon until your luck turns. When that happens, and if you're still alive, break it or give it to your worst enemy.' A grin crossed his features. 'Thus far, it seems your luck holds.'

Paran hesitated. 'I'm free to go?'

Lord Anomander Rake nodded.

The captain looked around, then strode off in search of the surviving horses.

Minutes later, the shock came to Paran, driving him to his knees. Toc was gone. He'd dragged the man with him in his relentless, mindless pursuit across the plain. He looked up, eyes unseeing. He'd called Hairlock his enemy. He'd proclaimed Lorn's death his final goal. As if these two things would answer the anguish within him, would heal the pain of loss. But the demon is within me.

Oponn had been unkind ... What had Rake meant? Have any of these thoughts been my own? Look at me — my every move seems a desperate search for someone to blame, always someone else. I've made being a tool of a god an excuse, a justification for not thinking, for simply reacting. And others have died for it.

Rake had also said, 'Finish what you start.' He would have to deal with his own demons later. There could be no turning back. But it had been wrong to think that what he planned would end the pain within him. Adding Lorn's blood to his stained hands would not achieve what he sought.