"I am sorry, Shizala, but no matter what you think of me for it, I will not stand by and see a brute handle a lady so!"

Telem Fas Ogdai laughed. He had sheathed his sword, but now he released Shizala in order to draw it.

To my surprise she ran immediately to me!

"He is a traitor!" she shouted. "Telem Fas Ogdai was in league with Horguhl—they planned to rule the continent together!"

I could hardly believe my ears. I drew my own blade.

"He threatened to kill you unless I remained silent just now," she went on. "I—I did not want that."

Telem Fas Ogdai chuckled. "Remember your bond, Shizala. You must still marry me."

"When the world learns that you are a traitor," I said, "she will not."

She shook her head. "No, a bond of the kind we made goes higher than ordinary law. He is right. He will be exiled and I with him!'

"But that is a cruel law!"

"It is tradition," she said simply. "It is a custom of our folk. If tradition is ignored society will crumble, we know that. Therefore the individual must sometimes suffer unjustly, for the sake of the Great Law."

It was hard for me to argue against this. I may be old-fashioned, but I have great respect for tradition and custom as pillars of society.

Suddenly Telem Fas Ogdai laughed again, a somewhat unhinged chuckle, and lunged towards me.

I thrust Shizala behind me and met his lunge with a swift parry.

Back and forth across the room we fought. I had never encountered such a skilled swordsman. We were evenly matched, save that I had earlier exerted myself a great deal. I began to feel that he must win and Shizala would be condemned to spending her life with a traitor she hated!

Soon I was actually retreating before a whirlwind of steel and found myself with my back not against the wall—but worse—my back was to the window. A drop of a hundred feet was behind me!

I saw Telem Fas Ogdai grin as he forced me further back. I became desperate. From somewhere I called on extra reserves of energy. In a last final, desperate bid I hurled myself forward, straight into that network of flashing steel!

I took him by surprise. It saved my life and cost him his.

He stumbled backward for a moment.

I thrust rapidly at his throat. The point met flesh and he fell with a great roar of baffled rage.

I knelt beside him as the life bubbled from him. I could not save him. We both knew he was going to die. Shizala came and knelt by him, too.

"Why, Telem," she said, "why did you do such a despicable thing?"

He turned his eyes towards her, speaking with difficulty.