IGMS Issue 44 Read Online Free Page B
Author: IGMS
Sneak Lords couldn't take the fracturing of their minds; I had seen it happen before. One day they appeared fine, and the next they howled with their wolves.
This man had Giup-yo's eyes and melodious voice. He stood tall like our father, not hunched over as I did. And his face wasn't angry or fearful, but polite and respectful. Could it be Giup-yo?
No. My younger brother couldn't be here.
Because my father had defected to fight for the Empire during the war, the new government considered my brother and me tainted. I made a deal with the Doyen -- he had gotten rid of most of his rivals for power by that point -- so Giup-yo could remain free. All these years in prison were for him, to pay for our father's crimes. The Doyen wouldn't have broken his promise, would he?
My ears finally registered what they were talking about: finding a prisoner. A girl.
"I can help." My scratchy voice surprised me just as much as the guards, but I had to determine if this man really was my brother. "My wolves know all the prisoners."
The master guard cocked his head. "Hero Roo Giup-yo, may I introduce our eldest Sneak Lord, Prisoner C.B."
My little brother, in front of me after all these years. And they hadn't taken away his hero status, so he must not be here as a prisoner. I thanked all of the fates in the heavens.
The master guard continued, "Prisoner C.B. has helped us catch hundreds of misdeeds around the country, and the Kuo Peninsula is safer for his efforts."
I kept my face impassive as my happiness turned into shame. Hundreds of men, women, and children that I had turned in to keep myself -- and Giup-yo -- alive. Old women caught stealing food; children swimming across the Songim Strait to the Empire; prisoners just trying to survive in the mines any way they could. So many sins I had committed by watching through the wolves' eyes and whispering to the guards. I would pay for each one in the afterlife.
"I hope I can be of service." I inclined my head in deference.
"If he'll help me find the prisoner quicker, I'll use all means necessary," Giup-yo said, but no spark of recognition showed on his face. As much as I yearned to embrace him -- my brother -- a small part of me was relieved that he didn't know yet what I had become.
The guards shifted their feet. They had too much work to babysit a Hero of the Revolution, but they couldn't have the Doyen hear that they were shirking their duties. "There's no need to involve you, Prisoner C.B."
"It would be my pleasure," I said, giving them my widest smile. I hadn't made a peep of trouble for them in so many years. Please let it pay off now.
Eyeing the door to the prison yard, the head guard said, "Well, if you insist. We have a group of new prisoners to settle into camp, and as you can imagine, we're needed outside. Please shout if you need anything, Hero Roo Giup-yo. There'll be a guard within earshot at all times."
I led Giup-yo back to my tiny room, my mouth dry. Now that I had him here with me, the words flew away faster than a deer spotting one of my wolves. I'd never imagined I'd see him again.
As soon as the door closed, my brother began pacing around the tiny space, barely looking at me. "I need you to find a girl . . . I mean woman . . . who arrived in the past few days. Delicate face, small stature . . ."
I swallowed, thinking of the girl pulling up carrots outside. "Does she look like Ah-ni?"
Giup-yo froze in place. "How do you know my wife's name?"
I held my hands towards him, palms up. "Do you not recognize me? Brother?"
He cocked an eyebrow. "The only brother I have is Roo Cha-be, and he hasn't written in many years."
When I was younger and my mother was feeling well in the evenings, she would pull me aside and say, "Look after your brother, Cha-be. That's the duty of an older brother, to look after the family. Always do what's best." Revealing my identity would surely cause him pain, but it would be "what's best."
Whispering so the guards outside couldn't
This man had Giup-yo's eyes and melodious voice. He stood tall like our father, not hunched over as I did. And his face wasn't angry or fearful, but polite and respectful. Could it be Giup-yo?
No. My younger brother couldn't be here.
Because my father had defected to fight for the Empire during the war, the new government considered my brother and me tainted. I made a deal with the Doyen -- he had gotten rid of most of his rivals for power by that point -- so Giup-yo could remain free. All these years in prison were for him, to pay for our father's crimes. The Doyen wouldn't have broken his promise, would he?
My ears finally registered what they were talking about: finding a prisoner. A girl.
"I can help." My scratchy voice surprised me just as much as the guards, but I had to determine if this man really was my brother. "My wolves know all the prisoners."
The master guard cocked his head. "Hero Roo Giup-yo, may I introduce our eldest Sneak Lord, Prisoner C.B."
My little brother, in front of me after all these years. And they hadn't taken away his hero status, so he must not be here as a prisoner. I thanked all of the fates in the heavens.
The master guard continued, "Prisoner C.B. has helped us catch hundreds of misdeeds around the country, and the Kuo Peninsula is safer for his efforts."
I kept my face impassive as my happiness turned into shame. Hundreds of men, women, and children that I had turned in to keep myself -- and Giup-yo -- alive. Old women caught stealing food; children swimming across the Songim Strait to the Empire; prisoners just trying to survive in the mines any way they could. So many sins I had committed by watching through the wolves' eyes and whispering to the guards. I would pay for each one in the afterlife.
"I hope I can be of service." I inclined my head in deference.
"If he'll help me find the prisoner quicker, I'll use all means necessary," Giup-yo said, but no spark of recognition showed on his face. As much as I yearned to embrace him -- my brother -- a small part of me was relieved that he didn't know yet what I had become.
The guards shifted their feet. They had too much work to babysit a Hero of the Revolution, but they couldn't have the Doyen hear that they were shirking their duties. "There's no need to involve you, Prisoner C.B."
"It would be my pleasure," I said, giving them my widest smile. I hadn't made a peep of trouble for them in so many years. Please let it pay off now.
Eyeing the door to the prison yard, the head guard said, "Well, if you insist. We have a group of new prisoners to settle into camp, and as you can imagine, we're needed outside. Please shout if you need anything, Hero Roo Giup-yo. There'll be a guard within earshot at all times."
I led Giup-yo back to my tiny room, my mouth dry. Now that I had him here with me, the words flew away faster than a deer spotting one of my wolves. I'd never imagined I'd see him again.
As soon as the door closed, my brother began pacing around the tiny space, barely looking at me. "I need you to find a girl . . . I mean woman . . . who arrived in the past few days. Delicate face, small stature . . ."
I swallowed, thinking of the girl pulling up carrots outside. "Does she look like Ah-ni?"
Giup-yo froze in place. "How do you know my wife's name?"
I held my hands towards him, palms up. "Do you not recognize me? Brother?"
He cocked an eyebrow. "The only brother I have is Roo Cha-be, and he hasn't written in many years."
When I was younger and my mother was feeling well in the evenings, she would pull me aside and say, "Look after your brother, Cha-be. That's the duty of an older brother, to look after the family. Always do what's best." Revealing my identity would surely cause him pain, but it would be "what's best."
Whispering so the guards outside couldn't
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