Tina and Delin were sisters who were about to be married, just like all the daughters of the Larona Clan.
They spent their days toiling in barren fields planted with barley, oats, broad beans, cabbage, and flax. Whenever they had a little free time, they gathered lichen and moss, dried and ground them, then mixed them with bran to feed the sheep. When the weather was fine, they went to the forest together to pick berries and nuts.
They remembered that the sun had shone brightly that day, the air warm and gentle. The men of the clan had once again taken up their weapons and armor to fight neighboring tribes for food.
The daughters of the Larona Clan had long grown used to welcoming the returning parties after each expedition, their faces beneath their horned helmets beaming with joy.
It meant their fathers, husbands, or children had gone before everyone to Vagha's palace and become true Reshman warriors.
But that day, when Tina and Delin returned home, they rinsed the dust and iron filings from the lichen and moss in their baskets, wrung out the water with their fingers, and spread them across the flat ground outside.
Then they saw Kulan Black-Halberd, the trusted second-in-command of their father, approaching with a grave expression. He carried a purse full of gold and Blackheart's battle-axe.
"Where is my father? Kulan, has he gone to Vagha's palace?" Delin's voice trembled, tinged with hope. She was about to marry the son of a minor clan chief from the Black Ember Tribe.
If her father had gone to Vagha's palace, she would be treated with more respect.
Kulan, cold and loyal, recounted what had happened that day. "Xipei Blackheart insulted Kas of the Zagwell Clan. Kas bears a mission from Hadi, the Great Shaman, and is accompanied by one of the seven warriors of King Busuo, your ancestor—Morse Ironbone.
"Your father slandered Kas, claiming he was Malik Axe-Breaker's bastard. His spirit has been branded with shame by Ironbone and will be punished forever atop Iron Peak Mountain by the scorching sun and freezing winds.
"The Zagwell Clan has accepted our apology. The clan chief hopes you will personally beg Ironbone's forgiveness. This bag of gold is a token of his goodwill."
The devastating news left Delin stunned. She covered her face and wept silently, like a mother bird left alone in an empty nest after seeing her chick fall from the treetop.
That bag filled with gold could not bring back her beloved father, nor could it free his spirit from its eternal torment on the barren earth.
"We should kill him... Not for revenge, but so our father can rest in peace." Her older sister Tina spoke with such conviction that Delin's tears turned into a river of grief.
Her younger sister's voice was hoarse with sorrow as she protested:
"Didn't you hear? The clan chief has ordered us to beg for forgiveness from one of King Busuo's seven warriors, Morse Ironbone, and his descendant Kas. Only then can we free ourselves from the sin our father incurred by insulting a spirit."
Tina said calmly, "That order is aimed at us, especially me. The clan chief is afraid I'll invoke our blood tie to challenge Kas to an honor killing. He's afraid Lady of Death will blame us for disturbing her peace.
"But I know this is the only way our father can rest—Xipei Blackheart, nailed to the summit of Iron Peak Mountain and suffering eternal torment, my poor kin."
"Will you come with me and help me lift his body?"
"This is the clan chief's order—even the War Chief's and the shaman's. You know you'll be punished for doing this, but you still want to go through with it?" Delin's face was wet with tears. She picked up the battle-axe Kulan had brought back and struggled to swing it.
"Look, the man you want to challenge to an honor killing is a warrior. It's not that I don't want our father to rest in peace. I just don't have the strength to defy him and the tribe."
Tina grasped the battle-axe and managed to heft the heavy weapon onto her shoulder. "This is the law of the gods. Would you give up out of cowardice and fear, and spend your days watching our kin—your father and mine—wail atop Iron Peak Mountain?"
"No, I don't want that, but..." Delin looked at her sister's unwavering gaze and nodded with difficulty.
"Yes. We should lift Father's body and let him rest in peace."
At the butcher shop, Tina handed over a silver coin and took a string of fresh mutton from Old Biller. Then she suddenly asked, "Old Biller, what does it feel like to kill someone?"
Old Biller knew that Tina and Delin's father had been killed for insulting Iron Bone and was suffering eternal punishment day and night.
The feast yesterday had been held by War Chief Kaike Blood-Fire to welcome Kas, though most people had only wanted to bask in the boundless glory of Morse Ironbone.
The burly, good-natured man smiled. He thought Blackheart's daughter was drunk, and casually waved the knife, still slick with grease and bits of meat.
"Tina, you've always thought Old Biller killed a lot of people when he was young. Truth is, I can't even look a cow or sheep in the eyes when I slaughter them. I never eat meat from an animal I killed myself.
"Forget about this. You're about to get married. We're not warriors; there's no need to keep talking about honor. Just live an honest life."
Tina's eyes followed the butcher's knife as he waved it around. After a moment, she fell silent.
"I'm going to kill Kas, but the battle-axe is too heavy. Can you give me a knife? I don't want him to suffer when he dies."
"All right, all right." The burly man handed her the knife, still smeared with grease and bits of meat, thinking it was a small favor for an old friend's daughter.
After Tina left, the butcher went on chopping bones and casually mentioned what had just happened to a customer.
"Blackheart's daughter said she was going to kill Kas of the Zagwell Clan."
"She must've been drunk. Nobody's going to help her."
"No, I mean she's going to kill Kas herself, with the butcher's knife I was just using to skin a sheep."
"Oh? That'll be quite a sight. Just like her father Blackheart, she'll tear her enemy's heart out with her bare hands."
The butcher and his customer exchanged smiles, treating the whole thing as a joke.
Who would be foolish enough to challenge the authority of another clan and tribe for the sake of a spirit the War Chief and shaman had already branded a sinner?
Besides, they'd heard the young man from the Zagwell Clan had a werewolf wife who was cursed. Anyone who went near them might be cursed too. What a bad omen.
Tina walked down the street with the mutton in hand. She stopped for a while at the tailor shop she used to love visiting, watching Jacqueline's skilled hands weave a beautiful flower among the flax and threads of silk.
"Oh, my little Tina, what's wrong? I heard what happened. It's just awful..."
Jacqueline offered her condolences. When she saw the butcher's knife in Tina's hand, she covered her mouth in shock. "Are you thinking of committing an honor killing against that honored guest who killed your father?"
"Yes. I'm going to kill him."
The elderly woman hurriedly shut the wooden door and the hide-covered window, then led the silent Tina to sit by the hearth.
"Child, I know you're grieving, but we're women. We shouldn't put honor first. You're still young, and you're about to marry Evan. He's a thoughtful, fine young man.
"Once you're married, you'll have to manage all the household affairs—endless sweeping, endless sheep to feed, and children who never stop crying. You'll be so busy and dizzy you won't even remember who you are.
"Give it time, and everyone will forget about this."
She walked out of the tailor shop in silence, gripping the butcher's knife in her hand.
I will kill him. It has nothing to do with hatred or gain. I'll do it all for Father, and for my sister's and my honor!
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