moving thing into an amorphous mess and
kept on stamping and smashing until it was only a heap of powder.

Rakhal finally managed to haul himself upright again. His face was so
pale that the scars stood out like fresh burns.

"That was a foul blow, Race, but I--I know why you did it." He stopped
and breathed for a minute. Then he muttered, "You ... saved my life, you
know. Did you know you were doing it, when you did it?"

Still breathing hard, I nodded. Done knowingly, it meant an end of
blood-feud. However we had wronged each other, whatever the pledges. I
spoke the words that confirmed it and ended it, finally and forever:

"There is a life between us. Let it stand for a death."

Miellyn was standing in the doorway, her hands pressed to her mouth, her
eyes wide. She said shakily, "You're walking around with a knife in your
ribs, you fool!"

Rakhal whirled and with a quick jerk he pulled the skean loose. It had
simply been caught in my shirtcloak, in a fold of the rough cloth. He
pulled it away, glanced at the red tip, then relaxed. "Not more than an
inch deep," he said. Then, angrily, defending himself: "You did it
yourself, you ape. I was trying to get rid of the knife when you jumped
me."

But I knew that and he knew I knew it. He turned and scooped up Rindy,
who was sobbing noisily. She dug her head into his shoulder and I made
out her strangled words. "The other Toys hurt you when I was mad at
you...." she sobbed, rubbing her fists against smeared cheeks. "I--I
wasn't that mad at you. I wasn't that mad at anybody, not even ... him."

Rakhal pressed his hand against his daughter's fleecy hair and said,
looking at me over her head, "The Toys activate a child's subconscious
resentments against his parents--I found out that much. That also means
a child can control them for a few seconds. No adult can." A stranger
would have seen no change in his expression, but I knew him, and saw.

"Juli said you threatened Rindy."

He chuckled and set the child on her feet. "What else could I say that
would have scared Juli enough to send her running to you? Juli's proud,
almost as proud as you are, you stiff-necked Son of the Ape." The insult
did not sting me now.

"Come on, sit down and let's decide what to do, now we've finished up
the old business." He looked remotely at Miellyn and said, "You must be
Dallisa's sister? I don't suppose your talents include knowing how to
make coffee?"

They didn't, but with Rindy'