Kajian turned and looked at the boy. He knew that he was barely a year older, and was once again struck by the thought that the difference between a man and a boy is not always measured in days lived.

Finally, he said, “If you want to live, you’ll follow my instructions without hesitation. For the immediate future, when the sun is up, you will walk. Or hide. When the sun goes down, you eat and sleep. And hide. That’s all. Nothing else.”

The kid’s petulant look was enough to make Kajian turn briefly sympathetic.

“What do they call you, anyway?”

Lifting his chin, the kid said, “By the Grace of God, Gift of the Universe, his August Highness, Klamert Quethie Padernaught Ellsworth Amarien, XIV , Light of the Empire”.

Kajian said, “Klam, it is, then”, and began to walk away. Klam would follow or not.