Yes, myself I should be made to drink
the poison and be mocked at while I died like a snake with a broken
back. Or even if I escaped the vengeance of the people, the gods
themselves would kill me and raise up another in my place. Do they not
sacrifice in your country, Vernoon?"
"No, Asika, they fight if necessary and kill those who commit murder.
But they have no fetish that asks for blood, and the law they have from
heaven is a law of mercy."
She stared at him again.
"All this is strange to me," she said. "I was taught otherwise. Gods are
devils and must be appeased, lest they bring misfortune on us; men must
be ruled by terror, or they would rebel and pull down the great House;
doctors must learn magic, or how could they avert spells? wizards must
be killed, or the people would perish in their net. May not we who live
in a hell, strive to beat back its flame with the wisdom our forefathers
have handed on to us? Tell me, Vernoon, for I would know."
"You make your own hell," answered Alan when with the help of Jeekie he
understood her talk.
She pondered over his words for a while, then said:
"I must think. The thing is big.
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