Is this why she followed this pale man? Does the Sky Mother expect her to save him? Shonali is not worried she won’t be able to. It’s obvious those three men are slow and clumsy. Maybe not the smiling man. He will have to go first. But is this fight hers? Isn’t this pale men business? Why should she risk her life for a man she just met? She looks at his face. It doesn’t show fear. ‘In the heart of adversity, our true spirits are revealed,’ Shonali quotes a Teshoni saying. For now, it reveals an honest man. Isn’t an honest man worth saving? Or will dishonesty win again, as it so often does?

Shonali touches the ground, seeking the earth’s blessing for what she is about to do. The men don’t hear her pull an arrow and place it in her bow. In the way they move, it seems they’ve come to a decision about Finch. The warrior hears the smiling man say “Sorry, son.” Shonali pulls the string of her bow.

Three high-pitched whirrs distract her. She never heard anything like that before. Before her eyes, the three men collapse. Two tall women move forward in step. They each wear a shimmering, metallic silver form-fitting bodysuit that accentuates the contours of their body. The neckline is high, adding a touch of sophistication, while the sleeves are long. There is, however, an open triangle that exposes the cleavage of their breasts. The strange women are muscular and have curves in all the right places. Shonali doesn’t recognize the guns they’re holding, made of the same shimmering metallic silver. They are sleek as opposed to the usual clunky pale man’s one-handed weapons. Shonali startles as one of them fires at Finch. Shocked, she sees him drop. “Sky Mother, grant me strength,” she whispers preparing her arrow. Before she can release it, her reflexes honed to draw the second in an instant, she hears another whirr. A cold and hot sensation finds every part of her body. She manages to look around. Another one of those women watches her fall. ‘How did I not hear her?’ is Shonali’s last thought.