Asimov's SF, February 2010 Read Online Free PDF Page B

This was a decision she had to make, to cut or not to cut. If she couldn't open this man, it meant that Kanika had been right—that in thinking it was not her place to pass judgment, she had been judging just the same. The blade quivered in her hand, and a droplet of blood appeared on the man's forehead.
    "Give me the blade,” Odion said, holding out his hand.
    "No,” Njeri said. This was her duty, and had been for many years. She could not escape from this, not now, not ever. To fail in her duty would be an act against General Yafeu. She could feel his gaze boring into her from the hillside, waiting, judging, finding her wanting.
    "What is the delay?” General Yafeu called out. “Your task is not yet finished, woman."
    "Who is this man?” Njeri asked. “What is his crime?"
    "That is no business of yours.” Yafeu's voice held amusement. He found this entertaining. Like a circus act, or a play. This was the man who Njeri had trusted to pass judgment. If she had believed herself unfit to decide the fate of others, surely this man was worse. Which made Njeri worse for having accepted his orders.
    Njeri couldn't do it. She couldn't open this man that she didn't even know. She tore an amethyst pin out of his hand and reached for the one in his shoulder. Guardsmen rushed in to restrain her, and she put up no fight. The obsidian blade was taken from her.
    "Open him,” Yafeu said, speaking to Odion.
    "No!” Njeri cried. “Please, let him go."
    "At last, a statement with conviction.” Yafeu smiled. “Will you take his place, then? Do you believe so strongly in this man that you would face the wall instead of him?"
    Njeri knew her motives weren't pure. She wanted to save the man, yes, but not for his sake. She wanted to save him to make up for all the times she'd cut people open blindly. She wanted to make amends for opening Kanika without even asking of her crime. But surely it was better to do the right thing for the wrong reason than to not do it at all.
    Odion stood before her. His eyes brimmed with tears. He had wanted to prove himself today, but not this way. Even with all his impatience and ambition, he still loved her. There was hope for him yet.
    "Yes,” Njeri said. “I will take the man's place."
    "Pin her up,” the general ordered. “Boy, you can gut them both."
    Njeri managed two steps toward Yafeu before the guardsmen closed in and restrained her. “It could kill him. Especially at the hands of the inexperienced."
    "You had your chance to do it, and if the boy kills him, the ghost will curse him, not me,” Yafeu said. “I can't let an enemy go free."
    Njeri turned to Odion. “Open me first. I can stand to lose a few drops of blood, and you will do better with the old man if your hands are practiced with the blade."
    "I don't have a mindstone,” he said. His whole body shook, and he reeked with the sweat of fear. “We only brought two mindstones."
    The general would not be pleased. She wondered if he would order her opened without the stone. That way would surely mean death.
    "Take this one.” It was Kanika, her voice soft and close. In her hand was the mindstone that had held her mind, the one Njeri had given her to keep. The guardsmen moved to encircle her, but backed away at the sight of her scars. She was a ghost, a curse, a plague. Njeri couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before, the punishment that continued after the wall.
    "I will be there when you wake. We can face the world together,” Kanika said. She brushed her hand against Njeri's cheek.
    "Touching,” General Yafeu said, “but it's time for you to go back to the hill. Unless you'd like another turn on the wall? I don't think anyone has ever faced it twice."
    Kanika kissed Njeri's forehead, exactly on the spot that Odion would begin the first incision. She lingered a moment more, then walked past General Yafeu and up to the top of the hill. Odion stepped forward. It hurt the boy to see Njeri with someone else, sharing the intimacy