'It is _not_ false,' said I, producing the broken point of the
dagger and holding it up. 'Where is the haft from which
this flew, oh Sorais?'
'It is not false,' cried Good, determined at last to act like
a loyal man. 'I took the Lady of the Night by the White Queen's
bed, and on my breast the dagger broke.'
'Who is on my side?' cried Sorais, shaking her silver spear,
for she saw that public sympathy was turning against her. 'What,
Bougwan, thou comest not?' she said, addressing Good, who was
standing close to her, in a low, concentrated voice. 'Thou pale-souled
fool, for a reward thou shalt eat out thy heart with love of
me and not be satisfied, and thou mightest have been my husband
and a king! At least I hold _thee_ in chains that cannot be
broken.
'_War! War! War!_' she cried. 'Here, with my hand upon the
sacred stone that shall endure, so runs the prophecy, till the
Zu-Vendi set their necks beneath an alien yoke, I declare war
to the end. Who follows Sorais of the Night to victory and honour?'
Instantly the whole concourse began to break up in indescribable
confusion. Many present hastened to throw in their lot with
the 'Lady of the Night', but some came from her following to
us. Amongst the former was an under officer of Nyleptha's own
guard, who suddenly turned and made a run for the doorway through
which Sorais' people were already passing.
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