Dawn broke over the Frozen Basin in thin red bands, bleeding across a field that already smelled of smoke. Hajin stood in the shadow of the north arch, tying the last strap of his glove with stiff fingers.
Behind him in the gate house, Kenny lay beneath Juna's blanket with a lantern burning at his head.
'You held one door, cousin, so watch me walk through another.'
"I'm going out there alone," he said, flexing his left hand until the Chain rattled.
"Like hell you are," Juna said, planting herself in the arch.
"He wants the face, Mutt, so I'll show it to him once, up front, where he can see it."
"Then I'm standing where he can see me too, Idiot."
Hans limped up beside them with the bell rope coiled over his one shoulder, his weathered face softer than usual. "Walk back, boy," he said, "walking back is how you live long enough to win."
"That's the plan, old man."
"Then why do you look like you're writing a will?"
