False Dawn by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

his face desperate. “I’m trying to help you save yourselves. If you won’t arm yourselves, protect yourselves, you’ll be wiped out.”
    “Is that a threat, Montague?”
    The room was suddenly very still. Evan met Honey Hobart’s steady eyes, and when he spoke, there was despair in his voice. “It is, but not from me. What do I have to do, Hobart? Bleed? Martyr myself? Tell me.”
    Hobart turned away. “We’ll have to vote on it.”
    It was Simon who told Evan of the decision in the Quincy Council. “We don’t really want to, Evan, not even Honey. But you understand,” he pleaded, spreading out his hands to demonstrate his helplessness. “You’ll have to leave. And Thea, too; they must know she’s with you. It’s for your own good as much as ours. You’ve got to understand. It’s too dangerous for you here.”
    Evan watched Simon and saw the dull hurt in the man’s eyes. “I hear you,” he said, acknowledging the trouble. “And it isn’t just us they want, no matter what Hobart thinks. You realize that, don’t you? They won’t leave you alone now that they know you’re here. You have things they want. You have livestock, you have shelter, you have food reserves, all the things the Pirates look for. But it’s not only your food and your livestock which attracts them—Cox is fighting a Holy War against Mutes. And it was Mackley who led the scouts. He hates Mutes, too. “He’s fanatical. He’ll bring Cox for the mutants alone.”
    Simon looked miserable as he drank some of Katherine Zimmermann’s herb tea. “We realize that, of course. That’s why we’re going to send the kids away. Just for the time being. We know a couple of places they’ll be welcome, not too far from here. I think maybe we can negotiate about the food. We can explain things to him. We’ll work out terms.”
    “If you pay the Danegeld, you’ll never be rid of the Dane,” Evan reminded him without rancor.
    “But we’ll explain all that. We’ll arrange to grow more next year, and if they’ll co-operate with us, then we’ll be able to share. Cox should understand that. You understand it.”
    “I’m not Cox,” Evan said. He knew that Simon was trying to convince himself, but he could not contain himself. “You think Cox is sure to be reasonable? Understand your point of view? Cox only understands the things that enrich him. The things that bring him power and notoriety.”
    At that Simon flared up. “We have to try it, Evan. Otherwise we might as well lie down and die right here and now.” He got to his feet, upsetting the mug, watching unhappily as the green stain spread over Katherine’s worn linen tablecloth. “Fuck it, Evan, we’re not cruel. We’re not going to send you away naked. We’ll give you and Thea clothes and supplies. And tools. We’ll make sure you have two pair of strong shoes. We aren’t monsters, Evan. We know what winter is like, We’ll do everything we can to make sure you get through it.”
    “Except let us stay here.”
    “Except let you stay here.”
    Rudy Zimmermann had come to stand in the door, watching.
    “Is this what you want, Rudy?” Evan asked, wondering where Thea was, and if she knew what was about to happen to them.
    “It is not what I want. You have become my friend, and together we remember the good things which are lost. But this is my home. I must defend it, protect it, no matter what. I have run as far as I’m going to. If you had lived with us, one, two years, perhaps it would be different.” He did not meet Evan’s eyes, and so did not see the compassion there. “No one here wants to live in an armed camp. We’ll work something out, something reasonable for all of us.”
    Slowly Evan stood up, looking toward the kitchen where Katherine was making supper. He thought idly that he wanted to stay with these people in this little pocket where there was still a semblance of civilization and life could be pleasant. But he knew that so long as the people living