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The Blue Flame of Vengeance

Sat, 20/03/2010 - 6:38pm — euchoo
"Death is a blue flame dancing over corpses."
SOLOMON KANE


[The Blue Flame of Vengeance]
"Young man, your words are vain and worldly. They are as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
"How come you here?" asked Jack bluntly. "And how is it that I saw you not until you spoke?"
"I came here as all honest men come, young sir," the deep voice answered, as the speaker wrapped his wide black cloak about him and reseated himself on the boulder, "on my two legs - as for the other: men engrossed in their own affairs to the point of taking the Name in vain, see neither their friends - to their shame - nor their foes - to their harm."


[The Blue Flame of Vengeance]
"The Lord hath led my feet into many strange places, and over many queer paths," said he sombrely. "Some were fair and many were foul; sometimes I seemed to wander without purpose or guidance but always when I sought deep I found fit reason therefor. And harkee, lad, forbye the fires of Hell there is no hotter fire than the blue flame of vengeance which burneth a man's heart night and day without rest until he quench it in blood."
"It hath been my duty in times past to ease various evil men of their lives - well, the Lord is my staff and my guide and methinks he hath delivered mine enemy into mine hands."


[The Blue Flame of Vengeance]
Solomon Kane regarded him with a cold concentrated hate in his eyes; yet it was not so much the hatred that was blood chilling - as it was a bleak certainty of doom, a relentless cold blood lust that was sure of satiety.
"Death was more kind to her than you had been. She had no brothers, no one but that old man. None might avenge her -"
"Except you, Sir Galahad?" sneered the Fishhawk.
"Yes, I, you damned black swine!" roared Kane unexpectedly. The crash of his powerful voice almost shattered the ear drums and hardened buccaneers started and blenched. Nothing is more stunning or terrible than the sight of a man of icy nerves and iron control suddenly losing that control and flaming into a full withering blast of murderous fury. For a fleeting instant as he thundered those words, Kane was a fearful picture of primitive, relentless and incarnate passion. Then the storm passed instantly and he was his icy self again - cold as chill steel, calm and deadly as a cobra.


[The Blue Flame of Vengeance]
"Would you were handier with the steel, Sir George; I take shame in slaying you - but - well, when a man sets foot on an adder he asks not its size."


[The Blue Flame of Vengeance]
"Thou hast thanked me enough, little one," said the strange man tenderly. "'Tis enough to see thee well and delivered out of persecution."
"But who are you? Whence come you? What seek you? Whither do you go?"
"I am a landless man." A strange intangible, almost mystic look flashed into his cold eyes. "I come out of the sunset and into the sunrise I go, wherever the Lord doth guide my feet. I seek - my soul's salvation, mayhap. I came, following the trail of vengeance. Now I must leave you. The dawn is not far away and I would not have it find me idle. It may be I shall see you no more. My work here is done; the long red trail is ended. The man of blood is dead. But there be other men of blood, and other trails of revenge and retribution. I work the will of God. While evil flourishes and wrongs grow rank, while men are persecuted and women wronged, while weak things, human or animal, are maltreated, there is no rest for me beneath the skies, nor peace at any board or bed. Farewell!"
"Stay!" cried out Jack, rising, tears springing suddenly into his eyes.
But the tall form had vanished in the darkness and no sound came back of his going.


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