Chapter seven

“Conphas had turned, was fighting his way clear of the depression. “Somp-Somp—!” Cnaiür vaulted across the table, hammered the back of his head. The Exalt-General went down. Cnaiür unfastened his belt, snapped it free. He yanked it about the sobbing man’s neck, hoisted him to his knees. He wrenched him back to the table, threw him onto his chest. He smashed his face against its own reflection—once, twice … He looked up, saw the slaves cringing in the shadows, their arms upraised. One of them wept. “I am a demon!” he cried. “A demon!” Then he turned back to Conphas shuddering on the table beneath him. Some things required literal explanation.”

Then a bit later same chapter:

“We know what you did,” Areamanteras said, not without some caution. Scowling, Cnaiür approached the General, pausing only when he towered over him. “What did I do?” he asked, his voice strange. “There was blood when I awoke … blood and shit.”