I was surprised at how easy it was to mold the boy.

There are always kids.

They have sensitive hearts and open eyes when they are born, and if you know where to press, you can easily manipulate them. A reward here, a word there. Fear was the simplest of all the tools.

When I woke up the following morning, he was sitting by the fire with the wooden wolf statue that one of the soldiers had crafted. His tiny fingers were tracing the fractures on its back. He sat up and became attentive as soon ...