Shatterbird

Every sentence, it was another small advantage, another nail in the coffin.  For so many others, this kind of taunting would only create more risk, provoke a lashing out.  But Shatterbird was used to restraining herself.  Used to holding back.  The angrier she got, the less she was able to act.  It would mean acknowledging her more brutal side, accepting that she was a base killer, and giving evidence to the accusations laid against her.

Deleted Interlude