by Rori Bleu
She knelt by the fire, preparing to douse it for the night. That’s when she heard her name being called out.
Afraid one of her friends—most likely Lex—had gotten into trouble, Ajei shifted back into her wolf form. Her ears perked up trying to pick up what direction it had come from, but all she could hear was the sound of the night. She couldn't even catch any abnormal scent in the air.
“Ajei!” The voice was now behind her.
She spun around to see the image of her mother standing in the flames. The tears in her Iina’s eyes shimmered in the light of the fire.
“Mother? W-what’s the matter?”
“It’s your father, Ajei, he was hurt in battle. Hashkeh Naabah is doing all he can to save his life but—”
Ajei cried out, “I’m going to come home, Mother. I will leave now—”
“No!” Iina yelled from the flames. “It is too dangerous for you to return now. Stay where you—”
“I need to be there for Father!” Ajei begged her mother.
“Do as I say, and do not return until I come for—” but Iina never got to finish her plea. Her image vanished into the flame.
Ajei worried her mother would be angry with her for disregarding her wishes. Having to do so tore at her. She wanted to show her mother this new side of herself, the side which listened and did what she was asked. But...the pending death of her father surely outweighed that. Her mother would surely forgive her.
Determined to deal with the consequences when the time allowed, Ajei picked up the scent of the trail back to camp. Her paws tore into the soil as she raced into the night.
Chapter 6
Ajei’s Realm
The sun shined down on Ajei as she erupted through the tent flaps upon a chestnut-brown Mustang. Under normal circumstances, she could have easily shifted into a pony on her own. However, fear and concern for her father’s life made it too difficult for Ajei to concentrate on maintaining her form long enough for her to return home. Instead, she resorted to acquiring one from the camp’s stables.
While it had still been night just moments ago when she fled the camp, the difference in time did come as a surprise to Ajei. Why was there such a cool breeze to this time of day? Ajei understood the summer season was coming to an end, but the sun should have been blazing the sands around her. This felt more like mid-winter day.
It was then Ajei understood what her mother meant about how time would fly by at camp. Time there had no relevance as it did in the realms. What passed for a day could be weeks or months elsewhere. There was no way Ajei could be certain when she had returned, but it also meant she had no time to waste. Every second it had taken to get out of camp exponentially subtracted from her father’s life, bringing him closer to death.
Ajei rode the Mustang eastward across the Western Desert as hard as she dared. The manes of both the rider and mount billowed in the desert winds. Her heart pounded as if in sync with the thundering of the horse’s hooves. Daring to stop only long enough to rinse the sands from their throats. she spurred him onward once more.
The sun was setting behind her by the time her home came into view. But something was wrong. There were fewer community fires ablaze than usual. The camp was eerily silent, save the sounds of the few warriors standing guard. Their sharp stares and accusatory whispers followed Ajei as she rode past.
The huts lining the center path made Ajei uneasy. There were no children chasing each other into their neighbors’ huts. The doorways, which customarily stood open and welcoming, now were bound shut. Every window, too, was covered and dim.
Ajei slowly made her way to the far end of the village, making her way to the front of her family’s home. Dread filled her seeing the door hanging wide open, exposing the pitch-black depth inside. Slipping from the Mustang, trembling hands pulled a burning branch from a nearby bonfire. Carefully, Ajei entered the place she once called home.
“Mother! Father?” Ajei called. But no one was there to answer.
She swept the torch about, casting flickering shadows on the hut's walls. Empty. Not only were mother and father not there, but neither were any of their personal belongings. Gone was her father’s hunting gear, her mother’s medicine table, even the mats they had slept on.
“Ajei!”
Iina’s surprised voice caused Ajei to spin and face her. The torch illuminated the fear spread over her mother’s face.
Iina quickly turned to see if anybody else had seen either of them enter the hut. “Ajei, I told you not to come back. It’s too dangerous!”
“Why, Mother? What happened here?” Ajei pleaded. “Where is Father?”
Biting the side of her lip, Iina was unable to soften the blow of what she was about to tell Ajei. She quietly said, “H-he’s been dead for two months now.”
It was as if her mother had punched her in the pit of her stomach, the air in her lungs burst forward, as Ajei stammered, “D-dead?? What are you talking about? I just saw your image in the—how long have I been gone?”
“Six months,” Iina tried to explain. “If I had told you the truth before you left, you would have never gone.”
“Then why didn’t you?” Ajei screamed.
“Your father and I saw war clouds coming and we wanted to keep you safe!” her mother cried, trying to wrap her arms around Ajei. But Ajei forcefully shrugged them away, fighting back tears.
“H-how did he die…and why is the house empty?”
A deep voice from the doorway answered, “Sani died like the coward he was.”
Startled, Ajei pivoted. Hashkeh Naabah was leaning against the frame, arms folded over his chest. His eyes bore into hers.
Before Ajei could say anything, he continued deriding her father, “I had warned him about the foolishness of going to war against a stronger tribe, but he refused my wise counsel.”
Anger bubbled in Ajei’s chest hearing Hashkeh Naabah dare call her father a coward. “That’s a lie!” Ajei screamed. Her father was a man of caution. He refused to do anything without careful consideration. It was the first lesson of leadership he had taught Ajei from childhood. Wanting to kill the old man for his impertinence, Ajei charged at him.
Iina’s’ fingers managed to grab her daughter by her collar, pulling her back. “Ajei, Stop!” she pleaded.
Still Struggling against her mother's grip, she spat, “Do NOT take my father for a fool. He never did anything without a proper plan—”
“Planning?,” Hashkeh scoffed. “Like planning on allowing you to lead our people. In the end, his planning cost us men. Good men. When he saw his glorious battleplan disastrously falling apart, you know what he did? The Great Chieftain turned and fled.”
Towering over the girl, his shadow consuming her. The slight flicker of doubt in the girl’s eyes pleased him. Ominously, he told her, “The gods saw fit to guide an arrow into the coward’s back.”
“No!” Ajei shook her head. How could this be true? It didn’t sound like her father at all. He would never flee a battle…nor abandon his warriors. She stopped struggling against her mother, and instead, slumped back into her arms, shaking. Had she been wrong about him all along?
Hashkeh shrugged as he turned from Ajei, “If it had not been for me, the enemy would have wiped the entire village out. But your father lost us valuable hunting ground.”
Tears streamed down Ajei’s face as she turned to her mother, wanting her to say something… anything…in defense of her husband.
But Iina only lowered her gaze to the floor.
“And where were you in all of this?” Ajei coldly asked her. Ajei’s eyes widened as she saw Iina move passed her, and to Hashkeh’s side.
Iina could not bring herself to look up at her daughter, nor say anything.
Hashkeh’s lips curled into a thin smile. “Your mother is under my protection as my new wife. As the new Chieftain, I did not have the heart to drive her out of camp.”
Ajei’s head spun with the insanity she was hearing. “N-new Chieftain? You?”
“No!” Ajei challenged him. “Our people would never follow you! I am the rightful leader of this tribe! We will settle this before the village!”
“Do you really believe anyone in this village will allow the child of a coward to lead? No, girl, you are just like your father. Irrational. Incompetent. A coward. I cannot have you destroy our homes.” Hashkeh calmly pulled his knife from it sheath, “And I don’t plan on sleeping with my eyes open.”
Iina launched herself onto Hashkeh’s back. Flaying wildly at him, “No! You can’t! She’s my daughter! You swore if I took your bed, you would spare her!”
Hashkeh’s fingers reached over his shoulder and snarled through Iina’s hair. Pulling hard, he flung her into a dark heap in the corner.
“And you failed to keep her from returning. I will deal with you later!” Hashkeh yelled.
He turned to Ajei. A surge of adrenaline pumped through her veins forcing Ajei to act on her first instinct. She swung her torch wildly, ramming it against the side of Naabah's face. The blow sent him tumbling to the side. The stench of burned flesh filled the hut.
“Run, Ajei, please!” Iina begged. “Before it is too late!”
Ajei glared at her mother. Her mother held her gaze. An understanding passed between them, and Ajei's glare softened just a little. She understood why her mother did everything. But she still could not completely forgive Iina.
Hashkeh’s pained howls brought the warriors pooling through the hut’s door.
At first, the rage burning within Ajei tempted her to transform into a bear and take them on en masse. But in the confusion of the warriors filling the hut with the same capabilities, her mother pleading with her to flee, and Hashkeh’s wild screams to kill her, Ajei thought better of it. Focus for her would have been impossible anyway. Instead, she kicked the lead warrior in the gut, sending him hurtling backwards into the others.
Running out the door, Ajei ran headlong into the solid wall of Atsa. The two blinked in surprise at each other. From where they stood, Atsa heard his father’s call for him to stop her. Seeing the severity of the burn on his Hashkeh’s face, his eyes dropped back to Ajei.
Afraid of seeing the anger she was sure would be in them, Ajei caught Atsa in the solar plexus with a wild punch. As he doubled over, wheezing, Ajei bounded up onto the Mustang. Digging her heels hard into the horse, she raced out of camp.
Chapter 7
Across the Sands
Ajei did not let up on her stallion, forcing him to keep up their breakneck speed. Her heart bled for her mount. Ajei hated herself for having to do so. Each of the Mustang’s labored snorts tore through her as he tried to maintain his pace. But neither had a choice to slow down. The rolling thunder of hooves still pounded behind them. Hashkeh Naabah's warriors were still close.
She knew it was wrong to have depended on the horse. Transformation at this point should have come without a thought. But the torrent of emotions swirling through her…rage, betrayal, fear, loss, doubt…had not allowed her. Once more she’d let her father down.
The full Cold Moon hung low in the sky above her. It's soft light illuminated the sands, guiding her escape. It also left her exposed to her pursuers.
The path Ajei was riding was a poor choice, but it had been the only viable one to came to her the moment she fled. To ride east would be suicide since the tribes there were now her father's enemies. To stay within her own lands would have been just as foolish. Ajei might have avoided the tribe long enough to come up with her own battleplan, but ultimately she would have been captured. Her father had trained his warriors to not give up until success was at hand.
Only one refuge remained.
Ajei prayed the Mustang remembered the way across the western sands. So, she just held tight to his mane, digging her knees into his side, and let him run.
A loud sudden screech brought Ajei attention skyward. Scanning the darkness above her, she caught a shape swooping over her. Ajei did not need to see the bird, its cry was enough to tell her who it was.
Atsa!
Like he would with prey he was hunting, Ajei guessed Atsa had allowed her to run this far only to tire her out. It would make the kill easier. She saw him fold his wings back and prepare to dive at her. Closing her eyes, Ajei waited for his talons to tear into her flesh.
The last person she thought she could depend on had obviously been swayed by his father. Hashkeh had no doubt convinced Atsa Ajei’s blood was worthless and must be purged from the village.
If this was to be her death, she could only hope the friendship they had once shared would lead to a quick end. Trying to cover the Mustang’s neck, she prayed he would not be hurt in the attack.
The beat of Atsa’s massive wings passed over, bathing Ajei in a whoosh of air. Her body instinctively tightened as she felt his talons slash against her shoulder, tearing at her leather top and opening a cut large enough to smear blood on the piece as he ripped it free.
‘Keep running, Ajei…and stay safe!’ echoed in her brain as he flew back towards the warriors behind her.
Ajei glanced back over her bloodied shoulder, fighting the urge to call out to him. She couldn't afford to be overheard thanking Atsa for his mercy.
Drawing her attention back to the horizon, Ajei continued to follow the moon.
++++++++++++
The sound of the pursuit party faded from her ears. Ajei put as much distance between her and the village as she could.
Even in the cold desert night, sweat poured from the Mustang and soaked Ajei’s inner thighs. She prayed to the gods she was getting close to the lone tent. It had to be just over the next dune, she was sure of it.
That’s when she heard the sound she had been dreading. The errant heartbeat might have been inaudible to anyone else; but for Ajei, it might as well have been a crack of thunder. It was quickly followed by a wild snort from the Mustang and a stuttered step, nearly throwing Ajei from his back.
Knowing that she driven him too hard, Ajei slid from him. Tears flowed as she watched the proud beast stagger and try to still his pounding heart. He had willingly given her all he could. Slowly though, he lost the battle. Sinking to his knees, his head continued to thrust upwards with each jagged snort for air.
Ajei curled next to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She could feel his heart tear itself apart with each beat.
“Please, forgive me!” She begged him.
With his final breath, he let out a soft whinny.
Was it a blessing? A sign of affection? Or was he condemning her for the abuse? In any case, she pressed a kiss to the side of his massive neck and thanked him.
Rising up, she dusted herself off. Looking skyward, Ajei gathered her directions. A glance back at the still form of the Mustang made her want to honor the spirit of the Mustang with a pyre, but it was an impossibility. Wearily turning her back, she left a feast for the vultures.
Ajei continued trudging westward. Her feet sank into the sand, making it a struggle to clear the next couple of dunes. As she came to the crest of the fifth one, the poles of the tent rose into view. The setting moon cast a pale glow over it. She had made it.
Even though her legs ached from her trek, she didn’t care. Running and stumbling down the dune, she was desperate to reach the safety of the camp. Hiding there would surely give her time to think.
Nearing the tent, a faint scent radiated from the opening. Ajei discarded it as smoke from the campfires. It made sense to her.
She looked back at the violet-pink morning sky. When she would see morning again in her realm, Ajei had no clue. A sweeping glance along the horizon satisfied her she had not been followed. Entering the tent, she needed to make sure she would be the last to do so.
Pulling the flaps shut, Ajei closed her eyes. The storm of betrayal and loss weighed down her heart. Everything she held sacred was gone. She was on
her own. Forcing herself to still her emotions, a growl rolled from her throat.
Finally, she was shifting. She had needed something large for what she needed to do. The grizzly bear she first considered at the hunt, came back to mind. A smile spread to her face watching claws replace her fingers. Her muscles and bones thickened, sending her upwards. Thick, brown fur bristled as it spread over her.
Fully formed, Ajei lumbered her way to the first support. With a swat, her claws easily splintered through the wood. She watched as a portion of the tent came down. Rearing up, Ajei charged through the rest of the posts, making sure none were left standing.
As the tent gave way, Ajei dove through the opposite flap, tumbling along the dirt. Rolling over, she watched the portal collapse and close behind her. How Ajei would get back through was a problem for another day. She just hoped it would mean no one would ever be able to follow her.