Bastial Energy (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 1)

by Narro, B. T.

  “Endure,” Zoke replied subordinately. He skirted any further looks from the Slugari or Vithos and left quickly.

  Chapter 14: Family

  ZOKE

  Soon, Zoke was back at his hut and found Zeti with an unexpected visitor. Their father, Ruskir, sat in the corner of the room, sharpening his claws with a rusty hunting knife.

  “You here for more food to wager?” Zoke asked, letting his contempt come out in his tone.

  “That depends. What’s in the bag?” Ruskir answered, keeping one eye on his knife.

  “Nothing for you. I’m leaving with Vithos tomorrow, and this is needed for the trip. We’re looking for the hidden Slugari.”

  “Good. Maybe you’ll actually do well for the tribe and find them.”

  Zoke ignored that. “Will you be here with Zeti tomorrow? I can’t, and she needs someone.”

  Zeti grunted to sit up. “I don’t need anyone.” She carefully placed her feet on the ground and shifted her weight from the bed. She teetered and winced but bent her knees to keep her balance. Like most female Krepps, she wore tough leather pants as well as a short leather shirt that came around her shoulders and cut off at her stomach. There wasn’t much underneath it that needed covering, but that was likely to change in the coming months after her shedding.

  “Look at that, she stands!” Ruskir pointed with his knife. “Zeti is much tougher than you, gurradu. She will be an adult soon and already has many strong suitors.”

  Zeti spat. “Your friends have a better chance of stealing an eppil plant from Doe and Haemon’s garden than being my seshar.”

  Ruskir put down his knife to admire his newly sharpened claws. “You should reconsider how you feel about these suitors. You don’t know what could happen if you ignore them.”

  “I do know,” Zeti replied. “They’ll fight and bring me gifts until I choose one. But I am not going to choose any of them. They’re all too much like you.”

  Ruskir pounded his fist on the table and stood. “They have power among this tribe, Dentar especially.”

  Zoke shuddered at the thought of Dentar and his sister. It was already irritating enough that the Krepp harassed him on a daily basis, but to come between him and Zeti? Zoke shook his head, rage swelling in his stomach. Luckily, he knew Zeti felt the same way.

  “He’s worse than the rest!” Zeti yelled with a slight wobble. She grabbed on to the bed. “And I don’t care that he’s a weapons trader. I have my bow. That’s all I need.”

  Ruskir stood and pointed a claw. “You think you’re better without a seshar? You’re not.”

  “I’ll wait three years for my friend Grayol to have his pra durren. He’ll be my seshar.”

  If Father knew her at all, he would realize she was joking, Zoke said to himself. However, at the rate Ruskir was breathing, it was clear their father didn’t.

  “Did you take a blow to the head? He’s young, he’s weaker than Zoke, and he has no family. His duty to the tribe is worse than Zoke’s. He’ll never have power!”

  “He cares for me, and that’s all that matters,” Zeti replied sternly. Zoke was impressed by her ability to lie so convincingly. It even made him wonder if there was some truth to what she said.

  “I expect this kind of weakness from son to me but not from daughter to me.” Ruskir shoved Zoke out of the way to leave the hut, and Zoke gladly let him go.

  Outside, Zoke heard his father stop and speak to someone. “You! You were listening? Next time show yourself. Don’t be a coward.”

  Zoke pushed aside the cloth barrier to peer outside and found Grayol staring down the end of Ruskir’s hunting knife.

  “I should help her make the correct decision by getting rid of you right now,” Ruskir said.

  “Leave him, Father.” Zoke had a claw on the hilt of his sword.

  Ruskir’s chest heaved as his glare turned to Zoke. “I have no hope for you or Zeti, and especially not for this pathetic Krepp.” Ruskir put away the dagger. “I thought wife to me was stupid to mess with Doe and Haemon’s eppil plants, but now I see she got herself killed because she couldn’t stand this family. She knew what kind of Krepps you and Zeti were when you were still on the teat and didn’t want to wait to see how much worse you would get. Now I have to live alone with the shame that you both bring our family.” Ruskir retreated back to wherever he’d come from.

  “Bring Grayol in here,” Zeti grunted from within. Zoke motioned with his head for Grayol to follow him and stepped back inside.

  Zeti was lying down again. “I was joking, Grayol,” she said. “You’ll never be my seshar. I just wanted to upset Father.”

  “I know,” Grayol replied, seemingly insulted she had to explain it. “It will be someone much stronger than me.”

  “Why are you here again?” she asked.

  “To see if you need help. Does it still hurt as much?”

  “Worse. But I don’t need anything. You can come back tomorrow, though.”

  “Can I stay here for a while?” Grayol asked in a pleading voice.

  “I need to discuss a few things with Zeti,” Zoke interrupted. “Come back later.”

  “Tomorrow,” Zeti corrected.

  “Endure.” Grayol ran out, leaving Zoke feeling guilty.

  Zoke grabbed their only chair, brought it beside Zeti’s bed, and sat. “I’m going to be leaving for a while with the Elf. But I know you’ll be fine.”

  “Of course I will. But what about you? Will you be alone with Vithos for long?”

  “Fifteen days. I feel uneasy about it.”

  “I do, too. If it were me, I would much rather go on my own than with that creepy Elf.”

  “They need him to start searching for the Slugari more often. The Slugari are most likely hidden underground, so the only hope of finding them is with Vithos wandering through Ovira until he’s above their underground colony and close enough to sense them. I still don’t know why they need me, though.”

  “I’m in too much pain to figure that out.” Zeti held up a claw to probe her cracking skin. “I hope you find them. I can’t wait to try the delicious Slugari meat. Every time I see Doe or Haemon I can think about nothing other than biting into them and ripping off a chunk. They smell wonderful, and those who’ve eaten Slugari say Doe and Haemon don’t even smell good compared to normal Slugari.” Drool glistened on Zeti’s scaly chin.

  Zoke carefully ran a finger down Zeti’s arm, testing the looseness of her skin while making sure his claw didn’t catch her accidentally. It still clung tightly. She had far worse to endure. He sighed and tried to think of something to take her mind from the pain.

  “You’ve never had Slugari meat. Maybe you wouldn’t like it,” Zoke said.

  Zeti giggled and then winced and moaned. “Don’t make me laugh, brother. I am more certain about that than I am about the sun rising tomorrow. There’s nothing I want more than to eat it.” She opened her mouth and licked her teeth.

  “Nothing more?” Zoke asked incredulously. He’d never understood this urge to feed on Slugari, especially when most Krepps hadn’t even tasted it before.

  “Nothing more,” she confirmed.

  Zoke thought of a question he hoped wouldn’t be tough to answer. “If both a Slugari and I were about to fall off a tall cliff, who would you save?”

  Her light yellow eyes squinted. They always reminded Zoke of a golden frog Grayol found outside the encampment one day. He killed it and brought it back to show Zeti. She scolded him for killing something for no reason, but he argued that it was the only way to catch it and show it to her. She scolded him again after that.

  “What are you doing on the edge of a cliff?” Zeti asked with pure wonder.

  Zoke shrugged, not thinking that far into it. “Why does that matter?”

  “Were you playing around like a fool or doing something better, like chasing after the Slugari so that you could deliver it to me?” Zeti restrained a chuckle.

  “You don’t know why I was up there. You just see me ab
out to fall.”

  “The Slugari.” She pushed herself upright to enjoy his reaction. “Your dying wish has always been for me to eat one, right?”

  He spat.

  She smiled before lying back down. “Be cautious out there with the Elf. Keep that sword with you always.”

  Zoke noticed some of her black hair had gotten caught in her mouth. He carefully pulled it out. “That’s another thing.” He took a breath before continuing. “They won’t let me take my sword or anything else besides the food in this sack. I need you to keep it here, but in secret. Don’t let Father find it. He would just barter it.” He didn’t need to explain to his sister how much his weapon meant to him.

  “Bury it under your bed. I’ll make sure no one finds it.”

  Zoke nodded and rose to do as she suggested.

  When he was done, he felt destitute without his weapon, almost as if he’d buried his only pair of pants.

  Zoke spent the rest of the night making sure Zeti was fed and as comfortable as possible. They joked about all the wonderful suitors who kept their father company and how it was going to be difficult for Zeti to choose just one. They discussed what life would be like with Dentar as her seshar until Zeti forced Zoke to stop, claiming the thought of it hurt more than her shedding.

  Soon, Zoke found himself dozing off, waking only once during the night from a vivid dream of Vithos reaching into Zoke’s ears and pulling out pieces of his brain.

  Chapter 15: Trust

  ZOKE

  For breakfast, Zoke treated himself to a bowl of sugared oats. Sugar was a high-end trade, but it was worth extra energy, he convinced himself. A smaller part of him knew his father would find it before he returned anyway, and that was reason enough to use it.

  He and Vithos spent half the day walking north without a single conversation. Zoke followed behind the Elf, the same questions circling in his mind as he tried to gather the courage to ask them. Why me? What am I doing here?

  Vithos finally spoke when the sun was overhead. “We’ll stop here. Take out the food.”

  Zoke released the knot of string on their bag of food and delivered it. Vithos peered inside with disinterest and removed precooked kupota. “Ask whatever it is you need to ask,” he said, handing back the bag.

  It didn’t surprise Zoke that the Elf knew he had questions. Even without psyche, it should have been obvious. Zoke seized the opportunity. “What am I supposed to do to help?”

  “Carry food and guard as I sleep. We’ll take shifts,” Vithos answered with surprising speed, as if he knew Zoke would ask that very question.

  Zoke spat. “Anyone can do that.”

  Vithos bit into the round kupota, his eyes avoiding the spit on the dirt near his leather shoes. “I needed someone I could trust.”

  Can I trust you, though? Zoke thought but quickly stopped himself from wondering further. He wasn’t sure what Vithos could sense with psyche. Instead, Zoke dug a hand into the dirt and squeezed his claws together. He concentrated on the feeling of the grass coming loose with the dirt crumbling against his palm.

  “I know you must have many more questions,” Vithos continued with half his mouth full. “By tomorrow night we may reach Lake Lensa if we can keep this pace. I’ll tell you everything then. For now, eat.”

  Their quick pace was no easy task to maintain, at least not for Zoke. Most fully grown Krepps stood a head taller than Vithos, but Zoke was shorter than him. Without long legs, and no experience walking long distances, he already felt a dull ache in the soles of his feet. Longer strides, less steps, he told himself.

  They walked, again in silence, until the low sun began to walk with them on the western horizon. By then, Zoke’s calves had become as tight as the string on a bow. He knew that the Krepps who left for weeks at a time to search for the Slugari easily could walk twenty miles a day on the flat lands of Slepja, but his body couldn’t endure that distance. More than food and water, he needed to be off his feet.

  “How far have we gone?” he asked, making an effort to hide the exhaustion in his voice.

  Vithos stopped and turned back with what seemed to be a scowl before Zoke realized that the Elf was actually looking over Zoke’s shoulder. It looked as though he was checking for something…or maybe even someone? Zoke couldn’t understand why that would be, so he figured he probably read the Elf’s expression wrong.

  “We’ve gone ten or fifteen miles, nearly halfway there,” Vithos said. “You need a break?”

  “A long one. My body has endured as much as it can for now without risking injury.” It hurt Zoke’s pride to admit, but it needed to be said.

  With a hand over his eyes, Vithos looked to the sun in the golden sky. “Then we’ll eat and sleep.”

  They found a huddle of smooth rocks. Vithos sat on one with his ankles crossed around their bag of kupota. Zoke sat across from him against a tall stone that he used as a backrest while stretching his legs on the cool grass. He saw that his feet were swollen. Whatever aches I feel cannot compare to the pain Zeti is enduring right now, he thought.

  Vithos tossed him a fist-sized ball of kupota. Even though they were given the plainest food for their trip, Zoke was at least thankful the kupota had been cooked. The first bite always reminded him of stale bread, hard to chew and tasteless, but the crisp texture after he was through the exterior felt satisfying being mashed between his sharp teeth.

  He followed the kupota with a long swig from his water pouch and began to feel sleep taking him. He let himself go, falling into a dreamless slumber.

  When he woke, he found Vithos still seated on the same rock, but night had come. He wrestled to sit up, noticing the Elf’s dark eyes on him. They looked black in the moonlight.

  “How long have I been asleep?” Zoke asked.

  “Three hours, maybe four. You can continue to rest if you would like.” Vithos was slouched with his wrists dangling between his legs, clearly exhausted.

  “You’re not going to?” Zoke’s body was tugging him back down, but curiosity kept him up.

  Vithos sighed, then straightened his back. “I still have much to think about. I’ll keep guard for a while longer.”

  Zoke was too tired to wonder what they needed guarding from and let his head fall against the grass. The rock had left a dull ache in his back, but the pain dissolved when he shifted to lie flat. Falling asleep the second time was just as easy as the first.

  It was morning when his eyes opened again. Beige light from the sun twisted into the gray sky from behind a cluster of clouds. In the stretch of land that led to the eastern horizon, Zoke saw only two lonely trees, waves of hills, and nothing else.

  Vithos was lying on his side, wrapped in a thin blanket. Zoke didn’t know whether he should wake him. He decided to create some distance between himself and Vithos, squatted behind a large rock, and lowered his pants to make waste. The soreness in his feet and legs reminded him of the toll yesterday had taken. They’ll be screaming for me to stop before noon, he thought. Vithos should’ve brought along someone more suited to walking long distances.

  By the time Zoke returned, his task leader had awoken, twisting to stretch his back while glancing at the flat terrain surrounding them.

  “I thought you might have left,” Vithos said with what sounded like a hint of fear in his voice. Zoke had never known the Elf to be afraid. I probably misheard, he thought. Figuring out what Vithos was thinking was like listening to Grayol tell a joke incorrectly. There were clues about what the young Krepp meant, but usually not enough to understand the punch line.

  “I needed to make waste,” Zoke explained.

  Vithos nodded. “You wish to eat before we walk?”

  “If you want.”

  Vithos dug around in their food bag until he found an oval-shaped kupota half the size of the one he’d tossed to Zoke last night. They sat on the smooth rocks once more.

  “We can refill our water pouches when we reach Lake Lensa,” Vithos said, taking a swig and swishing it loudly. H
e took another swig, leaned back to gargle, and then swished some more.

  “I don’t think it would be wise for me to walk another ten or fifteen miles today. I may not be able to walk at all tomorrow if I do.”

  That stopped Vithos from taking another sip. “Most Krepps are accustomed to walking that much each day.”

  “Then you should have brought one of them,” Zoke said as plainly as he could.

  Vithos shook his head, his shoulder-length hair shimmering in the morning light. “No, time is not a priority. I brought the right Krepp. If you can’t walk to Lake Lensa today, then we’ll slow our pace and reach it tomorrow.”

  Zoke finished the rest of his inadequate breakfast in silence. Already, he was wishing for something besides kupota and it had only been one day of it. When he stood, Vithos did as well.

  “We’ll walk straight north,” Vithos told Zoke. “You lead and I’ll follow. Walk as slow as you like, and we’ll stop when you wish.” His tone was friendlier than Zoke was used to, leaving him with an uneasy feeling. There was nothing that made Zoke more uncomfortable than someone being nice for reasons he didn’t understand, especially given his task within the tribe.

  The faster we finish this, the faster I return to the camp. He set off, reaching for a comforting touch to the hilt of his sword. However, it wasn’t on his belt. Waiting for me back with Zeti, he reminded his hand.

  Their route was flat for now, as most hills were miles ahead. Often, the sound of Vithos’ leather shoes behind him would stop, so Zoke would turn to check on him for no other reason than to give his wandering eyes something to look at besides barren terrain. Most of the time Zoke found Vithos had paused to survey the land behind them.

  “What are you looking for?” Zoke asked eventually.

  “Nothing.” Vithos snapped his head back around. “There’s no need to keep checking on me. I won’t lag behind.”