Bastial Frenzy (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 4)

by Narro, B. T.

  The Humans spoke confidently about winning, at least the instructors did. No one mentioned the possibility of losing, but Zoke could feel them all considering it. Their smiles and laughs waned. They felt the same way he did. But there was something they didn’t worry about that made him jealous—a sibling on the opposing side.

  If I could just fight without fear of Zeti’s safety.

  The only way to get rid of the rat in his stomach would be to go into battle without needing to watch out for her. Nothing would be more of a relief.

  Vithos was the only one Zoke could be completely honest with. When they were settling in for the night, Zoke asked him in Kreppen, “Do you really think we’ll win this battle like the Humans claim?”

  “I don’t know,” Vithos said. “I can’t say.”

  “What do the Humans on the farm say?”

  “They’re scared,” Vithos said. “Are you?”

  Zoke would’ve lied to anyone else. “I’m scared I won’t be able to save Zeti and keep myself alive in the process. I was lucky in Tenred—there were hardly any Krepps. It was easy to find her.”

  Vithos put his hand on his chin. “I know what she looks like. If I see her during battle, I’ll let you know.”

  But Zoke wondered what Vithos would do if it seemed like Zeti was in trouble. Would the Elf protect her against his allies? Zoke couldn’t bear to ask.

  “I want to kill Doe,” Vithos said.

  “Doesn’t everyone?”

  “I want to be the one who does it.”

  “Do you want the title?” Zoke asked.

  “I don’t care about that. I want vantikar for my kin.”

  “Just don’t let it control your actions,” Zoke said, thinking back to Sneary’s words a week ago, after Terren’s announcement.

  The Elf patted Zoke’s shoulder as he grinned. “Don’t worry about me. I won’t do anything stupid just to get it.”

  Zoke fell asleep pondering the oncoming battle, and he awoke to the same thoughts.

  Eight days since Terren’s announcement. Two more days.

  Throughout the day, he knew, two more days would repeat itself over and over.

  They didn’t duel during battle training. Instead, they focused on team combat. It only occurred to Zoke that day that he would miss training with the Humans when he left…if he was still alive after the battle was over.

  Zoke always ate lunch with Alex and Cleve. Vithos joined them when he happened to arrive at the dining hall at the same time, as would Cleve’s other housemates. Steffen’s face had taken a long time to heal, still faintly bruised on the edge of one cheek. He’d come in the dining hall while they were eating yesterday.

  But today it looked as if Zoke, Cleve, and Alex would finish their meals without anyone else coming in. It was only in the company of the two tall warriors that Zoke could feel completely at ease around Humans. The three of them sometimes were silent their whole meal, not bothered by the lack of talking. But whenever anyone else sat with them, Zoke could tell the Humans had a need to speak with each other. It made him tense, for he worried they would become frustrated with him if he didn’t say anything.

  Two more days, Zoke thought to himself as he ate.

  “I haven’t talked to Reela in a while,” Alex said to Cleve. “How is she handling everything?”

  “The same as the rest of us,” Cleve said, hardly looking up from his food.

  Zoke often found appreciation in Cleve’s terse statements.

  “So she’s scared, yet she doesn’t show it?” Alex asked. “She’s nervous, yet she’s eager to be done?”

  “Exactly,” Cleve said.

  Someone put a plate of food next to Zoke and sat beside him. “Hello, boys,” Effie said.

  “Do I look like I have the plague or something?” Alex’s inflection made Zoke believe he was joking, though Zoke didn’t understand it.

  Effie smiled at him. “There’s no room next to you.”

  Alex was on the corner with Cleve on his other side. Zoke was sitting across from them.

  “So at least come give me a kiss before you sit!” Alex still sounded facetiously insulted.

  Effie shoveled food into her mouth and then chewed with wild, emphatic bites, showing her food and speaking all the while. “Still want a kiss?”

  “That’s disgusting,” Cleve said. But Alex was laughing.

  Now smiling, Effie swallowed her food, wiped her mouth, and then got up. She walked around and sat on Alex’s lap, squeezing her hips between his torso and the table. She grabbed his cheeks and kissed him on his mouth. Zoke still hadn’t gotten used to the sight of Humans kissing each other. He focused on his food instead of watching.

  “Better?” Effie asked, walking back to her spot beside Zoke.

  “Yes,” Alex said, his tone finally serious. “Does Leo get lonely during lunch?”

  She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s too far for him to wiggle all the way to the dining hall and back. He eats with the other Slugari on the wall. The farmers bring them plants.”

  Two more days.

  Soon after battle training resumed, Sneary halted them when he noticed Terren approaching. “Need something, sir?” Sneary asked.

  “Yes, a Krepp was found nearly a mile out from our eastern wall.”

  Zoke’s mouth fell open. His next breath came as a gasp.

  “It appears she came alone,” Terren continued. “We don’t know who she is or what she’s doing here. She’s famished. I need to see if Zoke can identify her or at least try speaking with her when she has the strength.”

  “Very well,” Sneary said. “Come back when you’re finished,” he told Zoke.

  Terren motioned with his head for Zoke to follow him.

  “Has she said anything yet?” Zoke asked, running to catch up.

  “Nothing anyone can understand. She’s half dead, completely dehydrated. Do you have an idea who it might be?”

  He didn’t want to reveal his hope that it was Zeti. But why would she come now when the rest of the Krepps would be attacking in two days?

  “Could it be your sister?” Terren asked. “You told me she’s younger than you, and this Krepp seems to be that.”

  “I don’t know,” Zoke said.

  “We have to keep her restrained,” Terren warned him. “If any of the Slugari found out we have a Krepp within our walls that wanted to eat them, they might flee and never trust us again. Even if it’s your sister, I can’t risk damaging the relationship with the Slugari. I hope you understand, because I won’t negotiate this.”

  Zoke didn’t care in that moment. “Do whatever you have to do.” He was starving to see if it was Zeti. “I would like to run there.”

  “That eager? Fine.” Terren began to run. Zoke stayed at his side.

  He couldn’t help but speed up when they neared the building. The hope that it was Zeti had become too strong. Seeing any other Krepp would crush him with disappointment. He threw open the door to the medical center.

  “Zoke, slow yourself,” Terren said.

  “Where is she?” Zoke yelled even before looking around. It was just one big room that he’d sprinted into. Unoccupied beds were against the walls. He saw two women gathered around a bed and ran to them. They turned when they heard him coming.

  “Move!” he yelled. They shuffled away from the bed quickly.

  “Zoke!” Terren screamed, but Zoke ignored him.

  Zoke collapsed to his knees when he reached her bed. It was her light gray skin. It was her yellow eyes. It was her black hair—mangled and twisted together—but it was hers. She looked dry and sick, delirious even. Her eyes wouldn’t shift to him.

  “Get her some water!” Zoke yelled at the women.

  “We have been,” one replied.

  “She needs more!”

  “Zoke, you need to calm yourself right now and listen.” Terren stepped between him and the chemists.

  Zoke barely heard him. “Why are they standing still?” he yelled. “Get her w
ater!”

  Terren was saying something, but Zoke was too busy looking for the water pitcher. He found it close by and started toward it. Terren moved in front of him.

  “Will you listen?” the headmaster yelled.

  Zoke tried to step around the large Human, but Terren grabbed his shoulders. Zoke tried to push him aside, only Terren didn’t budge. Frustrated, Zoke growled and shoved with both hands.

  “Calm yourself!” Terren yelled as he was propelled backward, now appearing angry, though Zoke didn’t care.

  Terren came at Zoke. “They’ve already given her as much water as she can take!”

  Not knowing how it started, they began to wrestle. Zoke heard the women screaming, one running away from them.

  “Stop!” Terren yelled. “What’s the matter with you?”

  Zoke was too filled with rage to listen. He tumbled across the floor with Terren, trying to escape his grasp.

  “Let me go, or I’ll hurt you,” Zoke warned.

  Then he felt liquid being poured onto his back. Knowing it must be a potion to stop him, he started to thrash and shout. “What did you put on me?” But as soon as he finished the question, his back began to burn. Quickly it became unbearable, as if a live flame was melting his skin.

  He screamed and turned on his back to rub it against the ground, hoping to get the substance off him. It didn’t work. The burning remained excruciating.

  “I’ll give you the remedy when you agree to stop,” one woman said.

  “I’ll stop!” Zoke would’ve said anything they wanted in that moment.

  “Turn over,” she told him.

  He did, and she poured more liquid on his back. Immediately, he was soothed. He started to curl a leg so he could prop himself up, but Terren’s hand pushed him back down.

  “Stay on the ground for now.”

  Zoke obeyed, only now hearing some of what Terren had tried to tell him. “They’ve already given Zeti water?” he asked.

  “Yes, you stubborn bastard!” Terren said, exasperated. “I was trying to tell you that with someone this famished and dehydrated, we have to replenish her water and sustenance slowly. She won’t recover immediately, no matter how much we try to force into her body. It takes time.” He let out a breath. “But she’ll recover.”

  Zoke had never heard this before, though he did trust the Humans. They were right too often for him to argue against their methods.

  Terren continued. “They’re giving her water, and they have food ready for when she can eat it.”

  “I understand,” Zoke said. “I’m going to get up now.”

  “Fine.” Terren took his hand off Zoke’s back.

  He noticed then that one woman still nervously clung to a potion as she watched his movement.

  “I won’t disobey,” Zoke said. “Don’t be scared.”

  She looked relieved and walked over to a cabinet to put it away.

  “So it must be your sister, then?” Terren said.

  “Yes. It’s Zeti.” Zoke leaned over her bed. He asked in Kreppen, “Sister, can you hear me?”

  He saw her mouth move, and it sounded like more than a breath had come out. He put his ear over her.

  “Zoke,” he heard her say.

  “Yes, it’s me!”

  “I’m not dead?” she asked, her eyes creaking open.

  He laughed. “No.”

  “Where?” Her voice was quickly weakening.

  “You’re at the Academy in Kyrro.”

  Zoke wasn’t sure if she’d heard him. Her eyes had closed again, her mouth shutting with them.

  “She needs to rest,” one woman told Zoke. “She just got here. We’re preparing juice. At least it’ll give her some nourishment while she builds enough strength to eat.”

  “I want to stay with her,” Zoke told Terren.

  “You may. I need to leave, though. I must tell Kai about this before any of the Slugari find out on their own. She’ll most likely want to come by to make sure that Zeti isn’t a threat.” Terren stopped. “Does your sister have the same issue as you; she can’t smell?”

  “No,” Zoke said. “She craves Slugari meat.”

  Terren let out a grumble. “That’s going to make this quite difficult if she wishes to stay here.”

  The headmaster was waiting for Zoke to reply before leaving.

  “I understand,” Zoke said, unsure what else to add.

  “Why did she choose now to come?” Terren asked. “When the rest of her army is about to attack.”

  “I’m wondering the same thing myself.”

  A meek and accented voice came from behind them. “So it’s true. There is another Krepp here besides Zoke.”

  It was Khy, the only Slugari on campus that spoke common tongue fluently. They’d met before. While she knew Zoke wasn’t a threat, from the way she seemed reluctant to get closer to the bed, she clearly didn’t think the same about Zeti.

  “I was just about to come tell you,” Terren said.

  “Who is she?”

  “She’s family,” Zoke said. It was difficult for him to adjust to the way the Humans addressed their family members possessively, but he made a point to do it in this case. “She’s my sister.”

  “Is she hurt?” Khy’s question was out of curiosity, not concern.

  “She’s weak from lack of food and rest,” Terren said.

  “Is she like you, Zoke? She can’t smell?” Khy came toward them.

  “She can.”

  Khy stopped. “Then she can’t be here. Even if she wants to ally with us, she won’t be able to resist her urge to eat.”

  Zoke would’ve argued, but he knew it to be the truth. Terren was looking at him, both he and Khy waiting for his reply.

  “But this is my sister,” he implored, knowing neither Khy nor Terren would punish him for speaking.

  “I don’t wish to make this difficult for you Zoke, but if she’s going to stay here, then my race will be leaving. I can’t be responsible for any of their deaths.”

  Zoke knew Slugari were far more important than his sister. He’d heard Effie speak of the powerful spells she could cast with the little creatures’ Bastial Energy.

  His back stung. He felt tired, irritable. Zeti was here and alive, but just for her to be cast away? Anger came out as he spoke. “If she must go, then I’ll go with her.”

  “I’m saddened to hear that,” Khy said. Then the Slugari turned to the chemists at Zeti’s other side. “How much longer does she need before she’s strong enough to leave?”

  “She’s not ill. In just a few hours she’ll be feeling much better. By tomorrow she should be fully recovered.”

  “Then she can stay until tomorrow, as long as she doesn’t leave this building.” Khy looked to Terren for confirmation.

  The headmaster seemed reluctant to agree. Suddenly there was hope. Zoke had always appreciated the way Terren’s mind worked. He was quick witted and a great speaker. His brow furrowed. Perhaps he had an idea.

  “What test was done on Zoke when we first came to the Slugari colony?”

  “Test?” Khy asked.

  “To ensure he didn’t crave the Slugari. Queen had the Dajrik take him somewhere for a test.”

  “I’m not sure what Queen did,” Khy said. They turned to Zoke.

  “They used vines on a wall to restrain me against it,” Zoke said. “Then they brought Slugari close to see how I reacted. I could tell they expected me to salivate and try to break free, but I did neither.”

  “Kai, could we do this test on Zeti?” Terren asked. “She’s already restrained.” He yanked one of the chains holding her wrists to the side of the bed.

  Khy wiggled a little closer, her eyes widening.

  Zoke said, “Saliva floods from Krepps’ mouths when they can’t control their hunger. There’s no way she can feign disinterest.”

  “Very well. But if she fails, she’ll need to leave, or I must take the Slugari back underground.”

  “She’ll leave if she fails,�
� Terren said.

  “Come get me when she’s ready. I’ll be the one who gets close.” Khy turned and waddled out.

  “I don’t have time to stay any longer,” Terren said. “I’ll tell Sneary that you’re going to be here the rest of the evening. If Zeti recovers enough for the test before nightfall, I should be at my house by then.” Terren offered his hand. “I know you don’t like apologies. But I don’t know what else to say. I’m sorry if she must leave. I can’t have the Slugari departing for one Krepp, even if she is your sister.”

  Zoke shook his hand.

  “Even if you leave with her,” Terren added remorsefully.

  “I understand.”

  As Terren left Zoke with his thoughts, he wondered what Zeti would say to him when she had her strength back. Did she really want to stay in the Academy? Perhaps she only came to warn him that the Krepps were coming, which he already knew. She might’ve intended to leave after delivering this news.

  All these questions made him realize he hardly knew Zeti anymore. She looked like a stranger, lying there unconscious. Her old shirt looked small on her now. It was ripped and stained.

  In the hours that followed, the chemists tried waking Zeti several times. When they were successful, they gave her some juice and bread. Her skin already was looking better, less cracked and dry.

  Zoke was falling asleep when Zeti finally sat up and spoke. “Brother.”

  He jumped from his seat. “How are you?”

  “Better.” The word seemed strained, though.

  “What brought you here?”

  “Doe’s actions have become dishonorable. I can’t fight for him, and I can’t fight with an army that lets Tegry Hiller’s actions go unpunished. Do you know what he did to your king?”

  “My king?” Before Zoke could hear more about what Doe did, he needed to make something clear. “Welson Kimard was not my king. I have no king. Yes I know what Tegry did to Welson. But what happened with Doe?”

  “Nebre wrote to him explaining the truth, but Doe didn’t care that he was allied with a dishonorable king. He’s keeping the truth from the other Krepps so they don’t revolt. Keenu and I tried to expose this truth.” Zeti looked down at her lap. “Doe killed Keenu, and I ran before he could kill me. I didn’t have any food or water, nor did I have any bags or even a pouch to carry water in. I drank from the rivers, and I hunted, but I couldn’t make it all the way here. I remembered seeing a lake in the distance when I finally collapsed. I still don’t know if it was real. What happened?”