by Leslie Chase
14
Zarkav
The human spoke on in loud, declarative sentences using Tessa’s strange ‘English’ of which I understood only a few words. I didn’t need to understand it to know that the Eldest’s translations were Zsinz-shit.
The human wasn’t speaking the Sky Tongue, not even the strange version of it Tessa and her pet knew. English was an alien tongue, not a holy one, and no one here spoke it. Which made no difference: whatever the Elders claimed he said, no one had the ability to gainsay them.
No one except Tessa, but sending her out there to confront the tribe would be dangerous so long as they listened to the Elders. If they were deliberately mistranslating, they would hardly allow anyone to correct them.
More cries from outside, and I saw the crowd bow down to the human. Even the Elders standing beside him bowed low as he waved imperiously down at the crowd.
“I must find out what is happening,” I told Tessa, my aching desire nearly overcoming me. “Speak to my comrades and friends.”
My human mate nodded, took me by the wrist and kissed my hand tenderly. The touch of her lips almost changed my mind. How much could it hurt to stay here and finish what we’d started?
The regrettably sensible part of my mind reasserted control. I’d already come too close to consummating our bond, and I would not risk making that mistake if I didn’t have to. No matter how sweet the pull of Tessa’s body was, for her sake I had to resist until she understood what it meant.
Also, the longer this Fanwell has to consolidate, the harder it will be to undo whatever hold he has built. Appealing to my sense of duty worked where willpower alone grew weak.
Tessa looked up at me and sighed at what she saw on my face. Releasing my hand, she nodded. “Be safe.”
“I will,” I promised. As safe as possible, at least. “Stay here, Tessa. Quiet.”
Leaving was harder than I’d ever thought it might be, abandoning my mate in a building surrounded by enemies. I didn’t know what would happen if my tribesmen found her without me there to protect her, and I hoped I would not find out.
Descending to street level, I keenly felt the absence of my parents and siblings. Long years had passed since their deaths, long enough that I ought to have laid their ghosts to rest and moved on. But walking through the house, the feeling of their presence overwhelmed me.
“If your spirits still rest here, look after my mate,” I whispered, touching the doorstone which carried their mark. Did I hear an answer? I thought so, but it might be in my head. Hard to tell with spirits. To be on the safe side, I thanked my parents before wrapping a cloak around myself and opening the door.
Zrin filled the streets, walking home from the temple and talking animatedly with each other about the great times ahead for our tribe. I slipped into the stream of people, hoping to pass unnoticed amongst the hubbub of the crowd.
Luck was with me: everyone nearby seemed keener to talk about what they’d seen at the temple than to look at who walked next to them. Not me; I looked around and counted.
No hunters that I saw. That made sense, they’d be out looking for fresh hunting grounds. The mushroom farms would only feed the tribe for a while: Zrin need meat or we starve, no matter how full our stomachs.
But the absence of hunters left me without my closest allies. That would make it tough to learn what was going on without tipping my hand, but I needed to know more before I went to confront the Eldest. Only one name came to me, one Zrin I trusted enough to go to. With luck, I wouldn’t trail trouble in after me.
My destination wasn’t far, but every step of the way I thought someone would recognize me. Keeping the old cloak wrapped tight around me, I stuck to the alleyways as much as possible.
The small door in an unassuming building reminded me of old times. Better times. I rapped on it, hard and fast, until the door slid aside.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, El-Ensha,” I said, forcing a smile. Fear-white patterns appeared on her scales, angry red following. Grabbing my arm she dragged me into her home.
“What in the Skyless Depths are you doing here?” El-Ensha hissed her question. “What did you find out? Why weren’t you with Marakz? What happened in the forest?”
The questions poured from her in an endless flood, and her fierce intensity almost made me smile, though giving into that temptation would surely have made her explode with rage. I put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, letting blue-green contrition show. Her reds faded as fast as they’d appeared: always a hot-head, El-Ensha, but she rarely stayed mad.
“I followed Marakz,” I told her. “Followed him into the forest, saw what he saw and heard what he heard. What I don’t know is what stories he told when he returned.”
“Oh, the usual,” El-Ensha said tartly. “He found an emissary of the Sky People, come to prepare us for the Day of Testing. He speaks the High Sky Tongue, a secret known only to the Elders. They communed with the Sky Man and translate for him; on his orders they’ve already doubled the tithe, and it’s only been a day.”
My heart sank like a stone dropped in a well. “But he’s not a Sky Man.”
“Oh? Are you so sure, Zarkav?” El-Ensha pulled away, poured herself a bowl of beer and belatedly held out another bowl for me. I took it gladly and drank as she continued. “The Elders say he is, and who can argue? His message is awfully convenient for them, though. It’s enough to make you believe in demons falling from the sky.”
I looked at her, blinked. “I thought you a loyal priestess-in-training, El-Ensha. That sounds like—“
“Like I’ve seen the Elder priests grab an opportunity like a szorc snatching rotting meat.” She took a deep drink from her bowl and continued. “I don’t doubt the Sky People, or that they will return to test us. I just think the Elders are failing the test.”
I scowled and looked into my bowl. “Then it’s our job to help them pass it. I have proof that Marakz found neither a Sky Person nor a demon. They may have been fooled by this man, but I will confront them with the truth.”
El-Ensha’s eyes narrowed and she shook her head. “What proof can you possibly have? He may not look like the statues of Sky People do, but that man is no Zrin.”
“I met another of his people and she explained it to me.” Let’s not mention how weak our communication has been. “They come from the Sky, yes, but they come from another world like ours, and seek a home — the fires that fell in the night were their…”
I struggled for a word to describe it, then shook my head and made one up. “Their homes-that-fly.”
El-Ensha laughed. “Homes that don’t fly, more like. Homes that fall and burn?”
I waved off her jokes. “Something happened. I don’t understand it myself, but she does. That’s my proof, another of his kind that will tell the Elders what’s really happened.”
Her nod was hesitant, but it was a nod. Good. Not that she’d have stopped me, but having El-Ensha as an ally would make this a lot easier.
“My advice, if you’ll listen, is to speak to the Eldest first, rather than bringing your proof to him,” she said, thinking carefully. “It looks like he’s already given in to temptation once — with you both in arm’s reach, he might fall prey to the instinct to silence you permanently.”
I nodded unwillingly. It was hard to believe that of the Eldest, but he’d already done things that I would never have dreamed. Better to be careful, especially about Tessa’s safety.
“You are right, I should speak with him alone,” I said, standing and putting down the beer bowl. My cloak fell open as I did so and El-Ensha’s eyes lit up.
“Hang on, what’s this?” She grinned and pulled my cloak wide, looking at the streaks of fixed color on my ssav. “Why, Zarkav hunt master, have you finally found your taru-ma? Who is she?”
I growled, uncomfortable, and pulled the cloak out of her hands. How to explain this? What to tell her, and what to keep private?
“It’s—“
“—the Sky Woman,” she broke
in, colors dancing across her ssav. Confusion, delight, glee. “Oh Sky King, your mate is from another world.”
“She can’t be, though,” I said, laying out my worries. Another weight lifted as I spoke aloud of things I’d been unwilling to think about. “She has no ssav, and her colors do not change to match me as I do her. So what do I do? How can I—”
This time she interrupted by smacking my head. “You shut up and stop overthinking it. I know a sure cure, go find your woman and fuck her till neither of you can stand.”
Her crudeness shocked me nearly as much as her suggestion. “But what if we don’t really match? Or if I am her taru-ma but she is not mine? I can’t—“
This time I was ready and caught her hand as it swung to hit me. She continued, unperturbed.
“Zarkav, you didn’t finish your temple education,” she said, fond green coloring her ssav along with orange. At least she wasn’t openly laughing at me. “So I advise you as a priest. Your ssav is a blessing of the Sky Gods, and it’s not wrong. Go to her. Claim her, make her yours. She’s the reflection of your soul, and without her you will forever be incomplete.”
A sense of relief washed through me like a river, carrying away the doubts that held me back. Not that I needed anyone’s permission, but the confirmation that this was what the gods wanted for me made things simpler.
El-Ensha took advantage of my momentary distraction to smack me again, from the other side. I glowered. “What was that for?”
“For not leading with the important news,” she told me, laughing. “And not bringing your bride to meet your oldest friend. I have so many embarrassing stories to tell her from our youth! Remember the zher-wine bottle?”
I groaned at the reminder and shook my head. “Sky Gods, we had such a hangover the next day. You can’t tell Tessa about that.”
“You can’t stop me,” my friend’s grin widened and she patted my arm. “Unless you tell her first.”
With a long-suffering sigh, I turned to go. It was good to have a friend like her, but tiring too.
“I’ll introduce you as soon as it’s safe for her to leave my old house. Just give me a chance to warn her about you and your stories first.”
Across the narrow lake, the temple pyramid loomed over everything. A narrow stone bridge crossed the water to the great doors, above which the speaker’s platform extended.
The impression of power that building gave was no accident — the Temple Tribe had spent many generations making sure it looked the part of the most holy site to the Sky Gods. From high above shafts of sunlight fell on it through cracks, giving it a strange and other-worldly feel.
A pair of temple guards watched me from the far side of the bridge. I’d have to pass them to get inside and to the Eldest, so this was when I’d find out just how bad things were.
At least if they kill me El-Ensha knows where I am, and where Tessa is. She’ll look after my mate. Knowing that made me feel a little better about the risks I was taking.
The guards hefted their axes as I crossed the bridge, watching me. They wore heavy woven cloth armor, and with it an aura of confidence. Well they might; the armor was proof against most attacks, though far too heavy and uncomfortable for hunters to bother with. While they wore it, the temple guards had a definite advantage.
Despite that protection they stepped back once they saw who I was. That meant that they weren’t stupid, at least.
“I am here to see the Eldest,” I said, meeting each one’s gaze in turn. Each looked away after a few heartbeats and I hid my satisfaction. Not as tough as they like to think.
“He’s been asking for you,” one said. “Where were you? We looked everywhere.”
I bared my teeth, just a little, and the guards took a half-step back. “I’m here now, so take me to him and I’ll answer his questions in person.”
One guard seemed about to press me for details, but his companion saved him by speaking up first.
“Tsk, you’d better come with me then.”
“I know the way.”
“I know you do, Zarkav,” the guard let go of his ax and raised his hands. “We’ve got our orders, though. No one goes into the temple without an escort or permission from the Elders.”
It took me a moment to recognize the sound of my teeth grinding together, but I didn’t argue. Why bother? The guards didn’t set the policy.
“Fine. Let’s be on our way then.”
He led me through the familiar halls of the temple, winding up and up to the priesthood’s chambers near the top of the pyramid.
“Zarkav?” The Eldest sat up in surprise when he saw me at his door. Colors flickered, too fast to follow, before settling to a warm and welcoming amber. “Come in, come in, I’d hoped you’d be by sooner. I have had some difficulty putting my hands on you.”
“I only just returned from the hunt,” I said, shading the truth a little. “Saw your sermon, though, and the… newcomer.”
The Eldest laughed at that, nodding. “The Sky Person, yes, returned at last to lead us through the Test. What a time to be alive, eh?”
My face like stone, I glared at him. “We both know he’s no Sky Person, and he doesn’t speak the Sky Tongue.”
None of the smugness left the Eldest’s expression. He waved me to a chair and, when I refused to sit, looked at me curiously. “Why would you say such a thing, Zarkav? He came from the sky, therefore his is a Sky Person.”
“There are many peoples in the sky,” I told him. “They are not our Sky People, not the ones who set us the Tests.”
The Eldest drummed his fingers on his desk, claws click-clicking. Good humor fading, he looked at me as though weighing me up.
“You are mistaken.” His voice was unwavering. “Come, join us in preparing for the next Test. Those who help will reap great rewards.”
To make sure I’d gotten the message he pushed a platter across his desk, offering it to me. A platter laden with beautifully presented fresh gissan mushrooms. Hard to cultivate and deadly poison if not prepared perfectly, they were a rare gift. Or, more accurately, a rare bribe. My hands curled into fists at my side.
“Your ‘Sky Person’ is speaking nonsense, and you know it. He does not speak the Sky Tongue. And your ‘translation’ is nothing more than a scheme to enrich yourself,” I said, leaning over the table. “You cannot weasel out of this so easily, Eldest. You have betrayed us, the people who trusted you, and your deception will fail.”
I don’t know what I expected. Fear, perhaps, or rage. Denial, maybe. Instead, the Eldest shook his head, the welcoming colors of his ssav cooling to a sad pale blue.
“I had hoped we’d come to an understanding, Zarkav. You have a remarkable mind; clever enough to work out what’s happening, but too stupid to profit from it.”
My hands itched to tear that kzor-fucker’s head off and my claws extended, digging into my palms. I snarled, taking a minor pleasure in watching him flinch away. “Not as stupid as you, Eldest, who will die for your plan if you don’t renounce it.”
Anger overwhelming me, I almost missed the footsteps. At the last moment, movement behind me registered and some instinct told me to duck.
A heavy club swung through the space my head had been, and behind me Marakz cursed. His second attack would have landed, but I swung my tail up, striking his wrist like a whip. With a howl, he dropped the weapon.
Spinning away from him, I ignored the club. There was no time to grab it with Marakz’s companions bearing down on me.
No subtlety now. They charged in at a rush, bellowing as they came. Mi-Zrak was first, leaping at me with a blade in each hand. I caught her arm, twisted, sent her flying across the desk into the Eldest. Both went flying, along with the platter of gissan, and my tail slashed through the air, keeping Izdril at bay.
Mi-Zrak bounced to her feet and leaped back into the fray, slashing at me with her short sword. I twisted out of the way, slammed an elbow into her arm as she withdrew, and would have opened her throat with my claws if
Marakz’s tail hadn’t taken my feet out from under me.
Three on one was brutal odds, especially when these three had weapons and the element of surprise. They had temple guard armor, too. Marakz leaped at me, my instinctive claw-slash tangling in the thick pleated fabric instead of opening his guts. It gave me enough hold to throw him aside, into the way of Mi-Zrak’s follow-up attack.
Before I took advantage of that Izdril landed a punishing kick in my chest, driving the air out of my lungs. But that left him vulnerable — wrenching one hand free of Marakz’ armor, I dug my claws into Izdril’s leg and pulled hard.
Blood sprayed, he screamed, and the crunch when he hit the floor brought a smile to my face. These were the people who would have killed my Tessa, who had misled the Temple Tribe and the Zrin people, who had betrayed our trust. My heart held no pity for them.
Mi-Zrak screamed as though it was her leg I’d torn open, and she forgot all strategy as she ran to her taru-ma’s aid. Slashing wildly at my face, she drove me back one step, two, before I found an opening. It wasn’t hard — all her energy going towards killing me, she had nothing left for defense, and as soon as I knocked her blades aside, I slammed my forearm into her face. She dropped like a stone.
More guards charged into the room, drawn by the screams of the Eldest and the sounds of fighting. Too many to fight through. I wheeled around to face the Eldest — if I killed him, my death was a certainty but perhaps the next Eldest would serve the people better.
His eyes widened as I roared and pounced, but Marakz threw himself in my way, deflecting me. My claws slashed Marakz’s face open, leaving him howling and clutching at the wound, but he’d cost me too much time already.
A guard tackled me, bearing me down to the floor. We rolled over and over on the colorful carpet, now splattered with bright blood, before I got control of him. Claws out, I grabbed at his throat.
The haft of his companion’s spear caught me in the ribs, driving the air from me. More guards piled on, and while my claws and tail inflicted injuries, there were too many to fight. Pinned to the ground, I watched Marakz approach, his eyes burning with gleeful hate and his wounded cheek bleeding freely.