by Kyle Olson
Yet no other predators had bothered them. It was a rare sight to catch a view of a pride of lions or pack of wild dogs.
Lead by the boy, the hunters had all begun bowing their heads and offering their thanks to the lioness.
“We thank you for your protection,” said the young hunter—who was no longer the youngest in the group, “And we wish for your blessing that our hunt may be successful and we return unharmed. We offer up any bounty we claim so that we might enjoy your continued vigil, mighty Sejit.”
Sejit—Mother of Hunters.
Even the elders had begun reciting a short thanks, now more a prayer, when it came time for the village to come together for feasts and gatherings. Some people had begun offering their gratitude and prayers as part of their daily routine.
May Sejit protect them.
According to the marks tracking the days, fifteen years had passed.
The young hunter had become the huntsmaster. What had been a humble village of a few dozen blossomed into the hundreds as children grew and wanderers joined. The village prospered, no doubt owing to their patron.
With prosperity came a risk they had not considered. As a stopping point for traders, they’d become known.
With wealth came those in pursuit of it.
“Elder!” Called a young boy, racing into the village fast as his legs could carry him.
“What is it, young one?”
“Men! Many of them!” He panted, wiping tears from his eyes, “With weapons! We, we thought they were traders, but they attacked my brother, and, and—”
The elder’s golden bangles jingled as he wrapped an arm around the boy and at the same time called the alarm. Any hunters not out were gathered, along with craftsmen who had tools that could be pressed into service as weapons.
They took up positions as a group of over 30 raiders approached, bearing spear and bow. Someone turned to the skies and bellowed “Sejit protect us! Guide my spear-arm this day!” A chorus joined in.
Some distance away, a creature stirred.
She blinked her eyes and stretched out, claws splaying and digging into the ground. Something fizzed, deep in her mind. The fizzing was a new thing, but at the same time, it wasn’t. She knew it hadn’t always there, but she couldn’t place the when. It was a strange thing, but stranger still, she had a revelation: She was aware of it. It was the first time she could recall having that sensation, awareness. It made the fizz fizzier.
She sat down and had herself a good think. That was new too, the thinking. She didn’t know if she liked it or not. Prior to the thinking, she’d wake up and go about her business. If she was hungry, she would sniff out where those strange creatures were and follow them. They did all the work, made things easy. If she wanted to nap, she’d nap. If she was feeling just so, because it was that time, she would venture for a few days to where the young male lions were.
There was never any of the thinking. The thinking made her sit there and think, but the thinking did not come easy. It was like trying to chase clever prey across rivers.
Those strange creatures that walked on two legs, yes, the humans. They carried sticks, too, but no, those weren’t sticks—they were spears. Some carried bows.
When did she learn what they were called? How did she know the words of it all? As she considered this new development, the fizzing erupted into a geyser of knowledge. Vision teetered and spun, senses erupted in a supernova of color and sound and touch and taste. Her mind was hammered and worked until it’d taken the shape of an empty vessel. The universe poured in its knowledge.
A bundle of voices like a thought like a whisper like a warm breeze filled her. The words. What did they say? She listened. She understood.
Save us!
Kill them!
Help us!
I hate them!
Don’t hurt my daughter!
Kill the beasts!
When she came to, the sun and shadows indicated hardly any time had passed. Yet, within her, an epoch had come and gone. She stood, rising upon two tawny-furred legs. The world looked so different from up on high. This was how humans saw. She examined herself, and indeed, she looked like them in many regards, but they weren’t covered in fur. Most interesting to her were her hands, or something that was mostly a hand with a paw mixed in. She made fists and delighted in the new sensations.
The fizzing had gone. In its place, clarity. The thoughts came easy, now. She could track their scent across any river, no matter how wide.
A tingle went down her spine and she turned in the direction of the village. The voices had come from there. What had they wanted her to do?
Everything was so new and different! She didn’t really want to bother with them, not yet, but curiosity gripped her. Curiosity and something else equally exciting. Maybe even more so.
She set off, intending for an easy run, but she’s misgauged herself as the tree from which she’d dozed under faded into the distance through a cloud of dust. Houses came into view, rushing towards her with startling speed. The scent of blood wafted into her nose. She could make out people.
In scant minutes she was at the village. She could hear and smell and see. She leapt upon the roof of a home for a better view. The humans… the mortals were fighting one another. Excitement pounded in her chest, setting fur along her spine on end.
What did the voices want?
A village hunter gargled blood and fell, his chest pierced by an arrow. He joined a dozen of his kin. Only a handful of the marauders had been dispatched. They wielded slabs of shaped wood in addition to their weapons, which could turn aside spear and arrow alike.
An elder had run from his house, waving his arms and yelling for the fighting to stop.
“Please, spare us! Leave us be! We’ll give you anything you want!”
A spear through the gut was his answer. He fell to the ground and uttered one last curse: “May Sejit slaughter you!”
Sejit twitched.
Ah, yes!
An emotion she’d never felt bubbled up from the murky depths. It might be fun.
The boy who had gone to the elder and wept was now too afraid to weep, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from the spectacle of slaughter before him. Everyone he knew was dying. Why were they killing everyone? Why weren’t they the ones dying? His village was peaceful, damn them! His brother was an honest, good man! They should be the ones to die!
A roar cut through the din of combat. A woman, a lion walking upright leapt from her perch atop a house and came crashing down upon a small group of the invaders. Before they could recover she raked one massive paw across a man’s belly, sheering through bone and flesh alike. The man became a pile of meat.
Sejit stared at her bloody paw, viscera still clinging to her claws.
Such strength! Were they always like this?
Her lips curled into a snarl and she plunged a fist straight into another man’s chest, shattering his ribs to the accompaniment of wet, fleshy snaps. He couldn’t even manage a cry of agony as he teetered forward, collapsing upon the earth. Blood pooled from his mouth.
She’d knocked over a third man as well; he was scrambling away on his backside, gaping in horror as Sejit stood, a mountain eclipsing the sun. With hardly any effort she plucked him from the ground with his head in a single paw, his body dangling like a rag as he thrashed about. She squeezed. He broke like an egg.
All around her the battle had come to a standstill. Everyone, friend and foe alike, stared in disbelief and terror. In mere seconds the lion-woman had produced a trio gruesome corpses. She flexed her paws and smiled, exposing rows of long, sharp fangs.
Fun! What fun! More!
A tawny-colored bolt of lightning shot from where Sejit once stood and another intruder screamed. To his credit, he’d raised his shield in time, but it meant nothing as her claws shattered the wood and pierced through his chest, leaving his body dangling from her arm. She shook him off as if he weighed nothing at all and dashed to the next.
Thei
r leader’s shouts of command yanked the intruders from their stupor and they’d tried to band together, keep their shields up and spears at the ready, but there was nothing they could do against the onslaught. With one swipe she shattered spear and shield alike. If they tried to strike out, they would find only air instead of meaty flesh.
If they were lucky, they’d have the time to regret a misplaced attack before the darkness claimed them. Even those with bows were not safe, for she could leap from dozens of paces away and come down on them like a falling star.
Hahaha, what exhilaration! I’ve never felt more alive! Had I ever been alive until now? But what’s this? Are there none left?
No.
No no.
Wait.
A group of craftsmen, armed with the tools of their trade, had clustered together against a house. Sejit stalked towards them, her fur stained red and matted.
“Sejit protect us!” One shouted, clenching his eyes shut, “Sejit grant us your mercy!”
She paused mid-stride and cocked her head.
Isn’t that… Me?
She eyed her paw, looking between it and the shivering mass of men.
Did they call to me? Give me their words? Yes, they did. I have them to thank for… me.
A throat that had never before made human noises uttered gravely words through lips not designed for the task. “I… am Sejit. Who are you?”
They looked at one another in disbelief. “We, we are your worshipers, your believers!” Said one of the craftsmen, his voice trembling.
Another collapsed to his knees in reverence, “Please spare us your wrath! You have slain the invaders, only your believers remain!”
The others followed suit, and one by one, each member of the village did the same until a circle of people were on their knees, chanting her name and graces.
Interesting! They know they are but… mortals.
Sejit’s heart pounded.
Why have you stopped?
A thought in her head, but it wasn’t her thought. A thinking voice that was different from her own. Spoke to her without speaking. Made itself known without form.
Who are you?
I am you, you are me, we are death.
But this is the first time we have spoken. I think I would know myself.
Have you forgotten their prayers already? This is what they wished for, so let us grant them their desire! All these warm bodies around us, their blood, their screams, you felt as I felt, we shall live!
Around her, the mortals simpered and begged. They lauded her, revered her. Their lives were hers to do with as she pleased, and, certainly, butchering them did sound fun. But…
…No.
Why!
I must… protect them. Aid them. I am their Goddess, that is why they called to me. We shall slake our thirst soon enough. For now…
Her tail flicked several times.
“Tend to the wounded, mourn for the fallen. When the sun touches the horizon, I will venture to take our revenge. Those who wish to come, may. We shall exact a price upon them so costly none will dare think to do so again!”
Some voices murmured, they had not been a violent tribe.
Others, who had been close to those butchered, were eager to take up arms and join their goddess.
“Sejit, we are yours! Bring us vengeance!”
Yes, how fast they learn. How they already adore and love me. Life has become quite interesting.
She smiled as the mortals surged to their feet, full of vim and vigor at her command. Yet, in the recesses of herself, the voice that was not her own watched.
No matter, for now the mortals required her, and she was pleased to assist them.