by Cassie Wolf
“One of the tribe’s healers, reporting on some ill folk and their progress while we were away,” the Chief said and clicked his neck from side to side. He took off his mask and placed it on the floor before clicking his lips. “So… Atsu. This will be your new home for the time being.”
Atsu looked around at all the doors which seemed to circle around the trokhosi. “It’s impressive.”
Pazade smirked. He lent down and pulled up the furs on the side, revealing a bottle containing a crimson liquid and a cup which he filled to the brim before swinging his legs over the arm of the seat. Swirling the cup in his hand, he eyed Atsu. “For today, we shall get you cleaned up and well rested. Tomorrow I will go over what will be done with you in the coming days.”
Atsu nodded. None of the doors showed any sign of what lay behind. “Where can I clean up?”
“Well, you can either wait for the bath to be filled after I’ve had one, which most likely won’t be until the early hours of the morning, or walk out the back, go through the gate and down the hill to a nearby stream.”
“Do I need a warrior to escort me?”
Pazade raised an eyebrow and let out a low chuckle. “That depends. Do you plan on destroying my home or killing anyone on the way there?”
“Why the fuck would I do that?!”
“Exactly! While I have witnessed your temper, I do not believe you pose a threat to my tribe and will not need escorting. I will have someone bring up some clothes for you.”
Atsu strolled around the circle, counting the doors and inspecting every item displayed on the walls, wondering how each had earnt its place. As he got to the back of the hut, another narrow hallway, near an exact copy of the entrance, led outside. The intense aromas of sweet incense and molten medicines poured from beneath one of the doors along this corridor, making his head spin. The scents were all very similar to what Inari would craft when he wasn’t seeing to his patients, so at the very least he knew where to go if he was to fall ill.
Opening the back door, he found the garden outside beautifully kept. Most of it was rough dirt with the odd patch of grass here and there but all around were plants of vibrant colours and great petals, most of which even towered over him. Their extravagant blossom showed how they had been cared for by the gardeners all summer. There were even patches of vegetables in some corners, plump and ready for picking, making Atsu’s mouth water.
There were several wooden tables, chairs and a couple of painted benches dotted around, and the area felt tranquil, with no hidden eyes, no warriors and no tribesmen.
As much as he wanted to sit down and take it all in, Atsu shook his head and went to find the gate near the back. He nearly missed it behind the hanging vines and flowers and carefully moved them away before he opened it.
Down the sandy path, a few tall trees with ripe fruits stood, creating large, cooling pools of shadow. The slope was only slight and already he could hear how close he was to the trickling water.
Soon he could see the glimmering reflection of the sapphire blue stream ahead where it trickled and curved around the bend, flowing to what he could just make out as the end of the perimeter fence. Deep green leaves which had drifted from the aged trees were floating on the surface, leisurely flowing past, some bearing fallen berries like passengers on stately rafts. The pool the water came from was bordered by heavy rocks, and the spray as it cascaded over them was magical to see.
Atsu smiled and couldn’t help but think about how much his sister would have loved to see all of this. He only hoped that Jocelin was right, that her words had just been anger in the moment and hopefully in time, she would get see this place with her own eyes.
He carefully set a muddied foot into the waters. At the unexpected chill, he quickly sat down on the dampened ground and removed his rags one by one, comfortable that no one else was around. While he got used to the temperature, a figure came jolting down the hill in his direction.
A young tribesman dropped a pile of clothes to the side and without saying a word, dashed away again. Atsu inspected them carefully. He had thought they had given him more than there was from the size of the pile but he soon realised it was just the bulky material they were made from.
He was baffled how to put on most of the items, or even where they were supposed to fit. Four of them had the texture and colouring of hair or of tails attached to strong straps, two of which were slightly bigger than the other pair. The bigger items, he was only half certain what they were for. There were two hide aprons, carefully stitched together. The smaller one was something he at least seen worn before. A crafter had told him once when he was boy that it was used to protect between the legs and only those with old traditions still wore it, more out of respect for their blood than for practical use. The other apron was slightly larger to protect the rear.
As he was lost in inspecting the items, the sudden high pitch of giggles in distance caused him to jump. Coming down the hill, were four young women huddled together with blankets over their arms, one of which he couldn’t help but gaze at.
Jocelin was unmasked, her radiance instantly adding to the magic of the place. With her sleek hair flowing over her shoulders and down to her waist, her perfect smile while she laughed and joked with her friends, Atsu felt his knees trembling with that weakness once more.
“Hello there, Atsu.” She smiled to him as her friends continued to the other side of the pool.
Atsu could feel his skin flushing and furrowed his brow, trying to keep his focus. “Hello. I am nearly done now… just erm…” He gave a weak grin and splashed some of the water up his arms without completing his sentence.
“No need to rush,” she said and knelt by his clothes. She moved a couple of the pieces and smiled. “Father has given you his clothes for now. In no time you will look like a true Chieftain.”
Atsu grinned back at her as she went to stand before he pointed at the pieces he was uncertain of. “Erm… where do I put them?”
“Oh. The bigger straps go on your legs, the smaller on your arms. The aprons… I assume you know where they go?” She smirked and cocked her head.
He nodded uneasily and watched as she walked away to join her friends. For a moment, he fumbled with the material in his hands, getting used to the texture, and had every intention of getting out of the waters now he was bathed. But the instant he heard another giggle, he couldn’t help but glance up again.
- CHAPTER THIRTY -
Since Masaki had received Inari’s definitive answer, her anxiety and worry were soon flooding straight back to their previous levels. Her nails were nearly bitten down to the skin and her vomiting had only increased.
With each day she had prayed that her cycle would begin, even the slightest bleed or cramps would reassure her mind. But as the week went on, there was still no sign. Instead, other signs of pregnancy emerged. Her gut became hard to press but luckily it wasn’t visible and her breasts swelled and ached most mornings. With no doubt in her mind, she knew now she had to accept it for what it was.
Trying to mask her peakiness with light brushes of powder thanks to Kanzi, Masika walked down the twisted halls and made her way out into the back garden. It was only a small space and was usually occupied by warriors and garasums, most of whom were flirting with the other.
Masika sat on the cold, hard ground and wrapped her arms around her knees while trying to think. She eyed the garasums, who she knew mated secretly with the warriors of a night. They must have known a way to get rid of the baby but then again, if she didn’t trust Kanzi, she wouldn’t trust those she had never seen before. Knowing her, the garasum she would probably tell would be the one who was closest to one of the sisters or the Chieftess.
One of the warriors stopped in front of her and tilted his head to inspect her. Behind his scarf his low voice said, “Masika?”
She squinted her eyes as she peered up to the towering male. “Yes?”
“Witch doctor Inari has asked me to take you to his hut.”
> Masika dryly swallowed and pushed herself up. All she had been doing for days was sleeping and vomiting. Even the food she shared with Kanzi she could barely stomach any more. Linking her arm with the male, she let him take the lead to get her to the hut.
With a knock, she let herself in. Inari was sat at the table with his mask removed and a bowl of fresh, thin soup before him. It was the stuff Masika had nightmares about as a child. The bubbly broth was mostly salt water and had a couple of medicinal herbs floating on the top. Bland to taste, she would always gag the moment she felt the texture of a leaf or a stalk, but as long as she kept it down, it did well to ease her sickness.
“Thank you, warrior. You are dismissed,” Inari said.
When the man left, Masika stumbled forward onto the chair and couldn’t even bring herself to look the doctor in the eye. Instead, she dragged the bowl before her and regarded the leaves, spinning around on the top.
“I am sorry for my anger. Please understand that what you asked me goes beyond everything I believe in.” Inari sighed and rose from his seat.
Masika remained silent and reached for the wooden spoon, tapping a herb to try to make it stop spinning.
Strumming his fingers over the jars, Inari hummed a tune under his breath while he searched. “I can help you, Masika.”
She dropped the spoon. Tingles buzzed through her fingertips as she tilted her face up. “You can get rid of it?”
“No… no, I won’t do that.” Inari pulled down a wrapped jar from the shelves.
Masika closed her eyes and tried to hide her disappointment. “Oh.”
“I will not drop my beliefs for you, Masika. But I can help you. I am guessing you have not bled?” Inari asked, sitting opposite again.
“No. I have symptoms I am carrying,” she mumbled and held back her tears.
“Alright. And you are accepting this?”
“What else can I do?”
Inari pushed the spoon back into her hand. “Eat first. If the infant isn’t strong enough to withhold a bleed, then Jasari and Dia will know.”
Masika brought the full spoon to her lips and slurped on the bland liquid, shuddering. “They will know anyway.”
He leant over the table and lowered his voice into a hushed whisper. “Not necessarily. I have been thinking on this thoroughly and understand that both of our lives are at risk. You won’t like it but it will save you and your unborn child.”
With her nausea threatening to flare up once more, she took another a sip. “But I don’t want to have my brother’s child. I don’t want anything to remind me of him!”
“I thought you were accepting this! If you want my help, you need to understand there is no other way through it. If the Gods don’t want you to have this child, they won’t let it come to term.”
Masika could see the veins flaring on his temples. Whatever it was growing inside her, she already hated it. What if it was a boy? What if he looked so much like her brother that it pained her to even feed him? She couldn’t see herself with a baby in her arms anymore, not like other women gazing at their own full of love and protection. But then another thought came into her mind. The young Kanzi, the girl who served her, and was the closest thing she had to a friend within the entire tribe. Her mother, or at least the other garasums, had been forced upon and still brought their infants into the world, even though they knew what the child would be forced to do over the years. Those women didn’t have a choice.
Nodding hesitantly, Masika slumped back in her chair, defeated. “I accept it.”
Inari pushed the jar forward and grunted while he fumbled in his pockets for a dark green leaf. “Good. There is only one way I can help you out of this, Masi, but you need to do it soon.”
“What is it?”
He couldn’t look her in the eye as he spoke. “You need to mate with Dia.” Masika’s jaw dropped open in response but Inari quickly brought up his hand to stop her from speaking. “I know. But, it was going to happen in time anyway, only it would have posed another problem in the future when he felt you weren’t pure.”
She brought her hands to her head and let out a nervous laugh in disbelief. It had taken a lot of courage just to clean his cuts and ease his aches and pains daily. To actually mate with him when she had no idea what she was doing… to imagine him thinking of her like that, touching her where he wanted, and finishing with his vile, warm seed filling her… Masika ran for the bucket in the corner of the room, throwing herself to the ground and vomiting.
Inari came to her side and patted her back a few times, keeping her hair out of the way. “I know. I have tried to think of everything, Masi. This is the only way.”
She nodded a few times and exhaled as her jaw relaxed, then slumped on the ground. “I don’t know what to do though. And he is ill right now, how can I even attempt it?”
Inari glanced at the jar on the table and back to her once more. “You have been looking after him. His mother and sisters don’t stay with him while you are there. When he asks you for something for his pain, you give him that. It will make him drowsy.”
“But… won’t that make him not work?” Masika asked.
“That’s what the leaf is for. You will have everything needed to make him believe the child is his.” Inari could see the fear and doubt in her tired eyes and leant forward, clasping his hands on either side of her cheeks. “You need to do this, Masi. I know it is scary, I know it is horrible, but believe me, you will know what to do.”
Masika weakly nodded and wrapped her arms around the witch doctor’s in a warm, comforting hug. For a moment, she felt like the same scared little orphan who had cried for her parents in the night. But she wasn’t that now, she was a young woman who had made mistakes and now she had to live with the consequences.
He helped her to stand. She quickly shoved the jar and the broad leaf in her pocket before steadying her breath and venturing outside.
Inari watched as she walked back inside the Chieftain’s hut. The moment she was gone, he slammed the door shut and pulled out his prayer mat.
Surrounded by writings and scriptures from all over the world and carvings from the most renowned healers he had met, he knelt and held a bunch of fragrant herbs over a nearby candle to smoulder and fill the air with their powerful aroma. When the drifting smoke had settled around the hut, he spoke beneath his breath.
“Mother Luaani, please give Masika strength and power like your own to see her way through this. I sense rifts in the time ahead… I see death in a circle around the village. I see the lions of shadow ended by a slither in the grass. I see the lions of white roaring with ferocity and vengeance. I am grateful for your visions, your gifts that come to me while I slumber, but dearest Mother, I fear for the future.”
- CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE -
The instant Atsu glanced in the direction of the young women, he knew he should have put on his new gear and walked away. But his eyes couldn’t help but watch Jocelin. Being as discreet as he possibly could, he tried to concentrate on rinsing his already pristine arms again.
Her caramel locks glistened in the sun, as did her smile. It felt like so long since he had seen her face before him and they had shared a quick embrace, but now he didn’t want to turn away. A part of him worried that if she decided against their binding, he would never again lay his eyes on her unmasked and he would never see her unclothed. With that justification in his mind, his eyes wandered over to her now and again while his stomach fluttered with anticipation.
With one quick motion, Jocelin slipped off the robe and let it fall to her feet. For a moment, Atsu believed she even gave him a glance before she stepped into the water with her friends. He was so taken aback at seeing her body that he couldn’t tear himself away and it must have been obvious he was staring at her.
Jocelin’s figure was willowy, tall and thin but graceful. Her waist’s natural curve led to her wider hips while her breasts were just the perfect size for her slender build. She let the water elegantly trickle down
her body, flowing over her navel before disappearing between her legs.
Atsu forced himself to turn away and scratched at the back of his neck. His jaw was clenched and teeth gritted as arousal achingly took over his mind. As quick as he possibly could, he calmed himself enough to get out of the waters, throw on his clothes and swiftly walked back up the hill to the hut.
Inside, Pazade still sat with a cup in his hand. He eyed Atsu up and down. “Ah, looking like one of us already, boy.”
Atsu nodded in response and shuffled awkwardly on the spot. “I think perhaps I am tired, Chief. Where am I to sleep?”
Pazade pushed himself up from the chair and pointed to one of the doors. “In there. If you wake up hungry, just ask whoever is around to get you food.”
Atsu quickly barged inside, and found the room was greater than the hut he had made for him and his sister. The bed was made to sleep two, covered in animal skins and generous pillows. The floor was carpeted with a big mat and was bumpy against his soles. With drawers beside the bed and even cabinets with doorknobs, it was luxurious in the extreme.
Battling to get the green-eyed witch from his thoughts, as soon as Pazade shut the door he slumped down into the comfort of the bed and closed his eyes. For a while he tossed and turned, until he took the tails off his arms and legs for more comfort. Eventually, he drifted off into a deep sleep.
It was a light knock on the door that woke him. Atsu sat bolt upright, rubbing his eyes, trying to adjust to the unfamiliar surroundings. He couldn’t even tell what time of day it was. There came a second knock. He cleared his throat before yelling, “Come in.”
Bright green eyes peeked around the door. Jocelin had her robes back on to cover her once again. Atsu closed his eyes and took a deep breath while she swayed inside, closing the door behind her.
“What time is it?” he asked through a yawn.
“It’s nearing sunset. I thought I would come see you,” Jocelin said sweetly.