by R. E. Carr
“Kei?” Jenn asked softly.
Winowa waited until the rows changed before bolting across the field. “Lord Kei!” she cried.
Jenn gawked as stoic Kei broke into a Cheshire-Cat grin. “Winowa!” He broke free of her embrace to dunk his head into a bucket. “That old bastard, Kharn, had us running from the Holy Forest all the way to the plains. Do not tell anyone, but I think those with the deer totem cheated—”
His grin faded as he looked over Winowa’s shoulder. “What is she doing here?” he muttered.
“The Serif-fan asked to accompany me on my walk.”
“Hello, Kei,” Jenn said. “Um, that was really impressive.”
Kei shrugged before pulling his vest back on. “The target does not move. It is not a challenge.”
“I was trying to be nice,” Jenn snapped. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
“Have fun with my brother tomorrow,” he called as she left.
Jenn started strolling deeper and deeper into the twisting back roads of Gracow City. She no longer gawked at the wooly mammoths carting loads of lumber and stone from one end of the town to the other, but the new animal she saw that day threw her for a loop. The captain of the guard rode up to her on a Jar-Elk. Although horselike in power and size, an impressive rack of horns jutted out from its head.
“Are you well, Serif-fan?” he asked. “You are straying far from the city proper.”
She kept staring at his mount in awe. “Oh, I was just looking around.”
“My lord Saikain has requested that you stay close to the palace. Would you like me to escort you back?”
“Can I ride on that thing?” Jenn asked with girlish delight.
“Of course, my Serif-fan.”
The pair cantered their way along the back roads of the city. Jenn grabbed the guard’s arm when she saw a group in brown robes tossing locks of their hair into a fire. He instantly stopped his mount and bowed his head low.
“Sir?” Jenn asked.
“Those women lost their mates in the Battle of the Arch Tribe. They burn their hair as a sign of respect to the dead, who watch over them.”
“I’ve seen a lot of fires recently,” Jenn said softly.
“We beat the rats back, and twice as many take their place.” The guardsman kicked in his heels and smiled back at Jenn. “Of course, we have no fear now that you are here, great Serif-fan. You are our promised savior.”
Jenn paled. “Of course,” she muttered.
“Data assimilation complete. You may now stop looking at the scrolls.”
Jenn rubbed her eyes and blinked. For hours, she had aimed her forehead at the pile of dusty papers in her room.
“You can read all this, CALA?”
“Affirmative. Translation program now running at ninety percent efficiency. Analysis will require several standard Earth hours.”
“And this will tell me what to do, right?”
“Unable to determine. Inadequate information at this time.”
“Does it contain anything on the seals I’m supposed to break?”
“I have already isolated thirteen references to the terms ‘seal’ and ‘Serif-fan’ combined.”
“Well, keep me posted.”
“I will require fifteen percent more memory and processing capabilities, Jenn. I would suggest partaking in what you call ‘zoning out.’”
“Great.”
Jenn curled up on her bed. At first she toyed with her braids. Then she began picking at her toenails. Finally, she gave up and curled up under the covers. Only a few minutes after her eyes closed, beads of sweat broke out all over her face. She clawed at the fringed edge of her blanket desperately.
“R-release the Lost G-god,” she whimpered. The gem on her forehead began to glow brightly as her body writhed. “CALA! CALA, help me!” Jenn begged in her sleep.
Kei peered around the corner that led to the Serif-fan’s room. The guards at her door leaned on their spears. They popped to attention, however, when his glowing blue eyes glared at them from the shadows.
“Lord Kei?” one of them asked.
Kei’s ears twitched incessantly. “I thought I heard something in there. Let me pass.”
“No one is to pass without Lord Saikain’s order,” the one on the left said.
The Son of the Great Bear bared his fangs and shoved past them. Kei’s icy expression melted the moment he saw the deathly white Serif-fan shaking as she tried to tear away her covers with one hand. The other hand fought valiantly to drag the covers back. Kei rushed to her.
He brushed the hair off her face. Her hand shot out and clutched his vest in a death grip. Kei froze.
“Shh, it will be all right,” he whispered awkwardly. “I am here,” he continued. “It is . . . all right?”
He wiped her sweat and tears away. He stared at his damp paw, and then at her again. Jenn’s face, lit by her gem, took on a soft pink glow. Kei leaned in closer. He studied the full lines of her lips. He cocked his head to take in her upturned nose and blushing cheeks. He then traced his finger over her flat brow ridges.
“I may be a monster, but I hate to see you suffer,” Kei whispered.
He curled up next to her, resting his head gently on her shoulder. As he purred and held her, the Serif-fan smiled. “I wish—I wish—Gah, I cannot even talk to you when you are sleeping, Ji-ann.”
She rolled onto her side and snuggled against him. After a few uncomfortable moments, he closed his eyes and lost himself in the scent of her hair. His eyelids grew heavy in the warmth and comfort of her embrace.
He took a deep breath and whispered. “To be Joined, we must bear our hearts in confession, each make a vow, and share . . .” He trailed off as an unalluring pink blush crept over his gray skin. He stared helplessly heavenward. “I will make a promise . . .”
Sleeping Jenn nuzzled her now-calm face against his chest, forcing Kei to shift uncomfortably next to her. He finally closed his eyes and whispered, “I vow to do everything in my power to help you find a way home. Then you can find a happiness that you could never have with a creature such as me.”
By the time dawn came, the pair was hopelessly jumbled on her bed. Kei hung off the edge, drooling on her floor. Jenn managed to steal all the covers and flopped in a rather unladylike way with her arms over her head. Kei’s ear’s twitched even as Saikain padded with his own catlike grace into the room. Kei snapped his eyes open a second too late.
His brother grabbed him by the jaw and hurled him out the door.
Jenn reached over and felt a warm, strong body next to her. “Good morning, Ji-ann,” Saikain said softly.
Jenn’s eyelids fluttered open and she smacked her lips. “Five more minutes, OK?” She then started snoring again.
As Saikain leaned over, the door ripped open. Jenn woke up to see Kei, his ears flattened and tail twitching. A pair of golden eyes rose only inches from her face.
“You, me, practice field. Now!” Kei snarled.
“Are you really that jealous?” Saikain asked, his voice dangerously low.
Jenn sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes. “Did I miss something?” she asked, yawning.
“Just a fight between brothers,” Saikain said. “I accept your challenge, Kei.”
“Um . . . ?”
“Claws and fangs, brother?” Kei hissed.
Saikain growled and flicked both his wrists. Jenn gulped as she watched blood ooze from his fingertips. Seconds later, hooked brown claws pushed their way out from his swelling skin.
“You—!” Jenn gulped.
Both feline-men jumped out her window. The Serif-fan ignored modesty and ran after them, wearing only her loincloth and the gauze she used as an improvised bra. “Saikain! Kei!” she called. Both had already disappeared into the shadows of the branches below. “Oh fuck me,” she muttered as she eyed the drop.
She threw on a robe and sandals and ran out the door. Her poor guards were left scratchin
g their heads. Jenn stopped the first priestess she could find. “Where is the practice field?” she asked.
“Around the south road, just before the creek, my Serif-fan.”
“Great!” Jenn ignored the shocked expressions from all the passers-by and ran out the door. As she leaped down over the last few steps, a concerned Winowa dropped her basket of herbs and began trailing the flushed Serif-fan.
“Serif-fan! Serif-fan! What is wrong?” Winowa called.
“Kei! Saikain! Fight!” Jenn huffed. She didn’t dare stop.
Winowa quickly matched speed with her. The girls attracted quite a crowd. “Where?” Winowa asked as she pulled up beside Jenn.
“Main . . . practice field.”
“Follow me!” Winowa cried. The surprisingly athletic blonde hopped over some tree roots and started running off the path. With a grimace and a few expletives, Jenn followed her.
“Lord Saikain and Lord Kei have entered a challenge!” someone cried.
As Winowa and Jenn burst out onto the practice field, they suddenly had to contend with an entire company of warriors all gathered around a circle of dirt. The two girls doubled over, grabbing their sides.
“Lord Kei!” Winowa cried.
Both Kei and Saikain, however, seemed oblivious to the calls of the crowd. Their eyes rolled back in their heads as they shifted around on all fours. Jenn cringed as she heard joints cracking and realigning.
“What are they doing?” Jenn asked.
Winowa glared at Jenn. “What happened?”
“I don’t know! I woke up and they were—they were both there,” Jenn cried, still huffing.
Jenn caught sight of another running figure approaching the ring, this one wearing a shaman’s robe. The stranger took a running leap over a row of warriors.
“Sotaka, talk some sense into them, please!” Winowa cried.
Sotaka pulled something out of his pouch and waved it in front of Saikain’s nose. Even the pungent smell of the shaman’s medicine didn’t force the heaving warrior back to his senses, though. Sotaka jumped only a split-second before Saikain took a swipe at him.
The young shaman knew when to make a hasty retreat. He ran to Winowa. “I cannot believe they are going this far. What made them so angry?” Sotaka asked.
Winowa pleaded, “Lord Saikain will tear Lord Kei apart! You have to use your magic to stop them, Sotaka.”
“Magic?” Jenn asked. “Magic!”
Sotaka shook his head. “I did not have enough time. All I can do now is pray to the Land Spirits that they will not grant their rage to these two warriors.”
Saikain roared. As the cry forced its way out of his writhing throat, two long canines burst from his mouth. Fur rippled up and down his arms, and the lacing on his pants gave way as his legs cracked into a feline position.
Kei thrashed his head from side to side, spraying blood onto the soil. His entire spine arched and bristled with newly grown fur. His own fangs shot out of his bleeding jaw, causing the young leopard to howl.
Jenn froze, utterly aghast. “B-b-b-b-but—” she stammered.
“Lord Kei is pushing himself too hard,” Sotaka said. “He’s ripping apart from the inside.”
“Kei!” Jenn finally choked out. “D-d-d-don’t—”
“Stop this, Lord Sotaka!” Winowa begged, dropping to her knees. “Please, I’ll pay any price to the spirits.”
“I am sorry Winowa, but this is out of my hands. I can feel the very trees trembling at the force of their anger.” Sotaka pressed his hands to the ground. “I fear that evil spirits will rise if this anger is not unleashed now.”
“M-magic?” Jenn kept repeating.
“Jenn, your anxiety levels are rising abnormally high and your mental state is deteriorating. My emergency protection matrix has been activated.”
“Magic? Animals? They can turn into animals like magic—”
“Negative, Jenn. All effects generated by this particular species of hominid are technological in nature.”
“But, CALA—”
“Initial scans of this species reveal a parasitic technorganic colony inside their blood stream.”
“What?”
“This species harbors a parasitic organism that breaks down their genetic structure and rebuilds it in a pattern of its choosing. Attempting to determine whether this effect is beneficial.”
“Infected? They are all infected?”
“Serif-fan! Serif-fan!” Jenn could barely hear.
“Technorganic infection exceeds all known Earth technology. I am also detecting signs of the parasite in the flora of this area.”
“Serif-fan!”
As she opened her eyes, she screamed. Eight pairs of inky-black eyes stared at her.
“Let me go!”
Sotaka handed her over to a desperate-looking Winowa. “Serif-fan, it’s only Lord Sotaka,” she said. “He’s calling on his totem for guidance.”
“The one called Sotaka is attempting to recombine his DNA with that of a local arachnid species.”
“No, no, no, no, no—” Jenn thought.
“If your mental state does not stabilize, Jenn, I will engage my emergency repair protocol.”
“He was a spider-man. Guess what, CALA? I just saw Spider-Man. He’s not wearing a red suit—”
“Emergency protocols engaged.”
Jenn bolted upright. She saw Sotaka’s eight eyes, but didn’t react. Even as chitin plates rose and the skin on his arms peeled away with a disgusting sound, the Serif-fan smiled blandly.
On one side of the ring, a sleek gray-spotted leopard with scimitar fangs paced. His blue eyes locked on his opponent. Across the way, a far larger beast snarled through its saber teeth. The beads from Saikain’s braids hung loosely on a plaited section of ginger fur.
As Sotaka fell deeper into a trance of peace, the arena burst out in wanton violence. The onlookers cheered as the two felines pounced. The first strike left neither party with an advantage. The leopard Kei began to circle, keeping his smaller head close to the ground.
“Serif-fan?” Winowa said. Her eyes kept darting from the fight to the frighteningly bland eyes of the Serif-fan.
“What is Kei doing?” Jenn asked mechanically.
“He’s trying to use his speed to protect himself. If Lord Saikain lands a bite in Lord Kei’s throat, Lord Kei will die in only a few breaths.”
Tiger Saikain waited patiently in the center of the ring. His golden eyes watched the loose fur around his opponent’s neck with bloodthirsty precision.
“Saikain wouldn’t kill his own brother,” Jenn said.
Winowa shook her head gravely. “The change can sometimes cause a man to lose himself. Duels like this are only performed when there is great sin in question.”
Sotaka fought back tears as his left arm began to change as well. Blood poured from his wrists as bumpy black armor emerged.
“What did I do?” Jenn whispered.
Sotaka’s eight eyes all stared at her. “Men will do anything for a woman, Serif-fan.”
Kei feinted too late. His brother’s paw smacked him across the face. As the blood welled on his jaw, the leopard reeled. Saikain refused to give up his advantage. Over and over again, he bashed the smaller cat with his paws.
“He’s toying with him,” Jenn said flatly.
“Lord Saikain, please!” Winowa cried. Her plea could barely be heard over the din of the crowd.
“Why?” Jenn asked.
Sotaka stood, blood still dripping. “They cry out because this is the way they have always settled disputes. Whoever wins this duel is just. Whoever loses is nothing. If Lord Kei dies, it is of no consequence in their minds.”
“No!” Jenn said, some of the life returning to her face. “Stop it!”
Saikain sent Kei flying into a line of warriors. The spectators kicked the shaky leopard back into the ring. Saikain leaned back and prepared to pounce. As the tiger leaped, however, Kei rolled on his back and pulled in his hind legs. The tiger onl
y realized his mistake as Kei’s claws cut into his soft belly.
Saikain’s roar shook the trees. He rolled away and leveled his head straight at the recovering leopard. Winowa screamed as she watched Saikain turn his head sideways for the fatal blow.
His huge jaws snapped open. Jenn saw movement out of the corner of her eye. A chitin-covered limb wedged in the tiger’s jaws. Although heavily armored, the sheer force of a saber-tooth’s bite crushed Sotaka’s arm. The shaman did not cry out, though. Instead, he pushed Saikain away with a single stroke of his left hand. Sticky mucous forced Saikain to retreat. As Sotaka’s severed limb fell to the ground, the crowd gasped.
“The spirits have spoken through me!” Sotaka said, staring in all directions with his inhuman eyes. “This duel ends a draw. Anyone who speaks otherwise contradicts the voice of the Lost God. Both men lost themselves to the Beast Within and are thus not accountable for their actions today. Am I clear?”
All present dropped to their knees, including the mystified Serif-fan. She looked up to see the bizarre combination of human and leopard features on Kei’s face as his body slowly began shifting back to its normal form. By the time Kei had finally gotten an arm back, Saikain was already human. He kneeled before the pale shaman.
“Great Sotaka, my soul thanks you for showing me the way of the spirits,” Saikain said. “I lost myself to the Beast and must be punished by your hand.”
Sotaka dropped to his knees and picked up his severed fist. “Punished by my hand, you say? This will be the trophy of your shame,” Sotaka croaked. “Dry it to the bone and hang it over your bed. Perhaps next time you awaken with murderous intentions you will think twice.”
“Can’t you help them, Winowa?” Jenn asked.
“Only another shaman can treat Lord Sotaka. I am forbidden to touch his wounds. Both Lord Kei and Lord Saikain should heal. I will not shame them by running to their sides,” Winowa said, but her voice broke even as she spat out the words.