by Reece Dinn
He darted down another side-street and saw a group of men running away. They disappeared around the corner to the left. Awon charged after them, but stopped dead when he saw a body slumped on the floor. A yegeyor lay mangled, stripped naked, its limbs twisted and broken. Its face had been beaten to a bloody pulp, eyes stabbed out. The yegeyor's bone fins had been ripped from it, then it'd been stabbed repeatedly with them, judging from the long cuts covering its whole body. The cuts still oozed blood. The fins lay beside it.
Awon stared down at the mutilated body, fighting back the anger.
'Awon. Awon. Wait,' shouted Ten, panting as he ran up the street. He stopped beside Awon, then squealed when he saw the body.
'They jus' left her 'ere, like spoiled meat,' said Awon, noticing the yegeyor's genitalia.
Ten twisted around and vomited.
'Fuckin' animals,' hissed Awon through clenched teeth. 'Gangin' up on 'er like that.'
Several heavy footsteps sounded from down the far end of the street, where the murderers had fled down. A minute later two men with rifles came running down the alley, their bronze plate mail and helms glistening in the dim brown light. They slowed to a walk when they spotted the body.
'Another mob?' enquired one of the Konar as he approached Awon.
Awon nodded.
'Did you get a look at them?' the Konar asked.
'No.' Awon clenched his fists.
The other Konar crouched down and prodded the body with his rifle. 'Definitely dead,' he said.
A karron screeched overhead.
'You'll make Konar-Kas in no time with amazing deductions like that,' scoffed the first Konar.
'This isn't a joke,' snapped Awon. 'She's been murdered.'
'How can you tell it's a girl? She's a mess.'
Ten vomited again.
Awon scowled. 'How can you not? She's naked. Clearly a woman.' He pointed to the yegeyor's crotch.
The Konar shrugged. 'I guess. Doesn't matter, I suppose.'
Awon shoved the Konar hard, nearly knocking him over. 'Doesn't matter?'
The Konar made to slam the butt of his rifle into Awon's face, but stopped himself before he did. 'Do that again,' he said through gritted teeth. 'And there'll be two bodies for the Koku to come get.'
The crouching Konar rose. 'We'll have to pay them a visit.'
'I know,' said the first Konar. 'But without any witnesses they can just deny it.'
'Who's they?' asked Awon.
'The Predemagdan Liberation Army, they call themselves. Those guys you see preaching in the market place about chasing the yegeyor back into the mountains.'
Awon spat at the Konar's feet. 'I know who they are. I meant who?'
'We can't say.'
'Wha'?'
The first Konar scowled. 'Can't have people attacking them if we say who they are.'
'They're killin' people,' cried Awon. Awon moved to grab him, but the second Konar slammed the butt of his rifle into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Awon staggered back, holding his chest, wheezing.
'Calm down, lad. Now,' said the second Konar.
'There's no proof they've done this. Could be gang related,' said the first.
'Ask around,' snarled Awon, pointing at the all the houses around them. 'Someone must have seen sumthin'.'
'You telling us how to do our job?' said the second Konar.
'Yes.'
'Go home, lad. There's nothing else you can do.'
Awon spat again, grumbling. He looked back down at the dead woman, unable to believe what he was hearing. He couldn't just leave her here, unavenged. Someone would pay for this. What if one of these mobs had caught Norox?
'Go on. Go,' said the first Konar.
'Fuckin' Konar. Yer can't jus' leave 'er,' spat Awon.
'We didn't say we were,' said one of them. 'Besides, for all we know it was you two who did it. Who's to say?'
Ten was still hunched over, but he was dry heaving now, his face pale and speckled with spittle.
'C'mon,' said Awon, patting him on the back.
Ten nodded, wiping his mouth.
'Stay out of trouble,' said one of the Konar. 'We know who you are.'
Awon snorted. 'Fuckin' Konar,' he muttered. He put his arm around Ten and pushed him forward. The two of them walked away.
'They just gonna leave her?' whispered Ten.
'Probably part of the PLA themselves,' said Awon. 'Bastards. If I find out who they are I'll kill 'em all. Bastards think they can go round killin' people jus' cos they're different to 'em. Threaten our friend fer no reason. Cunts.'
Ten wiped his eyes. 'How can someone do that to someone else?'
'Bastards think they can get away with it.'
'What if they come for Norox and his family? They've never done anything to anyone.'
'The PLA will die before I let 'em hurt 'em,' said Awon, rolling his jaw. 'We'll go check on Norox. See if he's okay. If they 'eard the scream they're probably worried.'
'Okay,' said Ten.
Awon banged on Norox's front door. Ten slouched against the wall beside it.
'I have a rifle,' shouted Norox's mother, her bleating voice softer than Norox's.
'It's Awon. An' no yer don't.'
The front door creaked open and a large, wrinkled yegeyor poked her head through the gap. Her eyes widened when she saw it was in fact Awon.
'Come in, come in,' she said, opening the door wide and pulling him in by his shirt. Ten followed him inside.
Charaxe, Norox's mother, wore a long brown dress that hung loose over her muscular frame. A ridiculous image, especially with the fins that covered her body, but at least it defined her as a woman. Most yegeyor women wore the same overalls as the men did, making it even harder to tell they were women. It was only if you looked closely at their faces, at the size of the fins, and listened to the sound of their voices that you could differentiate men from women. Even then Awon struggled.
'Did you hear the cry?' she asked, her pale face flushed.
'We saw the body,' said Awon.
Ten swallowed hard, covering his mouth with his hand.
'Another killing?' she asked.
''fraid so,' said Awon.
Charaxe wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. 'Gods.'
'The Konar came. Didn't look they were interested in doin' anythin' about it, save for gettin' rid of the body.'
Charaxe sank into the armchair by the boarded up window of her living room, a sullen look on her face. 'That's three in two moons. Things are getting bad again.'
Ten sat down on the small wooden rocking chair, the only other chair in the sparsely furnished room. He looked like he would burst into tears at any moment.
'If I find who's doin' this I'll kill 'em,' said Awon, clenching his fists tightly.
'Don't you be starting no fights, you hear?' said Charaxe. 'This is our fight.'
'I won't let 'em get away with it.'
'You're a sweet boy, at times. But just a boy. You'll get yourself killed one of these days. Always looking for trouble. You need to learn stay out of it, not find reasons to get into more.'
Awon frowned.
'Thought I heard you down there.' Norox appeared at the top of the stairs, his big frame casting a long shadow. He came down, each stair creaking under his weight. He was dressed in his usual blue overalls.
'Came ter see if yer were alright,' said Awon.
'Good enough,' said Norox, snorting, glancing at his mother as he entered the living room. 'They won't be coming here. Don't worry.'
'Yer don't know that.'
Norox snorted. 'They're cowards. They gang up on people when they catch them alone. They wouldn't dare attack someone in their own home.'
'Not yet they don't. But if the Konar keep lettin' 'em get away with it they might.'
'We saw the body,' said Ten, his voice breaking as he spoke.
Norox's expression hardened, and he made a rumbling noise. 'You went to see it?'
'Course we did,'
said Awon.
'It was horrible.' Ten covered his mouth again, his face paling.
'Get him some water,' Charaxe told her son.
Norox went out back to the kitchen and returned moments later with a glass of water, handing it to Ten. He took it but most of the water splashed out of it in his shaking hands.
'You shouldn't have gone to see,' said Norox.
Awon folded his arms. 'Well we did.'
'Always looking for trouble.'
'We've come ter see if yer okay. Not lookin' fer trouble.'
Norox grunted.
'The PLA are a menace,' said Charaxe. 'But there are far more of us than there are of them. They've been stopped before. They'll be stopped again.'
'What if they catch one of you two?' said Awon.
'You should be worrying about the trouble you've started,' said Norox.
Charaxe leaned forward in her chair. 'What trouble?'
Norox flushed. 'Nothing. Just a spat he had with another boy from a couple of districts over.'
Charaxe shook her head, disappointment clear on her face. 'Fighting again?'
Awon scowled. 'He 'ad it comin'.'
Charaxe's eyes narrowed. 'They always do, don't they?'
Norox looked like he was about to say something, but then held his tongue. Ten held his glass of water with both his shaking hands.
'Yer sure everythin' is okay?' said Awon.
'Yes. Thank you for coming over.' Charaxe rose from her chair. 'They say a lot of bad things about you, Awon. But I know deep down you're a good...'
Shouts outside stopped her mid-sentence. Cries of help.
'What now?' grumbled Norox.
Awon ripped the front door open and rushed outside. Across the street Awon's butcher's shop blazed. People stood around watching the burning building. A couple of people were rushing to it carrying buckets of water.
'Gods,' bleated Norox, as he came up behind him.
Awon ran across the street to his burning shop. Norox shouted after him, but he didn't hear what he'd said, all he could hear was the roar of the fire. He rushed past the onlookers, dodged around two guys carrying small buckets of water, and charged straight into the burning shop.
A wall of heat almost knocked him back. The air was suffocatingly hot and stung his eyes. Everything burned except the oku stones that lay under the counter, the blue stones shining bright in the fire, the wood around them still frosted. He stumbled through the flames, heading around the counter to the back room, knowing exactly what he was going to find.
His father lay in a heap on the floor in the burning room, his clothes torn and bloody. A meaty aroma hung in the air from the slab of meat now cooking on the stone carving table. Awon rushed to his father's side and shook him. He didn't stir.
'Fat man, wake up,' Awon cried, shaking him again.
Nothing.
Awon slapped him hard in the face. His father's eyes flicked open, then closed again. Awon growled, jumping to his feet, and grabbed his father by the arm, trying to heave him up, but he was too heavy. 'Why yer 'ave ter be so fat?'
Norox burst into the room, panting, his body glistening with sweat, blue overalls soaked. He saw Awon and ran to his side, grabbing Awon's father's other arm. The two managed to heave him up on to his feet, then each ducked under an arm to bear his considerable weight.
'Gods, he's so fat,' groaned Awon.
'Come on,' snarled Norox.
Part of the ceiling crashed down, blocking the way through to the front of the shop with burning debris.
'The back door,' shouted Awon, turning them around.
Norox followed him around and they hurried to it. The flames roared, and more of the ceiling came crashing down. Norox bleated, stumbling away, nearly pushing Awon into the burning side-table.
'Forward yer fuckin' jenni,' Awon snarled.
Flames blazed and roared in front of the door, causing Norox to hesitate, and Awon nearly dropped his father as he hurried forward alone. He punched Norox on the arm. The yegeyor grumbled, then took a deep breath. The two screamed as they ran through the flames and crashed into the burning back door. The door was smashed off its hinges and broke apart as it hit the ground.
'Round the front,' said Awon. He and Norox stumbled as they carried Awon's father around the outside of the house, his weight increasing by the second. The flames lashed out at them as they hurried past, the fire fierce and angry. People rushed to them as they cleared the burning shop, helping to lower Awon's father to the ground. He coughed, a little blood dribbling out of his mouth.
'What happened?' cried Keloma, the embroiderer who lived across the street.
Awon and Norox's eyes met.
'He's been attacked,' said Butenu, the inn keeper's son.
'My shop,' croaked Awon's father. He tried to sit up but several people pushed him back down.
'Shop's gone, fat man,' said Awon.
His father glanced up at him, then spat. 'This is your fault. You little...' a hacking cough cut him off, more blood spluttering out of his mouth.
'Who did this?' asked Old Camon, his wrinkled forehead wrinkling more.
'I saw some boys running down the street just before I saw smoke,' someone said.
Norox snorted as he wiped the sweat from his head with the back of his hand.
Awon tried to stop himself from smiling.
Another crash. More of the top floor collapsed.
'We need to take him to the doctor,' said Keloma.
Awon's father grabbed Awon by his shirt. 'Get the oku stones,' he whispered. 'We can get another shop,' he coughed again. 'But those stones...'
Awon slapped his hand away. 'I will.'
'Stupid shit.' His father's eyes closed, then his head lolled to the side.
A woman behind Awon shrieked. 'He's fine,' he said as he rose. He turned his back to them all and faced the flames. The top floor of the shop was almost gone, the bottom half burning to cinders too. The whole shop would soon be nothing but ash.
'What are you going to do?' asked Norox, coming up beside him.
'What do yer think?' said Awon, not looking at him.
'Red's not gonna be happy.'
'He can go fuck 'imself.'
Norox shook his head.
Awon folded his arms. 'This is between me and that lad.'
'Red won't see it that way. He owned your shop.'
Awon smirked. 'Then he'll either be a cowardly shit an' try ter make peace. Or he'll fight.'
Norox's face dropped. 'You knew this would happen?'
Awon didn't respond.
Several of the onlookers heaved his father up and carried him off down the street, all of them struggling to carry his bulk.
Keloma came up to Awon, rubbing his arm. 'Are you okay? You must be shaken up. Did you get burned?'
Awon shrugged her hand off him. 'Look after the fat man.'
Keloma's face fell. She walked away without another word.
Fire fighters turned up a short while later, just as the fire was dying down, and all that was left of the shop was a burnt husk. They jumped down off their trobaam-drawn wooden cart, a large barrel of water in it, and set to work putting out what was left of the fire, running a long hose from the cart and dousing the flames with a stream of water.
As the flames died away Awon spotted the blue glow of the oku stones amongst the wreckage. He turned to Norox. 'Best get in there and grab 'em 'fore one of these bastards swipes 'em for 'emselves.'
Norox followed him into the wreckage. The fire fighters voiced their disapproval as they walked into the smouldering ruins of the shop, but Awon ignored them and set to gathering up the stones. He felt like one of those treasure hunters he'd heard about in the stories his father had told him as a child. Adventurers hunting for treasure in ancient ruins from some long forgotten time. He'd always hated those stories.
Chapter Eleven
Awon's father groaned. He lay in the bed in the small doctor's surgery, the room barely big enough for the bed, the do
ctor, and Awon to fit inside. Awon liked it.
His father had stopped coughing, which the doctor said was a good sign, but his bruised face was a mess. The doctor had washed him and stitched up a cut, but had said there was little else he could do for him, his chest and sides were badly bruised, and a couple of ribs were cracked too. Only time and rest could heal him.
'You'll live,' the doctor slurred, scratching his bald head. 'Couple of days rest and you'll be back on your feet. Be healed in a month.' The doctor had an ill look about him, and had clearly been drinking, his breath reeked and his eyes were glazed over. His round stomach hung over his trousers a little, his white shirt barely covering it. He didn't look like he could look after himself, let alone a patient.
'I have no shop,' snarled Awon's father.
Awon had never heard him snarl before. It amused him. 'Calm down, fat man,' he said, sat in the small chair beside the bed. 'We can get another shop. I got the stones.'
'You did something right then, for once. Where are they?'
'I hid 'em.'
'Where?'
'That's fer me to know.'
'Boy?' His father tried to sit up, but the pain was too great and he fell back on the bed with a groan.
'I'll take care of it,' said Awon.
'You'll take care of nothing.'
The doctor opened the drawer of the small table beside the bed, pulled out a bottle of whisky and a glass, then poured himself a drink. He gulped it down, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He glanced at Awon eyeing his bottle. 'Steadies the hand,' he said.
'Can I 'ave some?' asked Awon.
'No you can not,' his father snapped.
'Fuckin' jenni.'
'What are we going to do?' His father held his side, face creasing up in pain. He took a couple of deep breaths.
'We could sell the oku stones. Pay off yer debt ter Big Red. Start again somewhere. Could work fer one of the big butchers.'
'No. You know how hard I worked to escape working for another man's profits? I won't go back to that.'
'Thought yer'd say that.'
'Then what?'
'Hope my plan works.'
His father sat up, wheezing, holding his side. 'What plan?'