by B. T. Narro
“Ten—pra durren.”
“So you might have your shedding next year if you’re early. Aren’t you happy about that?”
Grayol nodded unenthusiastically.
“Sit.” Zeti pointed at the one chair in her hut. “I’m going to fetch some water and keyfar plants to clean your wound.”
As she turned to leave, Grayol grabbed her arm. “Father to you…” He let go of her and scrunched his mouth. “I think you should tell him you made a mistake. I know you hate him right now, but every Krepp only gets one father.”
Zeti thought to slap Grayol before she remembered that he’d been without a family since she’d met him. He believes that even a father like Ruskir would be better than none.
“I’m done with him,” Zeti said in her most confident voice. “And don’t try to convince me otherwise.”
“I understand,” Grayol muttered.
She turned to leave, but once again he stopped her. “Zeti…”
“I need to clean out your wound,” she said.
“Do you think he’ll come back?”
“I don’t want him to.” Zeti sympathized with Grayol not having his own family, but she could feel anger stirring in the depths of her stomach at him pushing the issue. “So stop talking about it.”
“I meant is he going to come back for me?”
“You mean his threat to kill you?”
Grayol’s voice dropped to a murmur. “Yes.”
“He used to tell Zoke that all the time,” Zeti lied. “Father to me is too much of a coward to risk punishment for committing murder.”
Zeti figured that Grayol didn’t need to know that Ruskir was probably serious. The little Krepp wouldn’t be able to defend himself whether he knew Ruskir was coming for him or not. Zeti took that to be her responsibility now.
She set her knife on the table next to Grayol before she hurried off.
Chapter 9:
ZETI
Nearly a week had passed since Zeti had disowned her father. They’d seen each other only once since then.
Zeti caught sight of Ruskir on her way to the market. He was with Dentar, possibly the only Krepp who Zeti loathed more than Ruskir. Her father kept his eyes forward as they passed, while Dentar turned and spat in her direction.
Zeti found herself smiling. So it looks like both have finally given up on me.
Her concerns were focused on her Slugari leaders, Doe and Haemon. Every Krepp needed a task within the army, and her task as part of the Slugari search team had ended the same day she’d killed Paramar.
Zeti visited Doe and Haemon’s quarters each day to find out what her next duty would be, but the Krepps guarding the entrance kept telling her to come back tomorrow.
“They still haven’t decided what they’re going to do with you,” one told her.
“Are they angry with me?” Zeti needed to know to decide how worried she should be.
The guard leaned in to whisper, “Who could ever tell?”
Zeti nodded to show she understood and said no more. To talk about Doe or Haemon while they weren’t there was like taking a child’s toy while he wasn’t looking. When they found out, which they always did, there would be trouble. But the massive Slugari, although sometimes behaving like Krepp children, should never be regarded as such. Their power was unmatched.
Except for Vithos, Zeti would remind herself, often wondering what a battle would look like between the psyche of the Elf and the magic of the giant Slugari. He’s probably back with Zoke now, the both of them with the Humans in Kyrro.
Zeti tried to imagine Zoke interacting with Humans but she couldn’t. She didn’t know enough about the weak race of hairy men and women to guess how they would behave around a Krepp who spoke their language.
Much of Zeti’s time was spent training, the bow when she was alone, the sword when she was with Grayol. She hadn’t realized that her brother had taught the little Krepp how to use the weapon, and his skill with it surprised her.
“Zoke used to train with me,” Grayol had told her one day. “He didn’t want you to know because he thought you would be upset.”
“Why would I be upset?”
“That’s what I asked, and Zoke said it was because you would tell him that he was just wasting his time.”
Zeti grumbled, realizing it was true. She never would’ve thought Grayol could become proficient enough with the weapon to make use of it. But the little Krepp was growing up fast, surprising her more each day.
“Here you are,” a woman’s voice caught Zeti by surprise. “Come, Zeti. Doe is waiting.”
She turned to find Suba grinning at her.
Zeti smiled back. “It’s been too long,” she replied before she realized what Suba had said. “Wait, you’re taking me to Doe? Why?” This was a strange task for Suba.
“I’ll tell you on the way.” Suba shook her claws at Grayol. “You’ve been behaving, right?”
He nodded urgently, his eyes widening. “Yes!”
“Good. Now be careful with that weapon.”
“I will.”
He’s too careful, Zeti stopped herself from saying aloud. The feeling of chewing on dirt would be more tolerable than openly disagreeing with Suba, who’d been nearly a mother to her.
But being too careful really was Grayol’s biggest issue. He wouldn’t put his full strength into his attacks. He’d cut himself deeply with an errant swing of his sword, and instead of it teaching him that he could endure pain and injury, it had made him fear both.
“Doe has you collecting people for punishment now?” Zeti asked Suba fearfully.
Suba moved the black hair from the side of her pointed face to look down at Zeti. “My jerrendi, everything has turned to chaos since you and the others got back from the Slugari colony. Hundreds of Krepps are having their tasks switched each day, and often I’m the one who has to find them to notify them of this.” Suba hummed with discouragement. “I need someone helping me, but I dare not ask Doe or Haemon.”
Because of the shape of her face, Suba seemed as if she was always ready to smile or frown. Her nostrils were small, the holes never moving, as if she didn’t even breathe. Her eyes were on the orange side of yellow, and they seemed to always look first before her face followed.
Female Krepps had more hair on their heads than males, but Suba seemed to have the most of any Krepp Zeti knew. It was thick and long enough to completely hide her face if she bent her slender neck downward.
Suba was taller than Zeti and her elder by at least ten years. But with Zeti’s pra durren still being recent, there was no way to tell how tall she would grow.
It was strange to see Suba walking around the encampment. Usually Suba was stuck in her quarters where she was visited daily by Krepps about their changing tasks within the tribe.
The tribe…Zeti reflected on the word. They were no longer a tribe, only an army. Though, some Krepps still used the word. Sometimes others would correct them, but most of the time it was ignored. No Krepp knew what it was to be part of an army, for there never had been a war before.
Now Zeti had a feeling her task was going to be heavily involved in the war, not that she knew why. She couldn’t even tell if Doe trusted her.
“I’m so tired, I just realized I haven’t answered your question,” Suba said. “Doe doesn’t have me collecting Krepps for punishment. There’s a new Krepp doing that now that Zoke is…gone.”
At least Suba isn’t calling him a traitor in front of me. But Zeti was too scared to ask if Suba thought it.
“So I’m not to be punished?” Zeti asked.
“No. I’m to explain your new role and record it. I hope you’re ready for this, jerrendi—” Suba covered her mouth. “I suppose I shouldn’t be calling you that anymore. You’re a woman now, and you’re about to be part of a dangerous task.”
“That’s right,” Zeti said. “I’m no longer the innocent little Krepp you knew.” I killed Paramar.
“It was bound to happen. But that does
n’t mean you’ll stop being a jerrendi in my mind.”
During their moment of silence, a tall male Krepp came up to Zeti’s side.
“Fresh skin,” he muttered. “And where are you off to?”
Suba clawed the air just before his face. “Leave us.”
“I see no male at your side,” the stubborn Krepp continued. “Do you have a seshar?”
“I don’t, but you’re not going to be it,” Zeti retorted. It would’ve been easier to lie—to tell him that she did have a seshar already. But it was against the rules for female Krepps to do so, and it wasn’t worth the risk of punishment, especially when she was already on her way to see Doe.
The frustrated suitor let out a hiss as if he was about to spit. Instead, he turned and grumbled as he left.
Zeti knew Suba wouldn’t ask why she hadn’t picked a seshar yet, and she was thankful for that. Choosing a Krepp to start a family with was the last thing she cared about these days.
“So what’s my new task?” Zeti asked.
“You’ll be leaving the encampment,” Suba said, her voice worried. “But it’s gotten very dangerous out there, jerren…I mean, Zeti. Doe will explain what you need to do, so I’d rather take this little time we have left to tell you to be careful. Many Krepps are dying outside our walls. They’re being ambushed by Humans, some less than a day’s walk from here. Keep yourself safe—be cautious and don’t travel by night even if you’re not going to make the deadline Doe gives you. A punishment for tardiness is far better than death.”
Suba finished by muttering something about Doe and Haemon under her breath.
During the rest of their walk to their leaders’ quarters, Suba was unnervingly reticent.
When the guards saw Suba with Zeti, they parted to let both of them through. But Suba stopped at the doorway, lowering her face in a serious manner as if expecting Zeti to say something.
Then Zeti realized what it was. “I’ll be cautious,” she said.
Suba gave an approving nod and turned to leave.
But Zeti remembered something important. “If I’m to leave, will you watch over Grayol?”
“Take him with you,” Suba said over her shoulder. “The boy can be trusted, and trusting the right Krepp is more likely to save your life than anything else in these times.”
One of the guards pushed Zeti’s shoulder. “Don’t keep him waiting.”
She knew it to be good advice and opened the door.
The last time she’d been within Doe and Haemon’s quarters, no more than a few wooden walls had been erected. But now the structure was complete, and she found herself walking down a dimly lit hallway, the morning sun barely squeezing in through the gaps between the wooden planks.
After a turn, Zeti emerged into the wide room that she remembered from her first visit—where one wall was made up of the mountainside that was known to mark the edge of the encampment. The rest of the room was enclosed by walls of the thickest wood. A few squares were cut out of them to make windows.
The place was dank. In the silence upon entering, Zeti could hear the waves of the ocean that she could see from the window.
Doe and Haemon were both there, speaking another language that Zeti assumed to be Slugaren. They turned to glance in her direction but ignored her to finish whatever they were saying. It sounded serious, but then again, everything her Slugari leaders said sounded serious.
She’d spent enough time around Doe to tell the difference between him and Haemon. Their size was equal, as was the severity of the grimace on each of their bulbous faces. Ever since Zeti had seen her first Human, she’d thought of Doe’s face as being like a Human’s that had been squashed from every angle. Folds of fat bulged around his eye sockets, giving them a beady look.
But Humans had a nose that protruded from their face, which neither Doe nor Zeti had. A Krepp’s nose was simply two holes above the middle of a long mouth. But Doe didn’t even have those. Zoke once told Zeti that Doe and Haemon’s nose was atop their head.
In the dim light, Doe’s nose looked like a flap of skin in the shape of a flower. Limp, it laid between two antennae. The three together looked completely useless as they impotently flopped around with each motion the enormous Slugari made.
Haemon had the same features, although his nose was longer, his antennae shorter, and his eyes even beadier. Each had the same brown color about his translucent skin. It made Zeti feel ill to think she used to find them appetizing. But she’d had normal Slugari since then. She could taste the shimmering green flesh of the small, plump creatures as she recalled devouring them without remorse. It always brought a flood of saliva to her mouth.
Haemon slithered past Zeti to leave her alone with Doe.
“Sit.” Doe lifted his gnarled claw at a dilapidated chair that looked lonely, being the only piece of furniture against the mountainside wall.
Zeti took her seat, her arms naturally folding as she waited for her leader to continue.
“We got some pigeons from the Humans in Tenred.” Doe held up an empty cage. “We used the birds to send messages to the Humans, but none have returned with replies and we don’t know why. So you’re going over there to figure it out.”
Why me? Zeti remained silent, and luckily her question was answered without her needing to ask it.
“Haemon and I have had trouble with male Krepps. More each day are proving themselves to be fools like Paramar.”
Doe stopped to study Zeti’s face. She knew he was looking for any sign of frustration. With a surge of control, she shocked him with a smile while her teeth secretly ground together.
“You’re not upset about what happened?” Doe asked.
“I’m no longer surprised when a Krepp is discovered to be a traitor.” Zeti knew it was the right answer, and she refused to think about anything else besides that.
“That’s what I thought.”
Then you thought wrong.
Doe continued, “Female Krepps are proving themselves to be stronger than they look, which is why I’m trusting you with this important task. I don’t know what Suba has already told you, but there are Humans hiding in the hills between us and Tenred to the west. They’ve killed many Krepps. The only groups that have had luck finding their destination without being ambushed have been small…three or less. This is why I’m sending you with the leader of the scouts, Keenu. He can get to Tenred safely, as long as he has someone watching for enemies while he sleeps.”
Zeti jumped to her feet, but at least she stopped herself from shouting. “Not him.”
“Why?” Doe was more frustrated than curious.
Because he offered to kill Paramar, his own friend. Keenu may not be a traitor to the army, but he is to Paramar and to me…and I may end up killing him while he sleeps rather than protecting him. But Zeti knew she could say none of those things. She came up with a lie instead.
“He wants to be my seshar, and he’s gotten aggressive with me when I’ve denied him.”
For a moment, Zeti couldn’t tell if Doe was confused or completely disinterested. His grimace was gone, his face relaxed but tired.
“I don’t care,” the giant Slugari muttered. “You’re leaving right away. Gather what you need to bring with you and meet Keenu at the western wall.”
What I need to bring…Zeti then remembered what Suba told her. “Can I bring a Krepp? He’s young but skilled with a sword.” It was mostly a lie, as he wasn’t skilled enough to fight yet, but she couldn’t leave Grayol to fend off Ruskir on his own. And she could use his company if she was going to be stuck with a Krepp who elicited urges of murder…if only to distract her. “You said a group of three is still small enough to be safe,” she added.
“Fine, bring this other Krepp. Just tell Suba before you go so she can record his new task.” Doe gestured at the hallway. “Now go. We’re preparing to strike Kyrro and we need communication with Tenred as soon as possible. Keenu will give you the rest of the details on the way.”
Chapter 10:
STEFFEN
Steffen was late to class. Gabby had followed him back into his room that morning, slipping into his small bed to lie beside him.
Zoke had shoved her so hard into the wall that her head had whipped into the wood. Steffen noticed that Gabby was shaking when she wrapped her arms around his torso and put her head onto his chest. But he knew it wasn’t from an injury. She’d just been startled.
It’s a good thing she’s not fighting in this war, he thought. She’s not ready for battle.
Then Steffen made a startling realization.
And I am.
He fell asleep holding Gabby in his arms.
By the time he woke, it felt as if the sun was kissing his cheek as it beamed through a gap in his curtain. He realized Gabby already was awake, running her nails lightly down his arm and then back up. For a moment, he’d forgotten that the Krepps could be attacking any day and that he needed to get up and get to his battle training with the other chemists.
“What time is it?” Steffen jumped from the bed and ran outside the house in nothing but his underwear for a glimpse at the clock atop the Redfield tower.
“I’m late!” he shouted to no one, rushing back in to throw his clothes on as quickly as possible.
“I’ll be gone when you get back,” Gabby said. “I have to—”
“Alright, bye,” Steffen interrupted, rushing back outside. He knew it was rude, but he figured she’d understand.
When he arrived at the building that housed his classroom, he found a note on the door:
To each student chemist and teacher: Meet at Redfield. Don’t be late.
—Jack Rose
But Steffen was already late! It made him hustle even faster, causing him to perspire by the time he got there.
Crossing through the open gate to the stadium, Steffen felt his heart start to jump when he noticed that hundreds of people already were seated, students and teachers alike, and that he was the focus of all their stares.
“You’re late.” Jack gestured with his finger for Steffen to join him in the center of the stadium. “Come here.”