by B. T. Narro
There were no trees to hide behind, but there were patches of plants thick enough to shield a Human. The worst were the lumps of land that were too small to even be considered hills. They were in every direction, just tall enough to conceal something on the other side…if that something laid flat on its stomach.
There was another noise, this one definitely coming from behind.
“Yee. Yee. Yee.” The way it came out in short bursts made it seem like a response to the first—a call and then an answer.
“Hurry, this way.” Keenu turned and sprinted.
Zeti followed with Grayol at her side, though she had no idea where Keenu was going. There were no landmarks in sight, no sanctuary she could see ahead of them.
They ran south. The only reason Zeti knew without thinking about it was because the light of the sun came in from her right side. It was so low that it seemed to paint the land in streaks of light.
Soon they were running downhill, traversing into the shadows. Darker it became, and Zeti heard Grayol stumble. She reached out to grab him, but he’d already recovered, matching her pace once more.
“Eeeeeeyuuu!”
“Yee! Yeeeeee.”
The shrill sounds had become louder. They were being chased.
Keenu shot a glance over his shoulder, and Zeti turned to see what she could find as well.
But there was nothing. All she could see was the peak of the slope they’d been running down. Ahead was a hill—an actual hill steep enough to make climbing it no easy task.
A Human appeared at the top of it. With his bow aimed, he shouted something in another language. Another Human came to his side and both shot at them. The arrows flew just over Zeti’s head.
Zeti started to draw an arrow herself, but Keenu screamed, “Run! There are far more than two.”
They turned left and ran as another arrow zipped by, this one in front of Zeti’s face.
Keenu had led them in a new direction, and now a few lumps of land were between them and the bowmen. Or so Zeti thought until two more Humans jumped up from a sea of bushes and drew their arrows.
There was one more direction—the way they’d come. But Zeti knew there were Humans already there.
They were surrounded.
All she could do was hope the enemies in front of her would miss, giving her and Keenu time to shoot them with their own arrows.
Sudden immense pain made Zeti lose control of herself. She screamed and collapsed, dropping her weapon.
A man was shouting something in another language. She couldn’t even lift her head to look at him, but she could hear that he was coming closer as he yelled.
Soon he transitioned into Kreppen. “Zeti, is that you?”
Able to look up now, she could see that it was not a Human but an Elf.
“Vithos!” Keenu shouted, scrambling for his fallen bow.
But Vithos held out his palm and Keenu screamed in pain, dropping flat to the ground.
Zeti decided not to reach for her weapon after that. “Yes, it’s me,” she answered, noticing that the Humans had lowered their weapons.
There were six of them, seven including Vithos. They stood in two groups of three, a frustrated scowl on their faces as they stared.
Vithos whispered an angry curse and then asked, “What are you doing out here, trying to get yourself killed?”
“You traitor!” Keenu shouted, reaching again for his bow.
The Elf lazily aimed his arm toward the Krepp. Again, Keenu yelped in pain, this time coiling in on himself. Then Keenu let out a barrage of curses.
“If you want to live, you’ll keep quiet,” Vithos warned him. “And stay still.”
Zeti looked to her other side to find Grayol strangely calm, as if he didn’t realize how much danger they were in. The little Krepp had tossed his sword a few feet away and now was seated flat on his bottom with his arms folded.
Vithos noticed her looking and glanced at Grayol. “And who are you?”
Grayol shrugged. “No one.”
What’s wrong with you? Zeti wanted to slap some sense into him. “He’s a close friend of mine and Zoke’s,” she answered for him, wanting to follow with, “If you’re going to kill someone, kill Keenu. He offered to murder your friend Paramar.” But Zeti didn’t dare. In the rare chance the three of them made it out of there alive, Keenu would murder her the first chance he got.
Vithos turned to the two groups of Humans and said something in what had to be common tongue.
All of the Humans objected at once, some even pointing at Zeti and the other two Krepps.
But Vithos held out his hands and continued to speak. He seemed to be having trouble with the language, stuttering and pausing awkwardly.
The Elf and the six Humans went back and forth for some time, the frustration between them increasing until Vithos evidently asked a question. Then a long silence followed.
By the time their conversation picked up again, it seemed as if they’d come to some sort of agreement.
Vithos turned to Keenu and slowly walked over until he stood over him. “Let them tie you up.” The Elf shot a glance toward Grayol. “You as well. I need to speak to Zeti alone.”
Grayol nodded, but Keenu grumbled something too low to understand. Then he lashed out at the Elf, jerking up and swiping his claw at Vithos’ face. But Vithos seemed to know it was coming, for he’d already ducked and followed with a punch to Keenu’s groin.
Vithos pointed at Keenu and yelled something in common tongue. The Humans came and tied him up with ropes, kicking him every time he struggled.
“Come.” Vithos gestured at Zeti to follow him, walking away from the group.
When they were far enough away to speak without being overheard, Vithos stopped and took a slow breath that was too close to both relief and worry to be one without the other.
“Why isn’t Zoke with you?” Zeti asked before the Elf could pose a question of his own.
“I haven’t found him yet,” Vithos said, glancing nervously at the Humans standing around Keenu and Grayol, who were now tied up. “I think he might be in Kyrro with the Humans there.”
“You never saw him after you left the Slugari colony…the last time we saw each other?” Zeti knew what her next question would be. How do you know he’s still alive?
Vithos seemed to know she was wondering that already, for he said, “I know he made it out of the Slugari colony safely, Zeti. I made sure of that. Although I haven’t seen him, I’m sure he’s still alive. I was going to look for him in Satjen, but I ran into hundreds of Slugari en route to their new colony. They needed me to help escort them above ground, so I did. In exchange, they told me where you Krepps had moved your encampment to: the southeastern edge of Kilmar.”
“Why would you care about that?” Zeti wondered aloud. “Do you have hopes of returning? Surely you must know you’ll be killed on sight.”
“I know that,” Vithos said with a surprising chuckle. “I’m with Kyrro now, and I will be until this war is over.”
“Then why’d you want to know where our encampment is?”
“That’s why I’m here now—less than a day’s walk from your walls.” Vithos cleared his throat as he checked on the Humans once again. “I found them already here when I arrived. They were killing Krepps and keeping tabs on movement to report back to the King of Kyrro. There are many groups just like this one. But I’ve been with these Humans while trying to find a way to kill Doe and Haemon. I thought I might be able to use the Humans’ help, but I haven’t come up with a viable plan yet. It’s difficult to strategize when I’m not very good at their language. I’m just about ready to go back to Kyrro and come up with a different assassination strategy.”
Fear suddenly struck Zeti as if her heart had been poked with a burning sword. “Are you going to kill me? Is that why you’re telling me all of this?”
“Any other Krepp and you would’ve been dead already—all three of you would’ve. But you are sister to Zoke. I would never al
low harm to come to you if I could help it.”
Silence followed. Zeti had no idea what to say.
“Where’s Paramar?” Vithos asked. “I would’ve thought he would be with you and Keenu if you’re doing an important task.”
Zeti felt her knees buckle, sadness squeezing her stomach so tightly she thought she would vomit. “He’s dead,” she managed.
“Dead, how?” Perhaps Vithos sensed her guilt then, for his mouth opened to dramatically take in a breath of air. “What happened, Zeti…what did you do?”
“I killed him!” This time she did fall to a knee. Her tears were next to touch the dirt. “In the Slugari colony, he fought with Doe and lost, and then Doe ordered me to kill him…and I did! I should’ve shot Doe, but I was too scared of dying. So I killed Paramar instead with an arrow to his heart. He told me something before he died. He told me that I fear what other Krepps want.”
She’d been wondering what Paramar had meant by this, but Zeti didn’t understand why she was telling everything to Vithos, not at first. But as she waited for him to reply, she figured it was because Vithos was the only one who could offer an opinion without judging her as a traitor.
Paramar was a traitor, and to regret killing him was close to making Zeti one as well.
Or could it have been psyche that made everything come out?
Then she thought of something else Vithos should hear about his fallen friend. “Keenu offered to kill Paramar first,” Zeti whispered. “He would’ve murdered Paramar just to gain a little more of Doe’s trust.”
Zeti felt exhausted as her body puddled on the dirt. She let her head droop, embarrassment starting to take over for showing herself to be weak.
“I see,” Vithos said. “Yet, you still side with both of them.”
Zeti gave no reply.
“And what is this task you’ve been sent off to do?” he asked.
Knowing there was no hope of lying to the psychic Elf, Zeti said, “We’re going to Tenred to deliver messages and help understand why the messenger birds Doe and Haemon sent never came back with replies. Apparently they should’ve, though I know nothing about it.”
“It’s a Human method of communication,” Vithos said. “They do it in Kyrro as well. I don’t know how they train the birds, but Tenred must be teaching Doe and Haemon how to use them.”
“Apparently not very well.”
“Come with me to Kyrro, Zeti.”
“What?” The statement shocked her.
“You’re fighting on the wrong side. Join me and brother to you. I’ll take you to him.”
Zeti stood. There were too many thoughts at once. She couldn’t even figure out what she was feeling.
“What’s going to happen to Keenu and Grayol?” Zeti asked.
“They can come, too. I’m sure I can convince the Humans to take in more allies.”
Zeti couldn’t decide if she wanted to laugh or spit. “Keenu would rather die than join Kyrro.”
“What about Grayol?”
Surprisingly, Zeti didn’t know. He’d been acting so different recently, she felt as if she barely knew him anymore.
“I’m not sure,” she said.
“Well, I’m not sure I can convince these Humans to let any of you go unless you join our side. Even with psyche, it’s unlikely.”
“I can’t allow Grayol to be killed. I dragged him out here with me.”
“Then the answer is simple.”
But for some reason it wasn’t. She wanted to see Zoke, and she certainly didn’t want Grayol to die, but something about switching sides made her feel sick, like she was about to vomit, her stomach fluids splashing about, wanting to be expelled. Even though she despised Doe, it was nowhere near how much she would despise herself for being a traitor.
Every Krepp knew that betraying the tribe—or in this case, the army—was the worst thing a Krepp could do. Zeti still couldn’t think of her brother as a traitor. It was an impossibility to think of him that way—one that she was thankful for.
With her mother dead and a father who might as well be, Zoke was all she had left. And all her life she’d known she couldn’t have had a better brother.
But all of it still wasn’t enough to make her a traitor. She wondered if it was pride that was stopping her, for she couldn’t figure out what else it was at this point.
Zeti considered living with the Humans, actually considered it for the first time. Then she realized that this was the ultimate reason she’d never go through with it. At least the Krepps were strong. Very strong, she corrected herself, an unstoppable force. The Humans were the weaker of the two races. They were going to lose, and soon.
I can’t do it, Zoke. I can’t do what you do. I don’t even understand why you left.
“Why did Zoke go with you to Kyrro?” Zeti asked. “Why did he even leave with you in the first place?” Did he lie to me when he said he was going to look for the Slugari colony?
“He didn’t know we were being outcast,” Vithos said. “He was infuriated when he found out, almost went back and got himself killed. Helping Kyrro win this war is the best chance he has at seeing you again. Once Doe and Haemon are dead, your army will fall apart. Then Krepps can go back to living as separate tribes, and you and Zoke can live among them. There are Krepps who don’t care about loyalty to Doe and Haemon. They’ll accept Zoke. I even see him leading his own tribe one day. Come with me and help Kyrro win this. Fight alongside brother to you.”
It would be so easy to agree if the thought of doing so didn’t make her feel despicable, even physically ill. She knew she couldn’t—wouldn’t—join the enemy. Never.
“I can’t.”
Luckily, Vithos seemed to understand without her explaining why. He let out a defeated breath and then scrunched his mouth as he nodded. “I figured that would be your answer.”
“So what now?”
“Now I use psyche and try to convince the Humans to let you all go. But I won’t kill Keenu. You’re going to need him. There are many more Humans from Kyrro along the route to Tenred, all of whom will shoot you down without remorse.”
Vithos stepped close to Zeti, extending his arms and then enclosing them around her, using his pale hands to squeeze her to his chest.
“Be careful—”
“What are you doing?” Zeti pushed him away, his touch too uncomfortable to bear.
“Humans do this. I like it. I thought you might also.” Vithos leaned forward as if he was about to try again.
“Don’t.” Zeti stepped away. “I appreciate your help, but do that again and I’ll spit on you.”
“Fine.” He started toward the Humans standing around Keenu and Grayol. “But help me by making sure Keenu keeps his dumb mouth shut while I talk.”
It took some time, but Vithos eventually convinced the men to untie the ropes and let them go.
“Better hurry,” Vithos said when it was done. “Even with psyche, these Humans are close to changing their minds.”
Chapter 14:
EFFIE
“Oh, Bastial hell,” Effie said to herself after looking in the mirror to find two bruises on her neck that Brady had left last night.
She fluffed her dark hair, moving it in different positions to see if she could cover them. When she realized it was impossible, she shook her fists. “Brady, you bastard!”
She knew Reela would’ve knocked on her door to ask what was the matter, but the psychic was still sleeping. Reela always sensed Effie’s anger when it got this bad.
What am I, twelve? I have to walk around looking like this? If Effie saw another girl at her age of seventeen with the same marks on her neck, she’d want to point and laugh.
She felt revenge was in order but didn’t know what she would do yet. Then she found herself smiling at the idea of seeing Brady again.
Her teeth gritted together at the realization. I should ask Alex to come over instead.
But she couldn’t let him see her until the marks on her neck faded. She slamm
ed her fist into her open hand. Bastial hell, I wonder if Brady did this on purpose.
If the marks weren’t bad enough, trying to get to sleep last night, after Brady left, brought on one of the worst attacks she’d had in a long time. Although she knew enough by now to understand nothing was physically wrong with her, the feeling of being unable to breathe got so bad she’d gotten up and walked into Reela’s room, sliding into bed with her.
“I’m sorry, Reela,” Effie said after hearing Reela rustle and then grumble to show she was awake.
“What’s wrong?” Reela turned onto her side toward Effie.
“I can’t tell.”
Effie instantly was relieved when Reela put her cool palm against her forehead.
“Are you using psyche to calm me?” Effie asked.
“Not to calm you, no.” Reela slid her hand down to Effie’s cheek. “If you’re feeling better already it’s only because of my touch. There are some things in this world more powerful than psyche, some as simple as this.” Reela kissed Effie on the cheek. “You’re going to be fine.”
Already, Effie could feel her breath slowing, easing back to normal.
“I was using psyche to read your emotions, though,” Reela said. “You want me to tell you what I found?”
“I want to know, but I’m not sure I want to hear it.”
“Isn’t that how it always is when we’re delving into our own problems?”
“It is.” Effie felt her heart clench as she readied herself. “What did you find?”
“You’re scared, Eff, terrified.”
“That’s just because I didn’t know why my breathing had gotten so bad.”
“Are you sure that’s the only reason?”
Effie couldn’t tell if Reela was hinting at something or simply asking without knowing. She asked, “What do you mean?”
“I felt an overwhelming sense of fear from you. There were other emotions as well, but the fear was too overpowering for me to identify them. It doesn’t make sense to me that the only cause of your fear was this breathing problem. Something must’ve caused the breathing problem in the first place.”
“What?”
Reela squeezed Effie’s hand. “There’s no way for me to know that. What happened with Brady?” Reela sat up suddenly, lowering her voice to a soft whisper. “Is he in your room right now?”