“The honor block is forced service that confers no rights or privileges to the males who are sent to battle. They are seldom given more than brutal, rudimentary training to encourage the most aggressive and deadly traits of our species without any control. They will be nothing more than fodder thrown before the might of the fleet in countless battles through the star systems once the war begins.”
Gresmel sucked in a sharp breath.
“What I want to know is what good you think the tribes will do against the bright hives,” Elder Agol interjected quietly. “We do not have the things you possess,” he said, gesturing to Kaede’s plasma pistol. “It has been many generations since we’ve warred with our kin, since we retreated, preferring peace in our swamps.”
“We need a show of strength for our people to rally behind. They have been beaten back so often that they will not rise without it. The people of the Aminfa are robust. Our people will fight for hope. We can even provide some rudimentary training with stun blasters for the more efficient warriors among you. They are not lethal but highly effective. More importantly, due to the ranik system we can outnumber them. Few outside of the warriors have martial training.”
Tiril set back heavily and sighed.
“This is a great risk,” he said as he looked around at the elders who inclined their heads in agreement. “We risk our warriors, young males and females, the best of our hunters and protectors. But if we don’t and war comes... how long before it touches us? How long before our peace is gone? War is an angry beast that consumes everything in its path.”
He sighed again.
“When my mate lived,” Gresmel said in a strong voice full of conviction, “he spoke of the encroachment of the hive-dwellers to our swamps. They come closer to us every revolution, though they do not often realize what they see. Gorul has seen his share of them in his treks for the hunt and to pay his respect in the sacred places. We cannot hide here in our swamps and hope that the actions of the hives do not impact us.”
Gorul nodded, his head hanging against his fist as he sat deep in thought. When he spoke, he looked up and fixed each of them with a sweeping stare. His words were spoken with the strength and severity that came with his place of authority.
“We also must consider that perhaps it is time to embrace some of the things that our ancestors scorned. Change at times is a necessity. It doesn’t mean that we abandon who we are, but that we are capable in the face of that which we meet. I wish to better protect my people... and it may be selfish, but I wish to be able to understand the words of my mate. I can be provided the means in the hive city of Aminae. I wish to lead a group of our warriors there, with your blessing.”
Silence descended over the council.
Tiril closed his eyes extending his palm outward.
“I give my acceptance to you noswal to follow in the direction that is in the best interest for our people. It is my hope that this too shall open the way to enrich our bloodlines with our distant kin and humans alike. Our time of isolation is at an end; it was foretold to be necessary one day. I am at peace with your will.”
Gresmel and Agol likewise extended their palms uttering their affirmation of peace with the will of their noswal. Another followed suit and then another. In all only three, two males and a female, on the council refused to acquiesce. Angered, they stormed out of the council room without offering vote once they saw the majority fall in agreement.
The remaining elders, though clearly wearing hard the weight of their decision, remained long enough to bid Kaede and Gorul safety in the path laid out before them. When they finally departed, they solemnly filed out the door, leaving Kaede and Gorul standing alone in the central meeting room of his large hut.
They exchanged a pointed look before Gorul smiled a weary smile and slapped Kaede on the back.
“Prepare to leave at first light.”
“What of our injured, Borth and Mi’yar?”
The noswal grimaced.
“They seem to be capable warriors. It would be unfortunate to leave them behind. We will see of their condition this evening, but I doubt they will be able to join us in this fight.”
“They will be greatly disappointed,” Kaede sighed. “I do not envy Grish having to listen to his brother complain when they are reunited.
Gorul chuckled.
“These offworlders are strange beings. Take my mate, for instance. I never know for certain what she is going to do next. It keeps things interesting.”
“Interesting,” Kaede murmured, his lips twitching.
Yes, he reflected, his time with Frahnkee had been quite interesting since the day they met. She transformed his quiet and orderly life into something his previous self would never have recognized or desired.
“Speaking of my mate, I am curious as to where she is now. She spoke of desiring time with her sister. Now that the business with the elders is done with, I am eager to be in her company. I look forward to the day when I can know her words and she can tell me of all that she plans so that I am never left wondering.”
“I would not depend on it being that easy. I understand every word that Frahnkee says and still do not know when my mate will devise something completely unexpected.”
Gorul barked out a loud laugh as they left his hut to locate their wandering females.
Chapter 29
It was early when Kaede woke his mate, and the morning light sent weak beams through the trees. Though she grumbled and swatted at him, Frahnkee rose and pulled on her clothes while he pulled out the fruits and dried meat that he’d set aside the last night. Her face was still flushed with sleep as they quickly ate their meal.
He knew elsewhere through the village warriors were getting ready and bidding their mates and loved ones goodbye. He’d been surprised how many warriors had volunteered. Males and females of all ages, tall and strong, more so than the average Agraak citizen, had eagerly assembled. He knew that for many of them finding a mate was part of the lure; others did it for the honor of serving the tribe, or out of hope for a better life—particularly those mated to humans who desperately wished for the technology to understand their mates.
As predicted, Borth didn’t take being confined to the village well. He’d argued and objected strenuously, going as far as threatening to pummel his brother, for his right to take part in the fighting. Grish had faced down his brother’s threats without any sign of remorse or trepidation. Though he already carried a mass of scar tissue on his abdomen, he would heal in time, but he would not be able to join them. The very idea had enraged Borth.
Mi’yar had taken the news better. He didn’t like being left behind but wryly stated that Borth had thrown a big enough fit for the both of them before settling back down onto his pallet to sleep. Kaede was certain that part of his willingness to remain behind was thanks to a female Agraak who’d taken an interest in the Edoka.
In the end, he’d been grateful to return with Frahnkee to their hut. With battle looming so close to the forefront of their minds, they fell on each other the moment they stepped inside. The first time they collided it was with a desperate frenzy, but once they slaked their lust, they came together again just moments later with soft, reverent touches, and loving embraces. They loved each other late into the night, long past what was wise given the hour that they needed to rise, but with a need that fills one when the future becomes a blank canvas.
Anything could happen tomorrow, and neither of them had been willing to waste even a minute of their time together.
Now all he could do was look at his mate as she prepared for their journey and worry. All the other warriors were leaving behind their mates in the safety in the village. He’d attempted to convince her to stay, and then to demand that she stay, which only made her all the more determined to go with him.
He was proud to have a warrior mate, but he was still afraid. She was human and far more vulnerable than many other species.
“Stop staring at me like that, Kaede.”
“Like what,
agishi?”
She lifted an eyebrow at him.
“You know exactly what... like you’re thinking about tying me up and leaving me in this hut.”
“It is a promising idea.”
“Don’t even think about it,” she growled.
The fierce sound never failed to rouse a smile from him. It was adorable, even though he knew his mate was able to back up her threat in her own way. He raised his hand, conceding.
“No, agishi, we have an agreement between us. As long as you stay by my side at all times when we fight, I will be honored to see my mate cut down her enemies. However, the moment you do something reckless that endangers you in violation of our agreement, I will find a safe place to restrain you until which time it is safe to retrieve you.”
His lovely mate snorted and rolled her eyes to the heavens, no doubt praying to her gods in regard to his high-handed attitude. He wasn’t the least remorseful. Frahnkee was his to protect and he refused to ever let any harm befall her. If that meant she had to put up with an exasperating male for a mate, so be it.
Adjusting his dupar, Kaede picked up the warrior bands, securing them around his wide chest. Unlike the gold bands he wore as a noble, these he felt some measure of pride for. After training much of the previous afternoon with the young males of the village, the noswal had gifted them to him. Each band sheathed several sharp knives made from metals mined from deep within the swamp and shaped at the village forge among a stony rise. These meant something to him. He strapped on one, and then the second before picking up his pack before looking over at his mate.
Frahnkee was watching him with a smile. His brow arched but she said nothing. She simply reached up and drew him down to kiss him deeply before proceeding him from their hut.
Gorul and the warriors waited for them at the main platform. The Arobi, looking well-rested and well-fed, watched him with eager anticipation. At some point, perhaps during the final portion of their journey in search of the village the pack, even Exeri, had begun to trust him and defer to him when it came to certain things. Now they waited for his signal to move out. Even Emagul looked at him expectantly from where he stood beside Rodriguez and Grish, when he was not looking at a tiny yellow-haired female who’d come to see him off.
He watched as Alisha leaned into her mate, her arms wrapped around his waist and he felt a pang of sympathy. Kaede swore to himself that he would be certain to watch the male’s back so that he made it back safely to his female. Gorul bent his head down and pressed his lips to the top of her head before sending her to say her goodbyes to Frahnkee.
The females embraced tearfully, the whispers sounding loud to him even among the gentle whispers between mates in the final moments as the warriors made their preparations.
“Be safe, if you know how to,” Alisha ordered, though her laugh sounded strained.
“I will,” Frahnkee assured her. “I have one of the most hard-headed, determined males in the whole Intergalactic Union at my side. Death will be too afraid of having his ghostly ass kicked if he even tries coming for me.”
Alisha sobbed around another laugh.
“Gods, don’t make me laugh. You could die.”
“But I won’t,” Frahnkee swore. “I’ve come too far to just up and die now. I have to stay alive long enough to see you with all those babies.”
Alisha whipped a tear from her eye.
“Maybe have a few of your own?”
Frahnkee met his eyes and Kaede felt his heart clench with the sudden desire of seeing her swell with his hatchlings.
“Maybe,” she replied.
They embraced again and Kaede startled when Alisha came to stand in front of him. She looked up at him seriously before wrapping her arms around him and embracing him. Kaede froze, his eyes turning uncertainly toward Gorul, but the male did nothing but smirk over the fact that Kaede was being enfolded in the arms of the noswal’s mate. The gesture was warm but the words that met his ears were less so.
“You are a good male, but I swear if you come out alive and my sister doesn’t, I will hunt you down and cut off every extremity.”
She pulled back then and smiled up at him as if such venom never passed her lips.
“Keep each other safe,” Alisha said, even while she eyed him meaningfully as she stepped back among the rest of the villagers.
Several villagers came forward then, each holding a frol, a long-bodied legless creature of the brightest shade of yellow with feathery wings. Though trained for hunting, they made ideal messengers too. One by one, Gorul gave to their handlers his written message, and the messages were slipped beneath a large scale that was loosened in the frol’s youth and kept pliable yet elastic. Once a message was tucked inside, it would be set loose until it was gently retrieved by another handler.
Armed with their messages for the other tribes, and the removal of their hunting blinds, dozens of creatures were let loose to fly through the skies to destinations long trained into them. Their bodies slid like living sunlight through the air with every beat of their wings until they disappeared into the trees. Gorul had assured him that the frol the villages bred were exceptionally quick and would arrive within hours at the furthest destination and spare minutes among the nearest villages. Because of their great speed, they were difficult to train, which made their presence few among the murols and completely absent among the upper raniks. Yet they were highly valued by the villages. Kaede had never seen so many frols in one place before that moment.
His fascination with the frol was interrupted by a movement out of the corner of his eye and the light sound of impact. Kaede spun around as his mate laughed and he saw, to his disbelief, a pink bitia clutched in her arms. It, apparently, had not found a mate.
Frahnkee laughed and hugged the ugly creature close, making Kaede grimace in distaste. He didn’t understand the attraction for the foul beast, though he was surprised that Mogwai had tracked her all the way from the Amwalee. He supposed that spoke of a devotion of sorts. It seemed happy enough where it sat trilling enthusiastically.
Kaede was aware that he wasn’t the only one watching it. The difference was where he regarded it with suspicion and dislike, the villagers laughed as if its preference for Frahnkee were something that delighted them. Kaede growled but other than puffing out its fur at him once, it proceeded to ignore him as it trilled from where it sat on her shoulder.
Frahnkee smiled up at him and that ended any objection before it formed on his lips. With a sigh he stepped closer to his mate and tried to pretend the bitia wasn’t within biting range of both his mate and himself. The creature, after all, had never showed any aggression.
Gorul raised a hand to his mate in farewell and brought the great horn to his lips that he’d tied off at his belt. The low wailing sound pierced through the morning fog and all warriors drew to attention. Then Gorul turned and stepped into the fog, striding sure-footed onto the bridge that carried them to the natural root platforms that had brought them to the village.
The Agraak followed silently. Their dark bodies appeared as shadows as they slipped by, striding at a swift pace, each of them bearing numerous blades. Several carried bows and spears. They reminded Kaede of the tapestries he’d seen in the temple and it sent a certain thrill through him. The arrival of the tribe would not go unmarked.
The route that Gorul led the warriors on was starkly different than the one by which Kaede had arrived with Frahnkee and her crew. It led away from the river that he’d faithfully followed, among trees so thick that barely any sunlight pierced through the dense growth and more often than not they were wading through muddy water. Finally, they arrived at another river surrounded on all sides by flooded swampland. There, the water was so deep that Kaede sank to his thighs. He kept his grip firm on Frahnkee, who sank to her waist.
“Fuck,” she hissed. “I just got splashed up the ass and other places by shit I don’t even want to think about. I sure as hell hope there isn’t anything living in the water that likes to crawl i
nto warm places to hide.”
“Christ, Martins, don’t say that. Now that’s all I am going to be thinking about, those damn candiru. I sure as hell hope there’s nothing here to swim up my dick,” Rodriguez hissed plaintively.
Several males close to him looked at him wide-eyed in horror and immediately turned speculative gazes on the water until another let out a quiet laugh.
“He is jesting with us.”
“Naw, man. It’s a fish on Earth.”
He then began to regale the males clustered around him with all the stories he’d heard about the fish. Frahnkee snorted disparagingly at a few of them, so he was not certain what to think of the matter. It made for a strange passing of time.
In the distance, he could see the thick grasses that marked where shallow waters resumed up ahead. He began to think that they would make it through the treacherous waters without incident when a shout from the front made all the warriors near him stiffen. Concerned, Kaede swept his gaze over the water.
This was why he never ventured toward the parts of the swamp where the larger rivers flood the land to such extents.
To the left a large ripple slid through the water as long as twenty males standing in line. It moved unhurriedly, like a predator stalking them, as it slowly neared. Mogwai began to yowl and hiss angrily at the water from where it was perched on Frahnkee’s shoulder as she pulled out her pistol. He reached over and pushed the weapon down.
“That isn’t going to be of much use against a vagourol,” he said in a quiet voice.
“Vagourol? What the hell is a... Shit! That thing is huge.”
The bulbous end of its long nose extended above the water, followed by its ridged head. Three central fins ran back toward its neck from its brow and six eyes stared balefully at them as it edged closer, its massive tail swiping from side to side as it propelled itself through the water. Long filaments that sprouted from the side of its mouth whipped into the air as its massive jaws opened.
The warriors sprung to action. Each of them opened their packs and pulled out a strange round shell with a wick leading off them. Frahnkee dragged him back with a muttered curse as they were lit and thrown in the water near the creature. Water splashed up violently with a series of explosions. Another volley followed after it., kicking up more water with their blasts. After the spray died down, Kaede noted that the vagourol was no longer nearby. It had retreated and the ridge of its long tail was all that could be seen as it swam further down river.
Heart of the Agraak Page 21
