Bhyr

by Penelope Fletcher

  ‘You wouldn’t have done it yourself. We needed you.’ Her mouth firmed. ‘You know what? Sorry not sorry. You were the best candidate by far.’

  ‘I agree,’ said Ashleigh.

  ‘Meh.’ Mayumi scratched her nose. ‘I’m just relieved it wasn’t me. I’m going to be busy with my hotel-spa launch.’

  ‘Spa?’ Cristina squealed.

  I put my head in my hands and groaned.

  ‘I don’t know what the problem is,’ Cristina said. ‘You’ve wanted to run a political party since we were five.’

  ‘Yes. Lead a single party. Not represent all the women on an entire planet,’ I said through my fingers.

  ‘You always were an overachiever.’ Cristina sniffed. ‘You’re welcome, by the way. I ran your campaign.’ She made a swooping motion with her hand. ‘You won by a landslide.’

  Mayumi patted her hand. ‘You’re such a good friend.’

  ‘That’s right. Hear that, Indie? I’m spectacular.’

  We talked over the finer points of letting the other women know our next steps and ended up using the whole day making plans.

  On her way out behind the others, Cristina clung to me like a barnacle.

  ‘I am not your friend,’ I told her.

  She gave me big sad doe eyes that had no effect as she couldn’t stop grinning. ‘Don’t be mad. I can’t stand it. You’re my ride or die bitch.’

  ‘You went behind my back.’

  ‘You were the best one for the job, and you’ve had your hands full with the First.’ She let me go. ‘I wanted nothing to disturb that, or jeopardise the relationship you’re building with him.’

  ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

  ‘Give it a rest, Indie, or you’ll start to sound like Ashleigh. We came to this planet as chattel. You spend a couple of weeks alone with the First, and look at us now.’ She grabbed my shoulders. ‘You did something. I don’t know what it cost you, and I can only imagine what you went through. If you ever need to talk, I’m here. The others may never say it or even know they should, but thank you.’

  ‘All I did was tell him no.’

  Smiling, her head tilted. ‘And that wasn’t hard enough?’ She peeked outside to see where the suns where at. ‘I’d better go. I have to go tell Grace what’s what.’ Her expression curdled. ‘So looking forward to that conversation.’

  I walked her out, shaking new lanterns to brighten the passageway. ‘How is she doing?’

  ‘Terrible. Sah Rahm did a number on her. She goes into hysterics if Bihter comes within five feet. She hides under the covers all day. Crying. She barely eats. She’s getting so thin.’ Cristina gnawed her thumb until it bled. ‘She won’t snap out of it. I don’t know what to do. She’s met Ashleigh, but refuses to consider meeting any of the others, which is silly because she needs support.’

  ‘Keep trying.’ I wrinkled my nose. ‘If it doesn’t get better soon, I’ll visit and deliver some tough love.’ Or hard truths.

  We wouldn’t give up on her. Things were getting better, and soon, she would have the chance to go home.

  I’d make sure of it.

  29

  Bhyr

  Pulpy grey tissue. Shards of white bone. Sticky blood that pooled and was red, so red, it neared black. The bright liquid saturating the moss was full of silent blame the pale lips would never say.

  ‘First?’ The fulsome voice rose in concern, as if its owner had tried to capture his attention for a while.

  Bhyr lifted his head. His stare pinned Kov Drayg.

  The male averted his eyes. His eyes landed on the body and flitted away from that too. ‘The perimeter is secure.’

  ‘And?’ Bhyr asked.

  ‘We located the breeder’s warrior in the southern tunnel.’

  The breeder, Bhyr thought.

  He felt a lurch within that left him unsteady.

  He remembered the judgement on Indira’s face when he told her Horde warriors did not deign to learn the names of their inferiors. ‘Do you know her name?’ Bhyr motioned to the naked body that looked too broken to ever have lived.

  A meaningful pause.

  ‘No,’ the male replied. ‘My female would, but I do not wish her to see this.’

  Bhyr would rather put out Indira’s eyes than have her see this. ‘Bring him to me.’ Blistering rage devoured the calm he wore as a mantle. ‘He will explain the meaning of this. He will make me understand why he chose to do this.’

  Features pulling in odd ways, Drayg shook his head. ‘Come. You must see this now.’

  A fistful of chimes later, Bhyr stood over the ravaged corpse of his warrior.

  His hands shook. ‘Who?’

  Acknowledging his First’s presence, Kov Ohx glanced up from where he tended to the body, reuniting head with neck.

  Gentle despite the brutish appearance of his hands, he covered the departed with a ceremonial skin. ‘I ran his blood through the sequencer, but I know him.’ Wide shoulders heaved with a sigh. ‘Destruction has welcomed Arj Kryll to his domain.’

  That made Bhyr pause.

  ‘An Arj.’ Drayg’s expression stretched in surprise.

  ‘I know.’ Face troubled, Ohx shook his head. ‘In protest of Wyrm’s exile, they have chosen to back the older generations. Savaging one of their own makes no sense. No matter the political leaning, generations protect others of the brood.’

  ‘It must have been one of our people.’ Drayg appeared unconvinced.

  ‘No,’ Bhyr said. ‘I would never condone what was done here. This was perpetrated by the older generations.’

  ‘This will fracture them, if so,’ Drayg surmised.

  ‘All of us. It will divide all of us.’ Bhyr dragged a hand over the ridges that ached along his crown. His people no longer simply died.

  They desecrated each other.

  ‘He fought,’ Ohx pointed out.

  Drayg clicked low in his throat, agreeing. ‘Defensive wounds from multiple strikes.’ He pointed out the lacerations and gouges in the armour covering the male’s chest and sides. He hovered over a ragged puncture under the left pectoral. ‘They bled him, but this here is what felled him.’

  ‘There was more than one,’ Bhyr stated.

  ‘An ambush.’ Drayg motioned to Ohx, and they stood. They struck at each other, Drayg the attacker and Ohx playing the victim, mimicking a desperate, close-quarters fight. ‘You can see from the tearing of the flesh the blades came from different directions.’

  Bhyr came up behind Ohx and mimed thrusting at his side, which the male blocked, allowing Drayg an opening to deliver the “killing” blow.

  They stepped apart then looked down on the fallen warrior, each feeling the devastation of the betrayal.

  Bhyr studied the marks on the ground. ‘One challenged, and once he was occupied, another came up from behind and gave the challenger his opportunity.’

  ‘With the warrior dead, and with no one to defend her, they dragged the female.’ Drayg highlighted the scuff marks leading to where they’d found the human. ‘They left her displayed in such a manner to degrade Kryll and embellish his failure.’

  ‘Perhaps, but I suggest we dig deeper.’ Ohx’s voice brimmed with repressed rage. ‘It is a message to all those who took human breeders.’

  ‘A threat?’ Drayg asked.

  ‘Yes, and an insult.’

  ‘Can you tell me who?’ Bhyr asked already knowing without extreme measures it would be near impossible.

  ‘There has not been a murder between Horde brothers since before my grandfather’s grandfather’s time. Death from Challenge, yes, but outright murder….’ Ohx trailed off. ‘We have the tech, but it means taking it from the last vespiary. The Erd and Sah will push back.’

  ‘They are the ones responsible,’ Drayg snapped.

  ‘It is no coincidence Kryll’s Gift was truth seeking,’ Bhyr said.

  ‘He was pleased with his breeder, but there are other Arj as content,’ Ohx agreed.

  Drayg blinked. ‘You thi
nk they want us to believe they murdered him because of the human.’ Drayg inhaled sharply as he caught onto their flow of thought. ‘They needed to rid themselves of a liability, but knew if they simply killed him without reason, it would be obvious it was his divine Gift they feared rather than an outpouring of rage over his alien breeder.’

  ‘It is easier to lie to me when I cannot call upon a Gift to confirm or deny my suspicions.’ Bhyr laughed without humour. ‘But they forget I am not so easy to fool.’

  Ohx sighed. ‘What lie are they to tell that is so important they needed to kill to protect it?’

  They glanced at each other uneasily.

  ‘What will you do?’ Ohx asked, tentative to question.

  Bhyr waved a hand to dismiss the male’s concerns of offending him. ‘My sacred charge as Destruction’s Avatar is to protect the Horde. That is what I will do.’

  Drayg peered hard at him. ‘You will forgive them.’ He stated it, mouth tight.

  ‘A war between generations will mean the end of our species.’ He looked between the males. ‘Bring me evidence I can use against the perpetrators and they will be punished. In the meantime, I will call a Hunt and amend the Law.’

  Ohx shared a hopeful look with Drayg. ‘You will declare the breeders our life mates?’

  Bhyr gazed upon the body of his warrior then looked down the tunnel towards where the female lay.

  She hadn’t been wearing a Keeping.

  Bhyr knew what that meant. He knew the strength of what the warrior had felt for his human breeder.

  Kryll had found happiness, only to have it destroyed, and by those who professed themselves his kin.

  The knowledge hurt.

  It shattered the last of his blind belief in the sanctity of Horde Law.

  Laws could change. Tradition could be broken.

  No more needless death.

  ‘As of this very moment, I do. They are our mates. They have been since the beginning and it was ignorant and prideful for me to pretend otherwise.’ He looked between them. ‘Regardless, my conscience will allow nothing else.’

  ‘First.’

  Bhyr turned to seek the one who spoke his name as if he owned it.

  Sah Rahm, Erd Styng and a host of battle-tested warriors entered the grotto from the opposite direction.

  ‘He would dare.’ Ohx fixed a heavy-browed glare on the approaching group.

  Dipping his head in greeting, Rahm stopped by the breeder corpse. He clicked derisively. ‘What happened?’

  ‘Murder,’ Drayg replied. ‘You have testimony?’

  ‘Or a confession,’ Ohx added darkly.

  ‘Me?’ Rahm glanced over his shoulder at his cohorts, his expression amused bafflement. ‘I know nothing of the creature’s demise.’

  ‘No?’ Bhyr asked. ‘What of Arj Kryll? Our brother suffered treachery in defence of his breeder.’

  ‘He is dead, too? A travesty.’

  ‘You had nothing to do with it?’

  ‘I did not.’

  Bhyr studied him.

  The male may not have bloodied his own hands, but he was involved. That was clear to everyone present.

  He has become a problem too big to ignore.

  From the corner of his eye, Bhyr watched Bihter stride into the Gathering Grotto, his dark-skinned mate clutched to his side and appearing distressed. He slowed his step, reluctant to bring his breeder closer to a potential threat.

  ‘You think I lie?’ Rahm’s face didn’t change, but something about its arrangement seemed false. ‘Prove it.’

  ‘We will,’ Drayg said. ‘And not just for Kryll. Now the First has declared the humans our life mates, any action against them is punishable by Law.’

  Rahm had turned to saunter away, but hearing this, he spun. ‘What?’ His gaze switched to Bhyr, horror in their depths. ‘What did he say? What did you do?’

  ‘No!’ The cry echoed around the grotto. A yellow-haired female darted around Bihter and ran toward the dead human, hand outstretched.

  ‘Ashleigh?’ Surprised, Ohx bounced onto his feet and caught her around the waist. ‘Ashleigh, no.’

  ‘What happened?’ She tried shove free of his embrace. ‘Oh, my God. What happened to her face?’ She struggled when Ohx picked her up. He moved to the side, his gaze fixed on Rahm and his followers, leery of their presence. ‘Stop. Let me see her!’

  ‘What are you doing here?’ he asked in concern.

  ‘We had to come.’ Her voice was small and her mouth trembling. ‘You ignored my calls. It was important.’

  ‘As you see, this is important.’

  ‘Yes, but Hanna’s already dead. Grace may still be alive.’ She stretched her neck to look around, expression lightening in relief. ‘There. Cristina’s warrior will explain.’

  Still reluctant, Bihter approached, arm clamped around his breeder. ‘First,’ he greeted, solemn. ‘You need to hear this.’ He nudged his female. ‘Go on, Cristina. Tell him what you told me. He will not harm you.’

  The human his Indira considered a friend met his gaze. Her expression hardened in determination. ‘I wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t urgent, but after we were finished at your nest and left, Ashleigh and I dropped off Mayumi and were walking home.’

  ‘To my nest,’ Bihter clarified.

  ‘That is not safe,’ Bhyr told her and sent a reproving look over their heads at their warriors.

  The males cringed.

  ‘Yeah, I’m getting that.’ Cristina’s eyes latched onto the dead human. She shivered. ‘Anyway, once I was home it was obvious Grace wasn’t there. We searched the nest and the tunnels surrounding it.’ She opened her hands to flash empty palms. ‘Nothing.’

  Bhyr felt a spike of alarm. ‘If she wandered into the wilderness, she is in grave peril. We can track her with the signal from her holosphere transmitter–’

  ‘She refused implantation,’ Bihter said. ‘She believed it an attempt at mind control.’

  Blinking at the illogical thoughts of the missing human, Bhyr paused. ‘We will track her trail, then.’

  ‘Wait.’ Cristina reached to grab his arm. She stopped when he wrenched the limb from her reach.

  ‘No female touches me but Indira.’

  ‘Fair enough, but I’m not finished and you need to listen.’

  ‘It gives the First orders.’ Rahm radiated menace.

  Bihter flashed his teeth and both males leaned in, bodies readying to meet in violent confrontation.

  ‘Enough.’ Bhyr looked at the breeder, a sense of foreboding creeping over him. ‘Continue.’

  ‘We grew concerned. Bihter and Ohx weren’t picking up our calls, so we decided to search outside on the mountain steppes ourselves.’ Cristina’s lips thinned at his disapproving expression. ‘Yes, I know, it’s dangerous, but we had few options. We decided to call Indie, to let her know what we were up to. We voted her our leader, and it seemed sensible to let someone know we’d be out there.’ Her distress grew. ‘So, we called her and, well, see for yourself.’ The human brought up her holosphere and using verbal commands tapped his breeder’s frequency.

  The visualiser slid side to side, searching, as if Indira’s transmitter didn’t exist.

  ‘I tried as well,’ Ashleigh said. ‘I had the same result.’

  ‘As did I, once they found me,’ Bihter said, apologetic. Contacting another male’s breeder was taboo to the extreme. ‘First, I believe something has happened to both Grace and Indira.’ His gaze fell on the dead breeder. ‘Even more so, now that I see this.’

  But Bhyr was already trying Indira himself and getting the same response.

  Nothing.

  ‘What would cause this,’ he asked, fighting for calm, the pounding of his pulse at his temple. A dozen horrific images cycled through his imagination. Close to panting, he suppressed them to keep from devolving into a rampaging monster.

  ‘The device is powered using body heat. If it is removed, it will no longer function. It might malfunction if too hot, but that temp
erature would be incompatible with human life. Either it was removed or the user is….’ Ohx trailed off, alarmed at his leader’s expression.

  Ashleigh made a furious noise. ‘Dead. You’re saying she might be dead. And if she’s dead, Grace is dead, too. Just like Hanna. Just like Ella.’

  Bihter’s human turned a horrible colour. ‘What? We were with her just a few hours ago! Everything was fine!’

  Bhyr had frozen. He looked at the dead breeder, realised he’d left his mate alone and undefended, then glanced up and met Rahm’s gaze. He knew his fear was too close to the surface when the male’s face took on a gloating cast.

  ‘Perhaps she has ventured outside and grown too cold for the transmitter to function,’ Bihter said trying to soothe. ‘We have no proof she is dead.’

  ‘We will go to your nest now,’ Ohx said. ‘If she is gone, we will find her.’

  ‘Her and Grace,’ Bihter added.

  ‘Indira knows not to leave the nest.’ Bhyr resisted the urge to clutch his chest, the panic eating through him acute to the point of pain.

  Shifting closer, inviting himself into their huddle, Rahm rocked his head on his neck. ‘Perhaps, but these humans are flighty creatures. It does not surprise me to hear of their escape. And in our dangerous lands! And with an Exile who bears a grudge on the loose! Think of the horrors that might befall her at his hands.’

  Drayg, who had shifted aside to check on his own breeder, rejoined the conversation. ‘You seem certain Wyrm will find her?’

  Rahm clicked. ‘You blocked his frequency.’

  Bhyr, Ohx, Bihter and Drayg shot hurried, horrified looks between themselves then brought up their holospheres. Bhyr reinstated Arj Wyrm to his contact list and there it was.

  ‘He is insane,’ Drayg whispered, reading the transmission over his shoulder.

  Rahm sighed. ‘At least the First’s honour will not be completely violated. The Keeping will stop the Exile from breeding his get on her.’ Rahm’s voice was mild. ‘Will it not?’

  ‘You motherfuc–’ Bihter put a hand over his breeder’s mouth and moved her aside.

  Bhyr swept past, his stride quickening.

  ‘We will take you home,’ Ohx told Ashleigh as they trotted behind. ‘We must begin the search.’