by Narro, B. T.
The other Krepp left quietly, knowing Doe was finished with him.
“Only Zeti and I survived.”
“How’s that possible?”
Shame gripped Zeti. She couldn’t look at Doe as she waited for Keenu to answer.
“Many of our Human allies fled while Zeti and I were busy elsewhere. We stayed somewhere safe when it was clear that the battle was lost and the other Krepps were already dead.”
“So you hid?”
Keenu puffed out his chest. “We fought and killed many. Zeti and I aren’t cowards. But we didn’t wish to throw our lives away when there’s much more fighting to do.”
Doe grumbled as he stared at Keenu. When his beady black eyes shifted to Zeti, her guilt almost made her blurt out the truth about Zoke forcing her to drink a sleeping potion and Keenu staying at her side until she woke.
“Did you see brother to you?” Doe asked.
“No. He might’ve died for all I know.” Suddenly the fear was gone. She relished in her ability to lie, knowing there was no psychic.
Doe broke his gaze with her, satisfied. “Haemon has been killed.”
“He…what?” Did she hear that right?
Keenu said nothing, his face frozen with an indifferent expression.
“Vithos and some Human shot him with a poisoned arrow before he and the others made it back to the encampment.”
“I…” Zeti didn’t understand, but she refrained from speaking, knowing it wasn’t her place.
“May I ask questions?” Keenu said.
“You may.”
“How many were with Vithos and the Human?”
“Those with Haemon reported seeing only two of them.”
“So they at least killed Vithos and this Human,” Keenu said.
“No. They shot Vithos, but he was still alive when he escaped.”
“How?” Zeti blurted before she could stop herself.
Doe showed her a scowl. “They each were riding beasts with four legs that were too fast for the Krepps to stop. They buried Haemon where he died, and they brought back the corpse of one of the beasts they killed for me to look at. I don’t know what it was. I don’t know where the Humans found two of them. Perhaps they’ve discovered a way into Sumar to the south and they came from there.”
“Will these beasts help our enemies fight?” Keenu asked.
“Yes, but we believe there were only two of the beasts—now one. The Krepps with Haemon had already attacked two of the Humans’ cities, their capital and what they call the Academy.” Doe stopped himself, his scowl worsening. He seemed to be speaking to himself when he continued. “But some Krepps reported seeing Vithos in the capital with a beast, while others said he was in the Academy without one. So obviously there’s a mistake. No one can be in two places at once...” Doe squeezed his claws and looked to the dirt, seemingly struck by a thought. “I’d forgotten there were two of them!” He shook his head, his fat jiggling. He looked back at Keenu. “It won’t be long before we’re ready to attack.”
“What of Tenred?” Keenu asked. “It seems they’re ready to give up.”
“Not according to their king. Although they retreated, they still wish to fight with us. In Tegry’s letter, he mentioned a plan to kill Welson before we strike again. He gave me no details, only that another pigeon will inform me when it has happened, which should be in the next few days. I’ll send someone for you both when it does. In the meantime, get back to your tasks.”
Zeti was too distracted figuring out how she would ask about her mother to focus on anything Doe said.
When Keenu turned to leave, she knew this was her only chance. “I would be grateful if I could discuss something briefly with you,” Zeti told Doe.
“Fine, make it quick.”
Keenu stopped with a look at Zeti over his shoulder, his eyes asking if he should stay.
“Go on,” she told him.
He nodded and left.
Zeti struggled to find the right words. Doe began to grumble as he waited.
“Mother to me died when I was very young. She…went into the eppil garden, so you were forced to kill her. I would like to know if there was anything she said about why she did it. I don’t understand why she would.”
“No, that didn’t happen.”
“She didn’t say anything?”
“No!” Doe became annoyed. “Mother to you never came into the eppil garden. Only four Krepps have ever done that, each of them male. Is that all?”
No, of course that wasn’t all. That was just the start of it. But she was too unprepared for this answer. What did it mean?
“Father to me told me she did,” she said mostly to herself.
Doe’s claws squeezed together and he began to wheeze. “Are you calling me a liar?”
Zeti spoke frantically as she backed away. “No, I didn’t mean that. Father to me obviously is the one lying.”
“I’ll give you permission to speak with the death keeper. Just make sure you get your tasks done. There are many weapons to be made so we’re ready to fight.”
Zeti risked asking, “What’s a death keeper?”
“It’s the Krepp who keeps records of all those killed. He helps us keep track of our numbers, differentiating the traitors who’ve fled from those who’ve died honorably. If mother to you died, then there’ll be a record of it. This is something only officers have access to. We don’t want Krepps distracted with the past…I don’t want that.” He muttered something in Slugaren. All Zeti could understand was Haemon’s name. “Is that all?” Now he was irritated again.
“Where is the death keeper’s hut?” she asked meekly.
“Close to the eastern wall, toward its center. The Krepp’s name is Bipp. If you must ask other Krepps for help finding his hut, don’t mention Bipp’s task.” He turned away from her to show he was done.
She left and broke into a run toward the eastern wall. But someone shouted her name. “Zeti!”
She stopped only when she saw it was Keenu. He was concerned. “Why are you running?”
“I need to find out what happened to mother to me.” Unwilling to waste any more time, she ran. She’d already told Keenu about her despicable father and how her mother was killed when she was young. She figured he’d understand.
Near the eastern wall, she began to ask Krepps for the location of Bipp’s hut. Many had never heard of the Krepp, making her believe she was in the wrong area. She continued to ask others as she came closer to the wall.
Eventually she came to a Krepp that guided her the rest of the way. But to her disappointment, she was led to one of the pig farms.
“Are you sure Bipp is here?” Zeti asked.
“That’s him.” The Krepp pointed toward a tall yet lean male Krepp. He was pouring a bucket of slop into a trough. He barely made it out of the way before being trampled by the swarm of swine.
Zeti approached. “Are you Bipp?”
“Yes,” he answered, too busy refilling the bucket to look behind him. “Who asks?”
“Zeti. I would like to speak to you.” The closest Krepp seemed to be too far away to overhear them, but she kept her voice low just in case. “In private. I have permission from Doe.”
From the glance he showed her as he brought the bucket back to the trough, it was clear he understood what she meant.
“Follow me.” Bipp licked the residue off his fingers.
He led Zeti to his hut. Behind his bed was a locked chest of sturdy wood. He removed a key from his pocket and took out the largest book Zeti had ever seen. Its pages were made of thick paper, both tall and wide.
All of the books she knew of were small enough to carry easily with one hand. They’d been in Zoke’s possession, most of them, while she’d seen some for sale at the market. Unlike her brother, she had no interest in reading. He’d tried to teach her how when she was younger, but it was too frustrating for her.
“How long ago did he or she die?” Bipp asked.
“Ten years ago,”
Zeti answered. She was just two—pra durren at the time, barely able to speak. Zoke was six—pra durren. “Her name was Junni.”
Bipp moved his claws back and forth as he appeared to search. He stopped and said, “Here. She was killed by her seshar, Ruskir.”
Zeti felt difficulty breathing. She dug her claws into her palm.
“This upsets you,” Bipp said softly.
“What else does it say?”
“It says Ruskir was attacked by her. He was defending himself when he killed her.”
Lies. “Is that it?”
“There was one witness to confirm, Dentar.”
Of course.
“No punishment was given to Ruskir. That’s all it says.”
Zeti decided then that she would kill Ruskir. She should’ve done it years ago. Already out of Bipp’s hut, she was squeezing her dagger so tightly her arm shook.
She didn’t know where Ruskir was, but she knew how to find him. She went to the market to ask around as to where the best games for gamblers were that day.
Zeti had eaten nothing since returning to the encampment. But she was fueled by her determination and anger. Ruskir wasn’t at the first table of card-playing Krepps she found. He wasn’t at the second either, nor the third.
“Do you know Ruskir?” she asked the group of them.
One scratched the air in front of her without looking up from his cards. “He’s at his task with the chickens.”
Zeti left, still unwilling to sheathe her blade.
When she arrived, Zeti was surprised to find Dentar there as well, sitting on a log and sharpening a blade as Ruskir decapitated chickens and ripped the feathers from their carcasses.
Dentar spotted Zeti first. He stood and muttered something. Ruskir turned next.
“What do you want?” Ruskir said.
“I want to hear the truth, for once!”
He spat. “About what?”
“How did mother to me die?”
Ruskir came toward her, letting himself out of the chicken pen with his sword still in hand. Dentar was close behind carrying his own weapon.
“She was a slucha. That’s the truth.”
Zeti nearly threw her dagger at him. Instead, she spat. He jumped out of the way.
“It’s true, Zeti,” Dentar said, stepping to Ruskir’s side.
Ruskir added, “I caught her with male Krepps.”
“Doing what?” Zeti knew her father was lying. He always lied.
“I knew what she was doing,” he insisted. “I didn’t need to see it. I could tell from the way she spoke with them.”
“So you killed her? You believed she cared for other males, and this gave you grounds to kill her?”
“She attacked me,” Ruskir lied.
Zeti cursed at him, then spat again.
He spat back and raised his sword. “You’re going to attack me also, you stupid kushlat?”
There were no more thoughts, only rage. Zeti grabbed a rock near her feet and threw it with all her might. It struck Dentar in the chest. He grunted, stumbling backward and clutching his heart. She threw another, this one hitting her target. It struck Ruskir in the shoulder as he turned defensively.
He uttered a scream and charged at her. Her rationality came back just in time. Her dagger against their swords would require technique over strength. She jumped to the side as he lunged, but she was too far to counterattack.
“Kill her,” Dentar encouraged, watching with an ugly grin.
She jumped back to dodge another attack. Ruskir snorted and said, “You shouldn’t have come here, kushlat.”
She kicked up dirt, hoping to blind him for a breath. But he moved his forearm in front of his face in time, then charged again.
She tripped over the uneven ground. He was coming too fast. She twisted and bent her leg up to protect her torso.
A blur of gray slammed into Ruskir, tackling him. They came apart quickly, Ruskir wildly swinging at what Zeti soon saw to be Keenu. She got to her feet when she saw Dentar coming behind Keenu as he and Ruskir swiped at each other.
“Behind you!” Zeti screamed, too far away to help.
Keenu rolled before Dentar could remove his head with his blade. Ruskir was already over him, ready to strike with an overhead swing.
This time Zeti did throw her dagger. It was a calculated toss, without anger interfering with her focus. She couldn’t see whether the blade or the handle struck Ruskir in his naked chest, as it didn’t impale him, but it did halt him enough for Keenu to run his sword through Ruskir’s stomach.
Ruskir dropped his weapon and fell backward. Keenu’s sword was already out of his flesh, blocking Dentar’s aggressive attacks. Keenu finished him quickly when he found an opening, stabbing Dentar in the heart.
Ruskir grunted and struggled but lacked the strength to get up. Zeti retrieved her dagger and knelt over him.
“Wait,” he uttered. “I’ve always done what’s best for you and Zoke. I’ve been a good father to you.”
“Stop lying, Father. You know you’re selfish and dishonorable.”
His hand struggled to grasp the handle of his sword. “You’re the dishonorable one, kushlat.”
Zeti drove her dagger into his chest.
Chapter 30:
ZETI
“Will we be punished?” Zeti asked.
“Not when you were defending yourself,” Keenu said.
“Then what about you?”
“I was protecting you from death. I had the right to kill either of them. Besides, chiefs are never punished for what they do to other Krepps, only when they fail their tasks.”
They reported the incident to the Krepps responsible for the dead. She knew close friends and relatives were to be notified. A few of her father’s associates might feign sadness, though she knew none would care that he or Dentar were gone.
And Zoke would care even less, she figured.
It was easy for Zeti to pretend nothing had happened. She’d already come to accept she’d never see Ruskir again. The fact that he was dead hardly made a difference.
Guilt woke her in the night, though. Her neck and back ached, as if she was twisted awkwardly while sleeping. She knew there was no reason to be guilty, but she couldn’t seem to rid herself of the feeling completely.
When she started her tasks the next day, however, the memory of her father easily became just as distant as that of her mother.
It wasn’t the same for Zoke. Just because she’d accepted there was nothing she could do to save him didn’t mean she’d really accepted him being killed. It was frustrating, being unable to accept something inevitable. She didn’t know what to do to fix it. The more she thought about it, the worse it became, causing nausea and even tears when she was in private. As she and others took painstaking efforts to make sure every able Krepp was equipped with a good weapon, she couldn’t help but think of each day as one less that Zoke had to live.
She showed her gratitude to Keenu for saving her life by making sure a sword of the finest steel went to him. He showed up at her hut that evening.
“This was your doing, wasn’t it?” He smiled as he displayed his new sword.
“For your assistance with father to me.”
“Usually it’s the male that offers gifts.” He seemed embarrassed. “I’ve tried to think about what I could give you, but I haven’t decided on anything. I don’t want to insult you with something you can’t use or wouldn’t like.”
“The things I want can’t be gifted.” She thought of her brother, though her mind quickly searched for something else she could say if he asked what she meant.
But he didn’t. Keenu slowly slid his pristine sword into the sheath on his belt, gazing at Zeti silently.
“Is a seshar one of those things?”
“It is, but a dead mate is worse than none. I can’t endure the pain.”
He came forward and knelt. “I won’t die.”
Zeti laughed.
Keenu showed insult in a grimace. H
e stood and straightened his back. “Why is this funny?”
She touched his arm to show her mistake. “Just what you said. No Krepp thinks they’ll die, not even father to me with his stomach pierced by your blade. He still lied as if he was going to live. You can tell me you’ll try not to die, but that’s the most I’ll believe until this is over.”
The insult was gone from his bright eyes. “I understand. So you’ll take a seshar after we destroy Kyrro?”
“I will.”
By the time news came of Welson Kimard’s death, Zeti knew the final preparations for battle would be done soon. Their whole army would march to Kyrro—every Krepp able to fight, and the two Dajriks. With there being no chance of failure, all of her worries were for her brother.
She was with Keenu in Doe’s quarters when one of the pigeon keepers brought in the announcement of Welson’s death.
Doe began to read the message from Tenred aloud, “The King of Kyrro has been killed. Tegry Hiller wanted me to…” Doe fell into silence as his fat face scrunched while his beady eyes continued reading.
“May I ask a question?” Keenu tried.
“No,” Doe said. “Leave me.”
But they hadn’t finished their original conversation. Doe was explaining a new task he needed from them before the messenger came in.
Zeti opened her mouth to say something, but Keenu touched her shoulder and shook his head. They left quickly.
Zeti waited until they were far enough from the two guards outside the entrance to Doe’s building. Then she asked Keenu what he was thinking.
“That letter was different than the others,” he said. “Nebre has always translated what was told to him. He never wrote directly to Doe before.”
Doe had never started reading a letter aloud without finishing it. He clearly trusted Keenu and Zeti enough with any information about the war. But something different must’ve been in that letter, something he didn’t wish them to hear.
