by K. J. Colt
I changed the subject. ‘When did you lose your supplies?’
‘This morning. Early, too. Seems I may as well give up. I’ve no chance of winning.’
I hid my relief. Skelkra must have taken Ketnal’s possessions sometime between last night and this morning when I’d found him fighting the hawgrald. That meant Skelkra was still tied to the tree.
‘You will disgrace your parents if you do not bring back your lion…’ I realised I didn’t know what part of the lion Ketnal was supposed to bring back.
‘Tail,’ he finished for me. ‘If you had been a boy, I wouldn’t have to fight a lion at all. I could become leader by fighting the other boys, not ferocious beasts four times my size with disembowelling teeth and claws.’
I stared into the flames. He was right; my birth had initiated the Bestial Passage. ‘You will find another place to camp tonight,’ I stated.
‘I have nothing except my bow. Not a knife to create arrows with. Nothing. I won’t be trouble.’
‘I can’t trust you.’
‘Why? Did someone else already fool you?’ He smirked, and I considered the knife in my hand.
‘No. You could steal my knife, make your arrows, kill your lion, and start your journey back tonight, travelling by the stars.’
‘Fantastic! A good plan! I wish I’d thought of it,’ he teased. It took effort not to smile along with him.
‘Go,’ I said, standing; my injury complained.
Ketnal froze and regarded me for a moment, his smile turning to a smirk. ‘Fine,’ he said and walked away into the darkness. Tasz sighed and followed.
I sat back down. ‘We won’t sleep tonight. Our enemies snap at our backs.’
Jeykal nodded. ‘The Lions are crafty. He’ll be back.’
I whispered, ‘I took some arrows from Skelkra; I’ll go hunt.’
As I rose, Jeykal touched my arm and looked at my leg. ‘I’ll do it.’
I was relieved he’d offered. While I’d be willing to hunt, the stress from the day’s events and my sore leg would make me ineffective. Jeykal took the bow and moved away, and Emarkasa followed him. I heard the crack of a twig somewhere in the forest. I angled my head to listen. Silence. I marvelled at Jeykal’s skill. I hoped he would find something to satisfy our appetites.
While Jeykal was away, I offered the Watchers the axe, and they made their own camp away from ours. I didn’t want Sankat near me anyway.
Soon after, feet squeaked in the snow nearby, and Jeykal appeared, lugging a deer. Emarkasa settled back beside Thixal and Sankat. I skinned the beast, carved off the steaks for the fire, and placed them on the coals. The meat bubbled, and a delicious aroma filled the air. My mouth watered as I watched the food cook.
‘I’m wearing two shirts; let me give you one,’ I said.
Jeykal nodded and eagerly took the clothing.
I looked at Jeykal’s feet and noticed his left small toe looked very blue. ‘Is it…?’ I pointed at his toe.
‘I think so.’
‘Here.’ I unrolled one of my sacks and cut it up into two strips. ‘Use these for your feet.’ ‘After I warm them up first.’ He sat back and put his feet near the flames.
‘Please. Let me share in your meal,’ Ketnal called from the surrounding trees.
I snatched up my dagger, and Jeykal grabbed his bow and arrow.
‘Go!’ I yelled.
‘But I’m starving,’ Ketnal complained. Tasz appeared behind him.
‘Starve or die right now? It’s your choice.’
Ketnal stepped out of the trees, hands spread, mouth turned down.
‘Are you mad?’ Jeykal asked incredulously.
‘I merely want to eat.’
At that moment, a spear flew through the air and was imbedded in Ketnal’s chest. His hands clutched the spear, and blood flowed from his mouth. I dropped and spun at the same time, facing the direction the spear had come from. The Watchers all stood too. Emarkasa looked scared. I kicked snow on our fire. The embers hissed and glowed, and smoke filled the air. Tasz stepped back into the trees.
‘Murderer,’ I cried into the dark.
Jeykal crouched, bow aimed at the trees.
‘Show yourself,’ I shouted.
Skelkra appeared before us, shadowy and tall. He lugged a bag. My eyes snapped to the bag, to his clothes. Where had he gotten the supplies? I knew he carried the entire body of a wolf inside the bag. I wondered if the kill was fresh.
He smiled at me. ‘I am following the rules. I can kill you now if I wish.’
‘I’m surprised you didn’t do it this morning.’
Skelkra tipped his head in the direction of the Watchers. ‘Evening.’
Thixal and Emarkasa frowned. Sankat, the Wolf elder, widened his stance and smirked.
‘I should kill you,’ I said.
‘Oh, but you won’t. You gave yourself to me. Remember?’
Jeykal sniffed beside me. I couldn’t see his eyes in the dark, but somehow I knew Skelkra’s revealing our entanglement had hurt him. I’d long suspected his feelings for me. Why was Skelkra here? Why had he killed Ketnal?
Jeykal shook, his arrow drawn far back, the bowstring taut. If he let go, Skelkra would die. However, I knew Jeykal’s heart. He would only kill in defence, and Skelkra had not tried to kill us… yet.
I glanced at Ketnal’s corpse. ‘What do you want? Go back to Vilseek and claim your prize.’
‘Both of you are my competition. I think I’ll stay here for now. You’re not going to kill me, are you?’
Once again, I could not see Skelkra’s Watcher. ‘Where is Abel?’
‘Oh, he fell down a cliff. The snow collapsed underneath him. I tried to save him, but it was too late.’
Was he lying? My eyes darted to the bloodied bag on his back and tried to figure out what he needed from me… other than to kill me.
Thixal and Emarkasa stepped forward. ‘We must question you on this, Skelkra of the Wolves.’
He made a sweeping motion with his hand. ‘Of course.’
‘Did you kill Abel, the Snake elder?’
He pointed at his chest. ‘I would never do that. I only wish to win this competition. I would never kill an elder.’
Sankat relit the fire with twigs and leaves. When the light returned and the Watchers were better able to read Skelkra’s expressions, the questioning continued.
‘Can you prove that you did not kill him?’
Skelkra hardened his smile. ‘Is this how it’s going to work? Guilty until proven innocent?’
‘It looks bad, Skelkra,’ Thixal said.
‘I know, but I honestly didn’t.’ He took three steps towards the elders.
I saw two wooden stakes lodged in the back of his clothing. Then I realised where his clothes had come from and to whom the bag belonged. They hadn’t been Ketnal’s; they’d been Abel’s. ‘Watch out!’ I cried.
Skelkra pounced, embedding two handmade spears into Thixal and Emarkasa. Faces in shock, they fell to their knees. Blood stained their clothes and dripped onto the snow.
I grabbed at Jeykal’s bow with the intention of putting an arrow through Skelkra’s heart, but my ex-lover jumped on me, punching my wounded leg. I screamed at the pain. Jeykal took my knife and sliced Skelkra’s arm. Skelkra groaned and caught Jeykal across the cheek with his fist. Jeykal dropped the knife near me and fell to the ground, clutching his bloodied face. I stretched my fingertips towards the dagger. Then Skelkra brought up his leg and stomped down on my arm.
I heard a sickening crack and screamed as the bones broke. Suddenly, Skelkra was gone. I couldn’t move. Jeykal’s face hovered above mine. Blood from his face dripped onto me, and with my unbroken arm, I pushed him away.
‘I’ll be back,’ Jeykal said. He returned with a straight stick. He went to the two Watchers’ bodies and ripped at their clothing.
Sankat rose from his seat, looked over at the two dead elders, stole one last glance at Jeykal and me, and wandered off.
‘And yo
u do nothing again! You’re in on this, aren’t you?’ I screamed at the old man. If not for my inoperable arm, I would have thrown my knife, hitting him in the lower torso so his stomach acid bled internally, giving him a slow and painful death.
Before he disappeared into the night, he turned to me. ‘All is fair once the prize has been captured. I cannot intervene.’
Jeykal took four determined steps and shoved the elder to the ground. Sankat glared at Jeykal. Jeykal had never been one to lash out selfishly, but this situation called for it.
‘Jeykal, check if they’re dead?’ I nodded to Thixal and Emarkasa.
He touched my Watcher’s face. ‘Thixal’s alive, but she won’t last long.’
Then I heard a cry from the woods. Tasz! Skelkra had killed Ketnal’s Watcher. I closed my eyes and felt fear take hold. ‘Go for help or something,’ I told Sankat shakily. ‘We don’t even know if he killed that wolf himself, and besides, the challengers aren’t allowed to attack elders!’
Sankat rose and dusted himself off. ‘There are no rules that prohibit it.’
‘You protect your own!’ How could he stand by and watch this slaughter?
Sankat bowed and slunk back into the night.
‘We have to get back,’ I said to Jeykal, who returned with shredded cloth to splint my arm.
Finally, he secured my arm to my body so it wouldn’t move. Then I noticed one of our daggers was missing.
‘He took a knife. He’s got a wolf’s body in that bag. He has to cut off the head to win.’
‘I’ll find him,’ Jeykal said, gripping the bow and pointing towards the forest.
‘No, wait. Vilseek is a day’s walk from here. I can make it.’
Jeykal regarded me for a moment, then nodded. ‘All right.’ He packed up our gear.
We ate the burnt meat still left on the fire then followed the stars into the night.
Snow fell hard, blocking out the stars and making it almost impossible to see where we were going. I kept worrying that Skelkra was lurking in the forests. Every noise had me spinning around and peering into the dark. I waited for a spear to fly through the air and kill me. The wind howled, yet we pressed on through the blistering breeze. I’d oriented myself in relation to my city of Vilseek earlier that evening. My father taught me to navigate our lands from a young age, but the weather was so bad I couldn’t be sure we headed in the right direction.
My leg ached with every step. Thanks to my broken arm, I struggled to carry the bear head and lagged behind Jeykal. He stopped and tried to take the sack from me, but I looked at him defiantly.
He shook his head. ‘The Watchers are dead. There’s no one here to prove yourself to.’
‘You’re here,’ I said.
‘But I already think you’re strong.’
‘I’m fine.’
He ignored me and snatched the bag from my hands anyway.
‘But you’re already carrying so much,’ I said.
‘I can handle it,’ he replied, continuing onwards.
My left arm cramped for a moment but relaxed after a while without the weight on it. The storm subsided, the clouds cleared, and the stars came out. I sighed with relief; someone was on our side.
My eyes found the guiding stars. ‘We’re off course.’
Jeykal looked up. ‘Yes, that way,’ he said, pointing diagonally.
The moon moved across the sky, and a soft light turned the black sky grey. It neared sunrise.
‘Let’s camp for a while,’ Jeykal suggested.
‘No. We need to keep going. We have to get to Vilseek today. We have to keep—’ I stumbled, banging my knee on a rock.
Jeykal dropped the bags and ran to me.
I pushed him away. ‘I’m fine, really.’
The side of his mouth pulled upwards. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
He hauled me to my feet, his hand lingering just a little too long on my arm.
We managed to walk until daybreak. Flies swarmed my leg. The wound itched a little, and I struggled not to scratch. Rays of sunlight trickled down through spindly treetops. Snow reflected the crisp morning light.
‘Stop. I have to relieve myself,’ I said, focusing on the fullness of my abdomen.
Jeykal smiled and nodded.
I found a log behind some thick brushes, removed my pants, and sat. When I looked down, I noticed blood on the crotch. It was mine. I thought back to when my last bleeding had occurred. It had only been a week and a half ago. Odd, I thought. I wasn’t due for a couple of weeks, although I had heard that stress on the body could bring it earlier. I went back to Jeykal, and we decided to hunt. I slurped at my water skin, noticing it was almost empty. I took out a pot, collected snow, and boiled water. I built a fire and started it with my knife and flint. Jeykal returned a while later.
‘Only this,’ he said, showing me a single scrawny rabbit. ‘Snow’s deep; animals are scarce.’
‘We’ll be at the plains tonight. Should be better hunting there.’ Between the Death Peaks and Vilseek were large stretches of grass where deer fed. ‘Any sign of Skelkra?’
Jeykal shook his head.
‘I’m slowing us down,’ I said, knowing Skelkra and Sankat would get back to Vilseek before us. Jeykal sat close, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. My eyes felt heavy, like a branch weighed with snow, warm snow that lulled me to sleep. I jerked awake when Jeykal moved.
‘Here.’ He passed me some meat.
I ate quickly. We extinguished the fire and cleaned up. It felt strange without the Watchers observing our every move.
Even with Jeykal, I felt alone without Thixal. The forest felt larger, deeper, as if it would go on forever. I thought about the Watchers’ bodies just lying there on the ground—how we’d left Thixal alone while her life slipped away. Their passing deserved more respect, a ceremony with kind and praising words, and then they should be buried next to their families in the earth. I wondered if Father would believe our version of the events.
Tiny white grubs moved around in my wound. I couldn’t feel them yet, but knew in two days’ time the wound would hurt and itch, indicating it was healing. The yellowing had deepened, and if not for the maggots, a fever would set in, and I’d die.
In late afternoon, we came upon the grass plains, which, because of the heavy snows, had turned into an endless stretch of white. On the horizon were grey, moving blobs that swayed from side to side. I stopped walking and watched them; they seemed to be getting closer. I wondered what they were. They didn’t look like animals. Jeykal saw them too, and both of us stared. Eventually, we heard the thumping of hooves. Horses. Jeykal took out his bow and loaded an arrow. I took the bear head sack from Jeykal, clutched a knife, and waited. My people were coming, and it wouldn’t be a friendly reunion.
Chapter Six
‘My daughter,’ Father said as his horse sidestepped towards me.
Accompanying him were the leaders from every tribe, about half the tribal council. My eyes settled on my father and then Jeykal’s. The air grew tense.
‘Great leader,’ I replied, bowing my head low. I lugged the bag with the bear head to the feet of his horse. ‘Here is my prize.’
Father stared at the blood on my pants where my wound was; next, his gaze fixed on my damaged arm. I glanced between the leaders of the tribes. Some smirked, and others frowned. Skelkra’s father glared at me.
‘Skelkra has already returned,’ Father said, and I could see the many questions behind his steely gaze.
‘Cheaters often win the battle but lose the war,’ I replied.
Skelkra’s father spat at the ground. ‘She lies. My son is no cheater. She offered herself to him; he rejected her. Unrequited love stings the pride, and she is proud like her father.’
The chieftain twisted in his saddle to stare at the Wolf leader. ‘We will deal with this in the city hall.’ Father threw me a penetrating scowl and kicked his horse to a gallop.
A warrior rode up, leading two horses. Jeykal help
ed me onto mine and fastened our supplies to the saddles. He swung his leg up and settled into the seat.
I smiled at him encouragingly; dark circles had formed like rain clouds around his blue eyes. He smiled back and whipped his reins. His horse trotted forwards. I kicked my own mare with my left foot, and the animal jolted, causing pain to shoot through my weakened body.
We galloped across the plains and slowed when we reached the woods that would eventually break way to Vilseek farmlands. I was happy that I did not have to walk, or limp, the entire way. Sleet fell from the sky, the cool flakes catching in my horse’s mane. Field workers watched us cross towards the tall, log fence, the tops of which had been carved into spikes. Atop them sat skulls from enemies of the past. Interspaced towers holding archers and scouts broke up the mountainous background. Looking at the skulls again, I wondered what Skelkra had told the elders.
Jeykal’s father led him to his hut.
Father took me to his. ‘Get out!’ he yelled at Delsa, his personal slave.
She dropped the cup she’d been cleaning and fled the room in panic.
‘There’ll be a meeting. Tell me what happened, now.’
‘Well, mainly betrayal,’ I said.
‘Did you really throw yourself at the Wolf boy?’
Fatigue had taken my will to lie, to deceive; only truth was left. ‘No. Well. It was different than he says. He kept following me while I tracked the bears. I told him to go away. He said he thought I’d die if I faced the bear alone, but I did, and I killed it, Father.’ I smiled at him, showing my pride.
Father looked down at my leg. ‘Your wound is from a bear claw. Did the bear break your arm as well?’
‘No. Skelkra broke it. Let me finish. After my fight with the bear, I passed out. He took care of my wounds, made a fire, and then later we lay together.’
Father clenched his fists. ‘You bonded with him?’
In the past, Father had beaten me many times. The memories of those times surfaced, making me wary of our proximity. ‘I’ve always liked him, Father. We’ve been destined for each other since we were born.’
‘But you’re fifteen. He took advantage of you. You were injured.’
