by Ann Raina
“All right, no questions.” She kissed him. “If you don’t take me now, I’ll go out and take everybody else.”
“I guess I don’t want that.”
“I know.” Her hands traveled down his ribcage to his hips. She frowned. “Wait a moment. Is there someone outside?”
Sajitar pushed himself up once more to have a look and found Grenkyl and Bajan standing in front of the hut, looking innocent as puppies.
“What are you doing here?” he asked through the slit of the flap. “Don’t you have your own home?”
“Why, do you mind us listening?” Grenkyl smiled and shrugged. “It’s fun to hear what you talk about and…later. What you do, I mean.”
“Come on, folks, give us some privacy, okay? How can a man do what’s his right if you’re standing outside to judge?”
“No, just…listening,” Bajan stated. His face blushed with excitement, but he had the courtesy to look down.
“And I don’t want you to listen or watch or whatever. Can you respect that?”
“Sure.” Grenkyl turned, unhappy. “But you know it’s common around here. This is no closed society, not flats and houses and everybody has secrets. You don’t need any secrets here, Saji. And we don’t want you to start them.”
“Maybe later. Right now, I wouldn’t sell tickets.” He let go of the flap and turned, exhaling. “Is everything here free to watch?”
“Attractions are few. So we have to serve.” Rayenne patted the empty space beside her. “Come, listeners or no, I want you close to me.”
“How shall I say no?” he replied, and pretended to think about her invitation.
“If you don’t get over here now, I’ll pull you down.”
“I so love your threats…”
Chapter Nine
For another two weeks, Rayenne and Sajitar lived with the settlers and shared their daily chores as well as their meals. Ray learned to weave and do needlepoint and was fascinated by the variety of material the women used to create clothes, blankets and rain covers. There were spiders that spun nets strong enough to hold fruits, and certain caterpillars shed a substance that spiced soups like pepper. Shells of hard beetles were used for bowls and the bones of slaughtered animals were sharpened to knives and forks.
Sajitar regained his health and accompanied the men on their hunt for small beasts to enlarge the menu.
Grenkyl was the most skilled hunter among them, and led the hunting party south. Sajitar and Dorin accompanied him on the quiet march, looking out for tracks and signs, lances ready if a Tusk-turner was looking for them to become his dinner. They hunted and caught animals the size of guinea pigs and larger and were content enough to decide and return to the village on the second day.
Grenkyl was taciturn even after the successful hunt while they took their frugal meal around noon. Sajitar interpreted the glances as rejection and was about to comment on it when Grenkyl put down the waterskin and wiped his mouth to ask, “You know that you cannot keep her away from us for another moon, right?”
Sajitar had expected several accusations, but that was not one of them. When he didn’t reply at once, Grenkyl went on,
“She’s a woman of our village now and we all can woo her to share our bed. It’s not up to you to decide whom she prefers.”
“I didn’t tell her to stay with me, if that’s what you mean. She does this of her own free will.”
“You bet!” He spat on the ground.
Sajitar pursed his lips, checking Dorin, who pretended to be absorbed in eating the remains of a fruit. He did not even look up.
“Ray makes up her own mind. She decides. If she doesn’t want another man there will be no other man in her bed. It’s simple. And as far as I know—”
“You know nothing of us!” Grenkyl was up on his feet so quickly, Sajitar had no time to evade. He grabbed Sajitar by the collar and pulled him up to thrust him hard against the next trunk. “You came here and now try to make up new rules! You walk around like a proud cock, telling everyone that Ray only wants you! Who do you think you are? The best stud around?”
Saji put his hands around Grenkyl’s wrists, but he could as easily have tried to wrestle a Horlyn. Grenkyl’s arm muscles were hard like rope and just as strong. He could not break his grip. Though he knew Grenkyl would not easily kill him, he worried how far the older man would go.
“I don’t keep her from you or anyone else!”
Sajitar saw the blow coming, but it was too late. The back of his head hit the trunk and his vision exploded in a million stars. He cried out.
Grenkyl grunted without letting go.
“You pull her away the moment one of us only looks at her! But I’ll teach you manners!” Grenkyl hit him hard enough to split his lip and the third punch sent Sajitar to the ground, bleeding at the eyebrow. His conscious mind took a long time deciding whether to give up or stay put and finally settled for a blurred vision of the surroundings and the promise of a headache worthy of any hangover. Grenkyl spat on him, his fists ready if Sajitar dared to stand up. “You either give her free or we’ll have this meeting again before the moon phase is over. Your choice.”
Sajitar tasted blood on his lower lip and looked up where Grenkyl stood like a god of wrath. He smiled wearily, wiped his brow and came away with more blood.
“If you think that hitting me gets you Ray, you’re mistaken.” His voice slurred, but he went on, “She has her way with men, and you don’t gain a rotten leaf by smashing my face.”
Grenkyl bent to pull Sajitar up again, who held his hands up in defense.
“Maybe the message wasn’t clear enough. You’ll stay away from her, hear me? There’s dancing tonight to celebrate the hunt and I don’t want you close to Ray. I will ask her. And I don’t want to see your bloody face around.”
Sajitar shook his head slowly. The movement hurt.
“You don’t listen, Grenkyl. Even if I leave early, do you think she’ll happily dance with you and forget me because you’re such an excellent charmer?”
Grenkyl bared his large teeth to a wicked grin.
“Who says you’ll return with us tonight? I think I’d better leave you here somewhere.”
“And what will you tell the others? That I loved the flowers so much I couldn’t part with them?”
“I’ll come up with something.” Grenkyl thrust Sajitar down once more. He remained on the ground, grimacing. “Or even better—you’ll come up with an excuse to show your face only tomorrow.”
Sajitar closed his eyes and sent the image of him sitting bleeding on the ground. He had not seen any Horlyn around the whole day and maybe the attempt to make contact was nothing but an idiotic move to delay his fate, but he had to do something. Grenkyl looked as if he would do more than thrashing to keep Sajitar away from his beloved.
Grenkyl drank from his waterskin and put it away. Dorin shouldered his bag and waited for the two men to come. With the second attempt, Sajitar made it to his feet, but needed the trunk to support him. He took a deep breath.
“I thought you all belonged to one big happy family. Are you the black sheep, the brawler no one talks about?”
Grenkyl shot him an angry glare.
“Every family has its problems. And these days that’s you. There are fewer women than men here, you know that. Who can blame me for taking my chances? I want to be a father, too.”
“You could’ve made it a fair fight, maybe after dinner, and given me a chance to defend myself. This is nothing but—” He stopped and straightened.
“A Color-changer,” Dorin stated, surprised. “Hadn’t expected one around here.” He turned to Grenkyl. “Do you still want to—”
“Shut up, Dor!” Grenkyl gritted his teeth as he looked at the massive head of the Horlyn looming ominously a row of trees away. He growled a curse. “And you, stranger, come along! Hurry!”
The mighty beast was very quiet and passive, but its presence clearly irritated and frightened Dorin and Grenkyl. They made their way back
in haste, checking over their shoulders to see if it followed. Sajitar did not even try to catch up, but knew he was not in danger. Soon the thick branches obscured the crude path and the Horlyn was gone from their view.
Sajitar sighed. I’d never thought to be grateful to see one of them. He touched his swollen face. He wouldn’t see anything from his left eye for days, but at least he would heal again. It was a better fate than being left behind unconscious in the wilderness. Judging by Grenkyl’s furious glance, he would have suffered either another beating or being bound to the next tree outside the village to become a Tusk-turner’s meal. He was close to whistling when he got their catch to carry. Grenkyl did not look at him the whole way back.
“It’s almost time to leave,” he said to Ray when he entered their hut.
She turned to look at him and hissed upon seeing his bloodied face.
“It’s nothing, okay? I met a fist in the woods and it won.”
She carefully examined the bruises, grimacing. “And you accepted this fist lying down? You must have been mightily in the wrong.”
“All the same, let’s go tonight. There’ll be dancing and drinking and they’ll go to sleep drunk. Then we take our stuff and go.”
She hesitated.
“Ray, please, I’m fine. No need to rattle the tree. I just ask you to come with me.”
“Do you doubt that I want to leave?”
He took her by the shoulders, touching her forehead with his. “Ah, come on, you’ve never been so happy. Don’t contradict! It’s true. It’s a great life here. You don’t have much to be concerned about. That’s a good thing. I feel the same.”
“And still you know that there’s a job waiting to be done.”
“It’s your job, I know.”
“Thanks for understanding.” She shook her head. “I’m surprised, nevertheless, that I don’t have to pull you out of here.”
He opened his mouth for a witty reply, but realized it was not the time for jokes. “I don’t want to leave, that’s true, but I guess this happy family has other plans about my stay.”
“So you brawled about…what? Your place in the hierarchy?”
He lowered his head. Even that movement wasn’t painless.
“Yes. No. In a way.” He gave her a light kiss on her lips. “Let’s sum up and say, we’d both better leave. The sooner the better.”
Rayenne smiled, but her worried frown remained. “I hadn’t expected you to be the first to decide that we should go.”
“If we don’t go tonight it’ll get worse.”
“Agreed. We’ll fetch the B-horses and be off as soon as the villagers are drunk.” She looked around for what to pack, then turned back to him. “Don’t you think we should explain our departure?”
Sajitar sighed and shook his head, putting his hands on his hips.
“No, I’m afraid they’d let me go, but keep you.”
“Lack of women?”
“Yep. And if I get it right, the Horlyns like their little village to grow. Leaving is not on the list.”
She started collecting their few belongings and the blanket she had created and sewn with Nassaly.
“I wonder why the Horlyns protect the village. Is it a kind of game? Do they play with us like cats play with mice?”
“I’d rather use the term experiment. They watch and protect them. They even show the men where to find food and they help the sick.”
“So they try to find the weaknesses of their enemy.”
Sajitar shed his garment to wash at the bowl, wincing when the cloth scratched his wounds. “You still have that negative view of the world. Maybe they plan to protect their woods by telling men about how to heal sicknesses effectively.”
“And how do they communicate? Are they planning to learn our language?”
“Maybe they train these people as interpreters.”
She raised her brows. “Well, then they haven’t been successful yet. The villagers accept the Horlyns as higher beings, but they don’t get an iota of what these creatures truly want.”
“Who knows?” He took the towel she handed him. “Thanks. The greater problem might be to leave the village if the Horlyns don’t want us to go.”
Rayenne exhaled, biting her lower lip. She turned to pack their belongings into the saddlebags.
“They did not lead us to this village. We stumbled over it.”
“Who knows if they hadn’t planned this the whole time? After all, we got watched more than once.”
Rayenne stopped in mid-motion. “You mean they let us pass through the woods because they wanted us to come to this village? This is weird, even for my taste.”
“But it explains why they did not hamper our progress. And when the time was ripe, they took me and knew you’d follow.” Mindlessly, his fingers traced the scar below his ribcage. “In that light, they were lucky that I got shot.”
“Clever.” Rayenne’s face turned pale. “But it means that we can’t just slip away at night and hope the villagers won’t see us. It’s the Horlyns we have to fear.” She took a deep breath, trying to cheer up. “All right, I still have a job to do and I plan to do it right.” And before he could launch another question, she put a finger on his lips. “Yes, you are by far more than a job now, but please, don’t mention it to anyone.”
He kissed her finger.
“I’ll keep my lips sealed.”
Sajitar watched the joyous dancing from afar, avoiding a fight that would draw too much attention to him. He was not missed, he knew. Grenkyl was the star of the evening. His hunting success caused the villagers to cheer and sing and the longer the evening lasted, the more wine was handed to him. Sajitar bet that he would not stay standing another ten minutes. With Nassaly in his arms, he danced to the wild music of the flute and the many clapping hands when suddenly and unceremoniously, he sat on his butt, much to the fun of the other dancers. Grenkyl raised his hands, laughing out loud and ordering the men around to help him up again.
Smiling, Sajitar turned, threw the saddlebags over his shoulders and went to the paddock where the B-horses were kept.
The only light shone from two lanterns filled with glowing stones placed close to the adjacent, empty huts. Every settler enjoyed the harmony and music at the village center, some already drunk, most of them absorbed in the peaceful gathering. He glanced over his shoulder, flinching. He wanted to stay—or at least that part of him that preferred easy going over obligation wanted to stay. The other part told him that sooner or later he would lose Rayenne if they stayed. His painful face told him that he could not defend her against the male population, and the mere idea of sharing her took his breath away. He wanted to remain the only one loving her, even if it meant crossing the woods and facing the judge in Belson Park.
Tessla recognized him and softly snorted against his chest. He put down the saddlebags and searched for the bridles, trying to remember how long he and Rayenne had stayed in the village. How many days? Weeks? It was hard to tell. He did not miss civilization.
“Are you looking for these?” a soft voice asked.
Startled, Sajitar jumped backward, ready for defense. Tessla turned away and bumped against Bunty, shaking her head. Both B-horses trotted back, their eyes wary.
“What are you doing here?”
Thannis emerged from the shadow behind the paddock to greet Sajitar by slightly inclining his head. His smile bore sadness as he handed Sajitar the bridles.
“I expected you. And I suppose, Ray will not be far away.”
Sajitar stood upright, heart beating fast against his ribs. He prepared to silence the villager if he was about to call for aid. Carefully, he hung the bridles on one of the paddock’s posts.
“What do you want?”
Thannis got closer, glancing toward the dancers.
“I hoped you would stay, both of you. Living here is a gift, don’t you know? There are many people who go astray, not only through the woods. They don’t have any meaning in life. They live from day to day
, gaining nothing, giving nothing.” He focused on Sajitar. “In this village, every day has a meaning. We all live for the purpose of doing life better. We enjoy the days. We help each other. We care for each other.”
“Grenkyl cares much for himself, yes.”
“I see.” For a moment, Thannis lowered his head and Sajitar was not sure if he wanted to hide his growing smile. “But there is more to this life, and especially to your life.”
Sajitar frowned. “I hope so.”
Thannis sighed, putting his fingers together in a gesture of prayer.
“I had hoped you would be the one to follow my footsteps. The one to enhance the contact between the Color-changers and the settlers in a new and unique way. They are children who need leadership. The Color-changers want to be their gentle leaders, but they have a hard time delivering their help and guidance without an interpreter.” His gaze became intense. “I receive their images of improvement, their knowledge shown in pictures of great wisdom. They have so much to tell that sometimes I have a headache from all the information they deliver like a bouquet of flowers. I can hardly carry it.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
Thannis’ smile widened.
“You not only receive images, but you can tell them what you want. I have…felt it. Or somehow I knew it the moment I met you. You have much more power than I do.”
“You are mistaken.”
“No, I am not. I had to ask many questions, but finally Grenkyl and Dorin told me that when he hit you, a Color-changer appeared, though there had been none before. And he did nothing but watch you three. I wonder what he would have done if Grenkyl had left you behind, as he had truly planned.”
“The beast came and went,” Sajitar replied grudgingly. He did not like the subject of conversation. It was much too close to the truth.
“It was your doing that he came at all. Sajitar, don’t you see? It is your destiny to lead these villagers. I will grow old and die, and if these people don’t understand what is happening around them, this village will crumble.”
