Tribal Dawn: Blood-and-Shadow (Volume One)

by Cassie Wolf

  Masika poured her a fresh cup of water before guiding her to sit at the table. The woman gestured in thanks and took a few deep gulps.

  “What is going on?” Masika was quick to ask.

  “Your… your brother…” the woman stammered.

  Masika felt her lip quiver and shook her head. No, Jasari wouldn’t kill him. He couldn’t have. “Wh-what about him? Has something happened? Did the Chief punish him?! Oh Gods… Brother! I need to see him!” Without thinking or waiting for a response she went to storm out of the door. The young garasum grabbed her by the arm while the other woman cleared her throat.

  “He… he challenged Dia for the bind on the daughter…”

  “What happened?” Masika demanded, the tears burning her eyes.

  “Your brother… he… he won.”

  - CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE -

  The moment Zaki threw down the other blade, the gathered tribesmen started to roar across the arena. Items were still being thrown, slurs, insults and even a few compliments were directed either at Zaki or the unrecognisable, battered Dia. He didn’t care for any of it as he walked away. The Chieftess screamed hysterically as she ran to her son with her daughters and mate just behind. Inari had no choice but to follow and take out his healing gear while Pazade and his daughters edged away from the scene as well.

  His side ached from the force with which Dia had tackled him and the adrenaline left him light headed as he dragged his feet across the rough dirt. He was focused now on the Chieftain’s hut; that was where he had to go. He had to get Masika now and tell her everything.

  “Oi, boy!” a husky voice called from behind.

  Zaki glanced over his shoulder to see Pazade striding towards him with half of his army at his side, the other half with his two daughters, making their way out of the village.

  “I need to see someone,” Zaki called and continued trudging towards the hut.

  “Oh no you don’t.” Pazade lowered his tone as he approached and grabbed his arm, dragging him in the other direction. “You may have just started a fucking war, boy. You have just made yourself my heir and I’m not having you killed.”

  Zaki furrowed his brow and tried to resist as his heels dragged across the ground. “No! I need to see-”

  “You won’t be seeing anyone if you go in there! They will fucking kill you. Come.” Pazade pulled at his arm once more.

  Zaki didn’t argue; despite wanting to tell Masika what had happened he didn’t think he could face the wrath of warriors, Pazade and Dia all in one night. Limping along, the shouting on the hill faded and the odd person came running past now and again. They walked a little way outside the village wall, through the trees and past the growing gardens to an area filled with animal skin tents, all set up neatly together with a warm cooking fire and spit with meat roasting on it, juicy and crisp.

  Pazade nodded to his guards and pushed Zaki into one of the tents. The tent was larger than the rest and was circular whereas the rest were basic rectangles. Laid down around the circle were worn hay mats and some hastily put-together sleeping spots topped with fur blankets. At the centre was a cooking fire, smaller than the one outside, and split logs for benches all around it. Near the back were the usual containers of water and the dried food which warriors would take for travelling.

  Pazade sat down by the fire and nodded for Zaki to do the same. He rubbed his hands together and exhaled before pulling off the helm and throwing it on top of one of the fur blankets behind.

  “I didn’t expect you to win,” Pazade said and threw a couple of dry leaves on the low embers. “Nameless, skinny, I even heard one woman yell cursed.”

  “I’m not cursed,” Zaki said weakly and held a hand against his bruised ribs. “I had nothing to lose in challenging him.”

  “Clearly. I have to say, I admire your spirit boy. But you didn’t kill Dia, you left him to live.”

  Zaki wiped the sweat from his forehead. “So does that mean he is still going to bind?”

  “No. It does however mean that Dia has proved himself unworthy. The fact you beat him will tarnish his family’s history no end. It just means I have to speak with my daughter on what to do with you.” Pazade took a leaf wrapping packed with berries and oats and passed one along to Zaki.

  Zaki took the food and inspected it for a moment before taking a bite. The sweet berries exploded in his mouth and the cooked oats added a savoury taste he had never tried before. After taking a sip of water, he looked back to the Chief. “What will happen to me then?”

  “Well, make no mistake boy you are definitely leaving with us. But it will be down to my daughter and myself to decide if you are good enough to bind to our tribe. The fact you granted mercy to a male who challenged you doesn’t bode well.”

  Zaki snorted and gave a slight grin but the Chief looked less than impressed. “It wasn’t mercy. Death would have been too swift and final; I want him to live with everything he has done.”

  Pazade placed down the leaf and wiped his hands on his knees. He frowned as he eyed Zaki up and down. “So am I meant to trust a male who prefers cruelty with my daughter?”

  “She wouldn’t be treated cruelly. Anyone who tried to harm her or any of my blood would be and then forced to remember it until the day they died,” Zaki calmly replied and tore another chunk of oats and berries.

  Pazade studied him for a while in silence. “You do intrigue me, boy. You can control your anger, and you’re clearly not after power. I have to say, when my girl approached you, there was a change in your stance from what it was… Had she approached you before and set you up to do this?”

  Zaki raised an eyebrow. “She never asked me to do that, no, but I spoke to her briefly by the fishing area yesterday.”

  “Did she take her mask off?” Pazade asked, his lips beginning to curve.

  Zaki choked on his food and shook his head. “No! We just spoke.” He could feel his face burning crimson when he thought back to how the daughter had impulsively groped him and how he’d jumped back like a grasshopper.

  “Mhmm,” Pazade said, unconvinced. “I will be back in a few moments. Don’t move from this tent.”

  Zaki nodded and finished off the rest of the crumbling food in his palm and when he was sure the Chieftain had left, he licked the sweet berry juices from between his fingers. Afterwards, he grabbed a cup and gulped down the rest of the water before resting his hand back on his ribs. They ached and felt slightly swollen beneath his fingertips, but they weren’t too troublesome.

  With the crackling of the fire in the warm tent, Zaki relaxed his tense muscles and tried to make sense of what had just happened. Dia’s face had been unrecognisable when he spun him around; the sight of him even made Zaki gag himself. The blood up his arms to his elbows and splodged over his clothes was dry now. He had only meant to impress Pazade to earn his name, not to be taken to an entirely different tribe; that was just an added bonus. Masika should be happy with the news should she hear it from someone else, although he had hoped to tell her before he left. A strange part of him actually felt relief, like deep roots buried in the ground for years had finally broken away and he was free to do as he wished… or at least, more than he was able to previously.

  “I had to get this.” Pazade emerged from behind with a knife in his hand. It was a small, slim, curved blade made from ivory with a grip of scarlet leather and the cross guard had carefully-carved lion heads on either side with their jaws wide open to bare the fearsome teeth. “This is an initiation blade, used for accepting new people into our tribe.”

  “It is impressive.” Zaki couldn’t help but stare in awe. “Does this mean I will bind to your daughter?”

  “Like I said, it means you will be part of my tribe no matter what.” Pazade sat down just in front of Zaki and brought his palm before him. “What name where you expected to have?”

  “Er… Zaki,” he replied. His mouth had gone dry and pride was welling up inside. Keeping composed was proving harder than he thought, as he reali
sed when he placed his own palm down on his knee and felt how badly he was shaking.

  “That name is who you were here. I shall give you a new name,” Pazade stated and brought the blade to his palm. He dragged the point across his flesh in a quick motion, forming a neat, thin line of crimson. He took Zaki’s shaky palm into his own and gave him a grin. “I remember the day I got my name. I think I threw up but that might have been the alcohol. No going back now, boy.” Pazade made the same sharp incision across his own palm and brought their bloodied hands together. “Welcome to the tribe, brother Atsu.”

  - CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO -

  When the middle-aged woman finally regained her breath, she told Masika all the details of the fight. How her brother had stood up and everyone thought he was going to be killed by the guards and how Pazade allowed it.

  Every word that came out of her mouth felt as though it was being tangled in the cogs of Masika’s mind, which just wouldn’t accept what she was saying. Her brother, the same male who despised the rest of the tribe even more so than she did, had become the future heir of another tribe, just like that. Her stomach ached with mixed feelings as the reality of it kicked in. Her brother must never have loved her or seen her the way she saw him, to impulsively fight the Chieftain’s son for a complete stranger’s bind was an absolute insult to her.

  Saying that, she was going to accept Pazade as her mate and come back for her brother at some point in the future while she had that power. Maybe she and he were so connected that they had both thought up the same plan? Although he would be forced to give the daughter his seed, they might be able to keep their love private and have an affair, one that none would know of but them.

  The two garasums left to resume their night duties the moment they heard the shouts and yells from the entrance and the warriors storming into the building. Masika kept as calm as she possibly could but all she wanted to do was see her brother and make sure he was alright.

  Anxiety swirled around her as she sat down and tried to draw some more creatures to pass the time, but her mind had gone completely blank. One thing was for certain: Jasari was not going to be happy and he would probably take it out on her. She paced the room, sipping on water when her mouth went dry, and tried to think around her brother’s decision.

  After a few hours, by which point her feet were aching, someone finally knocked on the door. Reluctantly, she straightened her dress and answered it, praying it would be good news. The moment her eyes met Jasari’s, her breath caught.

  He stood before her, the tiredness in his beady eyes clear, and his hands, chest and even his beard covered in dried blood. But he didn’t look angry, in fact he appeared to be distraught.

  “I… I heard what happened,” Masika whispered, looking to the ground. Although she hadn’t been the one to give the blow to Dia, a part of her still felt ashamed by the words of aggression the garasum had spoken of.

  Jasari let out a weak grunt and grabbed her by the arm. “Come,” he said and dragged her out into the hallway. She didn’t argue as they passed the slaves awaiting orders and the sisters covered in specks of blood and tears streaming down their faces.

  Jasari ignored them all as he strode to the smaller room off the main hall. Masika had never been inside it before but knew it was where causalities were taken from when she bit off Gugu’s ear. The door opened the moment they approached the warriors and Masika couldn’t help but gasp in horror.

  Beneath all the hanging vines and medicinal herbs, there was a bed covered in blood. In it was what could only be described as a male, whimpering in agony with hardly anything left recognisable of his face. Inari was bent over the near corpse of Dia, needle in hand, worn with fatigue as he knitted together the flesh on his face.

  “We won’t blame you for your brother’s actions,” Jasari stated and freed his grip on her wrist, “but this is the true nature of him. Look at my son, your mate, Masika, look at what your caring brother did to him.”

  Masika took a couple of steps forward, shaking her head in denial at Dia’s face. His eyes were swollen to the point she could only just about make out the glimmer of a pupil in one of them. His nose, once a curved hook, had been crushed right against his face while his mouth was dripping blood, the gums raw and browned where his teeth had been smashed against the rocks and fallen out. If it wasn’t for Inari doing the stitches where he was, she wouldn’t have been able to see Dia’s lack of teeth; his lips had become so large she didn’t know how he could possibly eat. But the bruises and beatings were not the injuries which shocked her the most. The ones which made her stomach churn and the acid burn the back of her throat were the scars she recognised all too clearly: the burns blistered and bubbling over his cheeks, so fresh and new, and that lingering odour.

  “I… my brother… he wouldn’t burn anyone.” She looked to Inari to reassure her but he just blankly returned the glance. She had been told the fight was near the fire but nothing was mentioned of burns.

  “He did, Masi,” Inari stated, placing down the threaded needle. “He held Dia’s face close enough for the heat to burn. We didn’t see it until he walked away.”

  Masika furrowed her brow and stepped forward, seeing the true extent of the injuries. She could barely even hear Dia’s whimpers of pain but could see he was in excruciating agony.

  “He would never… I mean, I didn’t think he would ever…” She trailed off as the sadness settled into her stomach once more, twisting deep into the pit.

  “He humiliated my family and will now bind with that whore daughter of Pazade’s,” Jasari spat, arms folded.

  After a few more moments watching Inari at work, Masika found her mind questioning Zaki. She always knew he had a short temper, but to beat someone, even Dia, to a torturous, unspeaking lump was too much. They believed in swift deaths; it was something Inari had always taught the pair of them. It was better to be over with than to drag it out.

  Inari moved up from his chair and nodded to Jasari before he linked his arm with Masika and escorted her outside the hut. The warriors didn’t seem to bat an eyelid as she passed.

  “I don’t know what happened between yourself and Zaki, Masi,” Inari whispered, “but I do know this: I never thought I would say this, but you are better off with Dia than you are with your brother.”

  Masika shook her head and looked around at the emptiness of the village. The lights had all gone out and there were no longer even embers from the earlier bonfire as if it had never been there, no doubt at Jasari’s orders to get rid of the reminder.

  “No… he just… he’s doing it to save me, Inari,” Masika said, more attempting to reassure herself than the witch doctor as he shook his head. “Inari, I love him… I do. And he loves me… We… we mated.”

  The witch doctor glanced over his shoulder before lowering his voice to a near inaudible whisper. “Masi, your brother gazed at the daughter with affection. He told me he regretted what he did with you; he was too drunk to even remember it. I didn’t want to tell you but you need to realise he is dangerous.”

  With those words, the sadness travel further into her gut, gnawing at her insides with disgust. She had shared her body with her brother, it had been the night of her life and the happiness she felt after was overwhelming. Looking at the witch doctor, tears rolled down her cheeks. “You… you are just saying that so it’ll be easier.”

  But Inari shook his wise head once more. With hands clasped on her shoulders he gazed into the young girl’s broken soul. “I wish I was. I have never lied to you, Masi, and I never will. Everyone could see when the daughter touched his chest there was a connection. He wants to be with her, Masi, not you.”

  She wiped away her tears. She pushed off the sympathetic hands of the old man and with confidence said, “You’re wrong.”

  With that, she lifted up her dress and walked back through the hut, past all the daughters as they wept and the warriors as they stood.

  Back in her living space, she locked the door shut behind her and w
andered back over to the table, picking up the charcoal and spreading the paper across the surface. They are all wrong, she thought to herself. Brother loves me as his one and only, we will be together no matter what it costs and bind our souls into one.

  Masika started to draw as she had done all day, only this time her mind only wanted to create one thing. Too scattered to sleep, she drew the outline of her brother and her, embracing near a lake with her belly swollen with their child. That was going to be their future. Only the two of them mattered in this world.

  - CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE -

  After Pazade had granted him his new name, Atsu couldn’t help but flash a roguish grin. This was a new start for him and his bloodline. As much as he would have loved to have stayed and felt like one of the members of Blood-and-Shadow, it was clear it was never going to happen. He only hoped now that he would make his parents in the heavens proud at the future before him and that his sister could live near him too. A new life for the pair of them, away from the reminders of the flames, with a name earnt and families to create.

  Pazade was called out shortly after the pair had cut open their palms to speak to a visitor who had come down from the Chieftain’s hut. Atsu was told he could stay in the circular tent for the night. While piling together the mats on the floor to make a comfy bed, he wondered where the masked daughter was sleeping amongst all this. After all, this was all centred around her, but he had not seen her once since.

  Some way into the night, the noise of the tent flap opening woke him. The outline of Pazade entered as quietly as he could before similarly organising his own sleeping arrangements. This was the tent for the Chieftain’s, Atsu thought to himself. The males in charge of the tribe. With a smile on his face, he quickly dropped back off into a deep slumber.