Chapter 21

- Bronwen -

I don't sleep much after Noker leaves.

I don't like his parting words, and I sure don't like the tone he used. It seemed completely out of character for him. Or maybe it was a glimpse into who he really is. I know the clan is important to him.

I wasn't going to press the point about him doing too much work in the clan, unnecessarily so. I was going to just plant the seed and then let him see it for himself. But if he can't even take my careful, friendly observations without wanting to get rid of me, then he's not the man I thought he was. And he may not be ready for a life outside the clan. Or for a life that involves being outside of it at least sometimes. It's not like I would take him away from his buddies, who are practically his family.

When I see the first light in the sky, meaning sunrise is about an hour away, I sit up on the platform and look down. The other platforms of the camp are swaying slowly back and forth, way below me. Everyone's asleep.

"Oh well, it was a good few days," I console myself. But it's not working. I was starting to really like his sweet, caring ways. And I will miss him.

I pack my stuff, including the drap fruits. Then I loosen the ropes and lower the platform to the ground, tie it up, and step off.

"He's not back yet," says a voice behind him.

I spin around. "Sprisk! Oh. I thought it was someone else."

"Last time, you ran from me," Sprisk says, his chin spikes waving dangerously. "And it worked well for you. This time, I will just let you go. Noker and Dexer went that way." He points.

"And where is the Borok village?"

He frowns. "You just came from there."

I look away. "Now I'm going back."

"Does Noker know that?"

"He the one who asked me to leave."

Sprisk's jaw drops, and that means the chin spikes hit his collar bone. But he's wearing a leather collar, so he's not injured too badly. "I find that hard to believe, Bronwen."

"When he returns, you can ask him. Your clansbrothers are much more capable than you think, by the way. You and Noker can give them more important tasks and expect them to do well. They want it. Especially the boys. Trust them."

Sprisk stares at me with eyes that are just as yellow as Noker's. Then he lifts his hand to point. "The Borok village is in that direction. You'll be there by noon."

"Thank you." I put my leather pack over my shoulder. "I hope to see you again soon, Sprisk. They are talking about you in the Borok village."

He nods slowly. "I hope so, too, Bronwen."

I walk into the jungle.

- - -

The black night is giving way to a dark day. Whenever I get a glimpse of the sky beyond the treetops, it's gray with clouds.

I walk as fast as I can while still being mostly quiet. I will never be as silent as Noker, who can move at Earthling running speeds without making a sound. But that comes with growing up in the jungle.

The jungle is not shy about making noise, though. There's the constant rustling in the bushes and the trees, the suddenly moving bushes and the distant screeches and squawks and hisses. After a night in the treetops, even the smells hit me differently now. There's so much decay in this jungle, so much rot and filth. But there's also the most incredible fragrances of flowers, fresh leaves, and new life.

I was imagining a new life with Noker. It felt incredible to be with him, lying close together so I could feel his slow heartbeat, smelling his scent, touching his head scales, his giant fan and his stripes, feeling his gravelly voice make my chest tremble, feeling safe because he was there and thinking of little things to do for him. I'm going to miss all that. Damn, the way he touched me…

My vision goes blurry and I stop at a tree, putting my hand on its rough bark. Should I turn around? Maybe he'll change his mind.

I wipe my eyes. No. I'm not going to beg. He told me to get back to the Borok, and I have to assume he meant it?—

There's movement nearby.

I freeze in mid-sniffle. My hand slowly drops to the knife in my belt. I can sometimes tell when a movement is some innocent creature wanting to get away and when it's dangerous. This movement is dangerous.

It's a caveman. He moves quickly and with determination. He hasn't seen me, and he's going somewhere.

I shrink into the tree, moving as slowly as I can. They should be Borok men, and so my friends, but until I see an actual friend, like Korr'ax, I'm not going to announce myself.

Another caveman follows the first. In the darkness, I can't tell for sure, but it looks like his stripes are a different color to the first. That means they're outcasts, and this just got a whole lot worse.

A third and a fourth pass me at a distance of maybe fifteen feet. They'd just need to turn slightly to the left to see me, but I guess the tree hides me pretty well. Or these guys are so focused on where they're going that they're just not paying attention like they should. I have traveled through the woods with Noker, and he keeps moving his head to check everything. There's no way he'd have missed me.

As the fifth one passes, I wonder where they're going. Because the direction would take them straight to the Foundling camp.

Damn.Is that the plan? They're going to attack the Foundling camp, the thing that both Noker and Brak fear?

In that case, someone should warn them. And that someone will have to be?—

"Oh, this is almost too much."

I bolt before the outcast has finished his sentence. He must be the seventh or eighth to pass me, and I was hoping none of them would spot me. But it only takes one.

I can't help but notice that he has vivid, orange stripes. Has the Borok tribe cast out someone recently? If so, they haven't told me about it.

Branches and bushes whip my ankles and face as I sprint, the fear making me faster than ever. But the caveman is crashing through the foliage behind me, and he chuckles.

"Yes, run and make yourself nice and warm for me, little woman."

I draw my knife and round a tree, stopping short. I've heard about girls being cornered by outcasts, and I'm determined to do as much damage to this one as I can. On Xren, there's no such thing as giving someone a fair chance. Someone hunts you, you try to kill them. It's that simple.

I wait for two seconds, and when the caveman is so close I can smell him, I storm out from my hiding place.

I scream at the top of my voice and hack at the pursuer with the knife.

It connects, but he manages to push me away enough that the blade doesn't sink deep into his chest, the way I aimed for.

After a short scuffle, strong hands grab my wrists and hold them firmly, forcing me to drop the knife.

Blue eyes gaze into mine, and I catch a whiff of a sour smell.

"It's good to run," the outcasts grunts. "But I agree that this was far enough. You pretended to resist, and that is proper."

I recognize him. It's the Borok man who competed against Noker in the game of penk, the one who tried to kill him during the obstacle course. What was his name?

Unin'iz.

"I'm not your enemy, Warrior Unin'iz," I begin, trying to pull my wrists out of his firm grip. "I'm just going to the Borok tribe. To your tribe. Help me get there, and Chief Korr'ax will thank you."

Only now does he realize that I've cut him pretty badly. Black blood is running down his chest. He frowns and touches it with one finger. "Did you just cut me?"

"You will get the healing you need in the village," I try. But I don't have much confidence in it. He has clearly joined the outcasts, after everyone in the tribe thought he had been killed by the swarm.

In response, he slaps my face so hard I see stars. "I will have to deal with you harsher than I thought. But it's fine. Come, you can watch us kill the Foundlings and destroy their camp. And then you and I shall have a great deal of fun! Just you and I together." He pulls me with him.

"Noker will kill you," I tell him, my voice brittle.

"Not if I kill him first. Do you know, I think I shall? My new friends will enjoy throwing rocks at him, where he is now. And as he dies, he will hear your cries of ecstasy as I Mate with you."

Damn. What's happened to Noker?

I want to break down in tears, but I pull myself together. I have to do what I can. Before we get close to the Foundling camp, I will start yelling and screaming so that they will be forewarned. Sprisk is awake, and he may have time to order all the platforms hoisted up to the treetops where they'll be hard to spot and nearly impossible to attack.

Unin'iz pulls me with him, and I don't resist much. I don't want him to tie me up or gag me. I must be able to warn the clan.

I'm about to draw breath to scream when Unin'iz yanks me to him. Two other outcasts are staring at me.

"This is the one we need," Unin'iz says as he rips a strip of leather off his dirty loincloth and gags me with it. "She's Noker's love, and she will be our reward after this is done."

The outcasts grin with bad teeth. "You know how to lead us, Unin'iz! Our men will be eager to win now."

"It's good that the Foundlings moved their camp to the place that Korr'ax gave them," Unin'iz grins. "I didn't know where they were before. But now we can kill them all."

"And eat them?" a scrawny outcast asks.

"If you want," Unin'iz says with obvious distaste. "But the important thing is that we win. I must show them that we are the power now, woman. We must win something so my men gain confidence. We must show the Borok tribe that now, we're in charge. We must destroy Korr'ax's beloved Foundlings. Then, my friends in the tribe will see how weak the Borok are, leave the village, and come to us."

I kick at him, but I'm wearing sandals and it doesn't make much of an impression. If he were shorter, I'd knee him in the groin, but he's a caveman alien and it won't work.

Instead I kick at a tall sapling with the bottom of my sandal, setting its leaves rustling. Anything to make some noise that the Foundlings might understand is not natural.

Unin'iz tightens his grip on me. "I see you are eager for what comes after, little woman. But just wait. You and I shall have a great time."