Chapter 17

Benham

Never have I woken to a more glorious morning than this one. Last night with Maeve had been more than I could have dreamed. Deeka has surely blessed me with the bravest and most incredible mate. Every kiss and touch I received were worth the wait and the patience. A male could not ask for a better keeshla than my Maeve.

The scent of her still lingers on the furs where she laid. It is a soft, clean smell with a hint of the herbs and roots she harvests with Alanda. I will never take for granted the trust she gifted me by lying in my arms without her chest covering. After her confession, I finally understand the ‘bad shit' my mate has gone through. How any male could hurt her is beyond my understanding. No matter how vengeful it might be, I say a prayer to Deeka that the male back on Earth get what is coming to him and that he is punished in some way.

I rise from my furs, wipe myself with the chilled water in the basin on the table, and put on a clean pair of leg coverings. When I return from our hunt, I need to head to the river to wash the ones I have worn the last few days. The ones I wore during the hunt with Talek and Samik were beyond repair.

If we are hunting a luani, then I will need my swords and a spear. The creature used to be plentiful, but over the many seasons their numbers have dwindled. The Krijese would butcher them for nothing more than sport and leave their remains for the shkaba to scavenge. It is no wonder their people were starving. It has been since my fifteenth warm season that I have encountered one. I have spent more time training the young warriors for battle than I have hunted.

Once I have my weapon belt around my waist with a sheathed sword and two daggers attached, a sword in a scabbard slung across my back, and my spear in hand, I head for the central fire. I slept a bit later than I normally do, so Evren, Jodah, and Katem are already almost through with their bowls of kokkra.

"Greetings Benham," Jodah greets me. He's one of the few rare warriors who isn't hesitant with or intimidated by me.

I nod and fill my own bowl before joining the hunters.

"We were planning on heading toward the valley where the ujera lies. It is where the last signs of the luani were seen," Evren says.

The valley is more than seven turns of the sun away from here. Just beyond that is where the Njeri live. Djentar and their leader made some type of trade agreement many seasons ago, while I was still a young warrior. Just before I killed the luani. Except since then, none of their tribespeople have approached us for trading. Perhaps it is the long journey between our villages that prevent it.

I quickly finish my meal, and then I am ready. Turning to the young warriors, I gesture. "Lead the way."

The four of us leave through the front gates of the village where Rojtar stands guard and make our way across the vast length of the bari field in the direction of the valley. The second moon still lingers in the sky and the sun has yet to crest the horizon. Any number of enemies could be hiding within the shadows of the forest that borders the field. The image of the lone male I spotted within the base of the hills only a few turns of the sun ago returns to me. We should be prepared to encounter anything.

I glance at the three young hunters. They speak softly amongst themselves, but it is obvious they are still focused on their surroundings. I shift my grip on my spear and scan the horizon in front of me.

Jodah moves away from the other two and matches pace with me. "How does it feel being mated to a human?"

I glance over at him. The envy is back in his eyes. Of the three of them, he is the oldest but still eight cold seasons younger than me. While he has never specifically mentioned wanting a mate, I have noticed the way his eyes track the unmated females.

"It is both wonderful and terrifying," I admit.

His brow ridges raise. "Terrifying?"

"Human females do not feel the bond like Tavikhi do. There is no guarantee that they will choose to be your mate, no matter what your mating marks say."

"Has your mate chosen you?" he asks. "She has appeared fearful of us."

I will wait to hear it from her lips that she chooses me. I will not assume, but rather must give her the choice.

"I believe she has, but I will not push her if she hasn't. The humans come from a place that does not always treat them well. Many of them have scars, hidden beneath the surface we cannot see."

Jodah is quiet a moment. We travel farther away from the village before he speaks again. "What if the goddess does not deem me worthy of a mate?"

"Why would you think that to be? Perhaps she is still one of the humans that remains in the settlement? Or still on Earth waiting for the next ship to bring her here?" I clap him on the shoulder. "You must not lose faith that Deeka has someone special for you."

I do not want to give Jodah false hope, but I also do not want him to give up hope completely. He nods, but I am not sure I have done a good job convincing him that his fated mate just hasn't found him yet. He falls back and rejoins Evren and Katem, but I can sense his discontent. I send up an extra prayer to Deeka that she will grant Jodah, and any other warrior who wishes for one, his mate.

We do not go much farther when I spot it. I pause my steps and raise my arm over my head to signal I have found something. Luani scat is buried within broken pieces of bari. I scan the field for any other disturbances that might offer a direction the creature might have gone. There are several places where the bari has been bent, but it does not appear to have been made by a four-legged beast.

"Stay alert." I glance back at the three hunters. "Someone else has passed through here within the last turn of the sun. I do not recognize the tracks."

They nod and rest their hands on the hilt of their weapons. I tighten my grip on my spear and motion them forward and to spread out. More luani droppings dot the field and appear to be heading into the forest. I follow them and enter the dense collection of trees. During our trek the sun has appeared brightly in the sky, but the towering trees with branches full of leaves block most of it.

The air grows colder without the heat of the sunshine, and dark shadows blanket the ground. We silently step through the dirt and brush, taking care not to alert anyone or anything that might be nearby of our presence. The air is thick with tension. There are the sounds of the small forest-dwelling animals scurrying and the faint calls of several mellenje in the distance.

Up ahead, a branch cracks. I throw up an arm and we all freeze to listen. There's a flash of color in the distance, but it's gone so quickly I cannot confirm it is the beast we seek. Jodah, Evren, Katem, and I remain rooted to the spot for several more beats of my heart, but all is quiet.

We take only a few steps when a vicious roar echoes in the air and mellenje shoot out of the trees and into the sky. I tighten my grip on my spear and the others draw their swords just as a massive luani comes rushing toward us. This one is nothing like the starving, half-dead one I put out of its misery all those seasons ago. This beast has eaten well and it wants to add us to its food supply.

I leap up into the nearest tree right before it reaches me and drop onto the thing's back while stabbing it in the neck. It bellows and rears up. I lose my hold on my spear as I tumble to the ground. I roll out of striking distance and unsheathe one of my swords. With the small distraction I managed, Jodah and Evren attack from each side, while Katem attacks from the back. It can not strike at all of us at once. It chooses Evren, who barely escapes a swipe from the luani's vicious claws.

Jodah gets in a strike on its foreleg and the creature stumbles, but quickly recovers. Katem slices a rear leg. Once again, the four of us lead a coordinated attack from all sides. This time, when the luani lashes out, its claws rake across Jodah's chest. He cries out, spins, and collapses short distance. Now that the beast has drawn blood, it fights even more viciously.

Evren and Katem circle the injured luani while I take to the trees again. They draw it closer to where I am and as it passes beneath me, I jump and drive my sword straight into the back of its neck. My legs and tail tighten around it and I hold fast to my sword as it attempts to dump me off it again. When it is unsuccessful, I feel its muscles tense beneath me right before it rolls. I barely clear getting pinned beneath its great weight.

However, Evren and Katem attack before it can rise to its feet, and I draw my second sword and join. At last, Evren pierces his blade through its heart and the beast lies still. The sound of our ragged breathing echoes around us. From where he fell, Jodah groans.

"Find some sherim plants and bring me their gethet leaves," I order Katem and rush to the wounded warrior's side.

Katem disappears and Evren helps me gently roll Jodah onto his back. Four bloody gashes line his chest. Evren grabs the water skin from his belt and passes it to me. I uncap it and pour some of the water over the wound to rinse the blood away and get a better look.

Jodah's face is lined with pain and his eyes remain closed. His chest rises and falls with the effort it takes him to breathe. Even with the gethet leaves, I am not sure he will make it. I turn to Evren.

"Gather branches to make a sled."

He nods and gets to work. With my sword, I cut off the bottom of one side of Jodah's leg coverings and use the soft hide to clean the wound as carefully as I can of the dirt that still clings to it. I need to save some of the water to make a paste with the gethet leaves and create a poultice. There are healing properties in the plant, but even the slash across my face isn't nearly as bad as the ones on Jodah's chest. They are deep and continue to bleed.

I should help Evren construct the sled, but if the warrior lying here is to die, I do not want him to be alone when it happens. Instead, I break off a small branch from a nearby tree and manage to carve a crudely shaped vessel with my blade. As I finish, rustling leaves sound behind me and I pivot on my knee with my sword gripped tightly, but it is only Katem returning.

He passes me the leaves and I break them up into small pieces. I dump both them and a bit of water into the vessel and with the hilt of my dagger, grind it up to form a paste. Carefully, I cover the wounds with it. After that, all I can do is pray to Deeka. Soon, Evren returns with long, thick branches and several lengths of vines that grow along the ground within the forest. We construct the sled, using the vines to tie the branches together and then Evren and I lift Jodah and place him on the sled.

"I'll take him." I gesture to our fallen friend. "You two bring the luani."

With that, the three of us begin our long trek back to the village.