Chapter 17 #2
I grab one end of the pole that’s been driven through the length of the skarn and lift it from the fire. “You will sleep hungry tonight. I’m taking back my skarn.”
“That’s our skarn!” Frant’ex growls and reaches for his sword. “We hunted for that!”
“Now, now,” Emar’oz says and puts a hand on his arm. “It is his turf, and we do want our ill-guided tribesman to eat well in his grief. Take the skarn, Kenz’ox.”
“Thank you so much for the permission,” I say with acid in my voice. “I will enjoy the best parts of it.”
“You can’t eat all of that yourself,” Frant’ex whines. “Leave half for us!”
I snatch a rolled-up sleeping-skin from the ground and drape it over my shoulder.
“Oh, I will only eat as much of the tenderest parts as I can. The rest I will burn as an offering to my Ancestors, and to my dead descendant, Aker’iz.
She never had a chance to taste skarn, but tonight she will have as much of it as she can handle.
” I hoist the hot carcass of the skarn onto my covered shoulder, dripping with fat.
Frant’ex draws breath to speak, but Emar’oz elbows him hard in the side. “Of course, Kenz’ox. Do as you think best.”
I stop and look at them. This is too easy. “You three have something in mind. You smile to each other like boys plotting to steal the shaman’s woman doll.”
“Us?” Torkz’ik asks, with a face so innocent it confirms my suspicion. “Plotting? We’re simple warriors, Kenz’ox. Perhaps we are simply happy that you will enjoy some tender skarn meat.”
I should either kill them or somehow force them to tell me what they have in mind.
But I don’t want to spend more time on them, and even if I could, it would be really difficult to keep them all under control for much longer.
“If I see any of you again, I will kill without a word. This is my turf now. Tomorrow at sunrise I will come here again. If you’re still around, you will not see me. But you will meet my blade.”
I back off into the jungle until I’m sure they’ve lost sight of me. Then I replace my sword in the belt and run, deliberately the wrong way.
After a while, I stop and listen.
No, they haven’t followed me.
I turn so that I’m walking in the right direction. There was something strange about those three. They were too calm. Only Frant’ex cared about losing their skarn. It must have taken them a long time to hunt it, and it smelled wonderful, slowly roasting on their fire.
They must have realized that I would win every fight.
Still, I would have expected more resistance.
And I would not have expected them to still be around days after they said they would walk back.
While this is unclaimed turf, it would have made more sense to start walking home and resting by going slower, and for fewer hours each day.
Oh well, those three aren’t that hard to deal with. I shouldn’t let them invade my mind as well as my turf. Soon I’ll be walking on the beach with Dorie. And I have some idea what will happen there.
I speed up. This could be a fine evening.
The fire is burning when I reach the clearing.
Before I step into the light, I watch for a moment.
Dorie is sitting with Aker’iz on her lap and tries to feed her, chatting softly.
It seems to be going well. The tame griket is lying down beside them, its long tail drawing lazy figures in the air above them.
For some reason, I remain there, just watching the two females, one very young, and the other a skilled warrior. There’s something very right about it all, something that warms my heart a great deal.
I climb into the clearing and dump the heavy skarn on the ground. It’s cooled a bit, but it was almost done when I took it, and it only needs a little more heat before we can eat it.
The griket gets up and looks at me with its big eyes.
Aker’iz squeals when she sees me, reaching out her arms. I go over and lift her. “Thank you for taking care of our little chief.”
“She’s a good chief,” Dorie says and wipes her front with a rag. She’s changed her clothing, from the alien one to a looser, more recognizable garment that reaches to her knees. It’s made from the skin of a Big. “And she likes to eat.”
I hold Aker’iz out from me. “Did she grow in the time I was away?”
“She fast grower,” Dorie says and gets up to stretch. “A chief should be big.”
“And she doesn’t smell bad.”
“We took care of that,” she says. “And we went to the beach to get clean. Those dead krolts are still there.”
I feel my eyes widening. “You went to the beach? After the… after what happened there today?”
Dorie shrugs. “Is part of our home. We not will stay away from it.”
“That’s wonderful,” I exclaim as warmth and pride fill me. I have seen warriors needing to stay out of the jungle for days after less harrowing experiences than the one Dorie had today. She may look soft, but she has steel in her. “Dorie cleaned you, Aker’iz. Did you say ‘thank you’?”
The baby just gurgles. She looks tired, so I put her in the playpen.
Dorie discovers the skarn. “Oh, you brought food. Cooked already?”
“I stole the dinner from some silly tribesmen,” I tell her, not wanting to alarm her by telling her more about those three.
Her eyes go wide. “Tribesmen? Nearby?”
I quickly cut the Y-shaped sticks that will carry the pole with the skarn on it. “A small band of lost tribesmen. Not that near. Don’t worry, they’ll leave tomorrow, and go back to their village. I let them know that this is my turf.”
Dorie looks into the jungle. “There been no tribesmen here, except one.”
“And there will be no more,” I assure her. “I will scare them.” I decide that tomorrow I will check if they’re still here. If they are, I will hurt them so bad, the jungle might finish the job for me.
The griket stalks around the clearing, always keeping both eyes on me.
I ram the two sticks into the ground and support them with rocks, then put the skarn in place over the fire. “We’ll have to wait for a while. It needs more heat.”
Dorie still peers into the jungle. “You not think they follow you?”
“They didn’t. I made sure. There’s no need to worry, Dorie. I scared them.”
She comes over and strokes a hand on my lower back in passing. “I know.” She gets Aker’iz, who’s fallen asleep, and gently places her in her pack.
I understand the gesture—if enemies come, Aker’iz is easier to grab now.
“Who was the tribesman who was here?” I ask. “You said there hadn’t been any, except one. And I have seen his tracks.”
Dorie sits down with her stiff pieces of skin. “When you came here first time,” she starts nervously, “I tell you about my tribe. I say many warriors and… well, you know. It not is true. There was a tribe, with Callie and Morgan and Riley and me, but no warriors.”
She tells me about Cora and Sprisk and what she knows about the Borok tribe. I stay quiet until she’s done.
I give her a little smile. “I already knew some of these things. I saw no traces of many warriors, only one strange one. And some women. This area is unclaimed turf. There’s no tribe nearby, and those who gave us tonight’s dinner won’t be back.”
She glances over at the skarn. “How long to cook?”
It’s a little after sunset, and the jungle is growing darker fast. “When it’s fully dark.”
“Aker’iz is sleeping,” Dorie points out. “How about walk on the beach while we wait?”
I stand up. “Good idea. I will put her inside.”
I lift the remarkably heavy pack that contains Aker’iz, noticing that it’s really too small for her now. When I put her inside the ship, the light comes on.
“Oh,” Dorie exclaims, sticking her head in. “It really likes her.”
“Everyone does,” I agree. “Even your griket.”
“Otis will watch her,” Dorie says as she gathers a big sheet of soft skin and puts it around her shoulders. “He will let no one pass.”
Indeed, the griket lies down next to the ship, but I close the hatch before we slowly walk towards the beach.
Dorie grabs my hand and places it around her waist. “This is nice.”
It is indeed a very fine evening. My crotch swells in expectation, and I really like holding Dorie like this, resting one hand on her hip and feeling it roll with each short step.
There’s a pleasant breeze coming from the ocean, and the waves roll calmly onto the beach.
I spot the two dead krolts, like dark spots in the sand. “Wait here.”
Dorie watches from a distance as I drag both the krolts along the beach and into the jungle, where they will keep other krolts away.
I walk back to the ocean and scrub the smell off my hands.
Dorie scans the skies, then rams her spear into the sand and quickly slides her garment off.
The breath catches in my throat. Even in this darkness, I see all the parts of her that make her so alluring.
She walks to where the waves sink into the sand and wiggles her toes. “The ocean Big might not come this close.”