Bastial Energy (42 page)

“I’ve never heard of Krepps speaking with Humans from Tenred
or
Kyrro,” Zoke said, still without an idea of what he wanted to do.

“They don’t, unless Doe and Haemon have been sending them there secretly.”

Not much had been spoken of the Human territories, at least not to Zoke. The only purpose for leaving the Krepp encampment was for a task, and no task required interaction with a Human.

He tried to remember if anything he’d read about Humans might be helpful. There was plenty about Elves in his books. Zoke had read that the tribes of Krepps living near the Elves in Merejic were often competing for animal meat, but that was before Doe and Haemon came and consolidated all the tribes. The Elves were gone shortly after. The Humans were described as being similar to the Elves in appearance, except their ears were small and round and their skin could vary from light to dark.

Zoke thought as quickly as he could but soon he realized there was nothing he knew about Humans that would help him understand what the Krepp going south had planned. “What could the Krepp possibly want with Kyrro?” Zoke wondered aloud.

“I can’t say, but it would be much easier to question one Krepp than three Humans. Let’s get closer so I can see what can be gathered from psyche first.”

Zoke nodded and it was set. They would follow the Krepp, leaving the Humans who were going west to Tenred. They scurried behind their quarry, using trees for cover. It didn’t take long to reach the Krepp, for his walk was cautiously slow. Vithos pointed out his palm and lowered his head.

“He’s nervous,” Vithos said in a near whisper. “I’m not picking up on anything else. Unless a thought or emotion is overshadowing the rest, I hardly get a sense, especially from this range.”

“What would happen if he crossed into Kyrro?”

“He would be detained or killed, I would guess.”

“Unless they were expecting him,” Zoke suddenly realized.

“I don’t see how that would be possible without prior communication between Kyrro and the Krepps,” Vithos replied.

“We just found a Krepp walking with Humans from Tenred. That means there’s been communication between Tenred and Doe and Haemon. It could be the same with Kyrro.”

“Perhaps. But what could Doe and Haemon want with the Humans?” Vithos placed his hand on his chin for two breaths. “All those two care about is finding the Slugari.”

One thought came to Zoke. “The Humans could know where the Slugari are.”

Vithos slowly shook his head. “Even if that’s true, why would Doe and Haemon send a Krepp to Kyrro? Wait, look.” Vithos pointed.

The Krepp stopped to pull something from his belt. As he unraveled it, Zoke saw it was a scroll.

“It’s probably just a map,” he said.

“No,” Vithos answered with a palm extended at the Krepp. “He’s reading something. It’s a note. He has to bring it to wherever he’s going. He has to be careful not to damage it. The note is very important.” Vithos let down his hand. “It’s probably from Doe and Haemon. This Krepp must be delivering a note to the Humans in Kyrro on their behalf.”

“A threat, I imagine,” Zoke said, still working with his theory that the Humans knew where the Slugari were located. “It’s what Doe and Haemon know better than anything else, using fear. If the Humans know where the Slugari are and Doe and Haemon found out, then surely Doe and Haemon will threaten the Humans to get that information.”

“That’s a possibility,” Vithos said, continuing to stare at the scroll.

Zoke spat. “Whatever it is, the answer is in the mind of that Krepp not fifty yards ahead. You can tell when a Krepp is lying, so why not ask him until the truth comes out?” Zoke clenched his teeth. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they needed to act fast. It was too easy for the Krepp to turn and see them, but if they hid from view, they were likely to lose track of him.

“Because what will we do after? We can’t let him return to the tribe after he sees us.”

“Why not?” Zoke asked in a hurry.

“When I sensed the Slugari underground, it was near here. If the Krepp returns to Doe and Haemon with our location, surely they’ll come looking for us around here. They could find us before we reach the Slugari. Or worse, we may even inadvertently lead them to the Slugari.”

Zoke understood, but they still needed a plan. He was becoming eager to question the Krepp and figure out what to do later. “So what do you suggest? We can’t keep following him. Eventually, he’ll see us.”

“We may have to kill him,” Vithos said regretfully.

“Kill him?” Zoke was shocked by the suggestion. The Krepp they were talking about murdering looked familiar.
But even if he didn’t know the Krepp, he found murder to be an unnecessary choice.

“I’m just warning you,” Vithos said. “I don’t want to, either. However, we need to consider it. The opportunity to question this Krepp is too great to pass up. By intercepting this note, it could give us leverage against Doe and Haemon. You know common tongue; you can speak to the Humans. After we figure out how they’re involved, we can use that to our advantage. This may end with thousands of Humans on our side, fighting to take power away from Doe and Haemon. Once their leadership crumbles, reuniting you with Zeti will be easy. Krepps have never been able to lead each other. Chaos will separate the army back into many tribes.”

“Yes, I know all that. But while questioning the Krepp may result in what you described, it could instead lead to nothing but the death of an innocent Krepp.”
We’re losing time. The longer we talk about this, the greater the chance we lose him or he sees us.
“Just let me decide if he needs to live or die,” Zoke said with a frustration that was sure to erupt if Vithos disagreed. “If he must die, then I’ll be the one to do it.”

Zoke hadn’t decided whether he actually could kill the Krepp, but he knew he wanted control in this instance and that they needed to act now. Vithos stared at the Krepp’s back as he took a breath, his hand on his chin. Zoke felt like he was standing on ice. He shifted back and forth.
Hurry, Vithos,
he thought.

“Fine,” the Elf finally answered. “He’ll run once he sees me, and neither of us is fast. So, we must make sure I’m in range for psyche before we’re seen.”

“Understood.”

They split to increase their chances of catching their target if they were to be seen. Vithos stayed directly behind the Krepp, while Zoke went around.

He slowly closed the distance between them, careful to watch his feet for leaves and sticks. It became clear that this Krepp hadn’t been chosen for his awareness, as Zoke never saw the Krepp look anywhere but ahead of him.
He’s probably the first one they found who could speak common tongue.

Zoke, too, could speak the language of Humans and had only met one other Krepp interested in it. They used to practice together.
What was his name?
Zoke tried to remember him, wondering how high the chances were that it was this same Krepp in front of him.

They’d had to be secretive. That part was easy to recall because when they weren’t, it brought on aggression from other Krepps for speaking a supposedly stupid language that wasn’t Kreppen. Each of them had a book on the funny sounding tongue. It was twice the size of a normal book and thus difficult to hide, so he and his friend wrote down what they wanted to share on folded paper and brought only that to their covert meetings.

But what was his name?

Zoke shuddered as he recalled their last meeting. They were both nearly fluent by then and went to study near the bakers’ ovens. They’d never met there before. It was uncomfortably hot, so Zoke figured no one would bother them. When they arrived, they were surprised to find a small table already there. Atop it was something he couldn’t remember.
Whatever it was, they’d thought it was trash, perhaps scraps of rock-hard bread. They’d wiped it from the table.

There couldn’t have been more than two conversations between them before they were interrupted by four older Krepps. One had a deck of cards. They all started yelling at once, so it took a few panicked heartbeats to understand what they were saying. Their bets were gone from the table—that turned out to be the issue. They’d saved their progress of a long game from earlier, only for their chips to be discarded and their table to be taken by a couple of weak-looking Krepps.

The four did not stop after just curses.
No, they wanted blood, and they got it. Both Zoke and his friend were beaten until they were unconscious.
I was lucky they didn’t kill me or break a bone,
Zoke thought in retrospect. He came back to consciousness first and helped his friend to his feet. They both seemed to be in similar physical condition as they hobbled out of there, but emotionally it did far more damage to his friend than to him. Whenever Zoke mentioned studying again, his friend would twitch with fear and eventually they stopped talking altogether.

As the memories came back to him, so finally did a name.
Nebre, that was it,
Zoke remembered with a breath of satisfaction. The Krepp stopped to glance to his side, giving Zoke a glimpse of his face. A sudden realization squeezed his heart for a beat.
It is Nebre!

Zoke glimpsed over to see how far Vithos was behind Nebre now. The Elf was skulking behind trees to stay out of view as much as possible, still quite far away.

Zoke checked back on Nebre, who had stopped. His head was turned now, eyes staring wide…right at Zoke.

Panic exploded in Zoke’s chest. Before another thought could pass, Nebre burst into a sprint.

“Wait!” Zoke ran after him.

He took a moment to check on Vithos, who was sprinting as well.
He must be too far for psyche,
Zoke thought, for the Krepp wasn’t slowing down.

“Nebre!” he shouted. “Stop, it’s Zoke. We just need to talk.”

Nebre appeared to slow down for two strides. He turned to give Zoke one more look, only to turn back and pick up speed.

“Nebre!” Zoke let his desperation come out in his tone. “
Please!
” he shouted in common tongue.

It worked. His old friend slowed to a stop with his chest still heaving.

“
It is you
,” Nebre answered in the same language.

The word “please” didn’t exist in Kreppen, and it had taken several meetings for Zoke and Nebre to understand its meaning. They had to first learn about manners and polite speech for it to make sense, for that was something that didn’t exist for Krepps either. The word felt weak to Zoke, like admitting you needed something that only another person could provide. Nebre, on the other hand, seemed to like it. When they practiced together, Nebre often used the words “please” and “thank you,” and Zoke never hid how uncomfortable it made him.

“I thought you might appreciate hearing the word from my lips, finally,” Zoke said. Uttering it had caused a sour taste. He needed to spit, but that gesture would wipe away all sincerity, so he swallowed his saliva and did his best to hide his discomfort.

“
Thank you
.” Nebre smiled. “What are you doing out here?”

Vithos came forward. “We were wondering the same thing.”

Nebre’s yellow eyes widened as he stepped back from the Elf. “Vithos. They say you’re a traitor, and that…and that you’re dangerous.”

“I’m sure they do,” Vithos answered nonchalantly. “But the truth is that Doe and Haemon sent me away and commanded Krepps to come after me to remove my head.”

“They said they had to send you away because you were no longer working with the tribe…that you didn’t want us to find the Slugari.” Nebre was still dragging his feet away from them when he peered back at Zoke. “They say the same of you.”

Zoke edged after him. “Don’t listen to their lies.” He took a breath to think.
Some of it’s true, actually
, he realized. Vithos knew where the Slugari were and didn’t share it because he didn’t want Doe and Haemon to find the creatures.
Many would call him a traitor for that. They might also say I’ve joined his side, making me one as well.

“What’s untrue?” Nebre asked.

“I never was a traitor,” Zoke answered. “I always did my tasks.”

“But what about wanting to find the Slugari? You can’t smell, and you told me how you didn’t care for their meat. Now I see you out here with Vithos.”

Zoke had always figured that if he had the chance to explain himself that all would be understood, but now he was beginning to see that might not be true.
Does Zeti think of me as a traitor as well?

“I’ve done nothing wrong,” he told Nebre.
And nothing right either.
Many Krepps would have removed the Elf’s head while he slept and brought it back to the camp, but he’d let Vithos sleep peacefully. Zoke hardly had given a thought to turning on Vithos.
Could I be a traitor?
he wondered for the first time, but he didn’t have time to think about it further. “It’s true I never cared for Slugari meat,” Zoke answered. “But I still did what I could to help us find them.”

“But what about Vithos? You
are
out here with him.”