Bastial Explosion (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 3) (10 page)

Suba was taller than Zeti and her elder by at least ten years. But with Zeti’s
pra durren
still being recent, there was no way to tell how tall she would grow.

It was strange to see Suba walking around the encampment. Usually Suba was stuck in her quarters where she was visited daily by Krepps about their changing tasks within the tribe.

The tribe
…Zeti reflected on the word. They were no longer a tribe, only an army. Though, some Krepps still used the word. Sometimes others would correct them, but most of the time it was ignored. No Krepp knew what it was to be part of an army, for there never had been a war before.

Now Zeti had a feeling her task was going to be heavily involved in the war, not that she knew why. She couldn’t even tell if Doe trusted her.

“I’m so tired, I just realized I haven’t answered your question,” Suba said. “Doe doesn’t have me collecting Krepps for punishment. There’s a new Krepp doing that now that Zoke is…gone.”

At least Suba isn’t calling him a traitor in front of me.
But Zeti was too scared to ask if Suba thought it.

“So I’m not to be punished?” Zeti asked.

“No. I’m to explain your new role and record it. I hope you’re ready for this,
jerrendi
—” Suba covered her mouth. “I suppose I shouldn’t be calling you that anymore. You’re a woman now, and you’re about to be part of a dangerous task.”

“That’s right,” Zeti said. “I’m no longer the innocent little Krepp you knew.”
I killed Paramar.

“It was bound to happen. But that doesn’t mean you’ll stop being a
jerrendi
in my mind.”

During their moment of silence, a tall male Krepp came up to Zeti’s side.

“Fresh skin,” he muttered. “And where are you off to?”

Suba clawed the air just before his face. “Leave us.”

“I see no male at your side,” the stubborn Krepp continued. “Do you have a
seshar
?”

“I don’t, but you’re not going to be it,” Zeti retorted. It would’ve been easier to lie—to tell him that she did have a
seshar
already. But it was against the rules for female Krepps to do so, and it wasn’t worth the risk of punishment, especially when she was already on her way to see Doe.

The frustrated suitor let out a hiss as if he was about to spit. Instead, he turned and grumbled as he left.

Zeti knew Suba wouldn’t ask why she hadn’t picked a
seshar
yet, and she was thankful for that. Choosing a Krepp to start a family with was the last thing she cared about these days.

“So what’s my new task?” Zeti asked.

“You’ll be leaving the encampment,” Suba said, her voice worried. “But it’s gotten very dangerous out there,
jerren…
I mean, Zeti. Doe will explain what you need to do, so I’d rather take this little time we have left to tell you to be careful. Many Krepps are dying outside our walls. They’re being ambushed by Humans, some less than a day’s walk from here. Keep yourself safe—be cautious and don’t travel by night even if you’re not going to make the deadline Doe gives you. A punishment for tardiness is far better than death.”

Suba finished by muttering something about Doe and Haemon under her breath.

During the rest of their walk to their leaders’ quarters, Suba was unnervingly reticent.

When the guards saw Suba with Zeti, they parted to let both of them through. But Suba stopped at the doorway, lowering her face in a serious manner as if expecting Zeti to say something.

Then Zeti realized what it was. “I’ll be cautious,” she said.

Suba gave an approving nod and turned to leave.

But Zeti remembered something important. “If I’m to leave, will you watch over Grayol?”

“Take him with you,” Suba said over her shoulder. “The boy can be trusted, and trusting the right Krepp is more likely to save your life than anything else in these times.”

One of the guards pushed Zeti’s shoulder. “Don’t keep him waiting.”

She knew it to be good advice and opened the door.

The last time she’d been within Doe and Haemon’s quarters, no more than a few wooden walls had been erected. But now the structure was complete, and she found herself walking down a dimly lit hallway, the morning sun barely squeezing in through the gaps between the wooden planks.

After a turn, Zeti emerged into the wide room that she remembered from her first visit—where one wall was made up of the mountainside that was known to mark the edge of the encampment. The rest of the room was enclosed by walls of the thickest wood. A few squares were cut out of them to make windows.

The place was dank. In the silence upon entering, Zeti could hear the waves of the ocean that she could see from the window.

Doe and Haemon were both there, speaking another language that Zeti assumed to be Slugaren. They turned to glance in her direction but ignored her to finish whatever they were saying. It sounded serious, but then again, everything her Slugari leaders said sounded serious.

She’d spent enough time around Doe to tell the difference between him and Haemon. Their size was equal, as was the severity of the grimace on each of their bulbous faces. Ever since Zeti had seen her first Human, she’d thought of Doe’s face as being like a Human’s that had been squashed from every angle. Folds of fat bulged around his eye sockets, giving them a beady look.

But Humans had a nose that protruded from their face, which neither Doe nor Zeti had. A Krepp’s nose was simply two holes above the middle of a long mouth. But Doe didn’t even have those. Zoke once told Zeti that Doe and Haemon’s nose was atop their head.

In the dim light, Doe’s nose looked like a flap of skin in the shape of a flower. Limp, it laid between two antennae. The three together looked completely useless as they impotently flopped around with each motion the enormous Slugari made.

Haemon had the same features, although his nose was longer, his antennae shorter, and his eyes even beadier. Each had the same brown color about his translucent skin. It made Zeti feel ill to think she used to find them appetizing. But she’d had normal Slugari since then. She could taste the shimmering green flesh of the small, plump creatures as she recalled devouring them without remorse. It always brought a flood of saliva to her mouth.

Haemon slithered past Zeti to leave her alone with Doe.

“Sit.” Doe lifted his gnarled claw at a dilapidated chair that looked lonely, being the only piece of furniture against the mountainside wall.

Zeti took her seat, her arms naturally folding as she waited for her leader to continue.

“We got some pigeons from the Humans in Tenred.” Doe held up an empty cage. “We used the birds to send messages to the Humans, but none have returned with replies and we don’t know why. So you’re going over there to figure it out.”

Why me?
Zeti remained silent, and luckily her question was answered without her needing to ask it.

“Haemon and I have had trouble with male Krepps. More each day are proving themselves to be fools like Paramar.”

Doe stopped to study Zeti’s face. She knew he was looking for any sign of frustration. With a surge of control, she shocked him with a smile while her teeth secretly ground together.

“You’re not upset about what happened?” Doe asked.

“I’m no longer surprised when a Krepp is discovered to be a traitor.” Zeti knew it was the right answer, and she refused to think about anything else besides that.

“That’s what I thought.”

Then you thought wrong.

Doe continued, “Female Krepps are proving themselves to be stronger than they look, which is why I’m trusting you with this important task. I don’t know what Suba has already told you, but there are Humans hiding in the hills between us and Tenred to the west. They’ve killed many Krepps. The only groups that have had luck finding their destination without being ambushed have been small…three or less. This is why I’m sending you with the leader of the scouts, Keenu. He can get to Tenred safely, as long as he has someone watching for enemies while he sleeps.”

Zeti jumped to her feet, but at least she stopped herself from shouting. “Not him.”

“Why?” Doe was more frustrated than curious.

Because he offered to kill Paramar, his own friend. Keenu may not be a traitor to the army, but he is to Paramar and to me…and I may end up killing him while he sleeps rather than protecting him.
But Zeti knew she could say none of those things. She came up with a lie instead.

“He wants to be my
seshar
, and he’s gotten aggressive with me when I’ve denied him.”

For a moment, Zeti couldn’t tell if Doe was confused or completely disinterested. His grimace was gone, his face relaxed but tired.

“I don’t care,” the giant Slugari muttered. “You’re leaving right away. Gather what you need to bring with you and meet Keenu at the western wall.”

What I need to bring…
Zeti then remembered what Suba told her. “Can I bring a Krepp? He’s young but skilled with a sword.” It was mostly a lie, as he wasn’t skilled enough to fight yet, but she couldn’t leave Grayol to fend off Ruskir on his own. And she could use his company if she was going to be stuck with a Krepp who elicited urges of murder…if only to distract her. “You said a group of three is still small enough to be safe,” she added.

“Fine, bring this other Krepp. Just tell Suba before you go so she can record his new task.” Doe gestured at the hallway. “Now go. We’re preparing to strike Kyrro and we need communication with Tenred as soon as possible. Keenu will give you the rest of the details on the way.”

Chapter 10:

STEFFEN

Steffen was late to class. Gabby had followed him back into his room that morning, slipping into his small bed to lie beside him.

Zoke had shoved her so hard into the wall that her head had whipped into the wood. Steffen noticed that Gabby was shaking when she wrapped her arms around his torso and put her head onto his chest. But he knew it wasn’t from an injury. She’d just been startled.

It’s a good thing she’s not fighting in this war
, he thought.
She’s not ready for battle.

Then Steffen made a startling realization.

And I am.

He fell asleep holding Gabby in his arms.

By the time he woke, it felt as if the sun was kissing his cheek as it beamed through a gap in his curtain. He realized Gabby already was awake, running her nails lightly down his arm and then back up. For a moment, he’d forgotten that the Krepps could be attacking any day and that he needed to get up and get to his battle training with the other chemists.

“What time is it?” Steffen jumped from the bed and ran outside the house in nothing but his underwear for a glimpse at the clock atop the Redfield tower.

“I’m late!” he shouted to no one, rushing back in to throw his clothes on as quickly as possible.

“I’ll be gone when you get back,” Gabby said. “I have to—”

“Alright, bye,” Steffen interrupted, rushing back outside. He knew it was rude, but he figured she’d understand.

When he arrived at the building that housed his classroom, he found a note on the door:

To each student chemist and teacher: Meet at Redfield. Don’t be late.

—Jack Rose

But Steffen was already late! It made him hustle even faster, causing him to perspire by the time he got there.

Crossing through the open gate to the stadium, Steffen felt his heart start to jump when he noticed that hundreds of people already were seated, students and teachers alike, and that he was the focus of all their stares.

“You’re late.” Jack gestured with his finger for Steffen to join him in the center of the stadium. “Come here.”

In the bright morning sun, the master chemist’s hair seemed more gray than usual. Steffen remembered there being streaks before. But now it seemed that half his head was covered, and the gray was closer to white. His charcoal-colored skin seemed to shine, and that’s when Steffen noticed that he was smiling.

Maybe I’m not in trouble?

Jack wrapped his arm around Steffen’s shoulders. “This is the young man I was speaking of,” he told the crowd of chemists. “Steffen was sent to the Slugari colony with Terren and the others, and Terren has already informed me what plants were found thanks to Steffen being able to recognize them.” Jack removed his arm and whispered, “Sit down with the others.”

Steffen practically ran to the rows of wooden bleachers ahead of him as the master chemist continued.

“The caregelow does exist,” Jack said proudly, “and we have the seeds to grow them on our own now.”

The crowd applauded, and that’s when Steffen found Marratrice at the top row. She looked to be seated by herself.

He smiled and plopped down next to her, relieved not only to be behind everyone, but to see her again.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” she said, leaning over for a hug. “You’re sweaty.”

“Sorry.”