A slight hesitation, barely discernible, slipped into Khalem’s voice before he said, "My name is Eiichi. This is my son, Kosho, and our servant girl, Yae."
Celty growled. Of course she would be the servant. Although, thanks to her violet eyes, she likely couldn't pass off as a direct family member in the same way.
Still.
The figure on the throne paused, as if assessing them. The voice was slightly higher pitched, like a woman, despite attempts to conceal it. "You lie."
Khalem frowned. "Of course I do not."
"I can tell that you are lying. Tell me who you are, and why you come here? What do you seek? Why do you trespass on our lands?"
"I have told you."
Celty swallowed. Her heart thudded in her chest. Although she couldn't be sure because of the mask, she often felt the gaze of the strange figure upon her.
"You will say no more?"
Khalem shook his head once. " I have told you the truth. I have no more to say."
"Death, then. Take them away and kill them."
Numerous hands were on Celty all at once, dragging her back to her feet and taking her back down the path. She struggled, yelling, cursing, and gnashing her teeth in any attempt to bite whatever hand she could.
They held her firm, bearing her back to the open space with its surrounding sheer rock walls. The sound of beating drums welcomed them the closer they approached. Chanting seemed to come from everywhere – ahead, behind, around – in the cave system.
They stepped into the prison area to find Ranbelt already tied to a stake in the middle of the area. A new collection of firewood surrounded his feet. Celty fought back the urge of vomit.
So they'd be burned to death. Maybe they were cannibals after all.
"Hello!" Ranbelt sang in greeting.
Tribesmen danced in a circle, in time with the drums. The furs and skins stretching across their bodies flapped with every movement.
Celty's heart banged to a different tune….and a strange, somewhat hazy, recollection….
One of the tribesmen shoved her toward Ranbelt. She snarled as they grabbed up a stake, but despite her flailing they were able to tie her to it, rendering her totally immobile. The other tribesman threw rocks, sticks and leaves at her feet. Celty would have kicked the mess away, but they tied her feet together as well.
The beats of the drum continued to resonate throughout her chest. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Once the tribesmen finished preparing the materials for the fires that would burn them alive, they stepped away. A hush fell over the wild people as the lean figure from the throne appeared. The guards fell to their knees.
"And now," the god-like figure said, "you shall die by fire. You shall burn the way our people burned when they were sent away from our home. You shall be consumed by flames, and never trespass here again." The figure spread its arms and called out, "Benki wit!"
The tribe began repeating these words, turning them into a chant. They rose from their knees, shouting the words again and again into the air.
Celty struggled against her bonds, glancing over to Ranbelt. "What did she say?"
Ranbelt glanced over with a wry smile. "She said, ‘Burn them!’"
"Now!" the figure cried, pointing to them.
Isao, Khalem, and Celty fell into a renewed fit for freedom as four figure with torches advanced from the belly of the cave, heading straight for them.
When the tribesmen were only a few paces away, Ranbelt tossed his head back and started to laugh. It rolled out from deep within his belly. He laughed without taking any breaks, letting the merriment flow from his throat in long strands of amusement.
Isao and Celty locked confused gazes.
He is mad after all, Celty thought.
The tribesmen were in front of them now. Celty wasn't sure what was more terrifying: the fact that she would soon burn alive, or Ranbelt's ringing, horrifying laughter being the chant that would accompany her death.
Hadjia
Hadjia couldn’t tear her gaze away from the new moon. The round brilliance of the orb caught her gaze. Beneath her feet, a silvery path snaked some distance, illuminated by the moonlight. A murky forest lined the trail on either side. She drew in a deep breath, smelling a metallic, coppery scent on the air.
Hadjia continued on the path until a sound caught her attention.
Off to her right was a massive winged lion with a wiry mane and a thick, muscular tail. The lion was crouched on the ground, his pearly teeth bared and talons digging into the earth. His muscular wings unfurled around him as he snarled.
Ringing him in a half circle was a pack of foxes, their bloody jaws snapping at him. They hissed too, filling the air with a sound that made the skin on the back of her neck crawl.
Hadjia sucked in a sharp breath. She wanted to back away, but couldn’t move, as if an unseen force held her captive. Her feet seemed to be stuck on the trail even though her mind screamed at her to leave.
None of the animals noticed her presence, as if she wasn’t really there.
She watched in horror as the foxes lunged, one after another, tearing into the lion’s thick pelt. He roared, flailing. His wings beat the air futilely as the foxes pounced, tearing into his wings and preventing him from flying away. He whipped around when one fox tried to tear off his tail, and knocked it free. But there were too many attacking: As soon as one fox bit into him and he used a powerful paw to knock it free, another lunged forward and ripped into him.
One after another, the foxes attacked until the lion’s legs collapsed beneath him. His roars faded to a low gurgle. As if released by a silent command, the foxes fell upon him as one, silencing the regal lion forever.
One of the foxes lifted his head, and sniffed the air. It turned towards Hadjia, his face stained with bright blood. He licked his lips, revealing razor-sharp teeth and a pink tongue. He crouched, a deep growl echoing through his chest as he prepared to spring.
“You!”
Hadjia whipped around to see a young boy standing on the trail, his dark eyes filled with sorrow.
The child lifted an arm, pointing to her. “You are an assassin!”
Hadjia jerked awake with a low gasp in the forest she’d always known. Anzai, a boy with scruffy hair and a crooked tooth on the bottom of his mouth, shifted in his position next to her. Kaneko’s familiar eyes met Hadjia’s in a silent question.
Hadjia swallowed and shook her head, indicating that she was fine.
Why did she always fall asleep when she was in the forest? Now Hadjia had fallen asleep in the forest on the day of her very own test… the most important day of her life! How could she have done that?
No doubt her slumber was due thanks to the countless nights she’d spent worrying about this very day and the definable moment that would soon come from it.
Anzai leaned to his side and peered around a tree trunk. “They’re inside,” he murmured. “For now.”
“There’s three of them,” Kaneko replied, just quietly enough for Hadjia to hear. “You will have no problem ridding our world of three horrible people, Hadjia: two adults and the evil daughter they’re raising. We must protect the world from her evil influence.”
Hadjia didn’t look around the tree with them. She didn’t want to see the simple home amidst the open fields of grain. She didn’t want to think about the lives she was about to turn upside down, or for that matter, about Kim, Mother Sigunta, or the masked man.
“Hadjia?”
“What?”
Kaneko pressed her lips together, hesitated, then seemed to change her mind and said, “Never mind. Get some more rest. Anzai will wake us when evening arrives.”
Anzai scowled.
“It’s the way of it, Anzai,” Kaneko said breezily. Although she’d never admit it, Kaneko loved the authority of telling others what to do. “You’ll see when you have your test after Hadjia’s. You have to earn your place amongst the rest of the elite.”