Return to Eden

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Kerrick stopped, fell backward, huddled against the earthen wall. Harl lay crumpled just before him. His mouth hung open and his eyes stared sightlessly at the sky. The bundle of hèsotsan lay across his chest with the creatures writhing slowly against their bonds.

Harl was dead. Killed by a hèsotsan. A Yilanè, it had to be a Yilanè who was out there, lying in wait. It had been a neatly planned trap. There was no way out of it. If he moved or tried to retreat he would be exposed. He could not go forward — and there was no way back. The instant they saw him they would shoot: a marauding ustuzou would be killed on sight.

Then he had to be Yilanè again.

“Attention to speaking!” He called out. Then added, “Death… negative!” It did not make much sense, but he wanted those who were waiting out there to hesitate before they fired. He laid the bundle of hèsotsan aside, rose slowly to his feet — then stepped out of cover calling out loudly as he did, his arms and thumbs held in the form of submission.

“I am unarmed. Do not kill me,” he said as firmly and clearly as he could. His skin quivered, expecting the dart that would bring instant death. The Yilanè stood just ahead of him in the dense shrubbery. She had emerged from the shelter of the trees. Her hèsotsan was aimed directly at him. She appeared to be alone. All he could do was stand rigidly still, signing submission.

Intepelei looked at him, never moving her weapon. But she did not fire.

“You are the ustuzou who is yilanè. I know of you.”

“I am Kerrick who is Yilanè.”

“Then you must be the one who went to Ikhalmenets and killed the uruketo of our city. You are that one?”

Kerrick thought of lying; there was no point to it.

“I am.”

Intepelei signed pleasure of discovery — but still kept the hèsotsan aimed at his chest. “Then I must take you to Lanefenuu who has talked much of the ustuzou and her hatred for you. I think she wants to see you before you die. Did you kill the three Yilanè and put them into the pit with the hèsotsan?”

“I did not kill them.”

“But your kind of ustuzou did?”

“Yes.”

“It was my thought that this was the explanation of their deaths. No other agreed with me. I did what had to be done. I have had fargi hidden near this place ever since that day. Fargi instructed to come to me if any ustuzou pass. One came to me this day. Now we go to speak with Lanefenuu.”

“It is almost dark.”

“Then you will hurry. For if it grows dark before we reach the ambesed I will kill you. Move quickly.”

Kerrick stepped reluctantly forward, searching for a way out, finding none. This Yilanè was a hunter, he could tell that, knew he would be killed instantly if he tried to attack. She signed with her top thumbs as she stepped forward. Then shivered and almost fell.

The arrow made a thunking sound as it struck deep into her back.

She raised the hèsotsan, her hands shaking, pointing it towards Kerrick. It cracked once, the dart missed. She raised it higher.

The second arrow took her in the neck and she fell. Herilak ran silently up the path, looked down at the two bodies.

“I did not see the marag until it killed the boy. I did not have a clear shot until it moved into the track.”

“You followed us.”

“I did. I did not bring a death-stick but I followed you. There was a danger just the two of you alone. We must get rid of the bodies. Into the pit…”

“No, no need,” Kerrick said wearily. “I talked to that one before you killed her, you heard me. She had guards posted to watch this track. They told her that we were coming.”

“We must leave quickly!”

“No, she is a hunter, she came here alone. It is too dark now for others to follow her. But the watchers who saw us come and told her, they are in the city. Others will be here in the morning. We cannot hide the fact that we were here. They know now. I didn’t want any killing, I thought it would be better without you. But you followed anyway. We should bury Harl.”

‘Foolish, waste of time. His tharm is in the stars and he cares not for the meat left behind. I will cut out my arrows, we will take the death-sticks and leave. By morning when they come here we will be far down the track.”

Kerrick felt a great weariness. He knelt beside the dead boy and removed the bundle of hèsotsan. Then straightened Harl’s limbs and closed his eyes. He rose slowly to his feet.

“I killed him,” he said, bitterly. “I brought him here.”

“The marag killed him. We have new death-sticks. Leave him now — and leave all thought of him. He was young but he was a good hunter. I will take his spear and bow. Another boy who wishes to be a hunter will get great strength from them.”

Tbere was nothing more to say, nothing that could be said. They had the weapons. With the bundles slung across their shoulders they started north, were quickly out of sight. It grew dark under the trees and shadows stretched across the two bodies, so alien to each other, now united in the inescapable bond of death.

There were no large carrion eaters here within the city, so the corpses were undisturbed during the night. At dawn the crows found them. Landed hesitantly and hopped forward, very suspicious of the large and unexpected gift. They were beginning to tear at the flesh when loud shouts disturbed them and they flapped away. The first fargi, hèsotsan held hesitantly before them, approached down the path. They milled about, looked into the forest, searched further along the track. Only when Muruspe came up, she had been careful to lead them only from the rear, was any order restored. Anatempè stood beside her, signing shock and grief.

“What is the meaning of this? What happened?”

“It is very clear what happened, Muruspe said, displaying immense distaste. “Intepelei received warning of intrusion, she came alone, she died for her valor. She must have killed one ustuzou, others killed her. You are a Yilanè of science who assists Ukhereb. Can you tell me when this happened?”

Anatempè squatted down and touched the skin on both bodies. Signed unclarity of conclusion. “Not this morning. Perhaps during the night, probably late yesterday.”

“Probably. The fargi who hid here yesterday said that she saw two ustuzou. Now one is dead here, the other gone. What were they doing here? Why did they come?”

Anatempè turned to look at the wall of the hèsotsan pit; Muruspe followed her gaze. “Has it anything to do with the hèsotsan?”

“Alpèasak is a large city. Twice killer ustuzou have come to this city. Twice there have been deaths at the hèsotsan pit.”

“And the ustuzou use the hèsotsan as well as we do.” Muruspe was silent with inner thought, then signed attention to orders. “We will bring the bodies to the ambesed. This is a matter for the Eistaa.”

There were expressions of pain and dismay when the sad column moved through the city. The fargi pushed away from it, frightened by death of a Yilanè, sight of a dead ustuzou. The two bodies were laid upon the ground while Muruspe went to inform the Eistaa.

Lanefenuu stared down at the corpses stretched out on the grass before her, stared in silent thought. Silence filled the ambesed as well, since none dared interrupt her. The two scientists, Ukhereb and Akotolp, had already examined the bodies and agreed on what had probably happened.

The ustuzou had been killed by a dart from a hèsotsan, undoubtedly Intepelei’s own weapon. The hunter then killed in turn by ustuzou stone tooth; there were mortal wounds in her neck and back.

“Why did this ustuzou come to my city?” Lanefenuu finally said, looking about the circle of her advisers. “The killing of ustuzou has been ended. I ended it. Vaintè is gone. We stay within our city — but they do not stay within theirs. You know these creatures, Akotolp. You knew them when you first came to Alpèasak, before you fled destruction, before you returned. Why are they here?”

“I can only guess.”

“Then guess. Without knowledge that is all any of us can do.”

“I think that… they came for hèsotsan. They have their own stone teeth to kill with, but they like to kill as well with our hèsotsan. They came to steal them from us.”

“That was also my own thought. We must find out more of this matter. Three hunters vanished to the north, three Yilanè killed inside my city. Now, Akotolp, you were to search. What have you found?”

“Nothing. No evidence of ustuzou near the city — or even as far north as the round lake. The birds fly and I have images.”

“Then have the birds fly further. Those filthy creatures are out there and I want to know where. Find them. Should I send hunters to search?”

“That is not wise because these ustuzou are more cunning than any beast in the wild. They trap and kill our hunters. There was another thing that we did when they hid from the birds. There are owls that can fly by night, carrying creatures that can see in the darkness.”

“Do that as well. They must be found.”

“Have you found the ones we search for?” Fafnepto said as she pulled herself up onto the uruketo’s back. Sea water dripped from her as she carefully wiped the nostrils of her hèsotsan to be sure that it could breathe easily.

“They are not on the coast of this island,” Vaintè said. “Though they might have come here: it is important that we looked for them. It is a rich and fertile place. It was wise to search.”

“The hunting is very good as well. I found the small horned ustuzou you told me of, killed them. Their flesh is very sweet. She signed up to Gunugul who was listening to them from the summit of the fin. “There is fresh meat on the shore for you. Is there a way to bring it here?”

“Gratitude/pleasure of eating. It will be arranged.”

Crewmembers swam ashore, towing empty bladders to support the stacked carcasses. Fafnepto had outdone herself and devastated the local animal population. While they were waiting for the meat to be brought aboard Gunugul took out her charts and put her thumb on their exact location.

“North of us is the continent of Gendasi*. Here is the city of Alpèasak . It appears that this city is close to the tip of a great peninsula of land — is this true?”

Vaintè tilted her hand in agreement. “It is indeed as you describe. I have journeyed up the eastern coast, we landed and killed ustuzou there. But if you go far enough north it becomes cold and there is winter always.”

“Should we go that way?”

“My first reaction is a negative one. As Fafnepto has advised I try to think as those we pursue. To go north they first had to pass Alpèasak and risk discovery. After that the further they went, the colder it would get. I don’t think they went to the east. However there is warm ocean and a warm continent to the west, here where the blankness is upon your charts. I have gone that way by uruketo, and on land as well, and it continues for a great while. There is a large river here up which we journeyed. And all along the coast there are bays, beyond them forests rich with animals. I feel sure that they went this way.”

“Then so shall we,” Gunugul said. “I will take pleasure in adding to these charts.”

In this way they reached the coast of Gendasi *, sailing between the golden isles until they reached the sandy shores. Alpèasak was out of sight to the east and they sailed west. The coast moved by, a summer storm lashing the trees with rain, hiding them then revealing them again. The enteesenat jumped high, pleased with the variety of fish they could catch in these warm and shallow waters. Gunugul marked her chart, the crewmembers gorged themselves on the fresh meat that Fafnepto had provided. Vaintè was alive, watching the shore with infinite patience, looking forward with great anticipation to the deaths of all those who had opposed her.