Gur’mekh watched in horror. “Did you have to torture him to death?? What did you do to him??”
“What you asked by your own free will,” the hare said. “Taste the sweetness of triumph, Gur’mekh. You’re right--vengeance is more satisfying than sleep.”
“Yes, but THIS?”
“Who is next?” the hare asked impatiently.
“Just Demrath for now. It would look suspicious if the Roh’mach died the same night.”
A deep voice came from the hare that made the fur on Gur’mekh’s back stand on end. “I kill packs of wild dogs, prides of lions, whole troops of baboons, and you called me to kill one napping hyena??”
“There will be others, but there is need for stealth here.”
“Stealth? No one may call me who worries about stealth. You are weak, Gur’mekh son of Gur’bruk. You called a mighty gale to shake a single leaf??”
Gur’mekh began to tremble. He lost his concentration and in doing so lost what little control he had over the situation.
“I said just Demrath for now. There will be others. Many others.”
“Oh, there WILL be others. But I will pick the next one, understand?”
CHAPTER 22: BIRNAM WOOD TO DUNSINANE
Gur’mekh came running over to Lenti. He looked down at Demrath, and stared with horror at the ugly hemorrhages that killed him. “Oh my gods!”
The pups, knowing no better, came sobbing to him and huddled next to him. Very gently, Gur’mekh touched each tearful face with his tongue. “He’s gone! He’s gone!”
Lenti ushered the pups away. “Gur’mekh, what do you know of this?”
Gur’mekh looked at her, wondering what she meant by that. “I’ve never seen bleeding like this before. Did he complain of any pain or run a fever? I’m no healer, but I mean this all seemed very sudden.”
Lenti collapsed over Demrath’s body, sobbing. “Sudden?? One minute he was playing with the pups, and the next minute....” She fell over the body. “Oh gods!!”
“I’d be careful if I were you. What he had may have been catching.”
“That’s not a disease! No disease does this!”
“I’m no healer, Lenti. I wouldn’t know.” He took his paw and gently stroked Demrath’s face. “And to think we were getting along so well. He had everything in the world to live for.”
“And now I’m left with three young pups to raise. They will want to know what happened to their okhim. They’re too young to really understand.”
“They have a ma’khim.” Gur’mekh pawed her gently. “I’ll take care of them. They will lack for nothing.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “Bless you, Gur’mekh! I didn’t know if you were serious about that. You can still surprise me.”
“I was never more serious in my life. You stay here and I’ll get some help. We’ll move him, my little barak ler.”
Gur’mekh started off to get help, when he suddenly heard a loud cry. He froze.
“What did you call me??”
“I’m sorry? I don’t understand.”
She stared at him with a look of horror. “How did YOU know he called me that? He only used that name for me when we made love!”
“Just a coincidence.”
“I don’t think so! There’s a story behind that name, one you couldn’t possibly know, unless....”
Gur’mekh started to squirm. “Don’t get upset, my dear! You’ve been through a terrible shock, and you’re not thinking clearly.”
“Now I remember,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “The bleeding curse of Melmokh! My gods, surely you wouldn’t want to hurt that sweet, gentle ban’ret! He trusted you, Gur’mekh! Tell me you didn’t speak the unholy words!” Her hackles bristled. “Tell me you didn’t!!”
“No, I didn’t! I swear! Melmokh doesn’t even handle petty quarrels!”
“And how would you know that?? You haven’t been initiated!”
“Things leak out! For the gods’ sake, surely you don’t think I would do a thing like that!”
“Oh, I think it! You go around stealing and working mischief. All of a sudden you have this big change! You want to be the pups’ ma’khim in case anything ever happened to Demrath! Who’s the bak’ret you’re thinking of marrying? Was it me??”
“No!”
“Her name, Gur’mekh! What’s her name??”
“I’d rather not say! She’d die if you found out!”
“Or kill, you mean! It’s me, isn’t it?? Be brave enough to say it to my face!”
“You don’t know what you’re saying! You’re hysterical! Besides, you can’t prove anything!” He realized with horror what had just slipped out.
“Maybe I can’t prove it now, but as Roh’kash is my witness, I’ll make sure they all know what you did! Murderer! Murderer!”
“No, I’m not a murderer! I’m not!”
“Murderer!!!”
“For God’s sake, not so loud! You’ll get me killed!”
“That’s what I want! You’d better curse me while you still can.”
“No! I love you!”
“You’ll come to regret that someday. I swear by Roh’kash you will. I’ll never rest till I see you dead!”
She fell on her husband again and began to sob again. Gur’mekh slinked away sullenly.
Inside his head he heard a mocking voice that would not easily be silenced. “Maybe I should bleed her out too. She’s a trouble maker for sure.”
“Don’t you dare!” Gur’mekh answered. “She has pups to raise. Besides, I still love her!”
“Oh, that really touches me,” the voice said. “I’m deeply moved. I wouldn’t dream of harming her because YOU still love her.” Maniacal laughter echoed from the evil presence. “You’re weak. You don’t have the guts to tell me what to do.” Gur’mekh began to gasp. His throat was closing up. “Don’t you dare!” the spirit repeated, mockingly. “She has pups to raise. Besides, I still love her!”
Gur’mekh fell to the ground, almost gagging. “Let me go! What do you want from me?”
“Submission. And I’ll get it too. Now behave yourself and you can enjoy our time together. Cross me and I’ll torture you to madness.”
Gur’mekh gasped in a deep breath and let it out. The air felt good venting his lungs, and he lay on the grass for a long time waiting for his heart to stop pounding.
CHAPTER 23: A CRY FOR HELP
Tormented by the entity, Gur’mekh went to his okash and tearfully begged her for help. “I’m in trouble, Muti! You have to help me! Please help me!”
Kambra frowned, then sighed. “What were you caught doing THIS time?”
“I--I can’t say it.”
She looked into his eyes inquiringly and concentrated gently but firmly. The answer made her hackles raise and her jaw tremble. “Oh God! Oh dear God!!”
Gur’mekh fell to the ground and began to sob. “If I could put things back the way they were, I would! I swear! Oh gods I’m so sorry! Help me, Muti! Don’t let it destroy me, Muti! I’m so scared!”
As soon as Kambra could overcome her initial shock, she nuzzled Gur’mekh and kissed him. “My son, my poor son! I’ll have to tell your okhim.”
“Must you? He already thinks I’m a failure.”
“No he doesn’t. You must be brave, and you must be honest. I can’t fight this without his help.”
“You aren’t going to tell the others are you?”
“No.” She hung her head in shame. “They would kill you.” She sighed. “Whether or not you keep this promise, I will help you because I love you too much to do my duty. But please promise me you won’t use the curse of Melmokh any more. Please?”
“I swear,” Gur’mekh said fervently.
She could see in his eyes that it was so, and she kissed him. “You’ve had a hard life, but you’re still my good little boy. We’ll get you back on the right path. My poor child, how you have suffered!”
Tears streamed from Gur’mekh’s eyes. “Muti, I love you! I’m so sorry! You deserved a better son! I’d have rather died than hurt you like this!”
“We’ll survive this thing,” she said. “I can only pray that you’ve learned something from it.”
She went to meet Gur’bruk privately, afraid that he would lash out in anger at his son. There was no fear of that. Gur’bruk merely sighed, resigned that his son would end up in trouble someday. But he held out the hope that Gur’mekh had hit the bottom of his downward slide and could only climb up from there.
So they covered up the truth about Demrath and the two of them took Gur’mekh to a place alone where the ceremony would not be observed.
Gur’bruk and Kambra nuzzled Gur’mekh as he lay on his back. They prayed over him words as ancient as the hope of eternal life:
“Might of mights, love of loves, before the sun you were the light of the world. Look upon this child to be born and know that his name is Gur’mekh. He is consecrated to you, receiving from us the fires of rebirth; may he carry on the line that after we are gone that the name of Roh’kash may not be forgotten. Protect him from the claws of day and the jealous eyes of night, and gather his spirit when his eyes grow dim. Hear our prayer.”
Then as Gur’mekh lay on his back, Gur’bruk and Kambra took turns urinating on him, soaking him from the neck down. Then they scratched dust on him, turning him into a mud-caked mess. Kambra said, “Husband, it is time for me to be delivered. Pray for the protection of Roh’kash.”
From time to time, Kambra howled pitifully in her birth pangs. As she did, the wrath of the Makei began to make itself known. A stiff wind blew from the west, trying to force them away from their goal. The spirit began to torture Gur’mekh, closing up his throat till he had to gasp for every precious bit of air, and dimming his sight until he had to lean against his mother for guidance. Still Gur’mekh, who was considered still unborn, spoke not a word as the ceremony demanded. Finally, Gur’mekh’s throat closed completely, and as he lay being choked to death Kambra gazed deeply into his eyes.
“I love him,” she thought. Her love became a mighty wave that swept over the Makei like a painful rash. “I love him! You can’t have my son! Give him back to me!”
Gur’mekh gasped in a deep breath, but he stayed silent and submissive. With trembling legs he tottered forward, straining to see his target just ahead.
He was escorted to the river where with a silent bow of submission he flung himself in head first. He rolled about and splashed, removing the pungent mud from his fur. The evil clung to the bloom of muddy water that opened around him and traveled downstream. His eyesight returned, and the hard, cold look left his eyes. A peaceful smile spread across his face. Even without words, Gur’bruk and Kambra joined with him in a warm shimmering love that made him feel drunk and giddy. How long it had been since the family was that happy! And when he was completely clean, he stepped from the water reborn. He fell to the ground and shouted, “Holy Mother, blessed is the name Roh’kash, sweet as honey upon the tongue!”
“Thanks to you, O God, for our child is born alive and healthy,” Gur’bruk said.
“May he grow in love and beauty,” Kambra said. She remembered saying those words for the first time under happier circumstances. Nuzzling Gur’mekh worriedly, she asked, “How do you feel?”
“Wonderful. Better than I have a right to feel.” He nuzzled his parents and said, “I’m going to resign from the clan council. I have no right to hold office. Instead, I’m going to be a seer and maybe a healer too. Roh’kash gave me this talent for a reason, and with the time I have left, I’m going to find that reason.”
“Thank God,” Gur’bruk said.
Gur’mekh nuzzled them both again. “Hey, I’m hungry! Why don’t I go bring you back a nice gazelle? Maybe even a wildebeest?”
“You ARE feeling better,” Kambra said. “Go with Roh’kash, honey tree. Success.”
Meanwhile, Fabana had just finished a good hunt and brought back a small duiker antelope to where Lenti and her pups sat stranded. “Maybe this will help the little fellows.”
“May I take a few bites too, Fay?”
“Sure. It’s for you too. It could have been my Jalkort, and I know you’d be there for me.”
Lenti nuzzled her. “You are a sister to me. You’re the best.”
Famished, the pups lit into the carcass. Lenti held back to let them get their fill first.
“Bless their hearts,” Fabana said. “I want to help you raise those pups.”
Lenti winced.
“What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s just that Gur’mekh was by earlier. He offered to help me.”
“That was uncommonly kind of him.”
“Kind?? He killed my husband. I just can’t prove it yet.”
“Killed him??” Fabana shifted uncomfortably. “I’ve seen the body. I don’t see how he could have done that.”
“That’s because you don’t know about the dark lore. You grew up around humans. They don’t know what lies beyond the western sky.”
“What are you trying to tell me?”
“Don’t laugh. Gur’mekh cursed my husband. There’s a demon curse that burns the blood. It’s an old protection used by the seers in times of great need.”
“I see.”
“You don’t believe me.”
“Oh I believe you. I’ve seen his eyes. Gur’mekh gives me cold chills.”
“Keep Jalkort away from him for his sake and yours. I tell you Fay, have a talk with your husband.”
“Are you safe?”
Lenti sighed. “I don’t know. He wants me, Fay. He tried to hit on me earlier. It’s not safe to turn him down--everyone knows that. I take the pups to a different place each night to sleep because he’ll try to invade my dreams.”
“Can he do that?”
“That and more. Much more. He can persuade the feeble minded, forcing his thoughts on them. He’s dangerous. No one is safe with him around. Not when he’s angry.”
Fabana sighed. “Jal thinks the moon and stars rise and set on Gur’mekh. Jal is basically good, but he can be led astray. I love him. I’d kill for him. I’d kill Gur’mekh and face the consequences.”
“You wouldn’t have a chance. There’s only one way: come with me to see the Roh’mach.”
“What could she do?”
“She could make Shimbekh look for the truth. Shimbekh is his aunt and she doesn’t want to believe he’s guilty, but she will tell the truth once she learns it. I remember my Muti mentioning something about a prophesy. They try to hush it up now, but Shimbekh used to say the son of Gur’bruk would lead us all to ruin. Amarakh knows. All she needs is to be reminded.” Lenti pawed her gently. “We can do it, girl. Where is Jalkort now?”
“He’s out hunting with Gur’mekh. Where else?”
Lenti looked worried. “I’m not gifted, but I’ve just felt a cold wave down my back when you said that. Pray, for your husband! Pray hard!”
CHAPTER 24: THE SPECTRE OF DEATH
Gur’mekh had a certain quiet reserve and calm that he’d lacked before. Jalkort noticed the change at once.
“You seem to be in a very good mood, brother.”
“Indeed I am, Jal! I feel--well--reborn. God has been very good to me.”
“Yes, Roh’kash has blessed you with this great talent, and a great future is ahead of you.”
“Not the future you think. If I want to be truly great, I have to stop raiding the Roh’mach’s pantry. I have to stop thinking about myself so much. I have to help others the way God has helped me. You know Jal, what’s really important in life is this....” He took his paw and patted Jalkort’s shoulder. “I mean a mountain can be big, a river can be strong, but love is something from the Ka. It is the greatest gift of Roh’kash.”
“What a noble thing to say!” Jalkort was all the more convinced of the greatness of Gur’mekh and looked at him almost worshipfully. “You’re going to be the greatest Roh’mach ever!”
Gur’mekh smiled. “I don’t want to be Roh’mach. There are other ways to be great. My Muti and Maleh are great. Someday you’ll understand. It certainly took me long enough. I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for....”
Suddenly Gur’mekh felt dizzy. He staggered and nearly fell. “Oh gods!” He began to gasp for air. “Jal, it’s happening again!”
“What’s wrong?” Jal asked.
“I thought I was free of it!” Gur’mekh cried. “Go find my okash! Tell her it’s back--she’ll know what I mean!”
“Free of what?? What DO you mean?? Oh gods, brother, you look awful! I’ll get Kambra--you just wait right here!”
Gur’mekh took in a deep breath and straightened up to his full height. His eyes shone with a strange light. “I don’t need her now,” he said defensively. “I’m much better.”
“I don’t know. I don’t like this.”
“Don’t you think I know how I feel??”. He scratched the ground. “We have a job to do, and there isn’t much time. Follow me.”
If only Jalkort had been gifted, he would have seen the fear and helplessness in Gur’mekh’s eyes as he was being pulled against his will toward his destiny on the savanna.
CHAPTER 25: OUT OF CONTROL
Avina was staggering across the grassland, lamenting her crushed face and the death of her happiness. It was a foolish accident, one that she never should have had, and since she was on a solo hunt there was no one to help her. She had leaped for a hartebeest, and all was well until she felt almost like someone had grabbed her ankle and pulled. The hartebeest struck her in the cheek, burying her under a mountain of pain.
She desperately sought out Rafiki, and instead she encountered Gur’mekh....
Gur'mekh saw with horror what the Makei was doing inside him. He was a spectator, helpless in the grasp of an irresistible force. He seized her throat, tasted lion blood, and felt the ground tremor as her once beautiful face struck the grass.
She struggled weakly, begging him to stop in God’s name. For one brief moment, he met her eyes and her horror and sadness came pouring into him. “What’s going to happen to my cubs?” she silently despaired.
“May Roh’kash bless them,” Gur’mekh tried to say--it would not come out. And as a tear trickled down his cheek, he grasped the tender skin of her abdomen and ripped her alive.
Her shriek pierced him like a thorn. “Why, God?? I thought I was free of this! I thought I was free!”
“There’s only one way to be free of me,” a voice echoed inside his head. “You don’t have the nerve to do it, you little coward! Now shut up and eat! You must set a good example for your friends.”
Gur’mekh’s stomach was in knots and his limbs quaked as he was forced to eat the still-warm lioness. The huge bites Melmokh made him take nearly choked him.
“Gur’mekh? Brother? Do you think we should have done this?”
It was Jalkort. Gur’mekh looked around, unable to say what was in his heart. But tears were streaming down his cheeks.
“Oh Gur’mekh!” Jal watched the tears fall silently. “What’s wrong?”
Gur’mekh looked at him pleadingly for a moment, mute against his will. “Oh Jal!” he thought. “My nearly perfect friend. If only you could hear my thoughts!”
As he looked back, blood and mother’s milk ran from Avina’s torn abdomen. “Oh gods! Oh gods, show me the way and I’ll be rid of this thing! I’d do anything! ANYTHING!!”
“Your gods won’t help you now. You told me to kill Demrath of your own free will, and you’re beyond their help. You’re mine to do with as I please!”
A terrible roar shattered the air, and for an instant Gur’mekh expected Melmokh to materialize before him, revealing his shame to all present. The other hyenas looked at him, frozen in terror, wide-eyed with fear as they backed away from him.
Abruptly he realized they were not looking at him, but at something beyond him. He turned his head to see the furious charge of a male lion hurtling towards them, his face burning with fury, fangs bared as he uttered another challenge. Without waiting for Gur’mekh’s command, the hyenas broke and ran. Gur’mekh joined them, stumbling away in a haze of horror.
The Makei fell into mocking laughter as the lion looked up at heaven and raged against the awful crime. "I said I'd pick the next victim! Run, Gur’mekh! Run while you still can! Ha ha ha ha!!"
CHAPTER 26: ONE FALSE STEP
Free to run, Gur’mekh beat a hasty retreat toward the clan territory with his companions. Muti would know what to do! Muti would know it was not his fault!
Perhaps this demon was stubborn and required a harsh regimen of fasting and ordeals. He would gladly do whatever it took to be rid of the spirit, assuming he could live long enough to find the way. The lion was not faster, but he would not stop.
“Roh’kash, why have you forsaken me! Great Mother, help me!”
Gur’mekh crossed the creek and headed up the eastern meadow. Then he saw Antelope Kopje on his right and the Clan Acacia on his left--right between the two of them stretched an invisible line where the lion’s territory ended and he was on his home soil. Ah, blessed sanctuary of home!
But Shaka crossed the border and continued into the Clan’s turf! He would not turn back! Gur’mekh had only three choices. He could find strength in numbers, and if that failed he could keep running until the lion tired and stopped. If that did not work, he could stage a last desperate battle for his life with his three companions. Good old Jalkort would not run out on him. The other two would probably run in different directions and leave them there to fend for themselves. At least good old Jal really loved him. Maybe--just maybe--they would live to see twilight.
Gur’mekh topped the rise that surrounded the elephant graveyard. He half ran, half slid down the other side, barreling toward the spot where his parents would no doubt be taking their evening nap.
Behind him, he heard a yelp. Turning his head, for one awful moment he saw Jalkort turning end over end down the slope, coming to rest in the dust, then trying to right himself. “Jal!! Get up!!”
Shaka pounced, and in one horrifying arc covered the distance to the unfortunate hyena. Jalkort found himself trapped under the awesome weight of Shaka’s front paws. The lion leaned back or he would have crushed him at once. He had other plans, and merely kept Jalkort gasping in a tight embrace of rage.
“You killed my wife!” Shaka roared. “You ripped out my heart, and I will rip out yours!” The lion looked at the terrified face and knew there was nothing more he could say to frighten him. “I give you a moment to pray to your god.”
Fabana watched, beside herself with terror. Jalkort glanced about frantically and saw her in the crowd. He silently mouthed her name, the cried, “Somebody help me!”
“You are trespassing on our lands!” Amarakh said. “You are holding one of my people!”
“He’s a murderer! He killed my wife in cold blood, and he was on my land! She had two cubs, Amarakh. Two cubs that won’t have a mother coming home tonight! She was alive when they ripped her! Alive!”
She looked at Jalkort. She recognized that he was one of Gur’mekh’s followers. “I will investigate it. I know him. He’s a trouble maker anyhow, and you can be sure I will punish him if he’s guilty.”
“IF??” Shaka glared down at his prisoner. “I saw him over her body. Zazu saw the kill.” Shaka bent down. “You tell her! TELL HER, VERMIN!”
Jalkort squealed, “Somebody help me!” He looked at Fabana, her anguish piercing him to the core.
“Husband! Why??”
In desperation, Jal saw Gur’mekh and looked into his eyes.
Gur’mekh could feel the agony. He considered rushing the lion to give Jal a chance to escape. After all, Jal took no part in the killing. Maybe a bite on the foreleg to make him let up for one brief moment. That’s all Jalkort would need.
He crouched, ready to spring. “Roh’kash, give me strength.” Suddenly his strength failed him. He didn’t feel too afraid to move, but he could not straighten his back legs. “Leave me alone, Melmokh!” he thought. “It’s MY neck, you fool! I can risk it if I choose!”
“Fool, am I? Who called a grand makei just to have an affair with a married ban’ret that hates him?? No, you’ll die when I’m good and ready. Right now, I want Jalkort!”
Amarakh said, “You can’t extract a confession to a murder by death threats. This is my land, and I give you my word we will investigate within the customs of our law. But you must let him go. Leave--now!”
Shaka said, “I do not believe you.”
“You are not in a position to negotiate. Leave at once. I will see your brother the King tonight. We will talk.”
Shaka wept. You are right. You are absolutely right. I am NOT in a position to negotiate!” Looking up, he cried, “Aiheu abamami!!” He swung down and with one snatch of his jaws severed Jalkort’s head.
Fabana ran around in tight circles screaming, “Oh gods! Oh gods!”
Gur’mekh rolled on the ground howling. The entity reminded him that “Isn’t it strange that your best friend happened to trip when he did? Such a pity. And right after you tried to exorcise me. You’d think it was more than a coincidence, wouldn’t you?”
“My gods!” Gur’mekh screamed. “No!!”
“Yes!! Oh, the sweetness of his suffering! I feel stronger, bolder, freer! And now watch the lion! How bravely he meets his death!”
The hyenas closed in on the lion, and Shaka died without much of a struggle. The entity began to giggle like a ban’ret on a hot date. “Look, Gur’mekh! See how a lion dies! Will you be that brave when your time comes??”
The Roh’mach prepared for the real backlash to come. In a state of heightened alert, the hyenas doubled the guard, closing off all entrances and exits from the Clan territory unless the proper passwords were given.
Gur’mekh sought out Fabana. He told her, “Fay, I want to help you.”
She replied, “The way you tried to help Lenti? And my name is FABANA to you!”
He followed her, persisting. “Look, I loved your husband as a brother. Ask anyone! I tried to help him just now, but....”
“But WHAT?”
“Oh, you wouldn’t understand!”
“I understand perfectly. Jal was your pal, as long as he was doing stuff for you. But the moment he got in trouble, you turn your back on him!”
Gur’mekh’s hackles raised. “To hell with you! I knew you wouldn’t understand! You can raise your own brats without my help!”
Fabana backed back, whining.
Tears came to Gur’mekh’s eyes. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” He began to sob. “Fay, I loved him! I really loved him! I’m sorry!”
“Yeah, well....” She backed off suspiciously. “Look, thanks for the offer, Gur’mekh. We’ll talk sometime, OK?”
She turned and hurried off, trying not to break into a run. But the intent was clear. She put a great deal of distance between herself and him, mixing with a large crowd where she could grieve in peace.
Then came the confrontation with Ahadi. Gur’mekh was hiding in his cave sobbing while the Lion King was demanding a settling of accounts and setting the ban. All Gur’mekh could think about was Jal’s haunting whimper as he peered into his eyes. “Jal, if you can hear me, I tried to help you! Oh gods, Jal! Jal!”
Ahadi made his demands clear. In response, Amarakh made clear demands on her people: someone must pay for the attack, or all would suffer.
Gur’mekh tried to find his parents. He began to work his way through the crowd. Before he was successful, the Roh’mach called out assembly.
“I don’t have time for this!” He kept working his way through the crowd.
“Come to order!” the Roh’mach called again. “That means you too, Gur’mekh!”
The Roh’mach lined up everyone. Amarakh said, “We are in desperate times. If we don’t find out who lead the hunting party, we’ll all have to suffer for the actions of a few. I cannot stand by and see the innocent suffer with the guilty.”
Ber spoke up. “Roh’mach, we have a seer whose innocence is beyond dispute. Why don’t we have her hunt down the guilty party?”
“Shimbekh? Excellent suggestion, Ber!”
Ber leered at Gur’mekh, and watched him squirm with all the glee of a wrestling pup.
The hyenas were lined up by Ber and Amarakh, and each one had to look Shimbekh in the eyes. There was no adequate defense except possibly love. “Shimbekh loves me,” Gur’mekh thought. “Surely to God she won’t betray me!”
Gur’mekh glanced nervously down the line as Shimbekh counted off the hyenas, one at a time, marking them with a pawprint in Shaka’s blood. It was the red badge of their innocence. For one frantic moment, Gur’mekh considered blaming it on Jalkort. He was dead anyhow--his suffering was over. But he thought about Fabana and her unborn pups. She would surely be exiled to scrabble for leavings in the desert. In desperation he bit his own leg--deeply--marking his cheek with a bloody pawprint.
“Hey Gur’mekh, your leg is bleeding! How did you do that??”
Gur’mekh jerked his head to look at Korg, who stood next to him, looking at him curiously. “Hsssh, Korg! Not so loud! You know good and well what I did. And just you keep your silence.”
Korg shook his head sympathetically. “You should have that looked at.”
“I will later.”
“But it’s serious.” He bent his head to examine the wound closer.
“I’m serious. Drop this conversation!”
Korg sniffed of his wound, spreading the blood with his nose. “Looks bad for you, fellow!”
Gur’mekh to slapped him with a paw. “STOP!”
Heads turned. Now Gur’mekh was the subject of scrutiny by dozens of hyenas. He began to tremble, then as Amarakh drew close to him, he panicked.
Gur’mekh tried to run, but his leg cramped up. He was quickly overtaken and stopped by bared teeth on all sides. Pushing through the crowd was Shimbekh. He tried not to look in her eyes.
Shimbekh finally secured a straight-on stare into his eyes. “Did you lead the attack?”
Gur’mekh squirmed as he felt the first touch of her mind. Gentle but insistent, he felt the probe of her psyche like a gentle tickling in the back of his head.
“You know this is necessary. Be calm--just relax....”
Her thought broke off abruptly. Her mind’s eye opened and she saw the struggling lioness crawling through the grass, her shattered jaw dripping blood and saliva on the ground. She saw Gur’mekh move forward, and heard the lioness’s dying shriek.
