Unproven

4 || Rumors & Whisperings

"War is upon us." It wasn't a question.

Boatloads of belft. That was it. "It appears likely, sir." Koden stared at the ground and hoped the captain didn't take everything out on him. A cup lay fallen near his foot. Koden pretended not to notice.

"Has anyone spotted the kotrakoy?"

"No, sir." The answer was quick and swift. Koden was anxious to offer a titch of good news.

"Of course, that doesn't mean much does it?"

"No, sir." The captain could always find a negative way to interpret good news.

"Has the reconnaissance team investigated kotrakoy graves?"

"I'm sure they're working on that sir," Koden said with a little uncertainty.

"Make sure of it and report back the moment you have anything to add ... I don't care how small the development, I want to know as soon as you do. Go."

That could have gone much worse. Koden quickly turned to leave the room. "Koden." The sound of his name like an after thought hit the young man's ears like a burning dart.

"Sir?" He turned his head but didn't turn around to see the captain.

"You better fetch the king's court guard first. Inform them to clear everyone out of court. This is pressing news. I need a private audience. I'll be right behind you so the faster they clear court, the better."

"Yes, sir." Great. Now Koden would have the honor of mildly infuriating court guards as well. It always helps to make a few new friends twice in one day. As he bolted over cobblestone towards the king's courtyard, Koden began to think about his family, friends, and kingdom. Being part of the military always afforded some degree of uncertainty and risk. But fighting Hiwalani was different. He'd heard stories from his great grandfather, stories about how Hiwalani used bullets from Trayki guns to heal their wounded. He'd heard how kotrakoy ran through soldier ranks like hurricane winds, picking off soldiers before they could even see what was happening and blending into the environment so well that it barely seemed they were present at all ... but for a blur and the trail of blood they left behind. Trayki technology had no way of tracking the beasts: Ali'ikiswan's light. Koden made conscious notes to be more careful running through the king's courtyard. If he angered any more soldiers today, he might be awakened by a soap in a sock beating by morning.

Only the Hiwalani could find them. And they could only do it using magic light.

*****

Ali'ikai sat in a dark corner of Daya's tavern, trembling occasionally in a semicircle booth as she reviewed what she'd seen. Her fingers traced the edges of her cocktail, gathered a few sugar crystals, and pressed them against her slender lips. Ali'ikai was sloshed. She knew better than to drink so much but it didn't matter. She slugged down another gulp and then swished a smaller swallow in her mouth to savor the fruity mixture. Slightly dizzy, she leaned both forearms on the table. Her traditional beadings hung low and rested for a few minutes in her cocktail before she noticed.

Zhak. Daya boasted the best food and drinks throughout the entire coastline. Anyone could guess that by the cost. Ali'ikai couldn't let any of it go to waste so she sucked her beads dry. She licked the leather strings for good measure. Her bare stomach pressed against the rough texture of the table and sent her into another flashback. The beast's tail had torn across her stomach. She hadn't even seen it coming. Then, it appeared out of nowhere: right in front of her. It shrieked. She barely had enough time to notice those famous four rows of teeth before everything went dark. Ali'ikai could still feel the pain when she remembered it. She chugged down the rest of her drink and suppressed a heave as a few tears plodded down her cheek.

Sometimes it's distasteful to see the future, especially when you're already rumored half crazy. But it's absolutely dreadful to see your own death - especially when it ends badly. Ali'ikai started to throw the empty glass across the room but lost her balance and teetered sideways. Her fingers still clutched the glass, holding on carefully so she wouldn't drop it next to her bare feet. She worried she'd break the intricately blown cocktail glass if she squeezed too hard, loosened her grip, and then feared she'd drop it if she didn't hold on tighter.

Her thoughts faded in and out of consciousness. Kotrakoy were all dead. Her great grandfather killed them all. Perhaps the vision had been mistaken. After all, other prophets incorrectly understood their visions. But she hadn't been wrong before. Her gift of sight had been exemplary so far. Details had changed, time periods had changed, but the gist of her visions always came through. In that context, it didn't seem to matter much if she'd seen something slightly wrong. So what if she was wrong about the kotrakoy? She'd be eaten by some other creature - or she would fall headlong into the sharp abyss of Ishtenbala. Either way, Ali'ikai had seen her destiny and she didn't like it. Worse, in vision, she'd seen her hands as she tried to stop the kotrakoy from approaching. She hadn't been wearing traditional wedding bands around her wrists and the back of her hands had been wearing dark orange tribal paints. Ali'ikai looked at her hands now. Pastel violets. She would die single. She would never have the greatest honor of bearing a child. She would never have the honor of covenanting with her fiancé to raise a blameless posterity. Her name would be forgotten.

"Ali'ikai? Are you okay?" She recognized Ma'Koolee's voice. She knew he would come for her. She knew he would be ashamed. His heart would be broken by her disgrace. It didn't matter. Better to think her a drunk and find someone else. She would be dead to him one way or the other. Ali'ikai licked the edge of her drink and sipped the tiniest drop before losing consciousness.

*****

Shadow had no time to think as the Koodna bull charged towards him. Intuitively, he leaned heavier on one side while moving the other hand to defend Athna. The gesture was pointless but he had no time to think. Emotion flooded over Shadow like the crushing waves of a tsunami. He yelled at the top of his lungs towards the Koodna bull and violently sent feelings of fear flooding into the beast. With the clumsiness one would expect from cattle racing through morning fogs, the Koodna veered off course and continued crashing through the forest, peppering Athna and Shadow with a shower of dirt, small stones, and broken branches.

Shadow sensed Athna wincing both in fear and in pain as some of the debris bruised her right shoulder and arm. Shadow brushed dirt and debris out of his own eyes before looking to see what had happened to her. Athna looked like a half buried corpse. Then, the earth rumbled more intensely. Shadow felt an overwhelming sense of foreboding. More Koodna were coming.

Apparently, this is their path. Shadow looked at the ground. A thin leather cloth with supplies gathered from the night before was now half covered with dirt. He quickly found the string that wound its way all around the edges of the cloth and pulled it hard and upwards before throwing the bag around his neck and shoulder. Then, he thrust his arms around Athna's waist, raised her over his shoulder, and stood up. He worried about her neck but there was no time to be careful. If she stayed where she was, the whole herd of Koodna would trample her to death. In a moment's time, Shadow was racing towards a denser area of trees that seemed out of the way from incoming Koodna. The moment he'd safely cleared the path, the herd of beasts came crashing through. But they took no note of the young couple. They were running in fear.

Shadow crouched behind an unusually large buttress root and watched from a short distance to see what was coming, considering his options if the predator gave up pursuit of the Koodna. But he saw nothing besides a blur of confusion. A small Koodna cow began to spew a flood of crimson from her flanks and then a larger flash of blood sprayed from her neck as she left the ground entirely, carried by a nearly unseen blur. A second Koodna suffered in similar fashion. Shadow watched as the two disappeared behind a patch of trees that blocked his view.

Kotrakoy.

But where was the third one?

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