Kurush: The First City - Chapter 12

Anka awoke from an after-lunch nap feeling utterly relaxed. Too relaxed. Disturbingly relaxed. Lurush was still at Alabaster Cove, giving Anka the opportunity for some much needed rest, but she still had the itch to do something, anything to secure her place in the Rush. But the bed was so comfortable she may as well have been glued to it.

There were noises coming from the terrace. She got up and went outside to see if there was anything she could help with, but quickly regretted it. On the dining table, on the largest platter Anka had seen, Dila was lain wearing almost nothing. Lashes of sauce zig-zagged across her body. Lurush sat at the far end of the table, Dila’s feet already down her throat, but once she saw Anka she pulled them back out.

“Anka, good to see you again. Have you settled in? Is Dila treating you well?”

Dila looked blankly at Anka, her head resting on her hand. Clearly she was quite used to being on that platter.

“Oh, er, yes,” said Anka, averting her gaze, “how was Alabaster Cove?”

“I had a wonderful time, I ate very well! But as soon as I came back, I found myself hungry again. Funny that, eh? By the way, I met an interesting man there who has a ship I’d like to buy. I’ve been wanting one for a while, but there’s only been fishing boats for sale. Is it too much to ask to see my face chiselled into the bow of big ship? Kurush really is going down hill. Anyway, he’s coming here this afternoon. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see your skills in action”

Anka knew nothing about ships. She had been on ships anchored in the docks to talk with merchants, but she’d never been out on the open seas.

“Okay, sure, I’ll get you the best deal you could ever hope for. But I’ll, er, leave you to finish your lunch”

She left to find the place on the estate furthest from the terrace so that she didn’t have to hear them, although a part of her was curious as to whether Lurush ate like a wild animal or whether she was the more gentle type. She went down to the shady forest by the entrance, and was surprised to see two hurums lounging by the pool. One was a teenage boy who jumped when he saw Anka, the other was a silver-haired woman who took one look at her before laying back and closing her eyes.

“Go get Lurush for me”

“She’s, er, catching up with Dila. My name’s Anka, it’s a pleasure to meet you”

The woman looked about as uninterested as if she had just presented her with an ant she’d picked up off the ground.

“I recently moved in here,” Anka continued, “I’ll be helping Lurush with her affairs. Are you a friend of hers?”

Her wasp-like face suddenly softened, “Yes I am, my name’s Sasha. This is my son Polur. I’m sorry, I assumed that you weren’t from the Rush”

“I’m not. Until last week, I lived not far from the Sun Temple”

“I don’t know where that is”

“The Sun Temple? It’s the big building just outside the Rush that looks like, well, the sunrise. Have you never gone outside the Rush?” said Anka with a chuckle

“No,” said Sasha, her face rigid, “why would I?”

Anka struggled to find words. She had spent her entire life in the Rush?

“Oh wait,” said Sasha, “I did go to Alabaster Cove once in my youth with Lurush. What an adventure that was! But I made sure the curtains of the litter were closed the whole journey there and the whole journey back”

“Well, I suppose you can go to the top of the Palace of the Ikark anytime”

“Oh really? Can you?”

“You didn’t know? You can see practically all of Kurush from up there”

“Oh really?” Sasha’s eyes were glazing over

“So you’ve known Lurush for a long time then?” said Anka, “She grew up in the Rush too, I suppose?”

“Yes, but she worked so hard to get into the Ikark. At first all she had was a small loan of fifty gold ingots from her father”

Anka’s jaw dropped as she tried to picture that amount of gold. Lurush came waddling through the forest towards them with Dila in tow. Dila looked as impeccably neat as ever, her hair tied into a bun without a single strand out of place. How she managed that when she had no doubt been in Lurush’s stomach mere minutes ago, Anka couldn’t guess.

“My dear, it’s lovely to see you,” said Lurush as she kissed both of Sasha’s cheeks, “and where’s your darling son?”

Polur was on the other side of the pool, trying and failing to hide behind a tree. Lurush crouched and slowly crept towards him as though she was trying to tame a frightened animal. She got out a small wooden box from her pocket.

“I have a present for you”, she said softly

“Polur, don’t be rude”, said Sasha

He gingerly came out from behind the tree and opened the box in Lurush’s palm. Inside was a ring with a ruby so large Anka had to wonder whether any of his skinny fingers would be strong enough to bear it. His delicate face was completely impassive as he picked the ring up.

“Thank you”, he mumbled

“I will go and collect our guest”, said Dila

“I’ll come too”, said Anka

On the crowded street outside, Anka tried to walk alongside Dila.

“Was it just me,” said Anka, “or was that incredibly awkward?”

Dila’s uneasy smile confirmed as much, “Lurush doesn’t just pursue women. She isn’t that fussy about her meals, as long as they’re… tender”

“Really? So that was Lurush trying to woo him?”

“I think it was more of an apology. A few weeks ago, she took him up to her quarters. I heard him crying”

“By the Sun, that poor boy. How old is he?”

“I believe he’s sixteen”

The same age as Shanessa, thought Anka. They walked past the barracks and through the archway in the walls of the Rush. It was the first time she had left the Rush since entering it, and she felt a strange tug on her mind, as though she was heading in the wrong direction, as though she was walking towards danger. But on the other side there was just the square and the high market she was so familiar with.

“You’re Lurush’s servant, right?”

A golden-scaled lisha wearing a flowing amber robe approached them. It looked like his robe had a thousand gold specks embroidered into it, making him shimmer in the sunlight. He even wore several gold rings on each of his fingers.

“Let me introduce myself, my name is Tyroz”

“Sorry, we’re actually waiting for a Nyroz”, said Dila

“Ah yes, I did tell Lurush that, didn’t I? I go by Nyroz, Tyroz, Pyroz, Zyroz, Lyroz, and so on and so forth. I find that a measure of ambiguity can be very useful in certain circumstances”

“And what should we call you today?” Anka asked

He tapped his chin, “I feel like a Ryroz today. Well, shall we go in?”

“Wait, you’ll need this”, Dila handed him a clay guest pass

“Ah, thank you. That saves me from bribing the guards”

Anka laughed politely, but he gave her a quizzical look. He had a copper ingot in his hand, which he slipped back into his pocket. She realised it wasn’t a joke. As they walked under the archway and though the Rush, Anka was painfully aware that the negotiation had already begun. Remember the basics, she told herself, make friends with him, make him relaxed, lower his defences, find out what he wants more than anything.

“My name’s Anka, I help Lurush with her affairs. I love those rings, where did you get them?”

“Ah, well I guess some people at Alabaster Cove just take off everything they have and leave it in piles on the beach. Rich pickings if you’re sneaky enough. Ah, the look on your face, I’m only joking! Or am I?”

He bellowed with laughter. He isn’t the kind of innocuous punter I’m used to, thought Anka, this won’t be as easy as I’d hoped. At the entrance to Lurush’s estate, he tried to shake Goresh’s hand, but he stood as still as a statue. Dila led them through the forest and up the stairs to the top floor.

Anka had never been in Lurush’s study before. It felt more like a throne room. There was a chair made of mahogany, its feet carved to look like lishas’ feet, its limbs and body intricately carved to look like it was covered in scales, facing the window overlooking Kurush. Underneath it was a hatch which presumably opened to Lurush’s vault, unless it was a bluff. Lurush herself was already sitting on her throne, and given how comfortable she looked, it must have been custom designed for her girth.

“Welcome, good to see you again, er…”

“Ryroz”

“Yes, Ryroz! Please take a seat”

He sat on a plainer chair opposite Lurush, while Dila and Anka sat on stools either side of her. Lurush looked down at Anka expectantly.

Anka cleared her throat, “I understand that you have a ship you are trying to sell. Could you tell us about it”

“Bow to stern, it is a hundred and twenty cubits, port to starboard twenty five cubits, and the mast is thirty cubits”

“Is… is that big?”

Ryroz looked over his shoulder, “You can probably see it from here”

Anka got up and went to the window. He pointed to a ship that dwarfed all the others in the docks. If the docks hadn’t been so quiet recently, she could easily imagine merchants angrily demanding that the ship be moved. The hull was painted a thick, blood red.

“How many amphora can it carry?”

“One hundred large ones, but it doesn’t just have to be used for freight. Just think of the parties you could have on it, maybe you could keep it anchored in the docks as a permanent floating venue? That’s never been done before, right?”

Lurush slapped her thighs excitedly, “That would be amazing!”

“Where was it built?” Anka asked

“The nightward isles”

Something didn’t feel quite right. Anka looked into Ryroz’s eyes, and he stared unfalteringly back. He was too confident.

“If we’re going to come to a deal,” said Anka, “we’re going to need you to be truthful about the ship”

“I am being truthful. I bought it from some fine gentlemen who came from the nightward isles. It was in a bit of a rough state, but I spruced it up, gave it a new lick of paint, and sailed it here”

Anka thought of Oresh’s father, who never returned from the nightward isles, “Were they pirates?”

“I didn’t ask what their profession was. Is this a negotiation or an interrogation?”

“Lurush has her reputation to consider. Piracy is strangling Kurush, it’s responsible for the loss of trade, not to mention the loss of life. It could cause her lasting damage if it became known that she had indirectly bought something so ostentatious from pirates”     

Ryroz shrugged, “It’s not my problem where or how those gentlemen acquired it. The only question is do you want it?”

Given everything he had said, Anka tried to calculate how much the ship might be worth. Ten gold ingots perhaps? But she had never bought a ship before, maybe that would be too high.

“What’s your asking price?”

“Fifty gold ingots”

Anka coughed, she felt like she’d been punched in the stomach, “How about ten?”

“I can’t go lower than forty-five”

“Are you saving up for a home here in the Rush? Or maybe even trying to get into the Ikark?”

“Ah, no, Kurush isn’t really my kind of place. I have a villa on Zemyz, such a beautiful island. I spend as much time as I can there, reading poetry, absorbing the tranquillity”

Anka couldn’t picture him doing that for an instant, “So what are you going to spend forty-five gold ingots on then?”

“Spend?” said Ryroz, “I’ll be putting it in my chest with the rest of my gold. You never know what’s going to happen, so you can never have too much, am I right?”

“Lurush is a philanthropist, the more she pays you today, the less she can give to those who need help. Yet you’re asking for more gold than most lishas and hurums will ever spend in their lives, just to throw it in your chest for safekeeping?”

Ryroz grinned, “Having a conscience is a wonderful thing. Let’s say fifty ingots, with a five ingot discount, a reward for your nobility. That’s my final offer”

Anka could feel her face growing red, “Lurush, I recommend that you don’t buy this ship. We can’t trust a word he says, we don’t even know his real name. Let him sell it to someone more gullible”

“I’ll have you know that I am known across the world for my honesty. Gyroz the Honest, that’s what they call me”

“You’re a greedy fucking charlatan! There are gulls stealing fish around the docks more honest than you!”

Lurush laid a hand on Anka’s shoulder, “I’ll take it from here. Why don’t you go back to your room”

“But…”

Lurush’s eyes were calm yet firm, but behind them was an unmistakable disappointment. Anka walked out of the room with as much dignity as she could muster. Her skin burned as she felt the three of them watch her leave. She went downstairs, crumpled onto her bed, and buried her face into the pillows.

Next chapter

Constructive criticism welcome

© Paul Bramhall

Kurush: The First City - Chapter 11

Kisha was bored stiff and had no intention of hiding it. She hated the hot and stuffy night air. Spear in hand, clad in bronze armour, she stood at the bottom of the grand staircase of the Palace of the Ikark, watching over the residents of the Rush mingling in the cramped torchlit plaza. She hoped that someone started a fight, that would break up the monotony of acting like a statue. If they didn’t, she’d have to think of a way to engineer one herself. She just needed an excuse to use these exquisite muscles she’d worked so hard to build, they weren’t just there for show.

Her heart sank a little when Ragur sidled up to her. Not counting his ridiculous feather hat, he was almost as tall as Kisha, but had a much flabbier physique.

“You look so good in your armour”

“You’re the only lisha I know who’s still horny months after mating season”

“I just came back from Alabaster Cove. I insist you come next time. I can guarantee you’ll love it”

Kisha shrugged, “Relaxing on a beach with you sounds hellish”

“Oh, no, believe me, you would enjoy it. Remember that night? When we were kids?”

Kisha shot lightning from her eyes at him. A nauseating grin spread across his face.

“You’ve got balls bringing that up,” said Kisha, “don’t do it again”

“What? I consider it a treasured memory from our childhood, something that bonds us together. Well anyway, think about it. When does your watch end? Want to come back to mine for a drink?”

Kisha had stopped listening to Ragur, because someone else had caught her attention. In the crowd, happily chatting with the socialites, was Anka. How had she gotten into the Rush? Kisha had assumed she’d become dinner for some random lisha. She wore a blue silky outfit, making her fit right in with the well-to-do at first glance. Her top was short enough to expose the doughy flesh of her belly. Saliva started to pool in Kisha’s mouth.

“Everything okay?” said Ragur

“What? Yes yes, fine. I’ll see you later”

Kisha pushed him on his way so that she could focus on Anka. She was moving from clique to clique, cracking jokes, praising the women on their outfits, squeezing the biceps of the men. Even out of earshot, it was obvious to Kisha that she was trying to build up her list of contacts. It was also obvious that she didn’t actually know anyone, as she kept anxiously looking around for her next victim. After a vicious spat with a hurum woman who had made fun of a stain on her top, Anka finally grew tired and made her way out of the plaza. Without thinking, Kisha left her post.

She kept her distance, just close enough to keep her in sight, keeping focused on the back of her head while at the same time making sure she looked to the citizenry like she was simply on patrol. Anka turned a corner, and when Kisha turned it herself she saw her only a little way ahead, walking into the indent in the high walls that was the entrance to Lurush’s estate. But before she passed the boundary, Anka turned her head and saw Kisha. The moment she recognised her, her eyes burst into flames. The gaze of the giant of a lisha guarding the entrance fell on her too. Kisha spun round and started marching back to the plaza.  

But before she reached it, an uneasy feeling made her look over her shoulder. Anka was striding after her with determination written on her face. Kisha slipped through the crowds of the plaza, past her assigned post and into the unlit backstreets behind the Palace of the Ikark. She hoped to lose her in the maze of narrow passageways, but Anka tailed her with the perseverance of a starving predator.

“Kisha!” Anka cried, the fury in her voice palpable, “Why are you running?”

In the dark Kisha failed to see a bucket on the ground, which her foot sank into then splintered. She lost balance and crashed onto the stone paving. Her spear escaped her grasp and rolled out of sight. Before she could recover, Anka was standing over her.

“Aren’t you going to eat me? Well? We’re not in the Ekuan quarter anymore, are we? I suppose it might be a bit harder to eat someone in the most heavily guarded place in the world, especially if that someone was under the protection of an Ikarkur. Is that right?” she pressed her nose against Kisha’s, “Come on, I dare you to eat me! I dare you!”

Kisha could feel her blood rising to the boil, but her mind was frozen. Her muscles were taut and ready for her orders, but she stayed still. She glared back into Anka’s scorching eyes, then looked away.

“No? How pathetic”

Anka walked away, leaving Kisha sprawled on the ground. Alone in the darkness, she clenched her fist and inflicted all of her unspent rage pulverising an innocent brick in the wall until her knuckles bled. I will make that arrogant girl see her place, she thought, I will show her who’s pathetic.  

Next chapter

Constructive criticism welcome

© Paul Bramhall

Kurush: The First City - Chapter 10

Tiuk marched through the Rush’s gateway, and nodded at the two soldiers on guard. Night had fallen and Kurush was alive with the sounds of merriment. Almost as soon as she walked into the grove of palm trees on the side of the square, a young hurum woman stumbled into her.

“Arm so… soo soo sorry,” she said as she swayed back and forth, “I cuff sorn you er a tree!”

Tiuk looked around, but there was no-one else in sight, “Don’t you have any friends? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be alone at night?”

“Friends? Fuck ‘em! I don need no friends. You’ll be my friend, yeah?”

As warm a night as it was, Tiuk was still surprised at how little she was wearing. Her shirt, if it could even be called that, was so short it barely covered her chest, leaving her soft-looking belly completely naked. Tiuk’s stomach suddenly felt very empty, and her breaths became deeper. She could feel her body urging her to find out if she was as scrumptious as she looked.

“Sure, I’ll be your friend,” said Tiuk as she picked her up and rested her on her shoulder, “let me take you somewhere nice”

The woman sang a song to herself as Tiuk carried her through the grove. She stopped in the dark and secluded centre. The smell of beer from the woman was filling her nostrils, but underneath that was the uniquely sweet and salty aroma of a hurum. She didn’t seem to notice when Tiuk’s stomach grumbled loudly. Tiuk swallowed her saliva, held her breath and strode through to the other side of the grove and the glittering façade of the Sapphire Temple.

“Askura,” she said as the priestess greeted them at the doorway, “could you look after this one? If I hadn’t found her, she’d probably have disappeared off the face of the earth. Also, could you tell your mother I’m here?”

“No problem”, said Askura with her sparkly smile

Tiuk sat at a booth in a quiet corner of the hall and huffed. Some of the patrons ogled her as though she was some exotic creature, but most were more interested in drinking and flirting with their chosen prey. She tried to look as composed as she could, but she already felt a terrible itch to leave the Temple. It wasn’t just the salaciousness of the place that made her uncomfortable, it was the potential damage to her reputation if she was seen here too often. But the fact remained that without this safe space where hungry lishas could consort with willing hurums under the watchful eyes of the priestesses, Kurush would be a much more dangerous place.   

A priestess sprinkled herbs into the hearth in the centre of the hall, adding to the waves of sweet smoke wafting around the air. Ostensibly this was to help their patrons relax, not that it was having that effect on Tiuk. She assumed its main purpose was to mask the noxious smell of orokosa.

Her eyes met with a hurum girl with untamed hair across the hall, slouching against the wall chewing on some dried meat, her eyes wide yet blank. She held up two fingers. Tiuk didn’t know what that meant. Two leaves? Two copper ingots? She shook her head curtly and looked away.

“Here to gawk at our hurums, are you Tiuk?”

Peshura, the Sopri of Sapesh and Galka, the high priestess of the Sapphire Temple, sat opposite her. She had crow’s feet and faint streaks of grey in her black hair, but her age was disguised well by her round, sunny face. It seems Tiuk hadn’t interrupted any ceremonies, since she only wore a simple white tunic.

“I wanted to discuss the midsummer festival,” said Tiuk, “how are your preparations going?”

“We’re ready. Are you?”

“I don’t have as many soldiers as last year, thanks to the Ikark’s stinginess. Frankly, as long as the Rush is defended, I’m not sure they care about the safety of lishas and hurums. I’m getting more and more reports of hurums disappearing, and I expect I’ll get a big pile of them the day after the festival”

“We can’t cancel it,” said Peshura, “we need it now more than ever. It will remind Kurush of the need to treat each other with respect, the need to come together as one”

“I was afraid you’d say that”

“It will be fine. Remember, you, me and Lurush are the pillars holding Kurush together”

“I wouldn’t rely on Lurush, if I were you”, said Tiuk

“She paid for the renovation of the façade, and the grove, and she still gives us a hefty sum each month for upkeep”

“Do you still buy orokosa in bulk from her? Has she raised the price?”

Peshura looked down and shifted awkwardly in her seat.

“Are you running out of orokosa?” pressed Tiuk

Peshura hesitated, “We have enough”

“Orokosa is more important than bronze or gold. If it becomes unaffordable, there will be chaos. Some lishas won’t restrain themselves”

“Do you think the Ikark would agree to a price cap?”

“No,” said Tiuk, “but I’ll see what I can do”

“I hope you know how grateful I am, how we all are. It must be exhausting doing everything you do to keep us all safe”

“I’m just doing my duty”

A playful smirk spread across Peshura’s face, “How about we go downstairs, so I can show you how grateful I am? After a long, hard day, you must be famished”

Tiuk’s entire body tensed, “No, thank you”

“Don’t be like that, it’s important to relax and have fun once in a while. And I know how much you lishas enjoy a good meal”

Her alluring scent was tantalising Tiuk’s nostrils – had she rubbed spices into her skin? The mischievous look in her eyes was fighting hard to disarm Tiuk’s defences. Even in that simple tunic, her shapely figure was quite obvious. Swallowing someone as plump as her would be a challenge, one her body was raring to attempt. Her stomach begged to be filled, but Tiuk commanded it to be silent.

“I’m sorry, but I take Shakresh’s vow. I’m afraid I have other duties to attend to. Goodnight”

Tiuk rose and walked away before Peshura had a chance to dissuade her. Once she was outside, she wiped the drool from her chin. She had to wonder, when Lurush gives her monthly donation, does Peshura show her her gratitude that way? She forcibly pushed that image out of her mind, but she knew her stomach was thinking ‘that lucky bitch’.

Next chapter

Constructive criticism welcome

© Paul Bramhall

Kurush: The First City - Chapter 9

Lurush had sent a messenger with a tablet outlining her deal with Anka back to her home in the Rush, but she wanted to spend a few more days at Alabaster Cove. Anka couldn’t wait to get into the Rush, so she dragged Bukur away, despite him pleading to stay until he had eaten at least one beautiful hurum.

They reached the walls of the Rush around noon. Waiting outside the gateway was a hurum woman wearing an indigo tunic, her hair tied into a bun, her eyes beady and her mouth small. She looked as though she had never cracked a smile once in her life. She was just as Lurush had described her.

“Are you Dila?” said Anka

“You must be Anka. Put this on”

She handed over a small clay tablet which had been painted blue and which had a loop of string through a small hole. Imprinted on it were the character for ‘guest’ and the head of a horned lizard, the Ushi Karsh’s seal. With this magical pendant, Anka walked through the gateway with only a stern look from the guards and found herself standing on the polished paving stones of the Rush. Ahead of her was a narrow street leading straight to the Palace of the Ikark. Even in her silky outfit, she felt ragged compared to the elegantly and extravagantly dressed lishas and hurums she was now surrounded by. She realised she had been holding her breath, and when she breathed out she felt all of the tension she’d been nurturing for the past few days – or was it closer to the past ten years? – flow out of her.

She hugged Bukur, “Thank you for being my bodyguard”

“I didn’t really do anything,” his hands flailing awkwardly, “but it was my pleasure. I’d better tell my mother you’re safe now. Keep out of trouble”

He walked into a square fort conjoined to the walls and just as tall. Dila took her to an office next to the gateway where she explained to the clerk that Anka would now be resident in the Rush. Anka watched as Dila filled out the necessary tablets, scratching the clay with a reed stylus faster than Anka could keep up with. Then the clerk took the tablets away to be baked. The uncomfortable silence as the two of them sat waiting was broken when Dila suddenly trained her eyes on her.

“You’re not a thief, are you?”   

“What? No!”

Dila leant closer, “Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“Last month, Lurush brought home a pretty young hurum woman to dine upon. Then in the middle of the night, I caught her carrying off half of Lurush’s jewellery”

“I’m only trying to prove my worth to Lurush,” said Anka, “I have no interest in theft. And for the record, I have no interest in being dined upon either. What happened to her?”

“I tackled to her the ground, our guard handed her over to the soldiers, they gave her thirty lashes, then she was thrown out the Rush and blacklisted”

Anka found it hard to imagine someone so straight-laced wrestling anyone, “Remind me to never get on your bad side”

“I will not. You should not need a reminder. Do not even contemplate getting on my bad side”

“Okay, okay”, said Anka, reasoning that telling her that she was only joking would only make her even more suspicious

Once the tablets were baked, Dila led the way to Lurush’s home. Space was so precious in the Rush that the streets weren’t even wide enough for two lishas, and no-one apologised or even seemed to notice as they pushed past fellow pedestrians. Anka had to try hard not to trip over or get hit by the swinging tails of lishas as they barged past. The walls on either side were at least twice as tall as a lisha, with rows of sharp stone teeth running along the top, making Anka feel like she was trapped in a deep ravine. But the walls had a variety of immaculate mosaics – some had smug-looking lishas showing off their muscles and jewellery, some had hurums being lashed with the character for ‘thief’ next to them, and naturally some had hurums disappearing down the throats of lishas, with ecstasy written on both their faces.

One of the most detailed mosaics was of a gigantic four-legged reptile with a resplendent crest, two long horns and ferocious-looking teeth being hunted by a party of lishas with spears. It turned out this was the front side of Lurush’s home. To one side of the mosaic, there was an indent in the wall with a short staircase leading to a door. Standing on the first stair, watching the lishas and hurums walking along the street with his arms crossed, was one of the tallest lishas Anka had seen.

“Goresh, this is Anka, she’ll be living here until further notice. Anka, this is Goresh, Lurush’s bodyguard”

Goresh stared down at her without a word. Anka ducked her head and followed Dila up the stairs.

“Don’t worry,” said Dila, “he’s like that with everyone”

Walking through the doorway seemed to transport them to much more serene and airy world. A path wound its way through a shady forest full of brightly-coloured flowers, past a pool of clear water, to a three-storey palace, each storey smaller than the one below it, making it look like a golden mountain. The path led to a staircase on the outside that went up to the peak.

“The ground floor has the kitchen and the toilet,” said Dila as they climbed the stairs, “the top floor is Lurush’s bedroom and study. Your room is on the middle floor”

The corridors inside were lined with frescoes, all of them of Lurush. In one she was lounging on a pile of gold ingots, in another she was handing out bread to a multitude of emaciated hurums, in another she seemed to be pirouetting. In none was she as rotund as she was in the flesh.

Anka’s room was so clean it seemed to shine. One wall was dominated by a window with a view of the other little mountains of the Rush. The height of the building and the incline of the hill also meant she could just see over the walls of the Rush to the rest of Kurush, the sea and the jagged peaks of the mainland. The window was so large that she could easily climb through it to lay on one of the loungers on the roof of the ground floor.

“What’s that?” Anka asked, pointing at a strange piece of furniture squatting on the floor which seemed to take up an inordinate amount of room

“That’s called a bed,” said Dila, “you sleep on it. If you need me, I’ll be next door. Oh, and if I catch you sneaking upstairs-”

“I promise you, I’m not a thief!”

Anka slumped onto the bed. She had only ever slept on reed mats before, but the mattress was so soft and her body so drained that she expected to drift off to sleep within seconds. Then she noticed that on the ceiling directly over her head there was a fresco of Lurush smiling creepily down at her. She got up, dragged the bed to another corner of the room and lay back down.

But her mind was buzzing with excitement and would not let her doze off. She hadn’t yet completely wrapped her head around the fact that she had finally got into the Rush, but there was something she had always wanted to do, something that would make it feel real. She jumped back up, went downstairs and along the path to the entrance.

“Is it okay if I go for a walk?” she asked Goresh

He stared at her, then went back to silently intimidating passers-by. Anka took that to mean that it was okay. The Palace of the Ikark was practically around the corner. Like Lurush’s, it was structured like a mountain, but atop its highest storey was a statue of Kurush’s founder Makush. Even as solid and stable as the Palace itself looked, the statue was so colossal that it was a wonder that it had never crashed through the roof.  

She scaled the grand staircase, past some officious-looking lishas and hurums, to the top. A lone soldier guarded the entrance to what must have been the chamber where the Ikark met.

“Can I get to the roof?” Anka asked him

He shrugged, “Sure”

He pointed the way around the side of the Palace to another staircase. Anka found herself at the very pinnacle of Kurush, the whole island beneath her, and only the endless empty sky above her. To her surprise, there was no-one else there, apart from Makush. An inscription chiselled into the stone plinth said ‘The Sun has given us the gifts of writing and currency, and the ground beneath our camp is as sturdy and precious as bronze. We shall thrive here.’

She reached across the plinth and laid her hand on one of his enormous golden stone toe claws. She looked up at the giant from his feet, his outstretched hand looking as though he was trying to pluck the Sun from the sky. If only I could have done this with Shanessa, she thought. 

She broke out of her reverie when she heard voices coming up the stairs. It was two old lisha men, their scales dark and lumpy. Anka recognised one of them as Shakresh, the Ushi Sopri, with his white toga and walking stick. The other, who despite his age was still a towering presence, didn't look familiar.

"Ah, look Shakresh! It's the girl who overtook us on the stairs. You looked like you were in quite a hurry"

"It's my first day in the Rush"

"Is it? Well then welcome! My name's Tadarur"

Anka's stomach dropped, "Tadarur, the most senior member of the Ikark, you're that Tadarur?"

"I sound ancient when you put it like that. I like to think I'm the head of the Ikark, the guardian of Kurush's traditions"

"I'm so sorry," said Anka, panickily considering getting on her knees and grovelling in front of arguably the most powerful man in the world, "I should have recognised you"

"Think nothing of it. I hardly ever leave the Rush, and they haven't made a statue of me - yet. So how did you manage to get up to the Rush?"

"Through years of hard work and natural, raw talent, sir"

"Splendid," said Tadarur as he turned to the view, "one of the things I love most about Kurush is that everyone has the opportunity to succeed if they have the determination. The Code of Makush makes no distinction between anyone"

"Well, apart from-" Anka froze, inwardly cursing herself for opening her mouth

"Go on", Tadarur eyed her

"The only difference between lishas and hurums in the Code of Makush is the method of execution for murderers"

"Very good, you have an eye for detail"

How many murderous hurums have met their fate in his stomach? Anka wondered. If I'm ever sentenced for killing that lisha, will he be the one who eats me?

“Shakresh and I are old friends,” said Tadarur, “we like to come up here on occasion for a chat. You can really see how miraculous Kurush is from up here. Don’t let us keep you, enjoy the Rush. And congratulations!”

“Thank you”

Anka looked down at the magnificent palaces, the unyielding walls and the citizens of Kurush scurrying around the streets like ants. She shook the thought of execution from her head. I'm safe now, she told herself, now all I need to do is make sure I don't get thrown out. I've got to dig my claws into the Rush.

Next chapter

Constructive criticism welcome

© Paul Bramhall

Kurush: The First City - Chapter 8

Oresh realised it was morning, since light was pouring into the flat through the hole in the ceiling shaped like a lisha’s foot. The couple downstairs had already started arguing. His mother was nearby preparing breakfast. In their old house, they had windows on the dawnward side. But in this dark, cramped flat, it was hard to tell how high the Sun was.

Then Oresh remembered, “Is it the first of Gusisa?” 

“That’s right”, said Gishka

Oresh leapt off the floor, threw on his tunic and burst through the door. His mother called after him about breakfast, but he ignored her.

“Good morning, sir”, said the lisha with a scar-covered face squatting in the alleyway

“Good morning”, said Oresh awkwardly as he stepped over him

A thousand plumes of smoke rose from Kurush as lishas and hurums cooked their breakfasts. Most lishas were on their rooftops, letting the sun heat up their stiff bodies. The streets were becoming thick with hurums who had already started their day’s business. By the time Oresh had got out of the Ekuan quarter and started climbing the hill, he was panting and his legs were aching. Lishas were simply never meant to be this active this early in the day, but his apathy towards exercise didn’t help him either.

He knew a shortcut to the Sun Temple near the house he had lived in all his life until a few days ago, a narrow street behind a beer hall whose gimmick was a wall with several small holes lishas could stick their tongues through, hoping for a taste of one of the hurums on the other side who wanted to remain anonymous. Of course Oresh had never dared to go near it. Bukur had told him he was fairly sure that one night the hurums had given him an amphora to lick, he only realised when he heard them sniggering.

He had almost reached the far end of the alley when he passed a young hurum woman who without warning stretched her arms as high up as she could, pulling up her lacy top. Oresh’s eyes slipped from his control and drank in the sight of her belly. She was slender yet her flesh looked so soft and tender, as though she had the consistency of cake. He dragged his eyes to the ground and kept marching forward, hoping she hadn’t noticed his indiscretion.

“Have you had breakfast yet?”

Oresh froze and gulped the saliva that had suddenly pooled in his mouth, “Pardon?”

“I said, have you had breakfast yet?”

“Er, no…”

“You must be hungry,” she said with a smirk, “you could have me for breakfast. I’m all alone, it’s almost like I’m just waiting for someone to gobble me up”

Oresh felt his face turn hot, “No thank you”

He started walking again, but she blocked his path. Her mousey face and short, scruffy hair looked familiar, he realised it was Misha, one of Anka’s friends who sold rather racy attire in the high market. She was fiddling with a gourd, no doubt filled with orokosa.

“Don’t I look tasty?”

“No, I mean, I-“

His stomach grumbled loudly. Oresh had the furious urge to punch it.

“See, your tummy wants me! Come on, there’s no-one around. I promise I’ll be a very nice breakfast”

“Sorry, I need to get to the Sun Temple”

“Oh, you’re that type? Well, I’m pretty sure the Sun created me to feed the hungry. Why else would He make it so fun? Why else would He make me so delicious, so utterly scrumptious? Let’s just do what He so clearly wants us to”

Misha stepped closer, her eyes smouldering, but Oresh snaked around her and dashed away.

“Your stomach won’t forgive you!” she called after him

Sighing with relief that he’d managed to extract himself from that conversation, he made it to the shining, monumental bronze semi-circular disc of the Sun Temple. After a short passageway whose walls were covered with centuries-old prayers, he came back outside. The Sun Temple was an outdoor theatre with dozens of rows down the slope of the hill facing the dawn. The backs of seats were slanted so that the attendees could lay back, and there were deep holes in the stone for lishas to slot their tails into, although hurums who were on the small side had to take care not to fall in. The seats were packed, mostly with old lishas and hurums laying back and letting the Sun’s sacred power pour into them as they listened to the Ushi Sopri recite poems on the stage. There were also some young hurums here and there, who presumably saw the temple as a good place to make connections.

Oresh saw Pilesh in his usual spot, on the far left of the farthest row up.

“You’re late”, he said as Oresh shuffled past some lishas to get to him

Oresh had to wonder how a blind lisha could have known it was him, but didn’t dare to ask. Like everyone else, Pilesh was wearing nothing but a loin cloth. It was strange to see a lisha look so shrivelled, like he had been left out in the sun for too long.

“Sorry,” said Oresh as he took off his tunic, “the past few days have been a bit rough”

Before his retirement, Pilesh had been the Ushi Umbisag, the highest bureaucrat serving the Ikark. Oresh had found him wandering around the docks a couple of years ago looking for a scribe for him to dictate his poetry to. Oresh had read better poetry scrawled on the walls of beer hall toilets, but Pilesh became his highest-paying client. And he insisted that he come to the Sun Temple on the first of every month.

Shakresh, the Ushi Sopri, in his white toga, lent heavily on his walking stick. Having finished a poem, he looked deep in thought, or possibly he was falling asleep. Then he took a deep breath.

“In the beginning, the Sun was alone in the never-ending darkness. He longed for company, so He created the moon. The Sun and moon copulated, and from their first clutch of eggs were born the stars. Then from their second clutch of eggs were born the earth, sea and sky. The Sun was entranced by the beauty of His daughters. He copulated with the sky, and from their clutch of eggs were born the clouds and the birds. He copulated with the sea, and from their clutch of eggs were born the islands and the fishes. He copulated with the earth, and from their first clutch of eggs were born the mountains and the first lishas, Anki and Kisha. The Sun loved His daughter the earth the most, and from their second clutch of eggs were born the first hurums, Damesh and Ninura. From their third clutch of eggs were born all the animals which walk upon the earth. From their fourth clutch of eggs were born all the trees, shrubs and grasses which take root in the earth.

“Anki and Kisha looked upon their siblings Damesh and Ninura with hunger, and they chased them across the blossoming young earth. But before they could devour them, the Sun came down to them in raging fire and said, ‘Thou shalt not eat hurums’. Kisha rose and said, ‘Father, they look so delightsome, are you absolutely sure?’ The Sun said, ‘This is my command. They hold my power, just as you do. Treat them as though they came from the same clutch as you. If you eat a hurum, I shall take back my power from you.’ Kisha said, ‘Father, my belly grumbles, and everywhere I look I see only family. What are we to eat?’ The Sun said, ‘Eat your siblings the animals. But eat not your siblings the plants, they are reserved for the hurums to eat’

“In time, the lishas and hurums had children of their own, and they lived together in harmony. But the hurum boy Kanesh was jealous of the lishas’ strength. He lured his cousin, the lisha boy Oresh, up a mountain, and pushed him off the cliffside to his death. When Oresh’s father Anki discovered this, he hunted Kanesh down, grabbed him by the neck, raised him to the sky and called out, ‘Father, this boy has committed the most heinous of crimes. He will never be able to repay his debt to me, but he can give unto me his flesh. Will you allow me this justice?’ And the Sun said, ‘So be it’, and so Anki devoured Kanesh despite his pleading for mercy”

Oresh gulped, thinking of Anka’s predicament. Tiuk said she was safe, but where?

“And thus did the Sun create the world and give us his sacred laws”, said Shakresh as he moved to sit down

A young hurum man near the front raised his hand, “What about Sapesh and Galka and the creation of orokosa?”

“You’ll have to go to the Sapphire Temple for that story”, said Shakresh

“Master Shakresh,” continued the young man, “why does the Sun fly around the earth? Why doesn’t He just stay still?”

“He’s being chased by the moon,” said a hoarse old lisha behind him, “He kept fucking their daughters, she’s as pissed as a woman can be!”

The congregation erupted into laughter.

“Well, that’s one idea,” said Shakresh, “the important thing to learn from this story is that, although lishas are the strongest creatures to walk upon the earth, although we came from the very same clutch as the mountains, we are like crippled children, with feeble bodies and minds that are vulnerable to wicked urges. If we are to be worthy of our heritage, worthy of the power the Sun grants us every day, we must restrain those urges”

“Stop being such a downer,” said the hoarse old lisha, “could crippled children build Kurush?”

Shakresh shrugged and sat down, leaving one of his acolytes to take the stage and sing a plaintive hymn.  

Pilesh tutted, “He’s lost his touch. And to think that man saved Kurush. You take his vow, don’t you boy?”

Oresh nodded, “Of course, every year”

Ten years ago, a disease spread through the ganas on the island, turning their meat rancid. All lishas were instructed to expend as little energy as possible and soak up as much sun as possible, while hurums were drafted to catch as many fish as possible, or to go and buy as much meat as possible from the mainland and the other islands. But it wasn’t enough. Eventually the pain became unbearable and lishas succumbed to their cravings in what became known as the Night of Hunger. Half of Kurush’s hurums disappeared overnight. Oresh was only ten years old at the time. He could remember the fear in Anka's and Shanessa's faces as they cowered in the basement as though it was yesterday.

The next day, Shakresh gathered the citizens and convinced the lishas to vow to never eat a hurum again, to never use orokosa again, to never lick a hurum again, even to never look at a hurum hungrily again. Each year he exhorted lishas to repeat their vow, and each year the number who did dwindled a little more.

"He only delayed the inevitable," said Pilesh, "Kurush will fall apart. It's an experiment that was always doomed to fail"

"I've overheard merchants say that there are places like Kurush at the other end of the mountain belt," said Oresh, "on the coast of the far sea"

"And I've overheard merchants say that the nightward isles are inhabited by bird-people and fish-people. Don't trust a word merchants say. No, it's only a matter of time before everyone realises that there are no meaningful differences between us. Lisha or hurum, Oshuan or Ekuan, man or woman, rich or poor, we all want a content life. People will realise that hierarchy is a scam, and they'll give up on Kurush"

"Kurush has its problems," said Oresh, "but surely they can be fixed?"

"Of course not! To build walls and palaces is completely unnatural and irrational. We know it’s wrong, even if some can’t pinpoint why yet, but we can feel it in our bones. We've been lured into a trap, but once we come back to our senses we'll simply walk back home. You ever been to Parua, boy?”

Parua was the name given to the region on the mainland on the noonward side of the mountains. Oresh’s mind went to a fresco in their old house of rolling hills cloaked with golden wheat stretching to the horizon, dotted with verdant trees.  

“No, but I want to see it someday”

“It’s a beautiful place. I lived there for a few years in my youth. The lishas and hurums there don’t know hierarchy. They understand how to live in balance with the world and each other. Just being there soothes the soul, as though the peace is in the air. It washes away your worries”

“There are some good things about Kurush,” said Oresh, “the architecture, the markets. If you were a farmer in Parua, would you have the time and energy to write your poetry? Do the Paruans even have writing? What if we could bring the best things about Kurush to Parua, but leave behind the palaces and the walls? The Ikark and the soldiers? The greed and the poverty?”

Pilesh shook his head and furrowed his brow, “As glorious and elegant as my poetry is, I can’t hide from the fact that it would not exist without the toil of the poor, and without my shameful jealousy of my pension. No, Kurush’s heart is rotten. Makush made a colossal mistake by founding it. I only wish I had come to realise this sooner. I suppose you’re too young to remember my time as Ushi Umbisag?”

“I’ve been told that you were a tenacious voice for change, that you were always working to make Kurush a better place”

“And what did I achieve? Lowering the fee to join the Ikark? Nope. A sewage system for the Ekuan quarter? Forget that. I was eventually able to persuade the Ikark to spend money on a team of urchins to keep the main thoroughfares tidy. That will be my legacy. Then the Night of Hunger came. Lishas forgot that hurums are their siblings and turned on them. And although I took Shakresh’s vow, all I could think was, why have I wasted my life trying to protect this place?”

“I think it’s too early to discount Kurush,” said Oresh, “you shouldn’t underestimate the resolve of lishas and hurums. My adopted sister lost her parents in the Night of Hunger, but she didn’t give up on life. Every day she gets up, works hard and gets things done. I mean, she could stand to care more about society in general, but channelled in the right way by enough people, that resolve could transform Kurush into a wonderful place”

“Ah, your adopted sister,” said Pilesh, turning his cold, glassy eyes on Oresh, “you’ve mentioned her before. You’re not eating her, are you boy?”

"No no no!" Oresh blustered as his mind reeled from the sudden deluge of sinful thoughts, "Like I said, I take the vow"

"That's good. If you treat them like food, you'll lose their respect. Never forget that hurums are our siblings"

Oresh leant back and huffed. The day had barely begun and he was already exhausted, physically and conversationally. Did Pilesh, or Misha for that matter, have any idea how draining it was to talk to them? When the time comes to fix Kurush, he thought, I hope I have the energy to actually help.

Next chapter

Constructive criticism welcome

© Paul Bramhall

Kurush: The First City - Chapter 7

Many of the revellers at Alabaster Cove simply slept on their banquet couches or on the sand. Some looked like they had simply collapsed part-way through partying. Attendants handed out silky pillows and blankets to those who wanted them. Anka and Bukur picked a spot some distance away from anyone else. Even lain next to Bukur, Anka couldn’t help but imagine the possibility of Ragur or Lurush deciding to have her as a midnight snack. The oaf next to her might just sleep through it. Her mind wandered to Oresh. If he was here, he'd probably keep watch all night.

But the myriad stars decorating the heavens and the sound of the waves ebbing and flowing lulled her to sleep. She woke before dawn, but the sky near the horizon was an inky blue. Bukur was snoring loudly. She decided to get up to do some snooping.

Tip-toing in the low light between wealthy lishas and hurums who were fast asleep, in a place which only hours before had been the scene of raucous debauchery, felt quite unreal. Anka briefly wondered whether she was actually dreaming, until she slipped on a plate on the ground and very nearly tumbled onto a lisha before regaining her balance. I’ve already made myself look like a fool in front of them, she reminded herself, I can’t afford to do that again by making a din before the sun is even up.

Alongside the cliff wall there were a dozen small villas reserved for the most eminent guests. Anka peeked through their curtains until she found Lurush. She and Styra were fast asleep on a reed mat, embracing each other in a way that would have even warmed Anka’s heart had she not known that Lurush must have ravenously devoured Styra last night.

She sat outside the villa and tried to devise a strategy. Hopefully now that Styra had satisfied Lurush’s gluttonous urges, she would be easier to talk to, but she would still need to wait for Styra to get out of the way. It would be dangerous to assume that Lurush would be willing and able to take both of them back to the Rush, and Styra had already demonstrated that she was compliant. She needed to talk to Lurush alone.

She looked out to sea mulling over her options and must have dozed off, because suddenly the sun was over the horizon and she could hear lishas and hurums stirring around the entrance to the cove. To her left, coming round one of the outcrops of rock which enclosed the cove, was a longboat sedately making its way towards the beach. It bore two lishas ploughing the sea with enormous oars and a hurum manning the udder, but the boat looked like it could carry at least twenty passengers. The hull was painted turquoise to match the water, but the banister along the top looked like it was made of gold, as was the head of a mischievously grinning lisha on the prow.

“Isn’t she gorgeous?” said Ragur, who was leaning on the wall

Anka jumped to her feet, “That’s yours?”

“She’s my pride and joy. Father gave her to me for my birthday. Me and some friends are going to spend the day at sea. Why don’t you join us?”

“No thank you”

“A day surrounded by these calm, beautiful waters, in the company of such distinguished and jovial lishas as myself, who could say no to that? Come on, I insist”

An idea sparked in Anka’s mind, “Stay there one second”

She ducked through the villa’s curtained doorway, snuck towards the pair, gently slid her hands under Styra’s arms and slowly pried her from Lurush’s embrace.

“Mm?” said Styra as Anka dragged her away

“Shh! There’s someone I want you to meet. Come on, on your feet”

It was a test of her strength, but Anka managed to pull her outside.

“Oh my,” said Ragur, his tongue flicking, “I don’t remember seeing you here before”

Styra was rubbing her eyes and swaying slightly, “Lemme back to bed…”

“This is my good friend Styra,” said Anka, “this is Ragur, Gilkush’s son. You wanted to get to know the Ikarkurs better, right? Well, who better to help with that than him? Go on now, why don’t you both have some breakfast?”

With one hand on each of their backs, she pushed them away. Watching Ragur lead Styra along the beach, she felt somewhat smug about her elegant solution to two problems. She went back inside the villa, where Lurush was stirring. The sound of talking must have woken her up.

“Where’s Styra?” she asked Anka as she looked around with half-open eyes

“I just saw her with Ragur. Never mind her, I’ve got an unmissable business opportunity just for you. I run a successful jewellery business in the high market. I know how to source the finest goods and how to sell them at the highest margin”

Anka had hoped that making her pitch while Lurush was tired would make her more pliable, but she was looking like she might fall back to sleep.

“I was taught by Hadash, one of Kurush’s most skilled traders, and-“

“Hadash?” said Lurush, “Why does that name sound familiar?”

“He was married to Gishka, Tiuk’s sister”

Lurush’s eyes lit up, “Ah yes, Tiuk’s brother-in-law! So you know Tiuk?”

“I’ve known her for as long as I can remember. She and her family were friends with my parents, and after they died Hadash and Gishka adopted me and my sister. So I suppose Tiuk is my adopted aunt”  

Lurush sat up and stroked her chin, “Recently I’ve been thinking, I’d like to step back from managing my businesses and focus on, well, spending all my money. I have an aide, Dila, but she’s too down-to-earth, too logical. I need someone with the imagination to see opportunities and the drive to see them through”

“The fact I could find my way to you is proof I’m the one you’re looking for”

“What are you asking for?”

“Room and board in the Rush, plus two copper ingots a month”

“How about room and board, two coppers a month, and I eat you once a week?”

Damn it, thought Anka, maybe I should have waited til after she’d had breakfast.

“Room and board, one copper and thirty leaves a month, and you don’t lay a finger on me, ever”

“Not even-“

“Not even a taste”

Lurush sighed, “Okay, fine. Room and board, thirty coppers and one leaf a month”

“Er, you mean the other way around?”

“Yeah, what you said. I wish Dila was here, I usually let her worry about numbers”

How did she ever become an Ikarkur, wondered Anka, I should have asked for more. 

“But this is just a trial,” said Lurush, “let’s see how well you’ve done in a month’s time. If you’re a waste of my money, I’ll chuck you out of the Rush myself”

Anka gulped, “Okay, deal”

Next chapter

Constructive criticism welcome

© Paul Bramhall

Kurush: The First City - Chapter 6

Oresh was absorbed looking at the wooden figurine in his hand. It wore a white dress and had a long ponytail – considering the maker only had Oresh’s description of her, it was a reasonable likeness of Shanessa. They always left the face blank though. He closed his eyes, trying to burn the memory of her face into his mind.

“Did you want a second one?” asked the figurine maker

“Yes, that’s right”

The figurine maker tutted, “You’re the fifth to ask me for two today. These are dark days, dark days indeed”

Once the copy had been carved and painted, Oresh thanked and paid her. He was in a street in the shadow of the Sunset Tower which, despite being crowded, was eerily devoid of laughter and idle chatter. He joined a procession of lishas and hurums walking down a path which curled around the tower to a plaza at the point where both the mouth of the river and the mouth of the dock’s canal met the sea. His mother, his sister and Ekur – the lisha boy who lived opposite their old house – were already there. Ekur was sobbing uncontrollably, constantly wiping the tears from his face with a rag. There was also a gaggle of hurum girls crying and hugging each other whom Oresh recognised as Shanessa’s friends from scribe school.

“Still no sign of Anka,” said Kisha, “world’s best sister”

“I wonder why she can’t come”, said Oresh just as sardonically, glaring accusingly at Kisha

Soon after Kisha had arrived back at their new home in the Ekuan quarter last night, Oresh had heard Anka call his name and he went up to the roof to see Kisha lunging at Anka. He wasn’t so naïve that he couldn’t work out what was happening, but nonetheless he wasn’t sure he knew enough to make an allegation. Kisha had told him afterwards that she was merely trying to give Anka a consoling hug.

Watching Anka run over the rooftops and into the night was the last he had seen her. What if she had run into yet another ravenous lisha? Oresh shook the thought from his head, he had to believe she was alright. He was also slightly worried about Bukur. He had sent a message, but there was no sign of him either. He wouldn’t be so busy chasing orokurs that he’d miss Shanessa’s funeral, surely?

The sun was setting behind the mountains of the mainland, and the sky was shifting from gold to blood-red. A simple boat was tethered on the shore, a long, intricate prayer carved along the top of the hull. Other families were carrying and laying their loved ones on the deck. Some were lishas, some were hurums, some wore elegant togas, some wore simple tunics. Almost all were old. Once they had finished, Oresh and some others came forward to place wooden figurines in the stern. He kept the second figurine in his hand, close to his heart. Once he got home, he would put it in Anka’s family chest. Shanessa would be with her parents again.  

Shakresh, a lisha wearing a spotless white toga, hobbled forward with his walking stick. He was the Ushi Sopri, the mediator between Kurush and the Sun.

“Father of all things,” he enunciated to the setting sun, “giver of all life, brightest, most glorious and most primordial of all beings. Each day you grant us your light and power, nourishing our bodies and spirits. But despite being your children, despite the strength you give us, we are as frail as cripples compared to you. We cannot survive forever in this liminal world between land, sky and sea, this battlefield of the elements. Today, these children of yours succumbed to the rigours of life. Your power, their spirits, have already returned to you. May they rest and exult for the rest of time. Now, as per the ancient contract, we commend their bodies to the sea”

He untethered the boat and heaved it away from the shore. The flow of the river took hold of it and pushed it past the tower on the far side of the river, past the tower on the far side of the canal, and out into the open sea. The golden disc slipped behind the mountains, and iridescent purple streaks appeared across the sky. Ekur wailed as though it was the only way he could meaningfully say goodbye. Oresh put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close.  

Oresh remembered the day he had taught Shanessa how to write her first words. It wasn’t long before they were swapping childish poems with each other. Her proudest creation when she was ten was a poem about a girl who stepped in some porridge, then some mud, then some piss, then some shit, then some vomit, but kept walking cheerily on. Oresh cracked a pained smile.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” the family turned to see Tiuk coming towards them, “and I’m sorry it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. If only it were under better circumstances. She was a good girl, always so full of life. She always saw the best in people”

Tiuk put a hand on Gishka’s shoulder. Looking at them you would never have guessed that they came from the same clutch of eggs, Gishka with her upmarket dress, ornate jewellery and expanding waistline, Tiuk with her polished armour, toned muscles and commanding eyes.

“I heard that you were evicted. Why didn’t you tell me you needed help?”

Gishka smiled weakly, “Everything will be alright”

It takes some gall to say that the day after your adopted daughter is killed, thought Oresh.

Tiuk turned to Oresh and whispered in his ear, “Anka’s safe. She’s with Bukur”

He inwardly sighed with relief, “Thank you”

“I need to get back to the Rush,” said Tiuk, “Kisha, I need you on duty at the crack of dawn tomorrow. No excuses. If you miss another patrol, I’m docking your pay”

“Yes ma’am”, said Kisha, averting her gaze

“What was that about?” asked Oresh once Tiuk had left

“None of your business”, said Kisha

“It seems to me that you should be grateful she’s only threatening you with less pay. Doesn’t it make sense that if everyone does their job, respects their fellow citizens, and puts work into making Kurush a better place, everyone will be happier? Including yourself”

Kisha placed a hand on his chest and firmly pushed him backwards until they were out of their mother’s earshot.

“Only weaklings like you need things like rules, compassion and a giddily happy society. If there’s something I want to do, and it’s in my power to do it, then I’m going to do it. It’s as simple as that. It’s your choice if you get in the way”

Kisha walked off, joining the line of lishas and hurums snaking their way back up the path around the tower. Oresh struggled to remember the last time she’d been quite so blunt with him, but with some sadness he realised that he wasn’t at all surprised by her words. It’s my duty, he thought, to work harder to make her see the light. I mustn’t dismiss her as a lost cause. If a brother can’t even show his sister the right path, then what hope is there for Kurush?

Next chapter

Constructive criticism welcome

© Paul Bramhall

Kurush: The First City - Chapter 5

At first Anka didn’t recognise the room she woke up in. It was cramped and bare, with only a shuttered window looking over the duskward side of Kurush and some straw mats. She pulled the curtain across the doorway open. The Sapphire Temple’s second hall, below the first, had dozens of lishas and hurums who had spent the night raucously indulging their voracious desires and were now strewn across the floor fast asleep on top of each other in a jumbled lattice. Priestesses tip-toed among them offering breakfast to those who were awake. Here and there were half-empty jars of mould-blue orokosa, its nauseating odour hanging in the air.

Sitting by the doorway to the suite Anka had taken, arms crossed and snoring, was Bukur. She kicked him in the ribs.

“This is the man tasked by the Ushi Karsh with protecting me?”

“Huh? What happened?”

“Nothing. Come on, get up, let’s go”

When no-one was looking, Anka grabbed a gourd, filled it with orokosa and tucked it under her collar. Before they climbed the stairs to the first hall, they passed the topaz-encrusted door to the third hall.

“Didn’t you sneak down there when you were little?” she said, “What’s it like down there? What sort of rituals do the priestesses do with their precious idol?”

Bukur suddenly tensed up, “I’m not allowed to speak of it”

“Go on, you can tell me”

Bukur shook his head as though he was trying to shake the memories out of his brain, “No, no, I absolutely can’t. Terrible, horrible things will happen to me if I tell a single soul”

“By the Sun, what did they threaten you with? Whatever, why anyone would care so much about a figurine of a lisha and a hurum who probably never existed is beyond me”

At that moment, Askura passed by, an eyebrow raised, “Sapesh and Galka are more powerful than you think”

Anka turned red and laughed weakly, “Are they? That’s good to know. And it’s reassuring that there’s a place in Kurush where lishas can’t step foot. Er, thank you for letting me stay the night. Could we trouble you for some breakfast?”

After some flatbread and half a steak, they left the temple. The sun was already high in the sky and the market was bustling. Before they could even cross the square, horns were blown from the ramparts of the Rush and a regiment of lisha soldiers trotted out of the gate, pushing passers-by aside to clear a path. Five silver-curtained litters, each carried by four lishas and surrounded by lishas and hurums with up-turned noses and laden with jewellery, made their way sedately past the Sun Temple and down the hill. Anka joined the throng pressing against the soldiers to snatch a glimpse of the Ikarkurs, but there were too many others drawn by the spectacle. Once they were out-of-sight, the excitement evaporated, but Anka’s determination was reinvigorated. She would follow them to Alabaster Cove and convince one to let her into the Rush. But first she needed to look like she already belonged there.

In the heart of the sweltering market, she and Bukur found Misha’s stall.

“The finest hurum attire in Kurush!” Misha called out over the din of her competitors, wearing a translucent dress that left little to the imagination, “Make yourself appetising in an instant! Anka, Bukur, good to see you”

“I need something classy but attention-grabbing”

“Oh? I never thought you’d come asking me for something like that. I didn’t think you were the type”

“Whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong,” said Anka, “let’s make this quick”

“How about this?”

“That’s too racy”

“This?”

“Misha, that’s basically three pieces of string tied together, how can you even call that attire? No, let me try this on”

Behind her stall, Misha had a cramped cubicle. Anka made sure the curtain was fastened as tight as possible behind her and that there was no way anyone could spy on her from above before taking off her tattered amber tunic. She changed as quickly as she could, unnerved by the clamour of the market that still surrounded her. 

“Just a peek!” she could hear Bukur saying outside

“No, get back you menace!” said Misha, “Did you skip breakfast this morning?”

Anka opened the curtain, “What do you think?”

She wore a silky, sky-blue top and a matching dress that was long and airy. Not quite hidden by the top’s frills was her bellybutton.

“You look great!” said Misha

Bukur said nothing, his mouth agape, his eyes spinning. If he hadn’t been an old friend she’d probably start running. Instead, her heart fluttered, as if she was standing on the edge of a precipice. He had had eyes for her for as long as she could remember, but if one of the Ikarkurs had a similar if more restrained reaction, she might get them to listen to her. 

“I’ll take it”

She paid Misha with the copper ingot Tiuk had given her last night, and they bade her farewell. They went down the hill, pushing through the clotted streets, through the reeking meat market, to the Bloody Gate, the only way through Kurush’s outer wall other than the docks. True to its name, as soon as they walked through the passageway, they were assaulted by the stench of blood. The carcass of a gana, a reptile three times the size of a lisha, was being butchered. Another was desperately trying to wrest its freedom from its lisha master. Yet another gana was lumbering down the riverside trail, led by a lisha, happily oblivious to its imminent fate.    

Instead of going up the river, Anka and Bukur took the trail that paralleled the coast, leaving the hubbub of Kurush behind them. Soon the only sound was the crickets singing to each other in the thickets of the open scrubland, and the only traffic sharing the trail with them were tiny lizards scurrying out of their way.

“It’s nice to get out of Kurush once in a while, isn’t it?” said Bukur, “To enjoy some peace and quiet”

“It’s so boring out here, so empty. You can’t do anything except waste time. And my nice new dress is getting covered in dust”  

“Maybe you should learn to slow down. Rest is important. And after last night…”

“If I rest, I’m dead. If I’m going to survive, I need to be hungrier than a lisha”

Even so, Anka inwardly admitted to herself that the feeling of the sun on her skin was as soothing as a bath on a freezing night. But as the day wore on, and the sun still bored down on them, their destination still nowhere to be seen, she started hobbling along the path like an old woman and was painfully aware of how much she now stank of sweat. Bukur on the other hand was powering ahead, each ounce of sunlight giving him more strength, until suddenly he stopped in his tracks.

“What is it?” said Anka as she caught up, “Oh…”

Lain on a rock on the side of the trail was a hurum woman with long blonde hair, fast asleep. She was wearing nothing but a chest band, a short skirt and some sandals. Bukur’s eyes were glued to her soft, slender belly.

“It’s like she’s just waiting for someone to eat her”, he said as he wiped the drool from his chin

“Do the world a favour and keep thoughts like that to yourself”, said Anka

She woke with a snort and shielded her eyes from the sun, “Oh, hi there. Are you guys going to Alabaster Cove?”

“Yeah…”

She leapt up from the rock, “I’ll come with you! The more the merrier, right? My name’s Styra”

“I’m Bukur, this is Anka, we are delighted to make the acquaintance of such a radiant young woman, aren’t we?”

“Sure”, said Anka, rolling her eyes

“What brings you to Alabaster Cove?” asked Bukur, “Let me guess, you’re a friend of one of the Ikarkurs?”

“I wish! No, I live in the Ekuan quarter. A lot of hurums are disappearing there. In fact I’m sure some of my lisha friends would love to have me for dinner, but I’m not just going to wait around for that to happen. And if the Ikarkurs can’t help me, who can?”

So she’s a rival, thought Anka, I shouldn’t be surprised that I’d have competition – but she’s either very bold or very stupid to dress like that. She’ll get more attention than me, but I’d be terrified to look that appetising in public.

They approached a sheer cliff which looked like a mile-long row of jagged teeth. The path led them to a gap between the rocks which was filled with a high stone wall with a wide gateway. However the gateway was firmly shut. Styra rang a bell hanging from the wall, and moments later a lisha poked his head out of a window high above them. He had a perfectly proportioned rectangle of brown scales sitting on his upper lip, like a neatly trimmed moustache.

“Yes, what do you want? Do you know where you are? Riff-raff are not welcome”

“Actually I’m one of the refreshments,” said Styra, “I can give you a taste, if you want?”

The lisha eyed her, gulped, then promptly disappeared. Seconds later the great wooden door opened a fraction, a clawed hand grabbed Styra’s arm and yanked her inside, and the door slammed shut again.

“Lucky bastard,” said Bukur, “are you going to do the same?”

“I’m not going to feed myself to a stranger”

They waited and waited, but the moustachioed lisha didn’t return.

“Surely they’re done by now?” said Anka as she rang the bell

The lisha poked his head out of the window, “Are you still here?”

“I work for the Ushi Karsh”, said Anka

“The Ushi Karsh has no authority here. This is a private establishment exempt from Kurush’s protection”

“I know that, but she sent me to check that your security is up to scratch”

“Our security’s fine. I’m not letting you in”

Anka sighed, “Listen, I’m not going to inspect anything. Frankly, I was planning on just having a few drinks by the sea. If you can give me that, I’ll tell Tiuk that this is the most secure and innocent place on the island. If you don’t, I’ll tell her that all your guards are as high as the midday Sun”

The lisha grumbled and withdrew inside.

“Did that work?” Anka murmured to Bukur

The door creaked open. The lisha gestured inside with a slight bow, but suspicion and annoyance poured from his eyes.

“Much obliged. This is my bodyguard, by the way”, said Anka pointing at Bukur

On the other side of the door, they realised that the great stone wall was little more than a façade. They walked along a short ravine, past a hectic kitchen pumping out fumes heavy with sweet and spicy flavours, then they were greeted with the vast, sparkling turquoise sea and a beach of glistening white sand. Lishas and hurums sunned themselves on loungers, listening to a hurum man play a chirpy song on long-necked lute.

Along the pathway from the ravine to the beach there were marble statues of fish, squid and other sea creatures, and even some hurums, all grinning like morons. They all looked like they were about to dive, which Anka couldn’t make sense of until she realised that they were walking over a gargantuan mosaic of a lisha’s wide open jaws.

As soon as Anka and Bukur sat on some stools in the shade of the cliff, a young hurum man appeared with two flagons of honey-laced beer.

“I’m surprised that little fib of yours managed to get us in,” said Bukur, “impressed, but surprised”

“Somehow I think they’re used to seeing corrupt officials here. Is that Gilkush?”

Anka pointed at a clique, the centre of which was a lisha whose jade scales were so polished they shimmered in the sunlight.

“Didn’t he have a thing with your mother when we were kids?”

“Don’t remind me,” said Bukur, “and look, next to him, in the hat made of pink feathers, that’s Ragur. Remember him? I see him from time to time in the Rush, but he looks right through me, the arrogant bastard”

“By the Sun, he’s grown a lot since I last saw him. And he obviously uses the same scale polish as his father. Anyway, your mother said Myra or Lurush would be my best bets. Can you see them?”

“There’s Myra, the hurum woman wearing a hundred necklaces. And there’s Lurush, the lisha woman who looks like she eats a gana every day. I can’t see that Styra girl though, I’ll have to hunt for her”

“No, stay with me. You’re my bodyguard, remember?”

The moment she said that, Bukur’s eyes were drawn to two nubile hurum women walking past. As though instinct had taken over his body, he hopped off the stool and caught up with them.

“Excuse me, could you tell me what the best food here is? Other than you two, of course”

“Get back here, you moron!” Anka called after him

But he followed them onto the crowded beach, and she decided to nurse her beer until he came back. Her legs were still aching from the trek from Kurush. But by the time her flagon was empty, he hadn’t returned, so she went to find him, walking in circles around the throng of intimidatingly well-dressed (or barely dressed) lishas and hurums, her anger towards Bukur building with each loop. She spun round to head back to the entrance, and suddenly found herself covered in something hot and spicy. Her face, her top and her dress were drenched in viscous, pungent, blood-red sauce. In front of her stood a mortified young hurum man carrying a now half-empty pot. Her face grew even hotter than it already was.

“You fucking imbecile! Do you know how much this fucking cost? Go to the sea and fetch the stupidest, slimiest, gangliest jellyfish you can find, and give it your job, there’s no way it could fuck up as much as you!” 

The young man looked like he was about to burst into tears. Anka realised that the lute player had stopped playing. Half the beach was looking at her. The hurums were sniggering and whispering in each other’s ears, the lishas were staring at her with unsettling glints in their eyes, as though she was the most expensive dish on the menu. Some furtively licked their lips.

She turned and strode towards the sea, her head down, but her path was quickly blocked. Towering over her was Ragur, his enormous feathered hat blotting out the sun. They would have both been twelve years old when they last saw each other – Anka immediately recognised his supercilious grin, but he didn’t seem to recognise her.

“I can help clean that off”

“No thank you”

Anka walked around him, down the surf and into the water. It probably wasn’t the best way to wash such a delicate outfit, but hopefully it would get the sauce off before it stained. She kept walking until the water was up to her shoulders. She splashed her face, wincing as the salt stung her eyes. She was surrounded by calm, but her heart was still pounding.

She sighed in exasperation, “By the all-fucking Sun…”

She looked back at the beach, and saw Myra peel off from the crowd and start walking along the beach by herself. Anka waded back to land as fast as she could and ran after her. By the time she had caught up with her, they were on a deserted stretch of the beach. Myra gave her a sideways glance and kept walking.

“Was that little spectacle a deliberate ploy? You certainly attracted a fair amount of attention”

“I wish I could say I’m that devious, but no, that was an accident. My name’s Anka, do you mind if I join you?”

“If you really want to”

If Anka had to guess, Myra was around forty years old. Yet she was only wearing a chest band and a loin cloth, showing off her lithe figure and immaculate olive skin. Her short, black hair was swept back as though she was constantly up against a strong wind. She had about a dozen necklaces - some of the sparkling stones in them were so large that Anka had to wonder if her neck hurt.   

“So what do you want?” Myra asked

“To make you money,” Myra scoffed but Anka carried on, “I run a successful jewellery business in the high market. I know how to source the finest goods, and I know how to sell them at the highest margin. With your investment and contacts, we-“

“Not interested”

“Surely there’s no such thing as too much money?” Anka failed to hide a hint of desperation in her tone

“I don’t know you. You’re too big of a risk. Life is ruthless, a perpetually stormy sea. I’m not going to pull you up onto my boat if there’s any chance you’ll sink it”

“I’m well aware of life’s ruthlessness,” said Anka, “if you won’t have me, then perhaps I’ll try your competitors”

“Go ahead, my competitors have more money than sense. But walk with me some more, I have some advice if you’re trying to get up to the Rush”

“Is it free?”

Myra chortled, “Yes it’s free. I saw that lisha you came with, the one with the pecs and lolling tongue. Are you two together?”

“No, a thousand times no. He’s my bodyguard. And a friend”

“That’s good. I can guarantee you’ll never get anywhere if you’re chained to someone else. Is that a gourd of orokosa?” Myra pointed at the bulge under Anka’s collar

“It’s just for emergencies”

“You’ll need it for more than just emergencies. How do you think I climbed my way from the Ekuan quarter to the Ikark’s palace? By asking nicely? I’ve probably been inside a hundred different stomachs in my time”

Anka’s face grew red, “I’m not an orokur. I’m not… into that”

“Neither am I, but the reality is that lishas find us delicious. Use that to your advantage. The first time’s scary, but you get used to it”

They found their path blocked by tall, slippery-looking rocks. Myra looked out to sea.

“Torimyz is clear today. Do you see it?”

Anka strained her eyes. On the horizon there was the shadow of a lone island, a mountain jutting out of the sea.

“My mother used to tell me that the islands are the children of the sea,” said Myra, “and that Torimyz was the youngest. A boisterous toddler of an island”

Anka smiled at the image of an island throwing a tantrum, “I’d not heard that before”

“I suppose you wouldn’t have. It’s a Myzan story”

“Myzan?”

Myra rolled her eyes, “You Oshuans call us Ekuans, we’re actually called Myzans. I shouldn’t be surprised you hadn’t heard the word before, I doubt many Myzans even use it any more. It goes to show that, in the four hundred years since Makush sailed from the mainland and built his trading camp on the hill, the Oshuans have slowly but surely tightened their grip on the island. I mean, we all speak Oshuan, you’d have to go to one of the villages to hear someone speak Myzan. Oh, speaking of which, don’t go over those rocks. There’s a fishing village that way. If a lisha found a rich girl wandering around, he’d have a very nice meal”

“Why did we come out this way then?”

Myra looked back the way they had come, “Perfect timing”

Strutting towards them was Ragur, his pink feather hat bobbing on his head, his jade green scales shimmering in the sunlight, a smug grin across his face.

“It’s been a while,” said Myra, “I was beginning to think you had gone off my flavour”

“Actually I’m here for this one,” said Ragur as he looked down on Anka, “she’s really whetted my appetite”

“You don’t remember me, do you?” said Anka

Ragur’s grin evaporated. Myra raised an eyebrow.

“I’m Anka, Amura and Ugur’s daughter. I was unlucky enough to spend time with you when we were kids. You were an arrogant, entitled little shit back then, and it looks to me like you’re now just a bigger arrogant, entitled little shit”

“Ah yes, Kisha’s friend!”

“Oh, so you remember Kisha? But we’re not friends”

“Well now I’m even hungrier for you. My younger self would never forgive me if I didn’t take this opportunity”

Anka stood her ground, fire shooting out of her eyes, “That’s not happening”

“She’s new here,” interjected Myra, “leave her be, let her get used to how things work. Besides, you have me. You enjoyed me last time”

“What do you want from me?” asked Ragur, “Do you want me to pass a suggestion onto my father, or some kind words?”

“I simply want to create some good memories with a possible future business partner. Maybe you’ll even join the Ikark one day. I’m just looking ahead”

Ragur looked up and down Anka and sighed, “Fine”

“That’s a good boy. Anka, be a dear and hold these for me”

Myra took off all of her necklaces and handed them to Anka – they were as heavy as they looked. They had been concealing her own gourd tied around her neck, which Myra removed and passed to Ragur. He downed the orokosa in one gulp, threw the empty gourd onto the sand and lifted Myra into the air as though she was as light as a feather. Not having fully wrapped her head around the situation she had somehow found herself in, Anka turned and looked at the horizon, reasoning that it might be rude to gawp at one of the most powerful individuals on the island being devoured.

Anka found it strange that Myra was completely silent. The only noises were Ragur’s groans of pleasure and the smacking of his lips. Naturally her mind took her back to the previous night, to the warehouse where she had come terrifyingly close to becoming a pleb’s dinner. Rich lishas might be arseholes, she told herself, but they’re not desperately starving. Alabaster Cove was a nerve-wracking and bizarre place, but it was safe. No doubt the Rush was the same.

There was a loud slurp behind her. Anka turned to see a bulge travel down Ragur’s neck to his stomach.

“A little tough, not a lot to chew on, but a gamey flavour. I’d say, hmm… eight out of ten”

“I didn’t want to know”, said Anka

“You look like a nine at the least. You look like you’re bursting with flavour. Sooner or later I’m getting you in my belly. I’m… shit, already?”

Ragur fell onto his hands and in one smooth motion Myra flew out of his throat onto the sand. As though being vomited up was a perfectly normal occurrence, she calmly stood up and walked into the sea to wash the gastric slime off. Ragur stayed on all fours, spitting and heaving. Regularly drinking something as nauseating as orokosa and throwing up something as large as a hurum must do a number on his innards, Anka thought. Not that she pitied him as his eyes grew cloudy with tears.

“Is it really worth it?” she asked

“Of course!” he said, before retching some more

When Myra came back onto land, Anka handed back her necklaces.

“Thank you for the advice. I’m glad I didn’t pay for it”

Myra laughed, “Good luck out there. You’ll need it”

By the time Anka had walked back to the entrance of the cove, the sun had dropped behind the cliffs, bathing the beach in twilight as a red haze spread across the sky. Attendants were busy planting torches in the sand and lighting them. A sumptuous feast of fat, juicy steaks dowsed in dizzyingly spicy sauce was being served to the guests. They were cheering on a lisha man and woman wrestling in the surf, apparently over a slim hurum man standing nearby excitedly urging them on.

Anka stuck close to the cliff, scanning the crowd for Bukur, until she walked into something large, round and scaly.

“Just who I was looking for!”

It was Lurush. She only wore tight briefs which only accentuated her girth, and she had an intense look in her eyes. She advanced on Anka.

“Actually, I was hoping to speak to you too,” said Anka, as she instinctively backed away, only to find herself in a crack in the cliff wall, now trapped between rock and Lurush’s immense stomach, “I-I run a successful jewellery business in the high market, and I-“

“Good for you. The moment I saw you covered in sauce, I knew what I wanted for dinner. But then you disappeared, I was worried someone else had got you before I could. But I’ve finally caught you, and I’m absolutely famished”

She leant in, her snout almost touching Anka’s nose, and took a deep breath through her nostrils.

“Ah, I can still smell the spices. They go well with your own scent. By the Sun, I simply must eat you”

Anka started breathing deeply. Lurush’s jagged teeth and foul-smelling maw were right before her eyes.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not on the menu. I’d rather talk business, I can make you a lot of money”

“Don’t be like that, Alabaster Cove is a place of play and pleasure. Come, let’s go to my room. I promise I’ll be gentle”

“No”

Lurush frowned, “No? How very disappointing”

“Ahem, excuse me?”

A girl with long blonde hair wearing nothing but a chest band and a short skirt appeared. Styra was standing with her hands behind her back, as though she was the picture of innocence, a cheeky smirk across her face.  

“Sorry to interrupt, but if you’re looking for a nice dinner, I might be able to help”

Lurush’s eyes widened, “Yes, I think you can, you sweet little thing. Why don’t you come with me?”

She extended her hand, which Styra took. As they walked away, Styra looked over her shoulder at Anka with a grin that said ‘better luck next time’. A heady mix of both frustration and relief flooded into her, and not knowing which one it made more sense to feel she stood rooted at the spot with a blank expression. Then Bukur passed by.

“Oh, there you are. Why you are hiding there?”

Anka grabbed the lapels of his waistcoat, “Where the hell have you been?!”

“Sorry, it’s just these Rush girls frolicking on the beach, they’re irresistible”

“And did any of them let you eat them?”

“Er, no…”

“That’s because you’re about as trustworthy and subtle as a seagull sitting on a fisherman’s head! By the Sun, I’m exhausted. Let’s have some food and find somewhere to sleep”    

Next chapter

Constructive criticism welcome

© Paul Bramhall