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