Kurush: The First City - Chapter 21

“Oh my! Oh my oh my oh my!”

Lurush was waiting in her finery by the pool when Anka strutted down from the house wearing a new number from the high market – a long, tightly-fitted dress and a flowing silky knot top that showed off an ample triangle of her belly, both maroon with amber hems. Lurush’s hungry gaze made her tense, but with a deep breath she reminded herself that she was perfectly safe. There was no danger in looking appetising. She checked that she still had her gourd of orokosa hung around her neck.

“My dear, you are definitely getting eaten tonight. How about this – if you somehow make it back home uneaten, let me have you as a late dinner”

“No deal. The invitation definitely said plus one? You’re not bringing me as party food?”

“The invitation specifically said you and me. Looks like word about my new associate has gotten round. Well, shall we?”  

As they walked through the Rush, Anka was very conscious of lishas and hurums turning their heads. This was partly thanks to Lurush – after all, she was an Ikarkur, and the sight of such a rotund lisha swaggering down the narrow streets was hard to miss. But Anka knew she was attracting many a gaze as well. Perhaps some of them were merely curious about who was escorting the Ikarkur, but some were almost certainly wondering how good she’d taste. Two young lisha women glanced furtively at her before whispering and giggling to each other. An old lisha man dropped his walking stick in front of her and leisurely ogled her as he slowly bent down to pick it up. The thought that tonight she might be gobbled up in the dreams of all these strangers made Anka’s heart beat a little faster.

Gilkush’s estate was on the opposite side of the Rush to Lurush’s. The entirety of his outer wall was a mosaic of a glorious sunset, with specks of bronze making the sky sparkle and azure pebbles making the sea glisten. Up close you could even see birds and ships. The guards bowed their heads as Lurush and Anka walked up to the door, which was surrounded by the gold leaf of the setting sun.

The discordant sounds of conversation led them to a hall littered with cliques of lishas and hurums, all with drinks in hand, each outfit more extravagant than the last. The throng shimmered with the glittering gold of bejewelled rings, necklaces and tiaras. Standing out like a sore thumb was Tiuk, who leant against the wall by herself in her armour, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but here. When she spotted Lurush and Anka, she marched over.

“Thank the Sun you two are here. I like to think I have a high tolerance for pain, but being at an ex’s birthday party…”

Suddenly Lurush grabbed Anka’s waist and pulled her into her spongy stomach, “Yes, me and my scrumptious friend here will keep you company tonight,” Anka felt one of her claws prodding her side, testing the softness of her flesh, “Oh, Sasha, Polur!”

She released Anka and waddled away to try and coax the teenager hiding behind his mother.

“I never got the chance to thank you after everything that happened”, said Anka

“Don’t mention it. Is she treating you well?”

“She understands that no means no”

“And how are you doing? You’ve been through more than anyone should”

Anka sighed, “I’m still alive, so I’ve got to just keep on living. The past is the past. But now that I’m safe, I can look forward. I can start to think about how to best enjoy my life”

In both height and muscle, Tiuk was the largest lisha Anka knew. And yet she also exuded dignity, discipline and respect. Anka couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be devoured by such a magnificent beast.

“I’ve heard that you’ve been… entertaining Bukur,” said Tiuk, “if he’s ever going to succeed me as Ushi Karsh, I need him to be focused on improving himself. He’s strong, but he’s still clueless when it comes to strategy, responsibility and leadership”

Anka huffed inwardly. He must have bragged about it to someone, she thought, “Understood. I won’t be a distraction”

She noticed Tiuk’s eyes flick down to her belly for a split second. Maybe she’s jealous of her son, she thought.

“I really am grateful for everything you’ve done for me. Have you eaten yet? Maybe we could find somewhere quiet, if you want me for dinner”

Tiuk coughed and spluttered, “No, thank you. If you’ll excuse me, I need to… go somewhere”

She walked off without looking Anka in the eye. Oh well, Anka thought with a shrug, worth a shot. The far side of the hall opened out onto a terrace, where a crowd piqued her curiosity. They were watching something, so she wriggled her way through the crowd to the front. They were watching a game of Hunt, the same game she had played with Bukur only a few nights before, except this board was gigantic, and the pieces were real lishas and hurums. Sat on a throne on one side of the board was Gilkush, his jade scales so polished that they shimmered. Sat on the other side was Myra, her small stature more than compensated by the eager determination in her eyes. It was Ikarkur versus Ikarkur. Just in front of Anka, a hurum man rolled the die for them. Next to him were two gold ingots – clearly they weren’t playing solely for fun.

“Five”, called out the die-roller

“Damesh!” said Gilkush, “Take Lekura”

The crowd hooted and hollered as the lisha moved five spaces towards a hurum woman who was pretending to scream. He downed a gourd of orokosa, picked the woman up and swallowed her like she was just a snack waiting to be eaten, before squatting on the ground and promptly throwing her back up.

The terrace had a gorgeous view of the sun setting behind the mountains of the mainland, yet Anka thought that the mosaic on the mansion’s façade was somehow more beautiful. She felt like she was being watched, and saw Kisha in her amour by the balustrade, her eyes narrowed in contempt. Anka tried to match that contempt in her stare back. Despite her size and connections, her threats were meaningless in the Rush. Gazing up at Kisha was Ragur, his scales as polished as his father’s, but as soon as he noticed where Kisha’s attention had turned to, his eyes lit up. He made a beeline for Anka.

“What are you doing, my boy?” said Gilkush to the mirth of the onlookers, “Get off the board!”

Ragur ignored him. He wore a waistcoat with so many bright, multicoloured zig-zags it stung Anka’s eyes.

“Anka, so good to see you again! You look absolutely exquisite tonight. How would you like a tour of the house? Perhaps we could start with the dining room, if you catch my drift”

The intense hunger in his eyes made Anka uneasy, “I’ll have to decline, despite you having all the charm of a ravenous shark and about half the intelligence”

Ragur leant down and lowered his voice, “You know, there are plenty of hurums who would beg for the chance to be my dinner. Ah, but maybe you’re the type who likes to be hunted? Well, I’m the type who doesn’t stop pursuing his prey. One of these days, I am going to eat you”

He turned away with a nauseating grin on his face. Anka hoped that meant he would leave her alone, for this evening at least. As he walked back across the board, the crowd applauded. The last of Myra’s pieces had made it across, but she had lost three and only taken two of Gilkush’s. The winner rose from his throne.

“Thank you, my friends. Life is but a game, so if you want to do well in life, get good at games first! Myra, you were a worthy opponent, thank you for the challenge, and of course for the gold as well. Now, someone get me some beer”

Myra had daggers for eyes, but with no-one else to talk to as the crowd started chattering, Anka darted over to her.

“If you want, I could spread some rumours that he bribed the die-roller. He probably did anyway, how else could he have beaten someone as smart as you”

“Oh, it’s you,” said Myra, “Anka, was it? So you made it up here after all?”

“Yes, thanks to Lurush”

“I’ve always found her to be a very fast eater, like she’s being held hostage by her stomach, wouldn’t you say?”

“I, er, actually, she’s never eaten me”

“Really? How have you managed that? Not just anyone can put a leash on an Ikarkur, especially these days”

A golden-scaled lisha wearing a black toga glided over and implanted himself into the conversation, “Myra, it’s been too long”

Myra’s face soured, “So, you’ve finally clawed your way up here, have you? Kyroz, this is Anka. Anka, Kyroz”

Kyroz didn’t even bother to glance at Anka, “You look just as delectable as the last time I saw you”

“That was ten years ago, so I suppose I could take that as a compliment. Not that either us want to remember that night though”

“You know, I haven’t eaten anything all day,” said Kyroz, “I could really do with a good meal. How about we find somewhere more private?”

Myra scoffed, “You really think that’s going to work?”

“I was under the impression you’d become quite… promiscuous. That’s how you climbed the ladder to the top, isn’t it? Why not just let me eat you, for old time’s sake?”

Myra’s face was burning, “If there is one lisha I will not feed myself to, it’s you. Get out of my sight, or I’ll get Tiuk to literally throw you out”

“So be it, although I don’t see the point of delaying the inevitable”

He left Myra steaming with rage, and Anka wishing she had a drink.

“Old friend?” Anka asked

“You could say that. It feels like a lifetime ago. Two Ekuans, dreaming of reaching the Rush. We had cultivated a circle of middle-ranking merchant friends, and we were making decent earnings as a pair of estate agents. He wanted our partnership to be… deeper, but I wasn’t interested. Then the famine came, and on the Night on Hunger, he tried to eat me. I escaped him, obviously, I spent that night hiding in an amphora”

“Didn’t he get punished?” Anka asked

“Maybe you’re too young to remember. There was an amnesty. There had to be, otherwise they’d have to execute half the lishas in Kurush. Makes you think, a good chunk of the lishas around us probably ate someone that night. Anyway, after performing some favours for my friends, I made it into the Rush. Kyroz was left with nothing except rumours swirling round him. I hear that now he spends his time telling anyone who’ll listen that hurums are evil or something. Pretty sure he means me. Ah, by the fucking Sun, seeing him again has put me in a foul mood. I need a drink. Did Lurush tell you I’m coming over tomorrow?”

“Yes, I’ll be the one negotiating for her”

“In that case, make sure you have a fun night,” said Myra, “It’ll be an even playing field if we’re both hungover”

Anka found herself alone amidst a sea of cliques. As she scanned the throng for potentially useful friends just waiting for the right compliment from a stranger, her eyes fell on a hurum woman with the most perfectly crafted face she’d ever seen. She wore a thin silky robe that flowed from her shoulders to her ankles, yet somehow left little to the imagination. Even all-too-hurum Anka wanted to sink her teeth into her. The woman was gracefully flitting from one clique to the next with a perpetual smile, brightening the faces of lishas and hurums alike. When her eyes met with Anka’s and she sashayed towards her, Anka’s face went red.

“Hi, you’re Anka, am I right?”

“I, er, ahem, urgh”

“I’m Erisha, Gilkush’s consort”

“You mean…”

“It’s in my contract that he’s the only one who can eat me. That doesn’t mean he eats me everyday. To be honest, more than anything, my job is to make his friends and rivals envious”

“Isn’t that a little… demeaning? Doesn’t that make you a bit like a-”

Out of nowhere, a fat four-legged reptile the size of a hurum launched itself at Erisha with a deafening squawk. It’s scales looked like granite, but colourful frills on the back of its head gave it a rainbow halo.

“Down, Rurur, down! This is Gilkush’s other pet”

Anka tried to pat its head, but it snapped at her hand.

“You wanna piece of me, you little shit?” said Anka, but it just waddled away.

“It’s a pretty good deal,” said Erisha, “I get to meet interesting people, and lounge around this wonderful place. And, well, without wishing to sound arrogant, if I didn’t have Gilkush’s protection, I doubt I’d last long out there”

“I think you’re right”

“He said he wanted to talk to you. Shall we go find him?”

Anka blinked, “What, really?”

Erisha smiled, “Yes, come on”

She led her into the mansion, which, like Lurush’s, was shaped like a mountain. The staircase was lined with frescoes of soaring birds and ethereal clouds, as though they were ascending to the heavens. On the top floor, they found Gilkush looking pensively out of the window as the sky turned violet. A soldier was murmuring something into his ear. Anka recognised him as Etenkur, Tiuk’s lieutenant. She often saw him slinking around the Rush with a smirk that said he had something up his sleeve. As soon as he saw the two hurums, he stopped talking and slipped out of the room.

“Ah, Anka!” said Gilkush with avuncular ease, “It’s so good to see you again. I can’t believe it’s been ten years, you’re all grown up now. Do you even remember me?”

“Of course. You and Ragur would come over to Oresh’s house all the time, with Tiuk”

“Ah yes, those were happy days. After Ragur’s mother died, I was so grateful to have found Tiuk. If only we had lasted longer. But for a couple of years it was nice to have such close friends – Hadash, Gishka, your parents… Is Shanessa well?”

“She… she’s dead”

“What?!” he roared

The anger in his voice made both Anka and Erisha jump.

“This is terrible news,” he said, his composure regained, “devastating. What happened?”

“She was eaten in the Ekuan quarter”

“Did they find the culprit? I’ll behead them myself”

Anka shook her head, “Hadash is missing, probably killed by pirates in the nightward isles. We were evicted from his house. It happened that night. I got into the Rush soon after”

“I should have kept an eye on you two. I knew the situation out there was deteriorating, but I never dreamt this would happen. If only I had done something…”

“It’s not your fault”

“Lurush gave you a job, I heard,” said Gilkush, “To climb Kurush’s ladder, you need either luck or intelligence. Which got you into the Rush?”

“Years of shrewd work. I used to sell jewellery in the high market”

“That’s good. You’ve probably realised that Lurush has a lot more luck than she does intelligence. Tadarur is stuck in the past. Rukur is a pathetic worm on the payroll of criminals. Myra is scrappy, but her focus makes her narrow-minded. I am the only Ikarkur with any foresight. And that’s what you need in a world where nothing is certain, where the rules of the game are constantly changing. Coming to work for me would be the most intelligent thing you could do”

“I’m very grateful to Lurush. I’d need a good reason to leave her”

“Would a gold ingot per month be a good enough reason?”

Anka’s head spun. Her mind impulsively started trying to work out how much she should use to save up for a home of her own in the Rush and how much she could spend to make sure she ate nothing but the nicest food everyday. A voice in the back of her head whispered that it was a trap, but she ignored it. She had always wanted to live in the Rush, and now she had finally dug her claws into it. It was about time she started to trust the lishas here. And now an old family friend was offering her a way to climb even higher, to truly secure herself. But to simply say ‘yes’ would make a mockery of her ability to negotiate.

“Let me think about it”

Gilkush chuckled, “Of course”

Erisha had started lighting lamps in the dark room. There was a long table with several boardgames laid out on it, and one wall was covered by a fresco of the view of Kurush from the sea. But by far the most striking things in the room were what looked like two enormous gravy boats on high plinths. When Gilkush noticed her curiosity, he put his hand on her shoulder and led her over to them.

“Since you’re here, shall we? It is my birthday, after all”

She suddenly realised that the gravy boats were roughly the size of a hurum, and the spouts were at about the height of a lisha.

“I must say, you’ve grown into quite the dish. I’ve concocted a sauce just for you. Strawberry and peach, with a sprinkling of mint, a dollop of honey and just a hint of cinnamon. I think it will go very well with you, what do you think?”

He licked his lips, his eyes intently focused on her. Her heart started pounding. She was taken off-guard, her instinct was to run, but he already had his arm around her.

“I’m flattered, but…”

“Don’t be like that. I’m very gentle, aren’t I, Erisha?”

“He’s a connoisseur,” said Erisha, “he likes to take his time, to savour the flavour”

Hadn’t I decided to trust rich lishas more just a moment ago? There’s even another hurum here, and a whole party downstairs, there is no way I’m in any danger. And being looked at hungrily by lishas all evening has made me rather antsy.

“I’m sorry,” said Anka as she lifted his hand from her shoulder, “Thank you for the offer, I’ll give it some thought”

She scurried out of the room and down the stairs, but stopped one floor down to catch her breath. Neither of them followed her, presumably he was going to have Erisha for dinner instead. I don’t want to be the kind of hurum who lets herself be eaten by any lisha who asks, she thought, surely it’s okay to have boundaries, surely there’s a route to the top not paved with promiscuity? Still, being offered a gold ingot per month by an Ikarkur must mean I have a bright future ahead of me in the Rush. Although was he interested in my trading skills, or did he just want another pet?

She was about to go back down to the party when she realised she was next to a pantry. A cake smothered in honey was sitting on a shelf, begging Anka to eat it. She checked no-one else was nearby, then pounced onto the cake. She wasn’t even half-way through when she heard voices coming up the stairs.

“Remember when we last went to Alabaster Cove, about a month ago?”

It was Ragur’s long drawn out voice, as though he was too lazy to finish words on time. Without thinking Anka jumped behind a large amphora in the pantry.

“There was this blonde girl,” said Ragur, “I got her onto my boat. By the Sun, she was delicious”

She sounds familiar, thought Anka. Wasn’t her name Styra? Wasn’t I the one who pushed her into Ragur’s arms, so that I could talk to Lurush? The lishas at Alabaster Cove were so enamoured with her, I’m surprised I haven’t seen her in the Rush since.

“Was she the one which tried to swim away?” said Ragur’s companion

“That’s right, we had to fish her out of the sea! I’d love to eat her again, but obviously that’s not going to happen”

The blood drained from Anka’s face. Surely he didn’t mean…?

“When’s the next shipment coming?” said Ragur, “I hope there’s a blonde this time”

“In three days”

“What? How am I supposed to wait that long? Tell them to pick up the pace”

“You know, you’re already putting on some weight. If you keep eating hurums at this rate, by next year you’ll be the size of a house, and the Ekuan quarter will be empty”

“I have every right to spend my money as I wish”, said Ragur

“If you can’t wait three days, just find someone to eat with orokosa”

“Bleugh, I hate orokosa,” said Ragur, “How are you meant to enjoy eating the most delicious food in the world right after drinking something that tastes like piss? It makes me feel so sick I can’t focus on the taste of the hurum. Ah, but the feeling of a hurum filling your belly, there’s nothing more satisfying, am I right? Besides, why should Ekuan lishas have all the fun? If they’re going to be eaten anyway, it’s only right that we get our fair share. These Ekuan girls, they’re tastier than I’d thought they’d be. I thought they’d taste… earthy, but if you give them a good scrub first, they’re as good as any Oshuan. Oh, did you see Anka tonight?”

Anka felt like she’d instantly turned to stone.

“Who?”

“You know, that hurum girl I was talking to during the game earlier. We were friends back in the day. She looks unbelievably delicious tonight. I’m going to do what it takes to eat her. I bet she’s a fighter, I love it when they think they can escape. I can’t wait to feel her wriggling in my belly”

The thought of being digested alive in Ragur’s stomach made her foot slip and knock over a pot.

“What was that?”

Anka heard footsteps coming towards her, so she jumped out from behind the amphora and leapt past Ragur as he recoiled in surprise.

“What a nice nap! Slept like a log! Well, back to the party!”

Ragur’s companion was Etenkur, who stared at her with a terrifyingly fiendish smirk. She ran past him before he could grab her and flew down the staircase. Seconds later she was among tipsy socialites, but she didn’t have to look over her shoulder to know that the two lishas were close behind her. She pushed through the cliques on the terrace and in the drinking hall looking for Tiuk, if anyone could protect her it would be her, but despite being a giant among lishas Anka couldn’t see her anywhere. Had she left the party after I tried to tempt her?

She searched for Lurush, her girth and volume should make her easy to spot, but she too had vanished. Maybe she had snuck away with one of her friends, so Anka ran down a quiet corridor. She found a lisha man chewing on a hurum woman, neither of whom she recognised. They opened their eyes once they realised they were being watched.

“Can we help you?” the hurum woman said irritably

Anka turned and ran back towards the entrance hall. She had no time, Anka knew that if Ragur caught up to her, he’d concoct some excuse to drag her somewhere where he could safely devour her without anyone hearing her screams. She was moments away from death.

She was next to the entrance to the mansion, having failed to find anyone she knew and trusted, when she saw Ragur striding towards her. She quickly considered whether she should blurt out the secret hurum-digesting ring to the congregated socialites, but in the best case she’d be ignored and dismissed as a lunatic or slanderer, and in the worst case there were other accomplices in the crowd, thereby instantly multiplying the danger she was in. So she ran out the door and onto the street.

Just as earlier, the lishas she passed in the narrow streets of the Rush looked at her with hunger in their eyes. But now she was alone, and the streets were enveloped by darkness, with shadows from torches dancing on the unscalable walls. Their jagged teeth glinted in the firelight. Would they all digest her if they got the chance?

Had there always been so many mosaics of hurums disappearing down the throats of lishas? Before, Anka had appreciated their detail and vividness, the passion that was clearly being expressed, but now they seemed perversely realistic, transformed into a grotesque celebration of murder, animated by the flickering torchlight.

Anka ran as fast as her dress allowed her. One passerby, an elderly lisha woman, asked her if she was okay, but she didn’t slow even for a second. She could hear heavy footsteps behind her she was certain were Ragur’s. She could hear him gaining on her, but she was already running as fast as she could. This is it, she thought, this is the night I finally become a lisha’s meal.

But then somehow she found herself outside Lurush’s estate. Goresh stood by the doorway, his arms crossed, his inscrutable, steely eyes staring down at her. She had always assumed that this lisha, who was paid to protect Lurush and her associates, could be trusted. But what if behind that wall of silence, he harboured an ardent desire to consume her? What was there to stop him from having her as a midnight snack?

Anka and Goresh eyed each other, her feet refusing to take a step towards the giant, until Ragur raced around the corner. He had the face of a starving predator who could not bear to lose his prey. His chin was drenched with drool, as though he was already relishing her taste. She threw herself past Goresh and into the estate, ran up the stairs, dove into bed and hid under the blanket. She curled into a ball, listening for any noise, making a mental list of places she could hide in the mansion. But there was silence.   

Next chapter

Constructive criticism welcome

© Paul Bramhall