Kurush: The First City - Chapter 43

Anka pulled the hapa up the path by the reins. Behind her was a troop of lishas, each with a weapon in one hand and a sack of supplies over their backs. Travelling across a strange land with lishas she didn’t know had been a little nerve-racking, but she had never felt in danger. They were all united in purpose. The previous night around the campfire they had even had fun teaching her Paruan curses. Her favourite was statafyla, ‘dung-humper’.

Coming from the crest of the hill were the sounds of cooking, hammering, yelling and chattering. Her legs were burning, it felt like she had walked more in the past month than the rest of her life. The simple pleasure of sitting somewhere comfortable for a moment was all she wanted.

After they passed the sentries, she saw Bukur training some of the recruits, forcing them to pose in one stance after another. One of them was Oresh, looking awkward with his bronze armour and sword. When he noticed Anka, he stared at her longingly, until Bukur’s spear clanged against his helmet.

“Oresh, eyes forward!” Bukur barked, “Don’t get distracted, unless you want to get skewered by the enemy”

“Yessir…”

“You could learn a thing or two from Ekur. The hatchling is already a more disciplined soldier than you”

“Permission to cane the laziness out of Oresh, sir!” shouted Ekur

Bukur buried his head in his hands, “Are we really ready for tomorrow?”

The camp was crammed with lishas and hurums, chatting over their humble meals. The Paruans were teaching those from Kurush their language using gestures and playacting, laughing raucously at every mistake, then patting them on the back and asking to learn the equivalent Oshuan word. To Anka, everyone seemed relaxed yet eager. After all, they had cornered the dusk raiders in Niarush. All that was left was the final blow.  

“Peshura!” Anka called out, “I’ve brought some new recruits for you”

The plump priestess hurried to them, and led the troop of lishas to the peak of the hill. There, sat cross-legged on top of a boulder, was Lysta. Hyza scrambled to climb up onto her shoulders. They sat there without moving, their eyes on the horizon, trying to look dignified and timeless, and almost succeeding.

“You stand in the presence of Sapesh and Galka,” Peshura proclaimed in Paruan, “who have returned to Parua after thousands of years in its time of need. They lived in a time when lishas and hurums knew no fear of war or of each other, a time of peace, fruitfulness and harmony. They have returned because now is the time to rebuild that world. We stand on the cusp of a new age! Soldiers, will you fight alongside Sapesh and Galka to make Parua glorious?”

The lishas raised their spears and resoundingly cried out, “Yes!”

Anka went down into the heart of the camp, where she found Gamoz sat amongst stacks of clay tablets. In front of him he had several abacuses recording their supplies of food, bronze, recruits and such, and a rough map of Parua drawn on a strip of gana hide, with different coloured stones placed where there allies or raiders were positioned. She handed him a tablet, which he glanced at.

“From chief Mikroz? You finally got him! How did you manage it?”

“I thought about what he really wants,” said Anka, “He already has riches, loyal friends, a loving wife. Then I realised he’s the shortest lisha I’ve ever seen, he’s about as tall as me. So I explained to him what a statue was, and said we could make one of him twice his size. He agreed in a flash”

Gamoz chuckled, “That’ll do it. Oresh told me you used to sell jewellery, is that right?”

“The finest in Kurush”

“Well you’ve done a fine job of selling the New Sapphire Temple. Did he give us any metals?”

“Twenty copper ingots and five tin. I’ll take them to Iddyr now”

She found Iddyr carefully pouring a pot of bubbling molten bronze into a mould. He had a whole team of lishas and hurums working for him, squeezing the forge’s bellows, cutting products out of moulds and sharpening blades. Iddyr’s manicured goatee had grown into a wild beard, and he stank of sweat and smoke.

“Damnit, I was just about to have a break”, he said with an exhausted smile once he saw the ingots Anka had brought, “Looks like we’ll be working through the night”

Nearby were small mountains of spears, swords, and arrows, and some other things Anka didn’t recognise. She picked one up, it looked like a misshapen bowl. Iddyr took it out of her hands and put it on her head.

“A helmet for hurums,” said Anka, “I never would have imagined something like that”

“Plenty of hurums want to fight. They’ll be our edge against the enemy, those arrogant lishas won’t know what hit them. But they can’t rush into battle unprotected, right? They’ve got to stay safe”

His eyes lingered in Anka’s. She had an ominous feeling he was about to say something she wouldn’t know how to respond to.

“I bet you’d never thought you’d go from making jewellery to weapons. Don’t worry too much about making them pretty!”

She turned to go, but she had barely walked two paces when Hyza suddenly appeared and caught her by the arm.

“I just wanted to say thank you for everything”

“I’m just playing my part,” said Anka, “like everyone else”

“But it was you and Oresh who came up with the New Sapphire Temple. No-one would be here if it wasn’t for you”

“To be honest, I’m surprised the idea caught on so fast,” said Anka, “we’re asking for a lot of faith”

“Paruans are tired of the dusk raiders,” said Hyza, “it’s been obvious for some time that the chiefs weren’t going to get rid of them. And the High Shaman might say that the Yrsti is one of our hallowed traditions, but there are a lot of lishas who don’t want to digest their friends and a lot of hurums who don’t want to be digested. You’ve showed us a way that our obsolete leaders never could, you’ve showed us that a better world is possible. That’s why everyone is following you”

“You mean everyone is following you and Lysta. There’s no chance the New Sapphire Temple would succeed if it was led by Oshuans”

“Listen, this is the last of my orokosa. I want you to have it”

Anka’s face turned red, “What? Why?”

Hyza shoved the gourd into Anka’s hands with a wink, “Why else?”

She flitted back into the crowd. Anka surreptitiously put the gourd into her pocket.

Feeling the need to leave the noise and bustle, she wound her way to the edge of the camp. There she found Lurush sitting on the edge of a cliff, staring out over Parua. The sea was a shimmering sliver on the horizon. The white walls of Niarush were just visible, standing on its high peninsula jutting out into the ocean.

“Do you think she’s still alive?” said Lurush, “Dila, I mean”

They knew Gilkush had brought all of the hurums from the Rush with him to Parua, but for all they knew they had all been eaten by now.

“I’m sure they’re too scared to eat her,” said Anka, “she’d give them a right tongue-lashing if they ever tried”

Lurush smiled weakly, “Please bring her back to me”

“I’ll try”

Someone cleared their throat behind them. It was Oresh.

“Would you like to go for a walk?” he said, shifting awkwardly on his feet

“That would be nice. Get some rest, Lurush”

Lurush nodded but kept staring at the horizon. Anka took Oresh’s outstretched hand, and they walked around the side of the hill. The Sun was about to set behind the mountains, casting majestic shadows that stretched across Parua. Both the sky and the land glowed like they had been painted with flowing gold. They found a spot away from the din of the camp, inhabited by a sole olive tree.

“You look good in that armour”, said Anka

“I’m still not used to it. It doesn’t suit me”

“That will change tomorrow”

Oresh looked her straight in the eyes, “It doesn’t have to be you”

“Yes it does. It needs to be a hurum they know, I’m the only person who qualifies”

“But-“

“No buts, I need to do this. In Kurush, I gave up on everything. This is the least I can do to atone for that. Now, look what Hyza gave me”  

She popped open the gourd and the noxious smell of orokosa wafted out. Oresh stepped back, his eyes fixed on the gourd as though it was a coiled snake about to spring.

“Isn’t this why you wanted some time alone with me?” said Anka, “Besides, who knows what will happen tomorrow, do you really want to live the rest of your life not knowing what I taste like?”

“Don’t talk like that, that’s not funny”

Anka stepped closer to him, “Look at those claws, those teeth. You’re not some disembodied spirit, you’re a wild beast. And we soft, yummy hurums are your natural prey. Come on, tell me what you are”

“I… I am a lisha”

“And what do you want to eat?”

Oresh gulped, “You”

He looked down at her with steady eyes. In them she could see that unmistakeable desire she hadn’t seen in him for years. He tentatively wrapped his hands around her chest, bent down and slowly, gently licked her cheek. She started breathing deeply, and warmth of anticipation spread from her heart to the tips of her fingers and toes.

She unfastened his bronze chest-plate and helped him take it off. He shakily pulled her tunic up and she wriggled out of it. Oresh’s mouth hung open slightly, his chest heaving, as he guzzled up the sight of Anka’s terracotta skin and the curves of her body. She took his hands and gracefully pulled him down to the ground. Anka lay on the slope, with Oresh propping himself over her, entranced by her tender-looking belly.

He leant down. She gasped when the wet tip of his tongue slipped into her bellybutton. He instantly jolted up as though he’d been stung, but his eyes were wide, as though he couldn’t believe what his tongue was telling him. He lowered himself back down and sedately led his tongue around the rim of her bellybutton.

“Do I taste good?” she asked breathlessly

Oresh nodded contentedly, “Once I saw this amazing cake being carried into the Rush, I can still remember all of the berries on top, the streams of honey. You’re how I imagine that cake tasted. Oh my, I’m starting to get really quite hungry. My stomach’s impatient for you”

“It’s waited long enough”

He picked up the gourd, “All of it?”

“Yes, and try to avoid any of it touching your tongue”

He downed the orokosa and his expression quickly soured, “By the Sun that’s horrible!”

“I told you!” she said giggling, “Nevermind, your tastebuds will forgive you in a moment”

He lifted up her feet, and she felt his hot breath on her toes as he carefully placed them in his mouth. He closed his eyes as his tongue leisurely explored every nook and cranny. Eventually he swallowed her feet and started moving up her legs little by little, as though every inch of her calves and thighs deserved time.

Anka was breathing deeply as more and more of her slowly but surely slipped into his throat. Her hands clasped his snout. His short, blunt teeth pressed into her delicate skin as he chewed lightly on her, she could tell he was enjoying the feel of such tender meat between his jaws. His eyes still closed, he wore the same blissful expression he always had when he was enjoying his food. His tongue was thoroughly caressing her sides, determined to collect every ounce of flavour, sometimes curling upwards so that the tip could tickle her bellybutton once again. With every stroke of his tongue, Oresh let out a quiet groan, each time a little louder and higher, until it sounded as though her taste was making him ascend to never-before reached realms of heavenly rapture. Anka’s soul was already swimming in a warm sea of pleasure as she felt his wet tongue rove across her skin and massage her flesh, making her feel like a delicacy. Finally, after all these years, she could give herself to him.

Soon after his nose had bumped into her bosom, Oresh stopped chewing and opened his eyes. Both of them breathing deeply, they looked deeply into each other’s eyes. Anka’s heart started pounding. He cradled her head in one hand, then lifted her into the air. She stretched her arms over her head as she felt herself slipping down, panting faster and faster, her mind crackling with excitement. He started gulping, and she descended into the hot, dark, saliva-drenched maw, trembling with exhilaration, crying out in delight as he jerkily swallowed the rest of her body, ecstatic in the knowledge she had become a wonderfully, unforgettably delicious meal for her beloved.

As soon as she curled up in the stomach, the slimy walls embraced her. Her whole body still tingling, she relaxed as the stomach began to knead its food. No thoughts drifted through her dazed mind, everything simply felt good, everything simply felt right. She closed her eyes, savouring the warm tranquillity, but was abruptly woken back up when the stomach started quivering, then suddenly clenched. She was squeezed upwards, and a moment later tumbled out of Oresh’s mouth. Once she had caught her breath, she turned to see him sobbing.

“What’s wrong?” she rushed to him, “Did it hurt?”

“You… you’re the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten. You must be the most delicious thing in the world”

Anka burst out laughing and slipped into his arms, “You’re very welcome”

Next chapter

Constructive criticism welcome

© Paul Bramhall