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.
Constructive criticism welcome
© Paul Bramhall
No comments:
Post a Comment