Staroz was carrying two hurums – one on his shoulder in a sack, the other in his belly. Both were wriggling and writhing, their screams muffled. To anyone who saw him, it was quite obvious what he had done. But it was the dead of night in the alleys of the Ekuan quarter, and to any of the tramps he encountered all he needed to do was bare his teeth and they would avert their gaze.
He realised that for the first time in a long time, maybe
ever, he felt satisfied, and not just because of the warm glow that came with
having a belly full of delicious food. He’d spent his childhood as a
punching-bag for his father, and after he died he’d spent his life scrounging a
living doing odd-jobs and heavy lifting for lishas and hurums who looked down their
noses at him. Now he was living the life of a hunter, the natural way of life
for a lisha. He didn’t need to work for snobs to eat anymore, he found his own
food. And so that he could pay his rent, he hunted hurums for lishas who wished
they had his skillset. They even paid handsomely enough for him to afford a few
treats. The other day he’d bought himself an elegantly simple bronze dagger.
Waiting for him at the back entrance of a disused warehouse
was Lydda. The warehouse had nothing but empty shelves, lit only by moonlight
peeking through cracks in the ceiling. Staroz dropped the sack onto the floor
and plonked himself onto a bench, which audibly groaned. Lydda crouched down to
unwrap the package, revealing a blonde hurum woman who was bound, gagged and
shaking. Lydda licked her lips.
“Who are they?”
“This one” Staroz patted his bulging stomach, “is Elyra, I’ve
known her since we were kids. I’ve eaten her with orokosa a few times, I
thought it was time for her to finally meet her destiny. That one, I don’t
know. She was unlucky enough to be talking to my friend when I found her. Sounds
weird, saying she was my friend. Hurums are basically animals, after all”
Lydda shrugged, “They can be good company. I’ve got nothing
against them, but what else do we have to eat? It’s either them or us, I’m not
going to let myself starve to death just because they can crack a joke”
“Listen, why don’t we go hunting around the high market
tomorrow night?” said Staroz, “Maybe we could catch one of those Sapphire
priestesses, they look so delicious! And Oshuan girls are so gullible, they’re
so used to everything going their way”
“No, the client won’t buy them. Think about it, imagine
paying for a hurum and it turns out it’s someone you know. It would be very
awkward. They’d probably ask for a refund”
“I bet some lishas would pay double to eat someone they
know. Maybe we could take requests”
A giant of a lisha with a scar across one eye loomed out of
the darkness. No-one doubted that Hastoz was the most powerful lisha in the
Ekuan quarter. Staroz was sure that his late father would have been proud to
know his son was working for such a man.
“It’s too risky,” said Hastoz, “we simply provide undercover
catering. Lydda, take this one down to the basement. There’s an empty amphora
waiting. Then get some rest, you’ll be taking this batch up to the Rush
tomorrow afternoon”
“Shouldn’t we take them up at night?” asked Staroz
“No, we take them up when it’s busy. The guards will just
want us through the gate as quickly as possible, and they won’t hear any noise.
Not that there will be any noise, will there missy?”
Hastoz leant down to glower at the whimpering girl on the
floor. She shook her head.
“Good girl. It will be easier for you if you accept your
place in the food chain”
There was a knock at the backdoor. Faster than the wind,
Lydda sprang towards the door, drew her dagger and grabbed the collar of the
trespasser’s black toga. Staroz jumped up from the bench, only to lose his
balance and fall on his face.
“Lydda, stop! He’s a good man!”
“Who are you?” said Lydda
“My name is Kyroz. We have a mutual friend in the guard, he
told me where I could find you”
“Let him go, Lydda,” said Hastoz, “What do you want? Are you
here to buy?”
“That’s certainly tempting,” said Kyroz, eying the girl on
the floor, “but I’m quite capable of finding my own food. No, I’m just here
because I want to meet the lishas with the courage to reshape the world as the
Sun always intended”
He pushed past Lydda and stood over the hurum.
“They are weak and pathetic. They only know how to connive
and worm their way into the good graces of naïve lishas. They’re destroying
Kurush from the inside. It’s time they understood where they belong”
He pointed to Staroz’s stomach.
“Yes! There! That’s what I like to see, a strong lisha
taking what he’s owed. I hope to see Kurush filled with lishas like you one
day”
“I’ve always been strong,” said Staroz, “but since I started
digesting hurums, I’ve felt even stronger. Like I could move mountains”
Kyroz put a hand on his shoulder, “Good lad. I’m sure you
could if you put your mind to it”
“A word to the wise, boy,” said Hastoz, “keep your eyes on
the money, not on grand tales. Ekuans have revolted against the Oshuans a dozen
times since they came to this island. None succeeded. I would know, I fought in
the last one nine years ago. An Oshuan soldier gave me this scar. They’re not
going anywhere, just milk them as much as you can”
“What does it matter if a lisha’s scales are gold or green?”
said Kyroz, “What matters is whether a lisha is intelligent enough to see
through hurums’ lies. Your revolution ignored that, that’s why it failed so
spectacularly”
Staroz saw Hastoz’s fists clench and tremble with rage, he
put himself between the two lishas.
“Let’s calm down, we’re on the same side, we’re a-“
The blow was so strong and unexpected that he blacked out
for a few seconds. Then Staroz realised that he was sprawled on the floor, and
that his muzzle was in searing pain. There was a bloody tooth in front of his
eyes. He felt Elyra twist and turn in his stomach, he mustered all of his will
to keep her down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl in the sack silently
crawl towards the door, no doubt hoping that her captors were distracted. She
squealed when Lydda picked her up off the ground and carried her down into the
basement.
“We’re done for tonight,” said Hastoz, “go home”
Constructive criticism welcome
© Paul Bramhall
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