Anka woke up feeling exhausted. She lay motionless in bed, with no reason to get up. Opposite her was the mosaic of Lurush’s head with her creepy smile. To Lurush, she was nothing but a hostage and a potential meal, yet her mansion was the closest thing Anka had to a refuge. There’s simply nowhere in the world that’s safe for me, she thought, I’m just killing time.
She heard distant screams – was that what had woken her? Outside
the sky was dark and smoke was rising from the other side of the Rush’s walls.
Dila burst into her room, her face pale, “There are soldiers
at the door”
“Isn’t Goresh here?”
“He’s with Lurush, there’s a meeting of the Ikark. What
could they want? What do we do?”
Anka sighed and laboriously rolled out of bed, “Let’s just
go”
She went downstairs with Dila sheepishly tailing her and
opened the door to the street. Both soldiers had a strange symbol drawn on
their foreheads.
“Are there any other hurums here?” said one
“Nope”
“We need you to come with us. This is for your protection”
Anka knew he was lying, “Okay”
Dila grabbed Anka’s arm, “Are you sure?”
“Would you prefer to fight them?”
Anka went down the steps to the street, and hesitantly Dila
followed after closing the door. The Rush was unusually quiet, the only pedestrians
they saw were other hurums being escorted by soldiers in the same direction.
The silence only made it easier to hear the shouts and screams coming from
outside the Rush. Above them hung an all-enveloping black cloud turned fiery by
the light of the setting Sun.
They were led to Gilkush’s mansion, and passed into the care
of other soldiers once they crossed the threshold of the door set into the
shimmering mosaic of the sunset. The crowd of hurums inside was so thick it was
hard to move. Anka and Dila bumped into Lurush’s friend Sasha and her son Polur.
“What a bore this all is, eh? Hey you,” said Sasha to a
passing lisha, “get me a drink, I’m dying of thirst here. Don’t ignore me, who
do you think I am? What terrible service”
Erisha approached them, her beautifully sculpted face gaunt
and lifeless. Behind her was a lisha soldier.
“Anka, it’s so good to see you again,” she couldn’t even
crack a fake smile, “could you come with me?”
Anka could see the glint of a tear in her eye, “Sure.
Goodbye, Dila”
Erisha led her out of the crowd and into the bowels of the
mansion. They arrived at the kitchen, where a lisha woman wearing an apron was
waiting.
“I’m guessing you’re the chef?” said Anka
“That’s right”
Anka sighed, “Okay, let’s get this over with”
Erisha left without a word. The soldier watched on as the
chef removed Anka’s tunic and sandals, then lifted her up and placed her into a
large bowl on the counter. Maroon cuts inflicted by Kisha’s teeth the previous
night dotted her chest and back. After pouring a jug of water over her, the
chef started scrubbing her down with a cloth. The chef’s hands were so firm and
thorough it felt like a massage, and all the while she kept her snout close to
Anka, savouring her aroma.
“It must be frustrating to prepare a meal you can’t have
yourself”, said Anka
“You have no idea”
Once she was so clean that she was a little sore, the chef
tied her ankles together and then her wrists with two lengths of sturdy rope.
Kneeling in the bowl, with the soldier close behind, she was carried out and up
the mansion’s grand staircase, surrounded by frescoes of soaring birds and
ethereal clouds. In the study at the peak of the mansion, she was lain in one
of the gigantic gravy boats that stood on a plinth. The other was already
occupied.
“Didn’t I tell you?” said Myra with a grim smile
“Yup”
The sound of laughter came from the staircase. Moments
later, Gilkush and Kyroz swaggered in, their eyes alight with desire.
“What a wonderful sight!” said Gilkush, “In all my days, I
have never seen a more wonderful sight!”
Kyroz scurried over to Myra and started whispering in her
ear, much to her chagrin.
“I’m surprised,” said Anka as Gilkush leant over her licking
his lips, “I was expecting Ragur to be the one”
“Oh believe me he begged, he was on his knees, but there is
no chance I am letting anyone else have you. You see, on that fateful night ten
years ago, your parents came round to my house with some fish they had caught.
But it wasn’t enough. Your mother was absolutely scrumptious, she was the most
delicious, most satisfying meal I’ve had in my life. I’ll never forget her
taste. If you’re anything like her, you’ll be exquisite. I was rather hoping to
have your sister too, to think that some pleb ate her instead…”
Anka’s eyes grew cloudy, “A-and my father?”
Gilkush grinned, “You may remember, Tiuk and I were lovers
back then. She may pretend to be above such desires, but she’s as much a lisha
as I am, and that night she was as famished as the rest of us. It didn’t take
long for me to get tired of her griping about how guilty she felt, she looked
like she enjoyed your father quite a bit,” his stomach growled impatiently, “But
enough about the past, it’s time to celebrate today’s victory. And I cannot
think of a better way to celebrate than this!”
As he poured thick sauce along the length of her body, she started
breathing deeply. Strawberry and peach, with a sprinkling of mint, a dollop of
honey and a hint of cinnamon, just as he had always planned. The situation
didn’t feel real. The lisha who ate my mother is about eat me, she thought, I
should be exploding with rage and terror. But I’m not moving a muscle, I’m not
saying anything, I’m not feeling anything, I’m just going to let him do what he
wants with me. It’s absurd, but what’s the point of doing anything? What’s the
point of fighting when he has me exactly where he wants me? This is simply my
fate.
Gilkush moved to the spout of the boat, where Anka’s feet
rested. With drool dripping from his jaws, he savoured the sight of Anka lain
before him one last time before carefully lifting her feet into his mouth. She
lay her head back and felt his breath on her toes, his tongue on her soles. Then
Kisha burst into the room.
“Tiuk is in the Rush, she breached the gate!”
Gilkush spat out Anka’s feet, “By the fucking Sun Kisha, not
now!”
“I’m sorry sir, but looters and arsonists followed her in.
We can’t guarantee the security of this mansion, we need to evacuate. Right
now”
Anka’s eyes met Kisha’s for a second. Is this just a ploy to
save me from Gilkush’s belly, in the hope that she’ll get me in hers again?
Anka thought.
“Fine, fine, let me speak to the hurums,” said Gilkush, “We
don’t want them getting jittery. Don’t worry, I’ll be back for you Anka”
“Kisha, don’t let Tiuk reach the Palace of the Ikark,” said
Kyroz, “We can’t let her take the heart of Kurush”
Kisha nodded, then followed Gilkush down the staircase with
the other soldiers.
“Well Myra,” said Kyroz, “at long last, it’s time for you to
meet your destiny”
“I hope I give you excruciating constipation”
Myra squirmed in disgust as Kyroz guzzled up her legs and
his tongue thoroughly savoured the taste of her lean body. As she writhed in
his mouth, she kept her eyes locked on Anka’s. Her eyes were steely as she
braced for the fate she had long known awaited her, with a good measure of
silent fury at the lisha taking such pleasure from her. But Anka could see the
hint of a tear, the sad wish for a different fate, the fear of never seeing
light again, the desperation to not be alone in her final moments. They didn’t
say a word to each other as Kyroz chewed and licked and slurped and groaned.
She started panting with fear when he started gulping. With
each jolt, more and more of her slipped into the throat, until her petrified
face stared out from the back of his mouth. He swallowed and she disappeared.
Kyroz staggered, his head thrown back, his arms raised to the heavens, his eyes
closed as if he was experiencing some divine ecstasy. He stood there in quiet
contemplation of Myra’s taste.
“It is done!”
He walked out of the room, not even glancing at Anka. Alone
and bound, she lay in her boat, a dinner waiting for her diner. Gilkush’s study
grew dark as the sun set. At first she treasured each minute that passed, but
as time wore on the tension made her wish he would return and get it over with
as soon as possible. Her heart and mind were laggard, but the anticipation of
her impending devouring would not let her sleep. In the eerie silence, her
thoughts wandered to her mother, her father, her sister. An unfortunate family,
whose only legacy would be as four good meals.
Her heart started racing when she heard footsteps. Someone
was running up the staircase. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, she told herself.
Then it felt like a bubble burst inside her when Tiuk appeared in the doorway,
her blood-stained glaive in her hand. Her eyes swept across the room before she
noticed the boats.
“Anka? What are you doing here? Nevermind, where’s Gilkush?”
“Isn’t he downstairs? With all the hurums?”
“The whole mansion’s deserted”, said Tiuk
“They said something about evacuating…”
“Evacuating? Where to? Maybe they’ve holed up in the Palace”
Tiuk tore the rope around her wrists and ankles with her
claws.
“You’re not going to eat me? Like you ate my father?”
Tiuk opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. Anka
subjected her to an unwavering glare, demanding a confession.
“Gilkush told you,” Tiuk sighed, “I know giving you excuses
won’t help, I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but please understand that
for ten years the weight of my shame has crushed me. I’m sorry for taking him
away from you Anka, I’m so sorry”
Anka wanted to tell her that she thought about her parents
everyday, that she knew her life would entirely different if they were still
there to protect her and Shanessa, but she choked as a sorrow buried deep
within her welled up. An irresistible wave of grief, anger and fear washed over
her and she wailed like a hysterical child. She knew the noise spewing from her
mouth was horrible, but it had been waiting to come out for ten years and there
was no stopping it. Tiuk tore a lavish indigo curtain from the window and
wrapped Anka in it.
“Let’s talk about this later. We need to get you to safety”
Tiuk ran down the staircase with Anka in her arms. Being
rescued by the lisha who ate her father, carried like a swaddled baby, the
strawberry sauce making her skin clammy, her eyes burning as tears streamed
down her cheeks, she somehow felt even more humiliated than when she was being
served for dinner. There was not a single other soul in the mansion, the grand
hallways and corridors were silent.
When they reached the street, they found Lurush bent over
huffing and puffing, with Goresh close behind.
“Dila? Where is she?”
“Gilkush has her”, said Anka
“I’ll get her back,” said Tiuk, “but you three need to get
to safety. Go to the docks and get on a boat. Now”
She handed Anka over to Goresh, then charged towards the
Palace of the Ikark, glaive in hand, without another word. Only then did Anka
notice that the end of Tiuk’s tail was missing.
Constructive criticism welcome
© Paul Bramhall
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