Authors: Tracy St. John
The sound of oncoming doom made Egilka
panic. It gave him strength to begin breaking free of Clajak. His
voice rose to a near shout. “The Tragoom slaves!”
Clajak ignored the answering squeals
that told him the Tragooms had heard Egilka’s cry, along with the
increased thunder of their quickening steps as they ran towards
them. Instead he held the Imdiko as tight as he could. He yelled
back, “I know, but Egilka you really have to stay still right
now!”
The jungle floor pitched violently
again as the Tragooms burst through the underbrush. They emerged
from the gloom mere yards away from the Kalquorians. Clajak wasn’t
sure if it was because they sighted their quarry or if they were
that afraid of their Bi’isil master, but the boulder-like Tragooms
took no notice of the coming attack. They squealed and rushed for
Clajak and Egilka.
Their charge didn’t last for more than
a few steps. A couple of nearby trees fell as the earth rocked with
increased violence. Only then did the Tragooms pause. Their tiny
eyes peered at the shuddering ground. Their triangular ears pivoted
with alarm on top of their snouted heads.
Clajak knew it was too late. He hugged
Egilka close as the sheclir raced through the underground, closing
the distance. He shouted over the growing din of ripping roots and
roaring earth. “Stay still, Imdiko, no matter what
happens.”
Egilka clung, practically climbing up
Clajak’s body in terror. “What the fuck is it, Clajak? What is
happening?”
His question was answered when the
sheclir burst out from the ground directly beneath the Tragooms.
The great creature reared up towards the dense canopy of the trees
overhead. Its soft grey-green worm body sent earth and brush
exploding in all directions. Clajak and Egilka were thrown to the
ground along with the flying debris. Clajak climbed on top of
Egilka to shield the Imdiko with his body as best he
could.
Even as he was peppered with the
wreckage of vegetation and great clods of dirt, Clajak couldn’t
take his eyes from the sheclir. Its eyeless head was not so much a
head as a gaping maw. The cavernous mouth opened wide to catch the
squalling Tragooms as gravity pulled them down into its throat.
There were a few dim shrieks before the enslaved creatures went
silent. Clajak’s stomach lurched as he thought of the ring of sharp
dagger teeth within the sheclir’s throat, strong enough to bite
into the armored hide of the Tragooms. As much as he despised that
scavenging race, he felt a stab of sympathy for the two slaves.
Being eaten alive was a horrible way to go.
The sheclir’s mouth end waved in the
air, seeking for more prey. The creature was huge, filling the sky
overhead. Yet It was only a fraction of the beast. The greater part
of it remained underground.
Clajak looked from the corner of his
eyes to check on Egilka. He didn’t dare to turn his head in the
Imdiko’s direction. Egilka was frozen against the ground beneath
the Dramok. His eyes looked ready to pop out of his head as he
stared at the nightmare looming overhead. His mouth gaped open in a
silent scream.
The sheclir descended, sliding back
into the hole it had created. The earth beneath the Kalquorians
rumbled as it accepted its fearful inhabitant back into its
embrace. The sheclir’s return to below ground was leisurely. It
felt like it took hours before it disappeared from
sight.
The departure was like distant thunder,
quiet compared to the sheclir’s raucous arrival. Clajak guessed it
moved through the tunnel it had created on its way here, tracing
its way back to familiar routes and usual feeding grounds. Bit by
bit, the sounds of its passage faded until silence reigned. Moments
later, the jungle around the Kalquorians spoke with life as insects
returned to buzz and other creatures called from distant
parts.
Clajak remained still. He crouched over
Egilka, who also seemed in no hurry to ever move again. Little by
little, the Dramok’s heart rate slowed. His respiration went from
forceful pants to quieter exhalations. He counted off the minutes
until he thought the sheclir might be far enough away to chance
standing.
He did so, getting to his feet as
silently as a well-trained Nobek. Clajak held out his hand to
Egilka, offering to help him to his feet. There was a long beat
before the Imdiko took the invitation. His grip shook, but Clajak
didn’t comment on it. Instead, he nodded approval when Egilka stood
as quietly as Clajak had.
His voice a low mutter, the Dramok
said, “I think the sheclir moved off far enough. We’re going to run
back out of the jungle now, but we need to exit somewhere different
from where we entered. Ru’imbu may have more of his damned slaves
waiting for us where we came in.”
Egilka looked as if he didn’t want to
move a single step. “Will that thing come back? Can it hear
us?”
Clajak nodded. “It can, so you have to
pay close attention to the ground. If you feel the slightest
tremor, stop. The sheclir is attracted to rhythmic sounds like
footsteps.”
The Imdiko looked terrified. The
expression made Clajak’s chest ache. He stroked the strands of
soaked hair that had escaped Egilka’s ponytail back from his face.
“We’ll be okay. Just follow me and do as I tell you.”
Egilka swallowed. Darkness filled his
eyes. When he spoke, bitterness poured from his lips. “I think I
hate you, Clajak. I’m tired of chasing after you and running for my
life. Do you hear me?”
Clajak’s gut twisted at the words.
However, he knew he had to concentrate on getting Egilka to safety
... to get him the fuck off Dantovon, away from sheclirs, Tragooms,
and vengeful Bi’isils.
He told the Imdiko, “I hear you. I
swear it’s going to be all right. I’m going to get you out of this.
Trust me.”
“The fuck I do.”
Egilka looked on the brink
of tears. Clajak swallowed back the nausea that rose in his
throat.
Get him safe. You can fix this
later,
his mind insisted.
He wasn’t so sure he could fix it. In
fact, it seemed pretty certain he couldn’t.
Keeping his priorities in order, Clajak
told Egilka, “Run until you feel the ground shake or I tell you to
stop. Come on.”
Clajak turned and pulled Egilka after
him. The Imdiko’s hand shook in his grip. By the ancestors, Clajak
had never intended to put his intended clanmate through such a
shitstorm. He couldn’t begin to imagine how to rectify his many
sins.
Egilka felt wrecked. The route Clajak
led them on meant hiding in the dangerous jungle for hours. Most of
that time was spent standing still, barely breathing as the ground
twitched beneath their feet. Egilka thought he’d never leave the
smothering canopy of the trees. He became convinced that in the end
he’d disappear into the maw of one of the hideous sheclirs,
swallowed whole like the Tragooms.
The first few times they stopped and
waited out the approach of a sheclir, Egilka stared at Clajak. He
thought about how much he hated the young prince. If this was what
a lifetime of clanning with the Dramok meant, Egilka was intent on
opting out. Screw duty. Screw the betrothal agreement he’d made
with the Imperial Clan. Maybe Egilka and his Imdiko father would
get back on speaking terms once he was free of the crown prince.
They might work together again, embarking on a new phase of
research that would help Egilka keep his promise to Cyrt’s
memory.
As time passed however, Egilka felt
less and less enmity for his companion. The looks of pained guilt
Clajak sent his way spoke of sincere regret for what had happened.
He remembered Clajak had been quick to throw his body over the
Imdiko’s when the sheclir had attacked the Tragooms. He’d shielded
Egilka from the flying debris that had rained all about
them.
Perhaps Clajak did care for him. The
man was doing his damnedest to get Egilka to safety.
Egilka also couldn’t shake feeling
responsible for Clajak after so many years of helping to guide him
to manhood. Who knew what kind of Imdiko Clajak would replace
Egilka with? Even his parents’ influence might not ensure the crown
prince would find someone sensible enough to keep him out of
trouble.
The thought of Clajak with another
Imdiko brought a throb of hurt to Egilka’s chest. At that moment he
knew he wouldn’t break their agreement. Mother of All Creation help
him, but he would see this clanship through. It would probably kill
him, but Egilka knew he couldn’t walk away from Clajak.
At last Clajak angled for the edge of
the jungle, bringing them to the boundary of the city once more.
The two men passed through the containment, taking them out of the
range of the sheclir. Egilka sighed with relief. His body
sagged.
Clajak turned to him and looked him
over. “Sit down, Imdiko. Rest a moment while I check on
things.”
Egilka would have loved nothing more
than to sag to the brushy ground, to relax after what felt like
hours in the jungle. However, it was hot in the blazing sunlight
and he was parched. Looking at the first buildings of the city, he
envisioned a nice, cool bar with oceans of drinks to soothe his
burning throat. He thought longingly of the shower in his quarters
at the inn, of turning it on cold and standing beneath its spray
for an hour or two. In fact, that building shimmering in the heat
in the distance looked just like the inn, beckoning him to come in
and rest.
Egilka’s eyes widened. That was the inn
where Empress Irdis had booked his room. Clajak had brought them
practically to its doorstep.
“Look where we are,” he said, his voice
weak and cracking. “Home sweet temporary home.”
“Not quite.” Clajak’s eyes narrowed as
he stared at the city sweltering in the heat. “I’m sure Ru’imbu has
a welcoming committee waiting for us. I need to check the situation
out before we march into a trap.”
The surge of joy that had sprung up in
Egilka’s heart fizzled. Clajak was right. It would have been all
too easy for Ru’imbu to discover where his lodgings were. The
Imdiko had little doubt a great deal of unpleasantness awaited them
at the inn. He had the urge to lie down on the ground and cry. And
never move again.
Instead, Egilka drew himself up and
pretended to be strong. “Don’t bother,” he said, putting a
restraining hand on Clajak’s arm. “The little bastard is determined
to string you up by your dicks. There is no question he’s waiting
for us there. We should cut our losses and head for the space
port.”
Clajak’s smile was a bitter, nasty
thing filled with self-recrimination. “With what, my Imdiko? Our
transport home is long gone by now.” He nodded at the sky and the
sun which had started its downward arc. Egilka blinked, startled to
realize it hadn’t just felt like hours in the jungle.
Clajak’s anger built higher. “Thanks to
me, we’ve missed our chance to escape Ru’imbu and his ridiculous
sense of insult.”
“So we head to the space port anyway.
We can buy passage to another place, like Joshada or one of the
stations where transports headed to Kalquor regularly
stop.”
“Again, with what?” Clajak nodded
towards Egilka’s waist. “When the Tragooms attacked us, we both
lost our belts with our identifications, money, and
handhelds.”
Egilka started and checked himself.
Clajak was right. He’d been so busy worrying about being eaten by a
sheclir that he’d never realized his belt had
disappeared.
“I brought my backup handheld computer
with me. It’s in my room. With it, we’d have access to funding and
documentation,” Egilka said.
Clajak nodded. “I have the same in my
lodgings. That’s why I’m willing to risk getting caught to see if
there is any chance to get to our belongings. Otherwise, we’re in a
tight corner with little hope of escape.”
Egilka licked his dry lips with his
equally dry tongue. “I’m going with you.”
Clajak shook his head. “Too dangerous.
You’re done in, and I can move faster on my own.” He smiled an
apology, taking Egilka’s hand in his. “I fucked everything up. Let
me fix it.”
Egilka knew Clajak was right. The
prince no doubt knew his way out of a scrape far better than a
home-bound research scientist. Plus Egilka was so exhausted that he
could barely think. Yet he knew there was no way he could bear to
let Clajak out of his sight.
“Don’t leave me alone,” Egilka said,
knowing he begged but unable to stop himself. “If anything happens
to you, I’ll be waiting here forever without knowing it. Nothing
will finish me off faster than that.”
Clajak eyed him, concern plain on his
handsome face. After a few moments, he nodded. “All right. We stick
together. But if I tell you to run, get your ass back in the jungle
as fast as you can, Imdiko. Don’t wait for me.
Understood?”
That note of a Dramok’s command rang in
Egilka’s ears. He nodded agreement before he considered Clajak’s
words. “Understood.”
Within minutes, running back into the
jungle was exactly what the two men did. They’d drawn close to the
inn to find the area was patrolled not only by Ru’imbu’s Tragoom
slaves, but also local spies. Apparently the Bi’isil prince had
paid off a number of people to keep watch for the Kalquorians.
Clajak and Egilka saw collared Tragooms standing watch for them
when a cry went up from the window of a nearby building.
Dantovonians and other aliens raced out onto the street as the
Tragooms stampeded in their direction. With the sudden adrenaline
rush, Egilka no longer felt his exhaustion. His long legs
outdistanced Clajak as they raced back to the cover of trees and
hunting sheclirs.