The Tribes of K'haren - Completed

Chapter 8.2

'Don't.'

The sound seemed to fall to the ground as if it were too heavy to stay in the air. Everything slowed down immediately. Nume's voice faded away but the word could still be felt. She didn't need to repeat it, Raf'ney-krush stared at her, suddenly looking very uncertain. His forked tongue licked over his lips several times as he was standing absolutely still otherwise.

'Don't hurt Kran.' Nume said, this time with more pressure. The begging in her voice was gone, replaced by a slight threat.

'Or what?' came Raf'ney-krush's late response.

Nume didn't reply. It wasn't necessary. She could see that he'd already abandoned his plan. Meanwhile, Sethara was approaching him from behind. The woman looked rather fascinated, which surprised Nume. Wasn't it Sethara who stopped him?

'Don't hurt her either.' Kran said weakly, but nobody seemed to hear it. It was meaningless at the time. He didn't understand what was going on, Nume saw his hands shaking violently and she knew he couldn't stand upright for much longer. Very gently, she pushed him down into a seated position. He obeyed without a struggle, there was no strength left in him.

'Put your sword down.' Nume said, not taking her eyes off Raf'ney-krush. She would never let him hurt Kran. Never again, a voice inside her mind corrected her. A spark of anger was lit somewhere deep down but she pushed it away, trying to concentrate.

Raf'ney-krush was still standing in the same position. When Sethara reached out for his raised arm, he lowered it slowly, sheathing his sword.

'Who are you?' His voice said in a tone he himself had never heard before.

'She's Nume. Don't you ever listen? You were warned, I told you this was going to happen...' Sethara said. Nume glanced at her for a moment before staring at him again.

'Yes, but, who is she?' Raf'ney-krush demanded, now looking at Sethara.

'Oh, she's a nobody, really. At least she was until she ran away. Now look at her, can't you see? You, of all, should know. You should recognise an outcast upon first sight.'

Raf'ney-krush's thoughts were racing. Outcast. He'd heard the word a thousand times. But only a few times had he heard it in a different sense. Somehow, he just knew that this was what Sethara was referring to.

'The outcast will come...' Raf'ney-krush repeated the words he'd heard as a mere child, decades ago. Centuries even.

'There you go.' Sethara was smiling happily. Raf'ney-krush eyed Nume up in disbelief. She was supposed to be the outcast? He saw the confusion in her face and when she spoke, her words had lost all weight but gained meaning.

'Let us go. We will not harm you nor anybody. We haven't done anything wrong.' Nume explained.

No more harm. No more wrong. The words echoed in Raf'ney-krush's head. Then he swore loudly. His bounty was lost, he'd never get the second half of his payment. Even if he didn't care about the old sayings, he couldn't possibly take the two back to their tribe with Sethara, a siren, on his heels.

'Leave me alone.' He said to Sethara. Nume's surprised 'What?' hardly reached his mind.

'No.' the siren spoke.

'I am no part of this. I never wanted to be. I am no part of anything. Leave me alone.' He said. His attempt to sound strong failed miserably.

'Yes you are.'

'Why me?'

'Why them?'

'That's not an answer.'

'Yes it is. Think.' Her eyes were shining with excitement.

When Raf'ney-krush understood, he sighed and started swearing again. He should have known. He should have known all along. For long enough now had he been hunting runaways, thieves, whores, bastards, all kinds of them, but never before had he hunted somebody who'd committed treason.

'What about the boy then?' He wanted to know.

'He is no less important than her. You see, the two of them don't work on their own. They wouldn't get anything done without each other's support...' Sethara explained. Nume hissed something at her but Raf'ney-krush didn't care to listen. For a moment there, he'd hoped to get at least a part of the second half of his payment. After all, it was the boy they really wanted. Now he had to accept that it was hopeless.

'But why?' He muttered.

'Because the time has come.' Sethara answered.

'Why me?' He repeated, knowing that he wouldn't get an answer anyway.

'I shall have to go now, take them to the Open Wound, show them your past. Nume, don't try to escape him, he's on our side now.' Sethara commanded. Before anybody could speak up, she was already gone.

Nume ignored Raf'ney-krush's loud swearing. She was too busy trying to find some water she could give to Kran. When she found a half emptied flask in one of the backpacks which were bound to the gseirut's gear, she quickly brought it to Kran. He wasn't unconscious but he wasn't fully there either. Despite his efforts, his eyes kept closing again and again and she had to hold the flask up to his mouth to make him drink at least a few gulps.

Raf'ney-krush climbed down, ran over to the baymout, mounted and yelled angrily. They disappeared in the distance only moments later. Might he finally leave them alone? No, all of his things were still on the gseirut's back. Nume was tempted to have a look at his bag but she didn't dare to.

As time passed, Kran was getting better. He was asleep now. The gseirut still didn't move, it was fast asleep, too, breathing heavily. When Nume got too nervous, she climbed down and started pacing up and down. What would they do now? Nume realised that she trusted Sethara now. But she didn't trust Raf'ney-krush. He was dangerous. He'd hurt Kran. Anger filled her just thinking about it.

She tried to distract herself by making a mental list of all the questions she had. There were so many of them. Who was he? A bounty hunter, probably. Who had sent him? Kran's parents, obviously. Why did Sethara send them into his trap? Nume didn't have a clue. He's on our side now, she had said. Was he really? Were they on a side? A side of what?

There is a race in K'haren... Nume went over the prophecy over and over again. Then she remembered Raf'ney-krush's words. The outcast will come. An outcast, who might that be? Judging by the previous conversation, she would have guessed it could be her herself, but she couldn't quite believe it. She was an outcast, no question there. The tribe would never accept her again. But Kran was an outcast, too. They only work together, Sethara had said. Well, it was somehow true, Nume had to admit that. Still she didn't like the thought of it. After all, she could theoretically do things on her own. Most of the time, she just didn't want to.

Nume plunked herself onto the ground. She suddenly realised how extremely tired she was. When she lay down, she felt every part of her body aching. The torment of the last night and the ride on the baymout had left its mark on her but it didn't hinder her from falling asleep nearly immediately.

// Finally, let them rest a little. What might the Open Wound be, though?