Midnight Thief (22 page)

“Well fought, Pashla,” he said. “The clan will abide by this decision. The halfblood stays with us until she heals.”

T H I R T Y - T H R E E

A
s tension from the fight faded away, pain from Kyra’s wounds came rushing back. Demon Riders surrounded Pashla, completely blocking the clanswoman from view. Kyra watched them, swaying side to side as her balance left her, wondering if the Makvani had forgotten her in the excitement. From Leyus’s pronouncement, she gathered that she was safe, but beyond that, she was lost. Another clanswoman took Kyra’s arm and she stifled a scream.

“Come,” said the clanswoman. “I will take you back.”

“But Pashla—”

“She will see you when she’s ready.”

Kyra was too exhausted to resist. The clanswoman escorted her back, and Kyra spent the rest of the day drifting in and out of sleep. The forest was quiet during the afternoon, but as it grew dark, Kyra couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. Occasionally, between layers of cricket chirps and cicada calls, she thought she heard footsteps. When she closed her eyes, she saw snapping teeth and flying fur.

Halfway through the night, Kyra awoke to a racket she couldn’t ignore. Something was crashing through the underbrush. She scrambled unsteadily to her feet, gasping at a jolt of pain through her middle as a doe lurched into view, falling to its knees a stone’s throw from Kyra’s shelter. Before Kyra could react, a demon cat burst through the trees, knocking the deer over with a massive paw and closing its jaws around its throat. The doe kicked at the air and fell lifeless.

Kyra edged out of her shelter, shocked by the brutal kill, yet drawn to the raw display of strength. The demon cat paid her no heed as it tore into the deer’s flank, ripping away chunks of flesh. There were more crashing sounds, both from the ground and the trees above her, as other demon cats arrived. The other cats watched from a distance, amber eyes reflecting the moonlight, tails swishing in anticipation. Finally, the first cat raised its head, shook itself, and loped away. One by one, the others took their turn, each tearing off a chunk of meat or limb. As in the Challenge, Kyra was once again struck by the strange coexistence of brutality and intelligence. The cats followed some sequence that Kyra could not understand. Once or twice, a cat approached the kill only to be chased away with a warning growl. It was frightening. Horrifying. Yet she found herself moving closer.

Another growl stopped her—not the short growl to warn others away from the kill, but a deep-throated snarl that froze Kyra in her tracks. A light-colored cat with brown stripes across its legs turned from the deer and advanced on Kyra. A few other demon cats jumped between the two of them, only to move away when the striped cat bared its teeth. Kyra stumbled back, mind spinning. Hadn’t Leyus ruled that she was to be spared? But the cat came closer, its eyes narrowed in rage.

An arm reached out from behind her and thrust her aside. Pashla—in human form—pushed herself in front of Kyra.

“Leave her be. You’ll honor the Challenge.”

The striped cat bared its fangs and moved to step around the clanswoman. Pashla narrowed her eyes and hissed—as if she were still in her fur. The beast was twice her size and could have gutted her with a swipe of its paw, but Pashla exuded an authority that somehow evened the scales. Other demon cats moved in, forming a protective wall between the two of them. For a long, tense moment, nobody moved. Kyra held her breath, not daring to do anything lest she push the fragile standoff in the wrong direction. Finally, the striped cat turned and disappeared into the trees. Pashla’s shoulders relaxed, and the other cats directed their attention to what was left of the deer carcass. The clanswoman put an arm around Kyra and guided her back to the shelter.

“That was Brona’s widow,” Pashla said. “She blames you for his death.” The clanswoman might as well have been telling her that it would be a warm day. Kyra found that she was shaking.

“You’d be wise to stay away from the others when they are in cat form,” said Pashla as Kyra lowered herself to the ground. “At least until those who mourn Brona have a chance to get over their grief.”

“Only when they’re in cat form?”

“Leyus wants you alive, and the clan will obey. But it’s hard to control our impulses when we’re in our fur. Instincts and emotions take over. That’s why some of us take human form during the raids, to keep the others from going too far. I don’t think Brona’s widow, as much as she hates you, would attack you if she were in her skin.”

Hard to control our impulses.
Just like the felbeasts of legend. This was the blood that ran through Kyra’s veins? “Mayhap I’ll avoid her completely, just to be safe.”

Pashla gave a small smile, and Kyra suddenly noticed the stiffness with which the clanswoman held herself. Fresh scars crisscrossed the Demon Rider’s arms and neck, angry lines in the moonlight.

“You’ve defended me twice now, at risk to yourself.” Kyra was unable to keep the question out of her voice.

Pashla waved away her words. “You became my ward when I saved you. I wouldn’t nurse you to life just to hand you over to die. And you should not feel responsible for what happened. The question of your fate was important, but it only went to Challenge because Brona wanted to get rid of me.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Challenge,” said Pashla, “is a right of anyone with Makvani blood. The humans you lived with have a layered society. Those born poor are doomed to subservience. It’s different with us. Not all our clan members have equal status, but no matter what rank we hold in the clan, we can always petition the clan leader for our right to Challenge. It’s a fight to the death, and the clan honors the outcome.”

Pashla paused, fingering one of her new scars. “The Challenge is sacred, but some will bend it to their purposes. Brona and I had long been enemies for…various reasons. The Challenge was a way to get me out of the way, or at least dishonor me if I refused to fight.”

“So you could have refused. You didn’t have to risk your life for me.”

Pashla shrugged, her face serene in the moonlight. “Dying in Challenge is an honorable death. And Brona had always been overconfident.”

Over the next few days, Kyra started noticing patterns. Late morning and early afternoon were quiet, and the clan woke when the sun set. As Kyra became more attuned to signs of their presence, she glimpsed them moving through the trees at night and in the early mornings, though they never came close. She asked Pashla why the others never approached her.

“They watch, but they are wary,” she said. “In time, they will come.”

One evening, two young clanswomen wandered within view of her shelter. Kyra watched them from where she rested, eyes half closed in the semi-drowsy state that still overtook her waking hours. To her surprise, they didn’t disappear back into the trees, but came closer. They looked about her age. One clanswoman was tall with large eyes and wispy brown hair that curled around a slender neck. The other was smaller, with pale, almost white skin that contrasted with her straight black hair. The two approached cautiously but deliberately. Like Pashla, they moved with Makvani grace, although they didn’t have Pashla’s air of quiet confidence. Kyra finally roused herself and climbed to her feet.

“You are Kyra, the halfblood,” said the taller one.

“I am,” Kyra said warily.

“I am Mela, and this is Adele.”

For a moment, they stood without speaking. “We brought you some berries,” Adele finally said. She took a handful out of a pouch around her neck and held them out.

The two of them didn’t look hostile, and Kyra opened her hands, letting Adele dump the berries into her palms. She paused, completely at a loss about Makvani etiquette. “Would you like to join me?” she finally asked.

The clanswomen nodded, and they settled down on the floor of Kyra’s shelter. Kyra carefully placed a berry into her mouth. It was good—plump, sweet, and a little tart. She let the juices pool under her tongue, hesitant to swallow, but then decided her companions had easier ways to harm her than to give her bad berries.

Mela straightened and looked Kyra in the eye. The sun had almost completely set, but like other Makvani, she seemed unfazed by talking in the dark. “Did you really grow up amongst the humans?” she asked.

The questions both relieved Kyra and put her on her guard. It seemed that these two were simply curious, but Kyra didn’t know what was safe to share. “I had no idea I was anything but human,” she said.

Mela leaned forward eagerly, her earlier caution falling to the wayside. “What are they like?”

“I—I don’t know. I guess I’ve nothing to compare them to.”

“How do humans live so closely packed all the time?” asked Mela. “I would go mad.”

Kyra realized that she’d never seen the Makvani gathered together for long periods of time. They’d come together for the clan gathering and the deer kill, but otherwise, Kyra never saw more than two or three together at once. “Don’t the Makvani live in groups?”

“Yes, but not piled on top of each other like humans.” Mela shrugged. “It keeps the peace. Though I suppose it’s good for us that the humans are so closely packed. It makes for easier hunting.”

Kyra felt bile rise in her throat. “Do you…hunt the humans?”

Adele shook her head. “Just their livestock, though it’s a different matter if they get in our way. It would be strange, hunting them, since they look so much like us.”

“Do you ever trade for their livestock?”

Both clanswomen looked curiously at her. “You have strange ideas, halfblood,” Mela said. “Should we bring clover to the bees for their honey?”

Kyra hesitated to respond. Thankfully, Mela seemed more interested in their previous topic, because her eyes lit up mischievously. “Perhaps the humans live in crowded groups because all their females bear children. They multiply too quickly to spread out.”

Adele gave Mela a long-suffering look. “That is not the reason. They only have one child at a time, whereas our mothers have many.”

Kyra got the impression that the fair-skinned girl often talked her friend out of fanciful ideas. She wondered what it would have been like to grow up with these two as sisters. They reminded her of serving girls, in the way they spoke and acted.

“What do you mean by ‘all their females bear children’?” asked Kyra.

Mela raised her eyebrows. “Do they not? If they choose to?”

“I suppose so, but—”

“Not all our women take mates,” Mela interrupted. “Leyus chooses the ones who can be mothers. The rest of us help with their children, but do not have any of our own.”

“You’re forbidden from taking mates unless Leyus approves?”

Mela shrugged. “The clan can only support so many.”

It was a strange concept, but on the other hand, it didn’t seem worse than the noble men and women in Forge whose marriages were dictated by politics.

“Pashla will be chosen this time,” said Adele quietly. “Especially since she fought so well in the Challenge.”

Mela tossed her head, making her curls bounce lightly on her shoulders. “I’m glad. Brona got what he deserved.”

“Wait.” Kyra pounced on the topic. “What do Brona and the Challenge have to do with it?”

“Brona was a—” Mela stopped at Adele’s warning glance. “Brona and Pashla never liked each other. They disagreed about many things, from where we should travel to our dealings with James. When it became clear that Leyus would allow a new clanswoman to take a mate, we knew Brona would try something. He wanted his sister to be chosen, but Leyus favored Pashla. It wasn’t right for him to abuse the Challenge though.” Mela looked indignantly at Adele. “I can say that. It’s true.”

Adele sighed. “I do think Pashla would make a better mother than Naleh. She sees things differently sometimes, but she’s good with the young ones, and patient. I’ll wager she’s patient with you too, Kyra.”

A roar echoed through the forest, similar to the one Kyra had heard the morning of the clan gathering. Treetops rustled in the distance, as if demon cats were traveling. Both Makvani girls turned toward the sound.

“Leyus calls,” said Mela. The two of them licked the berry juice off their fingers and stood.

“Should I—” Kyra paused.

Mela and Adele exchanged a look. “This gathering is not for you, halfblood,” said Adele. She gave Kyra an apologetic look before taking Mela’s hand and pulling her away.

Kyra stared after them, puzzled by Adele’s last statement. Granted, she wasn’t surprised to be left out of their gatherings, but something about the way Adele had spoken made it seem like something more. She pressed a hand on her bandaged middle, probing her wound and trying to remember how far the clearing had been. It was a good distance, but she was stronger than she had been last time. If she walked slowly, she could probably make it there by herself.

Kyra had a vague recollection of the way, and there were faint hints of movement to lead her. After a long, unsteady walk, she saw the clearing ahead. The clan was gathered there, this time in a tighter circle. Kyra edged in as close as she dared, straining her ears. The Demon Riders looked to be passing around a sheet of parchment. Leyus was speaking, and Kyra leaned in closer. She stifled a gasp at the word
raid
, and strained to hear more.

A rustle made her jump, and she spun around to see a Makvani man behind her.

“You are not permitted to join the circle,” he said. “Go back to your shelter.” He planted himself between her and the others, arms folded across his chest.

Kyra backed away. “Sorry, I didn’t know.” She was painfully aware of the voices fading behind her with each step, but she didn’t dare stop. She glanced back after a short distance, but he was still there, watching.

She was almost at her tent when she glimpsed two other demon cats—a yellow one and a gray one running amongst the trees. At first Kyra froze, wondering if she’d broken some other rule, but these cats seemed to pay her no attention. Curious, Kyra came closer. These demon cats were smaller than the others, coming up only to her thigh. Also, their features were softer and their heads bigger in proportion to their bodies. Kyra watched as the gray cat stopped to stare at something on the ground. The yellow cat stalked up behind him and pounced on Gray’s tail, causing him to yelp.