The Xoiq behind Ki'tory turned her around. "Face your death with honour."
Cold crept over her now that she knew what was in store for her; she tried to think but she couldn't, she tried to fight but her body proved useless to her.
By Muktury, she couldn't do anything!
Useless!
Her eyes stayed fixed on Oi-ju's corpse, the screams of people from far and near colliding into her ears, images clashing in her mind of the dreadful things that might be happening to her family at this very moment.
A war had been brought upon them.
Without warning.
An ambush!
No honour.
THE XOIQS HAD NO HONOUR!
His claws never came down upon her. Instead, he buried his nose in the crook of her neck once again, and when he pulled away, his brows were creased. He stared at her for a moment, before an evil spark glimmered in his eyes.
With a glance at the door to confirm they were alone, he pressed his hand over her face and the next breath she dragged in knocked her into a haze of dizziness. Then he threw her over his shoulder and everything else was a daze.
Ki'tory eyes fluttered open and close; every moment they opened it seemed like too much time had passed. She had watched Oi-ju's headless corpse as she was being carried out of their Coupling room, seen women being dragged away from their huts as they screamed in resistance, men slaughtered in their fights, and children wailing into the blazing night; lost. She had seen the monsters breath fire to their straw roofs and the satisfaction in their eyes as they killed.
And her home.
It was ablaze.
The Royal Palace was engulfed in flames.
Her family… they must have killed them too. She didn't know why she was spared but she was certain the Xoiq had no good intention.
Unconsciously finally pulled her in and when she opened her eyes next, she found herself still naked but now lying on sheet of fur
"Awake, finally. So weak are humans!" Her captor snapped from the other side of the tent as he dropped his pants and approached.
He looked different, more like a human with less strange skin in sight. If his voice didn't bring her so much horror that it was now etched into her mind, she wouldn't have known that it was him.
"You." Her voice dripped with bitterness. "You killed my husband, you killed my family, you destroyed my village."
"Roja is merciful." He dropped his gourd of ale and it shattered at its against to the ground. He staggered as he approached her, his red eyes filled with lust and hazy. For a moment, it almost seemed like he would fall into the small fire built in the middle of the tent.
Unfortunately, he doesn't.
"Roja has spared you." He lowered himself to the sheet. "You must pay for my mercy or you will be indeed be asitis, and then I must kill you as the General commands." He grabbed her chin. "Now. Please." Then he kissed her.
Ki'tory fought back, her teeth biting down on his lips. His blood flood into her mouth and he pulled away from her, and hit her across the face.
Her ears rang at the impact and when she could finally look at him, she spat upon his face a bloody mess. "I am going to kill you."
His eyes swirling with excitement, he staggered to his feet, then he came back to her with a curved blade, which he thrusted into her grip. "Try," he laughed.
And Ki'tory joined in, her eyes glimmering with tears, the sound slipping past her lips too strange even to her own ears.
The next moments were brutal as his assault became rougher, her attempt to kill him weakened her instead of him. Screams, hits. She bit him anywhere she could, drawing up her knee to attack him and failing. He had her pinned to the ground, immobilizing every part of her except her hand for the sake of sheer mockery.
"By Muktury, just die!' She yelled in frustration, bringing down the dagger and he stilled upon her. It was only when she saw the blood drip from his forehead to hers that she realized that she had succeeded .
She struggled to push him off her and he hit the ground with his back, sending the blade further into his head.
Ki'tory's heart was racing, her hands quivering.
She just killed someone.
She killed!
She had never killed anyone in her life!
She looked around, there was no escaping this place. It was a good thing that wasn't she had in mind.
She quickly found another of Roga's sword at another side of the tent, and with shaky hands, a pounding and watering eyes, she sawed off his head; the sword too heavy to be lifted properly.
Then she found the drums of ale that had been kept in the tent, she made dents into the calabashes, allowing the ale to spill all over the ground. She took the gourds and spilled the ale on the body of the tents, then one herslef too. As a small maniacal laughter slipped past her lips, she grabbed one of the torches in the fire and sent the tent ablaze.
Then she sat on Roga's body, in the middle of the tent with Roga's head in her hand, hanging by the handle of his curved blade.
Then she waited.
Whosoever was leading them, she wanted him to see, she wanted him to know that the Yarma did not go down without a fight, that the flimsy human that they came to kill had killed one of them.
It was not a fair payment. It wasn't enough! But it was something.
Killing one of them and having them all see it was something!
The flames licked the ale all around her, engulfing into a roar of fire. The breath of the fire sizzled her skin but that pain was nothing compared to the thirst for vengeance.
Screams filled the air, shouts of Xoiq men. They rushed towards the flames, yelling in their language. Then one rushed forward.
There it was, those golden serpent eyes.
Holding his gaze, Ki'tory raised Roga's head up and a smile curved the corners of her lips.
"A head for a head."