Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 53
53
Shekka had been caught in a paralytic trance this whole time, shocked by what her ears were telling her. She had heard the exchange between Banno and Wardo, had heard the wet rip of meat and the crunch of bone. She had listened as Wardo's words transformed from the petulant cries of a child into the horrified gurgles of one on his deathbed. It was a sound she had heard many times before, most recently from Hyker - when Wardo plunged a knife into his face.
By the Cora, what was happening?
She heard the rattle of Kadai's necklace as it was wrested from Wardo's grasp. She heard the thud of flesh striking flesh, either a punch or a kick, and the sound of screams suddenly going... down? Lower than the ground?
The truth dawned on her in a single, heart stopping moment. There was only one possible explanation for the sudden change, only one way that the source of those screams could suddenly have come from a spot lower than her feet.
"Banno, no!" She broke into an awkward run, something she hadn't done in years. Her feet kept striking mounds of uneven snow, tripping her up. There were screams all around her, but she had no idea where anyone was. There was so much noise there might as well be no sound at all.
"By the Cora he killed Wardo!"
"The Chieftain!"
"What have you done, you maniac!? You monster!"
She kept bumping into bodies; hard jabs from elbows, shoving blows by shoulders, voices ringing in her ears, the scent of fear and panic was thick in the air. She wasn't used to having her people be so unaware of her. They'd always make a point of staying out of her way, but now it was as if she was caught in a churning sea of Wolves, completely trapped!
No! She had to get to Banno! She had to get to her son! She had to -
"You bastard! I'm gonna k-"
That voice belonged to Kole, but it was cut off so abruptly that, for a second, Shekka imagined the youngblood's head rolling around in the snow, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and blood gushing from his severed neck.
"Kole! By the Cora are you all right!? Hey!"
Something was coming. She could smell it in the air, feel it in her bones. She could even taste it. She pushed and shoved and clawed her way through the surging mass of bodies, desperately trying to reach the source of those sounds before it was -
"Somebody shoot that bastard!"
- too late.
Her ears picked out the slow, stretchy sound of a bowstring being pulled tight. It was nearby.
"No! Stop!" Shekka wormed her way through the crowd and slapped at the source, feeling the hard curve of a bow striking her wrist.
"What the- Shekka-Kai! What the hell are you doing!?"
She lashed out at the source of Nen's voice, slapping him right in the mouth. "Don't you shoot my son!" she screamed. "Don't you dare shoot my ensa!"
But there were more of those sounds, those stretchy, leathery sounds of tightened strings and bending bows, reaching the limit. She couldn't stop them, not all at once. But if Nen was going to shoot Banno, then there had to be a clear line of sight from here! She just had to focus...
Chains! She could hear the chains rattling!
She shoved two more Wolves out of the way and suddenly she was out in the open, she was free! She sprinted through the empty space, through the solid black wall her world had become. The wind stung her useless eyes, making them water, but she kept going, following the sound of that unearthly rattle until she slammed full-tilt into the unyielding body of her son.
"Banno!" She wrapped her arms around him, trying to shield him with her body as best she could, but he was so big! There was no way she could protect him entirely, but she had to have faith! She had to believe that the Cora would spare him! He wouldn't bring her son back only to let him die mere minutes after stepping through the gates! Maybe her presence alone would be enough to keep the arrows at bay.
"Shekka-Kai, get away from him!"
"Your son's gone crazy! He killed Wardo! He's dangerous!"
"He'll kill you, too!"
Shekka screamed: "You leave him alone! He's my son! I won't let anyone take him from me again!" She buried her face against his back, whispering, "Please, Banno! You have to stop this! They'll kill you! It's not too late! You just have to calm down! Please, Banno!"
There was something strange going on here. Something wrong. This didn't feel like Banno. This didn't feel like a living, breathing Wolf. It felt like she was hugging a tree covered in fur.
"Banno? Can you hear me? Banno! Are you hurt? Please talk to me! Talk to your mother!"
Was he ignoring her? Oh, what she would give just to see his face! She would gladly suffer a hundred burns, a dozen chops with an axe, she would pluck out an eye and tear off a foot, she would suffer all his wounds in exchange for just one second of sight to see his face!
"Banno, please!" She grabbed fistfuls of his fur and shook him as hard as she could, but it was like he couldn't hear or feel her. "Banno!" He was like a statue, like the...
Like the Cora statue...
Wolves were still screaming at her to back away, calling her precious son a monster, demanding her to give them a clear shot, but they were so very far away, like echoes in a dream.
She took him by the arm, just like she used to before the world crumbled to pieces, back when he'd sometimes lead her around the village when Hezzi or Ander weren't nearby. There was strength in this arm. So much power. She could feel it radiating from him as she moved her fingers down towards his hand. She already knew what she would find there, but the touch still sent a shock through her spine.
It was the hard, smooth curvature of bear teeth, separated from each other by the sharp points of eagle talons. It was the Chieftain's necklace. It was Kadai's necklace. And now... now it was Banno's necklace.
It had finally come home.
There was a sound; a kind of blubbery, snuffling sound. It's been there for quite a while, bubbling in the background. She had assumed it must be Kole, but this was too close. It was almost right at her feet.
Ah... Shekka now understood what had her ensa so engrossed.
"Come down here with me, Banno," she said, lightly tugging on his arm. He came with her willingly enough, dropping down to his knees. "That's it, stay close to me now." She couldn't hear those stretchy bowstrings anymore, but she sidled up beside him and put an arm around his shoulders regardless. She would not let anyone or anything harm her boy ever again.
She hunkered down and pressed her palm against the chains. She could feel them jerking left and right in a steady rhythm, perfectly in time with the grunts and whimpers. She felt her way towards the very edge of Wardo's blasphemous Pit, leaned over, and listened.
For a moment, all was quiet. And then...
"Shekka!! Shekkaaaah!" It was definitely Wardo's voice, but it sounded different. More nasally, more gargly, like he was trying to talk through a broken nose. "Shekka! Hel...! Hel meee!! Hellll!!"
The chains rattled a frenzied rhythm. She could see him so clearly in her mind's eye, holding on for dear life, desperately struggling to clamber up the side of the Pit he had presumed to dig at the feet of their god.
"What was that, Wardo?" she asked, tilting her head. "Something about 'Hell'?"
"_Help_me, you bidsch!!" he burst out. There was a wet popping noise at the 'p', which meant his lips were probably covered in blood. Quite close by, too. She could probably reach down and grab his hand if she wanted to. "What are you doing!? Shekka! I need -"
"You need my help, yes. But then again, you've always needed my help, because you never could do anything by yourself."
"What are -?"
"But I'm not the only one you rely on, am I? No, you always need someone to do all your dirty work for you. Spy for you, fight for you, even kill for you."
"Shekka! By the Cora I'm shlipping! Please!" His cries deteriorated into a snuffling babble. She could hear the bubbles bursting out of his mouth and nose. Whatever Banno had done to him, he had done it well. "Shekka!"
"Was Dorin telling the truth?"
"What? What are you -"
"He said you ordered him to kill Hezzi! Was he telling the truth?"
"You wanna do this now? Now!?"
"Yes, now! Tell me and I'll pull you up."
"Shekka, you petty, lying, manipulative bidsch!"
"Did you order my son's murder!? Yes or no!"
"NO! Dorin is full of crap! He's crazy! He's a no-good traitor!" She could smell the blood on him, coming closer and closer. "Now you'd better pull me up right now or there will be conshequenshes! You hear me, you blind bidsch!? Here! My hand is right here! Take it!"
Do we have an accord?
Shekka reached out and her hand was immediately seized by something wet and slick and reeking of iron.
"Oh thank you! Oh thank you, Shekka! Oh thank you, thank you so much!"
I will not shake your hand...
"Wardo, do you remember the promise I made to you the day before Hezzi ran away? The day you locked him in that cage?"
"W- What? What promise? I don't remember any -"
She dug her claws into the soft meat of his scrawny forearm, squeezing and twisting until she felt even more blood, fresh blood, flow over her fingers. The smell was intoxicating.
"Aaargh! Shekka! What are you doing!? Stop that! Stop!"
She leaned in farther, not because she wanted to see, but because she wanted him to see. She wanted him to look into her dead eyes. "I promised that, if you ever did anything to endanger the life of my son..."
"No, Shekka! I never did! He lied! He's a liar! Shekka! No! Please!"
She spat directly into his face. It felt good. "Goodbye, Wardo. May the Cora _not_have mercy on your soul."
"Shekka! Shekkaaah!!"
She lashed out, lightning quick, mashing the palm of her hand right into the cratered remains of his face.
He screamed. It was a high-pitched, womanish sound, the sound of a creature in tremendous pain. Shekka felt his grip weaken, then disappear, and a moment later, his screams were drowned out by a sound she had never heard before, an unexpectedly musical sound, a beautiful sound...
It was the metallic clang of a dozen biters slamming shut on flesh and bone.
There was no more screaming after that.
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