Savage Eden (2011) by K. M. Ashman

Author:K. M. Ashman [Ashman, K. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

‘Kraiach,’ he said, ‘The sin is done and cannot be undone. We will never walk in the fields of the Sun-god because of this. It is too late for us so I will live for my son. If I must eat the flesh of Baal, Mwrllwch or Fire-clan, so be it. I will stay alive for his sake.’

Kraiach nodded quietly. These people had strange beliefs.

‘Also, I cannot be held responsible for the deeds of my ancestors. They are gone and I know not what hearth their spirits sit at. It is a thing for the Shaman. ’

‘They did what was necessary to survive, as must we,’ answered Kraiach.

‘But I do know this,’ continued Golau coldly, his eyes steely as they stared at Kraiach,

‘you must not tell Gafr or Afon of the cursed meat they eat or the tale of our ancestors. This is my burden and they must not know what you have told. They risk their lives on a task that is not of their making and suffer great danger for the sake of my son and others of the clan. They know they may die, but they also know that if they do, they will live in paradise forever. I will not take this away from them.’

Kraiach nodded.

‘And if they ask?’

‘Tell them it is pig, goat or anything, I don’t care, just don’t tell them the truth. My burden is great enough. I cannot share the knowledge that I have denied them their afterlife as well.’

‘This we will do, Golau,’ answered Kraiach.

‘There is one more thing,’ he continued, ‘I ask that we do not take the flesh of any Two-foot, as you call them, unless our very lives depend on it. We must hunt the beast first, or steal rotting meat from scavenged carcasses, as does the hyena, even the dry roots of the gorse bush would taste like honey when compared to the alternative. All this and more we must try, before we reach the bottom and eat the flesh of another. And when this thing is over, it will stop.’

Kraiach nodded his agreement.

‘Then it is agreed,’ said Golau. ‘We will talk no more of this thing. Now we must go.’

They walked back to the others who had put out the fires, an air of mistrust tangible amongst the group as they prepared to climb up the slope to the escarpment. Once again, Kraiach led the group, his strange senses as perceptive as ever, picking out the route to the top as they climbed in the darkness.

----

They pushed hard up the slopes, managing to crest the ridge just before dawn. Finding an enclave of boulders just below the ridgeline, they gathered in the makeshift shelter to get whatever sleep they could before the sun rose, each wrapped in their furs whilst the rocks protected them from the biting winds.

Golau opened his eyes. The sun was high in the sky yet the exhaustion from the night before had helped him sleep past the call of nature’s alarm clock.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.