Starfallen by Brandon Clark

Author:Brandon Clark [Clark, Brandon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-09-25T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

The sun glistened off the fresh snow, making the ground look like it was on fire.

Kairk blew out an exhausted, foggy breath. There were only a few others awake and about the village, so he was able to enjoy the sunrise. He nodded to a few men and women as they went about their morning from where he leaned against the open-door frame.

He knew he should be asleep, in fact, his body was screaming for him to lay down. But the sunrise was a gift he hadn’t been expecting as they faced down the Gentori, and he was loathed to waste it.

Besides, Cora had only gone to bed a few hours ago, and Jawn was still passed out, and he didn’t want to leave his father alone.

The storm had cleared halfway through the night, and Xiao had jogged off into the darkness. She seemed a bit sluggish and said something about needing to get an insect out of her system. Kairk had chuckled at the thought of such advanced armor not being able to handle a few buzz flies, but he was too tired to argue with her.

There was a rustling behind him, and Kairk turned from the door. His father had sat up and was bending over, looking for his shoes under the bed.

“Morning, Dad,” Kairk said quietly. “How are you feeling?”

The older man jumped at Kairk’s voice. He shook his head and wagged a finger at Kairk.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that,” his father said. “You’re lucky you don’t have a hatchet buried in your chest right now. Especially not when I feel like this. How much Jeeva did we have last night?”

He frowned. He patted his bedding, then quickly looked left and right.

“Where is my hatchet?”

“Right here.” Kairk patted his belt.

“Ah, thank you,” his father reached out for it.

Kairk gaze at his father’s outstretched hand, a wave of disappointment crashing down on him as hope died within him.

“You gave it to me, remember?” Kairk said.

“That’s grembal crap,” his father snapped. “I wouldn’t give that to anyone but my son. And he’s, he’s, he’s not even old enough to wipe himself.”

His dad’s green eyes grew wider with each word, and his voice wavered.

“Now,” he said, his hand starting to tremble. “Give it.”

Kairk knelt and took his father’s hands in his own. They were bony and thin, and the skin felt like leather that had been stretched too far. He put his father’s palm on his cheek, then looked up into his cloudy eyes.

“Dad,” Kairk whispered. “It's me. Kairk. I’m not a kid anymore.”

His father started blinking rapidly like he was trying to clear his vision.

“Eva,” he yelled. “Eva! Where are you?”

“Mom’s not here,” Kairk said. “It’s alright, I’ve got you.”

“But… But I… Where’s my Eva?”

“She just ran out to gather some fruit,” Kairk lied. “She’ll be back before too long. Why don’t you lay back down?”

“You’re Kairk?”

“Yes.”

His father pulled a hand out of Kairk’s grasp and touched his son’s cheek.

“You have her eyes,” he said. “You are my son.

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