THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 212: 212. ESCAPE II

Passing through the Haza tribe was not as hard as Sagiri had thought. Most of the place was asleep now, and the only light they had seemed to have been coming from the central house of the village. The house of their chief, perhaps. Turns out that they had been holding their moon catching festival earlier in the night to prepare for the hunting season. It was the only day they could sleep at night and not go hunting. The smell of burnt meat filled the air, even long before the two entered the village, making Sagiri salivate. He could hear Lira swallow loudly, too. Wild fruits were barely enough to keep them full.

”Wait!” Sagiri said when the girl started moving to the moon circle at the centre, where large fires had been, without a second thought. They must have eaten their fill and left some sticks of meat still hanging on top of the now dying fires. Sagiri pushed his senses out and listened to the sound for a long while. Only steady heartbeats greeted him. The place was asleep. Even so, Sagiri did plan on dilly-dallying and being caught. Some of the still primitive tribes who did not want to leave the old ways could be very hostile to outsiders, and Sagiri did not want to leave a trail of bodies behind him.

”Now!” Sagiri said, and the two moved into the moon circle deliberately drawn by the circle of dying fire. The remnants of the burnt meat were mouth-watering, especially after a day and a night without proper food. They settled into the place and started tearing into the roasted meat. The meat must have been the wild deer. They have the sweetest meat known to the tongue, and their hunger made it ten times sweeter. Within minutes, they had made a noticeable dent in the leftover meat, and they were nowhere near full. Sagiri paused and listened for some time. The place was still silent, and he continued eating. It was good to eat their fill because they could not be sure when they could come across another satisfying meal.

The warriors of Tagayia should have been dispatched further north by now, and those from all the Galka headquarters should have tightened the security, too. Sagiri was sure General Felunka could not pass up the opportunity either. Senraki had told him that even the mandra had just entered in time to witness him go berserk that morning, and since he was the highest power present, he would have to take action in some way to protect the people of Tagayia. To put it shortly, he had a little window to find his benefactor and kill him before he ran south. His mission should have changed after he found out his parents were safe and sound, but the water had already spilled over, and spilled water could not be gathered. He now more than ever wanted to kill the man, find the lab where he was creating monster children, if there remained any, and burn it to the ground before going south.

Sagiri must have been lost in thoughts for so long that he missed a heartbeat fastening. It was the chief’s door springing open that brought him back to earth. The man was holding a bow and arrow. The bow was small and the arrow even smaller. The Haza tribe was known for their small bows and arrows, mostly. It was not the size that mattered, but the lethal poison that coated the arrowhead. It was enough to put down a grown elephant. The Haza tribe people were also known to be short, and even being the chief, the man still stood a foot shorter than Sagiri.

Before Sagiri could react, the man made a strange sound from his throat. Like a call before he released the arrow. Sagiri could have easily evaded the arrow, especially after being trained by the most agile man in battle, Salka, but before he could move, a blur passed in front of him and snatched the arrow before throwing it aside.

Lira

The girl was already fast, but to defend against the attack, she was even faster. The more sagiri spent time with her, the more he began to get more confused. First, she tries to kill him, then her touch cools him, then she now protects him. And that feeling he had felt when her hands connected with his face. There was something about her. She was not as simple as an assassin sent after him. Perhaps the man behind her had not realised she was more than that, or he could not have sent her after him. Protecting him was by far the most surprising thing that had happened.

She turned to Sagiri, and Sagiri could feel her confusion. She, just like the last time she had rushed to him when he was burning up, did not realize what she had done until she had done it. She did not know why she had moved to touch him back then at the cave, as if she knew her touch and energy inside of her could cool his pain. Right at the moment, she must have also moved in the same way to protect him.

Just who and what was she?

Even so, Sagiri did not have time to ponder about it because after the sound that man made, the heartbeats had started growing more rapid and awake. They needed to get away first.

”Move!” he snapped, though Lira was already gone. She knew what had to be done before he even asked. They moved away from the circle of huts before they plunged into the woods behind them. They had to keep going west, that was not changeable, even if they had to pass through the jaws of a lion. Wood splintered beside Sagiri’s head as he dropped low, twisting mid-step.

Another arrow came. The sound of doors being thrown open and footsteps sounding behind them was now clearer. The haza were out for blood. Such a small but cruel tribe. Arrows tore through leaves, slammed into trunks, sliced past Sagiri and Lira close enough to cut, but that was a mistake they could not afford. They dodged as fast as possible, using the trees to hide or protect themselves when needed. They had to dodge while they moved. And fast.

Lira spun, her foot barely touching the ground before she pivoted again, body folding and unfolding like she had no bones. An arrow grazed her sleeve, black liquid smeared across the fabric, hissing faintly.

Poison.

”Don’t let them touch you!” Sagiri barked, already sprinting again. He took a sharp turn to avoid a dozen incoming arrows. His boots skidded against damp earth as he dropped, rolled, and came up running. Three arrows struck where his chest had been a heartbeat ago.

Another hiss of an arrow followed. The Haza had lived in these lands, and they hunted at night. It was safe to say that they were in their element. He tilted sideways, spine bending just enough for a shaft to pass his face. Sagiri grabbed Lira’s arm and yanked hard. They crashed through a low branch, splinters tearing at their clothes as arrows shredded the space they’d just occupied. The two were moving so fluidly as if they had fought together before. Even when they had to block the arrows with their blades, they did it so seamlessly without getting in each other’s way. That was not the only thing Sagiri noticed. When he couldn’t block first enough, she did, and vice versa.

”Too many!” Lira yelled.

”I know,” answered

”We are being herded!” Lira suddenly yelled. She sure didn’t talk much, but she did talk now as she analyzed the situation. Sagiri had realized the same. The arrows launched at them weren’t random. They were being herded, and if they continued dodging and going the same way, soon they could be cornered.

”Right!” he snapped.

They broke direction instantly without speaking. Somehow, they knew where they should go to break the headlock. Lira let out a sharp breath as she ducked, spun, and kicked off a tree trunk, flipping over a low spray of incoming shafts. She landed wrong, given the tight angle and attacks she had evaded, but recovered instantly and kept running. Sagiri followed, faster now, pushing harder, breath steady despite the chaos.

Between the chaos, Sagiri could hear a river. The river that separated the Haza tribe from the Haku. The haku. Without exchanging a word, the two made a run for it, and like they knew what they needed to do, they jumped into the deep waters at the same time. Sagiri had sparred and fought side by side with his squad before, but somehow, he couldn’t help but feel that this was the most seamless team effort that he had ever seen.

The arrows didn’t stop even long after they touched the water. The Haza people even made sure to chase them down the river and launch more arrows until the river outran them.