The Broken Knife

Only six of the rebels remained, surrounded by Pilla’s most loyal kobolds. Five were females, including Litz, and the sixth was Golik, who sat, slumped against a wall, unable even to kneel. All six were injured, and Kaz could tell that three of the females probably wouldn’t recover on their own, while two others had cores that blazed almost bright enough to rival Litz and Pilla’s. The badly wounded ones would serve as an example without costing the tribe anything, while the others were too powerful and too rebellious to allow them to remain.

In grim silence, Pilla’s people moved in, lifting the wounded none too gently, while the powerful ones were bracketed by a female on one side, and a male on the other. It took three males to lift Golik, who struggled weakly, then went limp. He had no core and no cycle, so Kaz couldn’t tell if he fell unconscious, died, or simply gave up.

Litz herself managed to stand on her own, though she continued to wheeze and cough up bloody foam. A male made as if to support her, and she shoved him away violently, almost sending herself back to her knees in the process. Somehow, she stayed upright, glaring defiantly at the male, then at the two females who fell in beside her.

Pilla took the lead, barely limping, though as she passed, Kaz could see that she gritted her teeth each time she put weight on her injured leg. The humans followed the group as they wound their way through the den, silence falling as kobold after kobold stopped what they were doing and stared after the doomed rebels.

Pilla and the other females produced lights as they entered the tunnels outside the den, and the walk to the stairs was as well-lit as any Kaz had ever experienced while traveling with the humans. It was far brighter than kobolds needed, and Kaz wondered if it was for the human’s sake, or if they were trying to use the light to stave off the reality of what they were about to do.

When they arrived at the stairs, four guards still stood there, though their eyes grew large as they saw the battered prisoners. They had to have heard at least a bit of the howling, but they had held their positions, and it seemed that no one had yet arrived to tell them what had happened.

All four tensed, but Bek exchanged glances with the oldest of the warriors, who bowed deeply to Pilla as she approached. It took only a moment for the other three to follow suit, though one male’s fist shook as he placed it on his chest. Pilla nodded to the males, and the six prisoners were led or carried to the top of the stairs. The gaping jaws of the carved beast seemed to wait impatiently as it hovered over their heads.

Slowly, other tribe members trickled in behind them. The pups remained behind in the den, not because they were too young, but so they didn’t ruin the solemnity of the occasion. Some adults stayed behind to tend them, and to continue preparing the upcoming feast, but Kaz guessed at least half of the tribe arrived over the next ten or fifteen minutes. No one spoke to those condemned, and they didn’t speak either. Once or twice it seemed Litz would try, but each time she broke down coughing, and each time it took longer for the fit to subside.

When the last of the watchers had arrived, Pilla turned back to the prisoners. Her voice was clear and cold when she spoke.

“It is our way to challenge those who show weakness,” she said, and Kaz thought she glanced at the humans before returning her attention to her tribe. “In this way, we cull those who would diminish us, and keep them from breaking when we need them most. But.”

She drew in a deep breath. “Wisdom and a willingness to compromise are not weakness. I proved that today, and I will prove it again, as many times as I must.”

Pilla swept her eyes over those assembled, and her usually warm brown eyes held nothing but passionate conviction. Before that gaze, some kobolds shifted and looked down, while others nodded proudly.

“My mother led this tribe for many years,” she went on, “and it was her wish that I follow her. It was my sister’s right to challenge that wish, and me, and it is my right to give her her due after she failed.”

Turning, she pointed at the gaping mouth filled with monstrous teeth, and the stairs that led down into the depths beyond. “I exile these kobolds; Litz, Golik, Namid, Poil, Dezre, and Keil. They will descend to the mid-levels, never to return. Let the mountain make final judgment upon them.”

With that, she motioned to her helpers, and stepped up beside her sister. She didn’t try to touch the brown female, simply stared at her until the other began to move on her own.

Golik was too weak to make it to the stairs himself, so the males carrying him simply swung him twice, then heaved him as far down the stairs as they could. Kaz saw Lianhua and Raff wince at the sight, but the kobolds, including Kaz, remained stoic.

The five females all made it to the first step with minimal help, though the one worst-injured needed assistance climbing over the curve of the stone tongue that sprawled over the vicious teeth. Once their paws touched the steps, they were released, to fall or walk on their own. One did, indeed, fall, and the others ignored her, each focused on their own descent. The two with the lightest wounds exchanged bleak looks, then went ahead of the rest.

As one, the tribe turned their backs on them. Only the four males on guard continued to watch, and Kaz saw Bek and the older guard confer briefly before the male who had seemed upset to see Litz defeated was quietly exchanged for one who had fought on Pilla’s side. Silently, the tribe walked back, all together, and Kaz saw Pilla watching them, noting who walked with whom, and who looked unhappy with the result of the attempted rebellion.

When all of the kobolds except the guards, Pilla, Bek, and Kaz himself had gone, Pilla walked over to the humans, finally allowing herself to limp noticeably. She smiled at Lianhua, tail wagging gently. “Thank you, my friend. I put your teaching into practice sooner than I expected, but I suspect things might have gone very differently today without it.”

Lianhua smiled back, though she seemed a little sad as well. “I just wish it hadn’t been needed at all. Litz seemed strong, and could have done a lot to help you, if she’d decided to.”

Pilla sighed and began walking toward the den, followed by the others. Gaoda produced his radiant ki orb when he realized she was only going to make the dim light most females used, and Pilla let her own vanish. She said nothing for a while, but finally spoke when they were about halfway back.

“When you enter the mid-levels, you will need to harden your gentle heart, Lianhua. No one there will show you mercy, and they will see your own as weakness. You saw today what happens when a kobold senses weakness. And there are many, many worse things than kobolds before you reach the Deep.”

Kaz nodded silent agreement, but Lianhua made a face. “Surely it’s not that bad. Your tribe and the Stoneborn were both reasonable.”

Pilla chuckled darkly. “From what you told me, and the story I heard from the messenger I sent to fetch your lost male, you showed the Stoneborn that they would lose more kobolds than they could spare if they tried to force you to return. You gave their chief a way to compromise without going back on her word, and that was wise. My mother often said that wisdom is nothing without power, and power is nothing without wisdom. It’s the one lesson my sister could never understand.”

They continued walking, with Pilla slowly falling behind as her body finally reached its limits. Her ears were drooping even more than usual as they reached the final turn, and Gaoda and Raff went ahead as they realized where they were. Kaz could see the blur of black and white ki that was Chi Yincang hesitate, then follow them, leaving Lianhua, Bek, Pilla, and Kaz behind.

Pilla stopped and looked at Bek. “Uncle,” she said, giving the older male a title of respect that females rarely used once they reached adulthood, “would you take Lianhua to the den and make sure she gets whatever food she wishes? I want to speak to this pup for a moment.”

Lianhua frowned, glancing at Kaz. He nodded, giving her a little wag of his tail to show that he was all right, and the human female allowed herself to be led away.

Once they were alone, Pilla looked at Kaz, having to look up to meet his eyes, though she was at least a few years older than he.

“You’re the strangest ‘pup’ I’ve ever met,” she said softly, frowning a little as she stared at him.

Kaz remained silent, but the niggling sense of nervousness that had started in his stomach when she said she wanted to speak to him grew into a full-fledged swarm of jiyun.

Pilla paused, as if waiting for a response, and shook her head when none was forthcoming. At last, she asked, “Are you really a pup? Or did you leave your warrior’s necklace behind when you joined the humans?”

Kaz stared at her, faintly horrified. No warrior would ever be without the necklace he made from the trophies he earned during his spirit hunt for long. If it broke, he would repair it, and if it was somehow lost, he would replace it as soon as possible. Certainly, he would never, ever, pretend to be a pup when he wasn’t. The only status any male had was as a warrior, and both pride and tradition required him to cling to it as fiercely as his own life.

“My mother said I was too young for my spirit hunt,” he finally said, seeing that she wasn’t going to go on until he answered.

She snorted, looking him up and down. The look in her eyes made him uncomfortable, because it was appraising in a way no female had ever looked at him before.

On his shoulder, Li shifted, hissing softly, and Pilla turned her attention on the little dragon, acknowledging her presence for the first time.

“The Stoneborn insisted you were a numb-mind, but I’ve seen no evidence of that except for the fuergar on your shoulder.” Pilla’s eyes narrowed, and Kaz saw a faint hint of ki glowing in them. It lasted for only a breath, then faded, leaving the female blinking as if her eyes pained her.

“There’s something very, very strange about you and your… pet, Lianhua called it.” Pilla drew in a deep breath, squaring her shoulders as if she’d come to some decision. “When you are done leading the humans to the Deep, you are welcome among the Copperstrikers. We have much to offer a strong warrior, and we will even send a fair price to your birth tribe for you.”

She hesitated again, then dipped her snout and glanced at him sidelong. “I will need a mate soon, and it would be best if he came from a tribe which has lived in the heights for a while, and understands their ways. Lianhua says you are the son and brother of chiefs, and I think I could do worse than a strong young male like you, even if you are a little… unusual.”

Kaz felt his ears warm strangely, and Li reared up on his shoulder, hissing more loudly as she sent an image of a golden dragon snapping off the nose of an impertinent copper kobold.

“I… I…,” Kaz stammered, his tongue suddenly twice its normal size. “The very suggestion… honors me and the Br- the Longknife tribe. I don’t know-”

Pilla sniffed, spinning away from him. “Of course you can’t make a decision on your own. When you return, I’ll send messengers to your tribe, and your sister and I will bargain. I just wanted you to… think about it.”

She limped off, shoulders stiff, and if Kaz wasn’t imagining it, the edges of her long ears were a deep pink beneath her fur.