CHAPTER 18. FOLLOW THE STAR
Anarungu returned to the tent, slipping in without a sound. Gnelsey was asleep cradling Angas, offering him her breast. For a moment, he imagined how this life could suddenly come to an end because of the Blue Lynx.
"As long as the Blue Lynx exists, we cannot know peace." He ran his hand down his mother's arm, from shoulder to fingertips. Her soft bronze skin, a little sticky from sweat, still warm from their wild love.
"No one should separate us, though it's quite possible this time... I may not return. But I will do this for you, and for our son." He looked at Angas, who, though not Gnelsey's son, was dear to them as if he were. "I am still their leader, even if they no longer wish it."
"Anarungu?" Gnelsey looked up at him through her sleep. "Why are you awake." She reached up and put him to her other breast, which had the scent of milk. He took the nipple with his mouth, devouring the sweet vitality. The ripe sweet liquid splashed into his mouth.
"Where have you been? Is something wrong?" She became wary when Anarungu withdrew from her chest and embrace.
"I'm off to destroy the Blue Lynx, once and for all. I was going to leave without telling you, but I'm not going to make the same mistake twice, so you should know."
"WHAT? Anarungu, what are you saying? You told me we will live here and restore the tribe. Do you want to go back to the horror we ran away from? I agree to be yours! I am yours, Anarungu. I love you."
She put the sleeping child aside and took his hands in hers, a fire burning in her eyes the likes of which he had never seen before. She said it even slower so that Anarungu could catch the meaning of her words.
"I love you, my nestling. Now I know for certain--I only want to be with you. Anaragwan was my husband, but you, Anarungu... What we shared frightened me at first. I tried to resist it, and I was such a fool. I was scared of my feelings and wanted to push you away, but..." She smiled, and a single tear fell. A clear tear, and Anarungu brushed it away, running his hand over her lips. "No matter how hard I tried to push you away, you never stopped loving me. I love you, and I know with absolute certainty now that you're the only one I want to be with."
"Stop it. That's not true." Anarungu did a long deep sigh. "You are lying, Mama. I know it. You're just trying to make me stay. You're manipulating me... "
"No, Anarungu," she whispered, grasping his neck firmly and guiding his hand to rest over her heart. His fingers sensed the wild rhythm of her heartbeat beneath his touch, her skin was so hot. "Now I realize it, after today.... The night when I mistakenly let you do that in me, and when we created a new life..." She looked at Angas. "I thought it was the greatest mistake of my life, but I see now that it was fate binding us together. I will never deny you again, and that feeling is mutual. I love you!"
"Don't." Anarungu didn't understand why he felt so confused. "If you're lying... You're hurting me. There's still a part of you that wants to reject me. There will always be that part of you and I found a way to live with that. You don't really love me that way. It is not mutual, Mama..."
She kissed him with all the passion. Anarungu recognized the unique taste of his beloved mother, who had cared for him through countless long winters and summers. She was now nursing their child and, before long, would carry another beneath her heart.
Her tongue slipped inside, and Anarungu felt a surge of emotion unlike anything before. She had never kissed like this before. She craved him, needed him as desperately as air. Her tongue moved with purpose, her lips pressed against his, savoring every sensation, trying to capture him totally. She kissed like it was their first time, realizing for the first time how beautiful her son was. He was so young, brimming with life, energy and a love so pure and fervent, devoted entirely to her.
She was his.
Summoning every ounce of strength, Anarungu pulled himself away. As he withdrew, she reached out, yearning to kiss him once more, to taste her son one more time, but he held her by the shoulders.
"I have to leave. We can't be together if the Blue Lynx destroys us. First the Blood Bird, then us. I can't let that happen."
"But you can't go and leave us. I'll do whatever you want and whenever you want, Anarungu. I need you. We had the best night together, I can't lose you now..."
"I'm sorry, Mama. I'd rather fight and risk my life than live in fear of being killed or separated from you. I promise I'll come back."
She took his hands in hers, and he could feel the warmth emanating from her, her heat. Gnelsey's skin was covered in goosebumps. Her bare bronze body was perfect. Anarungu pulled his hands from her grip, and hurried out of the tent.
"Anarungu!"
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Anarungu left their small camp and headed straight for Blood Bird's territory, moving quietly through the trees. Hidden within his clothes was a set from the Blue Lynx tribe.
After changing, he climbed up into the branches, moving closer to Blue Lynx's hilly camp. Under cover of night, he slipped into the chief's hut. White Stranger was exactly as he had the last time Anarungu saw it: still.
Anarungu carefully approached the body, studying it. He reached out and drew a large, white blade--gleaming like sunlight--from the dead man's grasp. He broke the handle and fit the blade into his glove, replacing his knife. The sharp white blade nestled perfectly, ready for his use.
With a swift swing of his new weapon, Anarungu sliced off Stranger's head, sending the dead totem crashing to the ground. Some bones shattered with a crack, while others crumbled into dust. From the severed neck, a small object fell out.
ÂAnarungu picked up the amulet, unlike any battle charm from the tribes. He examined it with wary curiosity. Suddenly, it opened like a shell. Anarungu flinched but didn't drop it.
Inside was the image of a star--the brightest in the night sky. He recognized it instantly. Otherwise, it was empty. Anarungu closed the amulet and placed it on his head. It felt both cold and warm.
Footsteps approached outside the hut, and Anarungu quickly hid, weapon raised. A boy entered. Taller than before, Kalhan had a scar across his neck. Seeing Anarungu, he narrowed his eyes in hostility.
"Kalhan? Don't wander off..." Khaleana called, following him. She stopped, stunned by the sight of the White Stranger's body. "Kalhan, did you do this?" She was holding a child in her arms, though Anarungu hadn't had a chance to see him up close.
"Him!" Kalhan pointed at Anarungu.
"I've come to finish things with the Blue Lynx," Anarungu said, stepping forward, still holding his weapon at the ready. The boy tried to strike him, but Anarungu swatted him away as if he were a bothersome fly.
"This will make my brother very angry," said Khaleana, adjusting the hefty infant in her arms.
"That's the plan." He moved closer, looking at the boy. "This... He's our son, Gnelsey's and mine." Anarungu put away his weapon and ran his left hand over the boy's head. He was a big, healthy, perfect son.
"You have a fine boy, Anarungu," Khaleana remarked, noticing the spellbound look in his eyes. Meanwhile, Kalhan was inspecting his mother. The boy looked at her bare legs, her hips, her belly, and of course her breasts, which were barely masked by some blue cloths. Her breasts were open to put a nipple to a newborn's mouth at any time. And Kalhan looked longingly at her firm, great, large, bulging, beautiful breasts, even though he knew it was wrong.
"Can you lead the women of the Blue Lynx tribe to my new camp? You know where it is. These women and children deserve a second chance, but I'm not going to leave them here to rebuild the Blue Lynx."
"Do you want me to take them and make them part of your tribe? Betray my own tribe?" she was shocked by his audacity.
"Lynx, Bird. The only thing that matters is Us. Humans. We can always create a new tribe, Khaleana."
She didn't hesitate for long.
"Gharcha built the Blue Lynx around strength and breeding warriors... but I just want to live, to exist, to love. The women will listen to me. Let's go, Kalhan."
"What? And leave this murderer here? He killed my father! You're not even going to do anything about him?" the boy muttered.
"You know the rules. He killed your father, so he is my new husband. Come, or I'll punish you."
"Stupid rules!" he said, hitting Anarungu again before storming out of the hut. Khaleana kissed Anarungu deeply, lingering for a moment before pulling away. And before she could leave he said.
"Name the boy Anaragwan, after my father."
Khaleana nodded and left.
==============
Anarungu rushed out of the tribe's borders, darting between trees to move swiftly and silently. Shadows from the dawn light played over the ground as he passed, making him blend into the forest. He spotted Lynx hunters gathered around the Blood Bird shrine, sharpening their weapons. Khaleana was right.
By morning, he finally reached the Bird tribe's village, his former home.
The villagers recognized him. Why did he return? Anarungu made sure everyone could see his new, shining weapon.
"The punishment for disobedience is..." one of the guards began near the main tent entrance, lunging at Anarungu with a spear. But Anarungu was faster. He slashed through the spear's shaft, then sliced cleanly across the guard's thigh. His blade moved through flesh. The guard stumbled, clutching his leg, as Anarungu brushed past and entered the tent without waiting for permission.
The Elder sat by a small fire, looking older and frailer than Anarungu remembered.
"Why have you returned?" the Elder asked.
"The Blue Lynx is coming to kill you, and you're just sitting here doing nothing?" Anarungu said. "They're gathering around."
"And we will fight them." The Elder raised his smoking pipe to his lips, unshaken. "Better tell me, Anarungu, how is my daughter? How is my dear Gnelsey"
"Your daughter?" Anarungu stepped forward. "Your daughter will soon be carrying our second child--and will gladly welcome a third after that."
At this, the Elder rose, letting his pipe drop, his old hands tightening around his staff. But before he could speak, Tat entered the tent. He wore the chief's amulet, its stone glinting in the firelight as he took his place behind the Elder.
"You shouldn't be here," Tat said coldly as he sat down in the chief's spot behind the Elder.
"I have a plan."
"We don't need it," Tat replied, his eyes scanning Anarungu's new weapon. ""We can handle this ourselves. I've already made sure the women in our tribe are pregnant with my fertile seed."
Some of the hunters nervously looked down, shifting their weight.
"Fool. Your seed isn't fertile. You're just like the rest."
Tat's face twisted with rage. "No, Tila..." he started, but Anarungu cut him off.
"I didn't want to tell you that, Tat, but I did it."
"What did you do?" Tat exhaled, the realization dawning on him slowly. He looked to the Elder, as if the old man held answers, as if he could expose the lie in Anarungu's words. But the Elder looked just as lost.
"I wanted you both to be happy. So, when she was in the jungles, I did IT under the guise that it was you."
"No, no... LIE!" Tat bellowed, jumping up from his seat. The hunters aimed their spears at Anarungu.
"He's lying; he's just trying to provoke you, Chief," the Elder said.
