The Hunter's Song

Chapter 11: Duel (Eh'kt)

Content Warning: Brief mention of self-harm is mentioned in this chapter.

...

I put on my bio-mask the moment Mourning Crow referred to me affectionately in her native tongue. Then her figure blurred and blinked in and out of my natural heat vision.

It was the same silence and sharp drop in skin temperature I witnessed when I made the mistake of invoking the Abura.

Our code demanded both parties reveal themselves during a duel but I was conflicted about whether or not this was the perfect moment to demonstrate the many hazards awaiting Jahaa on Menthla.

I did warn my clan.

Razkurs were not meek. They were predators, evolved to hunt in silence and infrared. When incensed they could cool their skin instantly, rendering themselves temporarily invisible to our normal spectrum.

I amped up my bio-mask's sensors into a custom mode I designated DARK RAZKUR. Mourning Crow didn't growl, or hiss, or even flare her powerful teeth. Instead, her internal organs went quiet while she heaved her chest to force the warm blood back into her skin.

Good. Everyone needs to see.

Renas took an eager position several feet away, savoring what she believed would be an effortless victory. The Enforcer was a skilled warrior, smart and decisive. She even mated successfully with Dran during our mating season thirty cycles ago.

I'm not sure why, but Shale, the one who should have been my final opponent in the Grand Nexus melee, pulled his gaze off Mourning Crow and stared at me.

Don't come looking to me for answers after you went off chasing phantom challenges and denied me the chance to defeat you in front of an audience! All that pedigree and you're still clueless.

Screw you! This is what you deserted. No one, not even you, can steal my triumph!

I confirmed my bio-mask was recording and returned my attention to Mourning Crow. Her face was serene but the formation of her ears screamed I want her fucking head!

Renas roared and shook her mane of dark green quills, signaling that the duel was in progress.

Then Mourning Crow closed her eyes, slowed her lungs, took three steps, and froze. Not out of fear, her posture was downright hostile. Mouth closed, head lunged forward with her shoulders sloped back, ears flat and back, no twitching, arms to her sides, and her bare feet planted firmly with one foot set slightly in front of the other.

My mate was locked on her target, and just like the inhabitants of Thorngate, Renas had no idea that she was already dead.

This was what it meant to be hunted by razkurs.

I'm not sure what I expected but certainly not what happened.

One second Renas was charging and the next she mangled and twisted in half.

Mourning Crow was crouched on top holding Renas' bloody spine in her mouth. Then she crunched down with her blunt white teeth, splintering the wet vertebrae flat and squeezing the organic juices free. Her posture... she was perched like a tailless kiande amedha after claiming a fresh kill.

Roars flooded the grand hall and Mourning Crow rose, her face slathered in luminescent green blood. She snipped loose the excess spinal cord dangling from the sides of her mouth then spat out the chewed-up hunk of yautja vertebrae, flattened her ears, and went still again.

The grand hall hushed.

I had to hit replay to break down exactly what happened and so did everyone else that happened to be wearing their mask.