A History Through Blood

Chapter 42 - Baited Breath

Kahina, knowing the dangerous role she was now playing, was unable torest or feel any sense of ease. Her mistress was beside her, hiddenwith-in her herb lined basket that served to mask the adze'spresence, although Victoria's proximity offered little to quell herever growing fears. In the void of activity, the translator opted totranslate sentences between her known tongues as to distract herselffrom the mortal danger she had volunteered for. Often, she would askfor phrases, converting it from English to Portuguese, Arabic, Fulaniand fragmented French to retain fluency in those tongues.Unfortunately, the phrases provided were often bland and clinical,devoid of emotion or expression used in common parlance. For monthsnow she had been subconsciously altering Victoria's words, addingqualifiers to make it appear more natural or convey her meaning.

As she translatedKahina noticed that she knew little about her mistress, outside ofher mission and supernatural inclinations. Looking back on herconversations she knew more about the former religious woman and theyoung child who residing with-in her, than anything of substanceabout the adze in question. There was a stark contrast in the amountof time she spent translating during business transactions and thecasual translation she performed for her familiars. Each period ofrest often saw Victoria retreat to her own devices, either to do someself-assigned busy work or keep to herself on the outer edges of thegroup.

"If I might ask,"the translator asked hesitantly "is there a reason you tend toisolate yourself? I just noticed that most of the translating I do isfor your familiars and not yourself." There was no movement orresponse from the basket which almost caused her to apologize, butthe adze soon answered. "Misgivings from my associates aside, I amgenerally not sociable." She answered, seemingly pondering herresponse in some measure of detail. "I am content merely watchingfrom a distance, getting emotionally involved is... problematic forthose who will outlive others." Something about her explanationseemed forced, or at least missing some details in her explanation.

Before she could probeany deeper a high-pitched chime echoed throughout the village. "Didyou hear that?" she asked, panic filtering into her voice. "No"replied the adze, shifting from her previously passive observanceinto a more proactive role. "The chime seems to resonate withisolated or susceptible targets, it is time to coordinate with ourassociates nearby." Through a somewhat tediously drawn-outtranslation, with Kahina and others sounding out the translation forthe familiars in the other buildings. It seems that she was the onlyone who heard the sound, placing her at the center of the creature'sattention and confirming that the Eloko was still hunting for humanprey.

All she could do waswait, knowing that a strange, and likely painful, death was stalkingher from the depths of the nearby jungles. Kahina did place enormoustrust in her mistress, but the mounting uncertainty still weighedheavily on her mind. Each passing minute, each seemingly elongatedsecond, only served to grow her fear. Attempts to distract herselffrom the predicament proved ineffective as she often stumbled ormispronounced words she was translating. Crispin had offered to giveprayer and comfort prior to entering the home, but the goodintentions failed to translate as she lacked the necessaryunderstanding of his faith. Now even the little comfort he would haveprovided was greatly appreciated.

Left with only oneavailable option, she turned to her patron for advice and assurance."How do you deal with this feeling of encroaching danger?" askedKahina, dread slowly creeping into her voice. "You are asking thewrong person." Responded Victoria, measuring her words to try andreassure her. "I have not felt any concept of fear from death formany years, long before I became somewhat timeless. This is not dueto some internal strength, rather an acceptance that it will comeeventually."

"So how should I dealwith these feelings?" she asked, trembling at her newfoundrealization of her own mortality. "Weeks ago, I was mostly safe andwell-fed working for my lecherous master, now I might die, forgottenand far from home. I thought I would be fine, but it's different thanwatching the men fight beasts in our defense. One is now targetingme, only me, and I cannot help but think of these things. Theconstant feeling of dread, its unbearable."