I y there with pain flooding through my veins. Every st point of mana I gained I used to heal my wounds. I looked at Lethabo who bled profusely from the rents in her back. Crawling to her I pced my hand upon her back and channeled a single point of mana worth of healing into her to stop the bleeding. It would take me another minute to gain a point back.

  I sat on my haunches as I waited for others to return. A growing pool of blood spread out from all the dead around me as I looked upon my ravaged cn. No hunters beside Lethabo y standing. All who were struck by the monstrous barbarian died. If not for my greatly enhanced endurance, speed, and strength I would have fallen from the barest brushing of those blows.

  Slowly some of the bravest of our peers crept into the area that held the battle. I noticed several of the nearest huts had been damaged by the rampaging barbarian. Blood ran down my back as Melokuhle came into the area. Aphiwe in her arms. They looked at the carnage around the area. The dead members of our tribe strewn about carelessly. In their fright they looked at each of them before their eyes fell upon me.

  Without hesitation they rushed to me and went to wrap their arms around me. I held my hand up stopping them. “Don’t, it would only injure me. My back is heavily burned.” I pushed myself to my feet and stood above them both. I pced my blood hands upon their heads and rubbed gently. “The threat has passed. Tend to the dead.”

  The wailing of many women filled the area as breeders recognized their mistresses. Bodies were held to breasts and blood stained those that relied on their betters. Males looked down and away at the edge of it all. Breathing hurt, my back was still feeling like it was on fire. Still I stood strong amongst all those around me. It was my time, I needed to seize control and lead these people.

  “We have fought a great foe this day!” I projected my voice above the wailing of those around me as I moved to the center of the bloody mess. “The women who stood against it gave their lives in order to save you all. All of them are heroes this day. Do not ment the loss of them but celebrate their sacrifice instead. Hold your heroes to your chest and thank them.”

  I held up my good arm, the other still cracked and bent wrong. “They bled for you, they died for you. Many of you will have to take up their arms. We must change to feed those that cannot find food for themselves. The breeders that are not with pup, I tell you now that you are no longer of the lesser caste. You rise now to be huntresses to repce those that have fallen.”

  Everyone looked shocked as their eyes turned to one another. The thoughts of such an extreme change would shake the very social standings in the cn. Many of them were in grief. We did not have the time though to mourn for long.

  All of my god given abilities would not help in these moments. Seduction, lovemaking, it would all be pointless for a time. Ignoring my pain I walked to each of those mourning and touched them. When we locked eyes I gave words of praise for the fallen.

  “We move now, we must bury those that have fallen deep in the earth. Where the animals will not get to their honored bodies. Now, I demand you males!” I swept my finger to the outskirts of the feeding pits. “Dig, dig deep or face my wrath. A grave for each of those that have died. If you fail in this I will break you and leave you crippled.”

  Bongani stood amongst them but not with the fear in his heart. He nodded to me, grabbing onto the next person’s shoulder and pulled them away to the edge of the vilge to listen to my demands.

  I moved towards the corpse of the Lionkin. Blood ran from his fallen form as I ripped a spear tip out. I looked at my mate, “Melokuhle, take his head and fashion me a chest wrap from his skin. I will wear it to honor the dead. His mane will warm my body.”

  She nodded, grabbing the nearest bde used to cut meat and approached the corpse. “Wear his skin with pride!” I called to the blood lust filled eyes around me. “Come and take from him the flesh the fallen deserve. Without them he would not have died. Carve from him a token for your fallen mistress.

  I began a malicious ugh. Melokuhle joined me as she carved the head and mane from the fallen barbarian. The infectious ugh spread out from me as crazed anger filled the eyes of the women around. Each of them grabbed knives and approached the fallen corpse and carved a piece of him loose. Someone severed his long tail and held it above her head with her ughter. “A tooth or cw for each of the fallen!”

  They began to tear the body apart with fervor as the madness of bloodlust filled the ughter I had caused. I could feel the disapproval of Hathor but this was not her pce to interfere. Montu watched us now. With a crazed anger the barbarian was butchered like so much meat. Blood soaked the women as they brought tokens to the fallen.

  “Leave his meat for the buzzards! Let him rot in the afterlife!” Melokuhle handed me his severed head and I raised it above me with my one good arm. Blood dripped on me like rain as I ughed. “I will wear him! I will show others what happens when they shed our blood!”

  Those around me fell into madness. Blood lust, grief, anger, and retribution filled the voices of those around me. “Meat for the buzzards! Death given for death taken! Blood for blood!” A pile of meat and bones were left on the ground as spear heads, skin, cws, teeth, mane, and head were taken from him.

  “Bring him to the edge of town and we will watch the birds consume him! Guard our fallen from the carrion birds!” Handing the head to my mate I grabbed at the corpse with a dozen other hands as we began to drag him behind us. Leaving a trail of thick drying blood.

  Growls, ughs, and calls of retribution filled the air now as all those that didn’t come watched us drag a corpse through the trails of the vilge. We pulled him into the pins and abandoned his meat for the birds.

  My arm cracked as it straightened and healed. My back scarred over as I walked. I would heal true in time. The scars would fade, I would return to the perfect form I was given. When I returned Lethabo had some life in her eyes as her mates helped her to her feet and gauzed her back. New scars would decorate her body in time. I walked to her as the women of the tribe followed me.

  I grabbed Lethabo’s arm and raised it up. She hissed in pain but I ignored it. “Behold! Our st hunter!” The ughter was gone now as they paid attention. “Those without pups look at our master hunter. You will join her! You will feed the cn! No longer are you breeders! You are hunters!”

  Arms were thrust into the air as yells erupted from people’s throats. “Lead us! Retribution for the fallen! We rise!” I stoked the fire in the women.

  “We celebrate the fallen tonight! Once they are buried we come together, we drink, we eat, we

  tell the tale of the dead!” I called letting Lethabo slump back down. “Bring the fallen to their graves. Who will help carry the dead?”

  I moved and pulled up the first of the fallen. Two women came to my aid and we began the long march to the edge of town. The males would be driven to hurry. I began a song, one we all knew as the cn came together to honor the hunters that died. A dirge fell from our hearts as we moved through the town. Uncimed females came from the shadows, calling out their support as their hands took the slightest of burdens they could.

  Heroes were upon our shoulders. Many of them beyond recognition from the damage they sustained. Their unique spots were the only way to identify each of them. Gone was the mentation, only anger filled the chests of the mourning women.

  We arrived and saw the men in a rush digging graves for the fallen. Their hands bloody from the scraping of the earth. Each grave had a couple of males driving themselves to exhaustion to prepare for their betters. Many were kicked out of the way as the dead were brought to their resting spots. Tears returned as mates looked down at their centers. The very pilr they all leaned on would be gone forever.

  “Honor the heroes! Call out their names while they head to the afterlife. May they go to Montu! Be in his fields for eternity, one day you will return to their sides.” I watched with a fire in my heart. Death had brushed against me today. If not for the path of power I had been given I would not have been strong enough to fight that monster of a man. Hathor had saved my life. If Montu had cimed me I would have died today.