Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 20
20
"It's not your fault, you know," Kadai said, sifting through the ash. It was an odd sight, the Chieftain and his son on clean-up duty, work that would normally have fallen to Wolves of low standing. But no one had stepped up to do it, and Kadai didn't feel right ordering those that had hated his son with such a fervour to paw through what remained of his belongings. This burnt up husk couldn't stay here forever, though, but at least it provided him an opportunity to speak with his remaining boy in earnest.
"I know," Hezzi said, dumping a handful of sand over a nest of smouldering embers. He didn't sound very sincere at all. He was just going through the motions, repeating the same tired lines over and over again.
"Hezzi, look at me."
He looked up, his face smeared with ashes almost the exact same shade as his fur. It made it impossible to tell exactly where he was clean and where he was tainted. By the Cora, could not a single day pass where he didn't spot some half-assed omen in his son? That was Shekka's domain, not his.
"You know this already, but the tribe is becoming a dangerous place. Your title as my son shields you, but I cannot guarantee how much longer that will last."
"I know," Hezzi said again in that same, infuriatingly sleepy tone of voice, like he was about to nod off. "You're not the first one to tell me that."
Kadai stopped working just long enough to have a quick look around. Most of the Wolves were just going about their business, giving them a wide berth, but Hyker was loitering by the gates, doing a not-so-subtle job of keeping an eye on them. And up in the watchtower was Yanek - he couldn't be counted out either. But at least they were out of earshot. "Danado, Mellah, and Sorrin were attacked last night, probably under Wardo's orders."
Hezzi looked up sharply. "What about Renna?"
"She's... fine." Oh Kadai, you are such a liar, he thought. But as harsh as Aisa's methods were, they probably were doing an effective job of keeping the girl on the low end of Wardo's list of priorities, at least until he feels the need to pay her back for that bite... By the Cora, he was getting too old for this. But this was his job. Even if he had to do it all alone, he was duty bound to keep his people and his family safe. "I don't want you to wander around alone anymore, even in the daytime. You stay within earshot of me, your mother, or Nilia at all times, you got that?"
"I understand."
"And another thing -"
How many times have I seen that Hezzi of yours walking around with a limp in his step and a cut on his face? How many times has my Renna snuck off to bring him scraps of food stolen from my larder because your son was too scared to go back home?
"Yeah?"
"Just..." Kadai ran a hand across his face, no doubt smearing it with even more ash, but he was too tired to care. "Just promise me you'll be careful."
"I promise."
"Okay."
They worked in silence for a while, throwing chunks of blackened wood onto a pile for later disposal, digging through the ash for anything the tribe might still be able to make use of. No one came to help them.
Kadai had just plucked something out of the ground, a metallic little box thing, partially melted, and he was trying to figure out what it might once have been when Hezzi suddenly asked: "What are you going to do?"
Kadai sighed and tossed the box onto the junk pile. "I've been thinking that exact same thing all through the night, but it seems I don't have many options. A Chieftain is only as powerful as the faith and loyalty of his people. Without his people, there is no Chieftain. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Hezzi nodded. "It means you have to do something now, while there's still time."
"No, Hezzi. This isn't a race. I can't just rush into this without thinking it thr -"
"It's better than just sitting around digging through ash while the tribe falls apart!"
"Hezzi, keep your voice down!" Kadai whispered, looking around to see if anybody had heard them. Pinta and Nale were giving them odd looks, but they quickly hurried away upon seeing their Chieftain's glare.
No real damage done. At least this time.
Kadai lifted a scorched buck skin and tipped a whole load of ash onto the ground, throwing up a grey cloud that quickly got grabbed by the breeze. No good. There were holes all over the rigid thing, so he tossed it onto the junk pile with the rest. It landed with a tired flump and kicked up yet another ash cloud to the winds. They would both be looking like spirits by the time they were done here.
"I'm not just 'sitting around' as you so callously put it, boy," Kadai whispered, keeping his eyes on his work. "I've been thinking hard. Wardo is moving very fast, and he may think that's a smart move, but if you reach too far too quickly, you're bound to fall on your face, and I believe that's exactly what he's doing."
"What do you mean, Father?"
"Of the eight Wolves who stepped up to defend Ander's life, either directly or indirectly, he went after the weakest ones first. No, what I should say is, he went after the ones he believed to be weak. At first I thought he only did it out of spite, like a child angry about not getting the last piece of fat, but now I see what he actually wants to do is send a message, a direct message to me as well as the whole tribe. What do you think that message might be?"
Hezzi scooped up another handful of sand, but paused to think a while before he dumped it over the next patch of stubborn smoke. "'These are the people that helped Ander. They are all loyal to the Chieftain. They all oppose me. Now they're hurt. If you oppose me, you'll end up just like them.'"
"Exactly. He's using scare tactics to punish those he sees as his enemies all while stealing support for himself. He grows stronger while I grow weaker. Three birds with one stone, you might say."
"Why don't you just throw him out of the tribe?" Hezzi whispered, wrenching loose a big chunk of wood that once formed part of Ander's work table. "Why not end everything right now?"
Because he knows what I did... He knows I betrayed Shekka...
"I told you before, without the support of his people, there is no Chieftain, Hezzi. I want you to remember that. You'll need to make use of that advice one day when I'm no longer around."
Hezzi threw the blackened piece of wood onto the pile. "It still sounds to me like you're hesitating."
"That's because I don't have any proof, but that's where Wardo's ambition may have betrayed him."
Hezzi scooted a little bit closer and perked his ears while Kadai quickly scanned the area for any potential eavesdroppers. He waited for a small pack of she-wolves to pass them by, then divulged the beginnings of a plan to his son.
"Danado will be the key," he whispered, randomly pulling debris from the ground, not really paying attention to what he was doing.
"Danado?"
"He's the only one who can name names, and his entire body is covered in evidence. Even if he only reveals the names of the ones who attacked him, the law will allow me to inflict the exact same wounds upon each and every single one of them. You haven't seen him yet, but what it amounts to is... torture."
Kadai thought Hezzi would wince, or curse, but instead he calmly looked his father in the eye and said: "Good."
Kadai felt the first creepers of unease steal across back. "Good?"
"Well, not for Danado. That's bad. But against the bastards who did it? Yes. That's very good. Even in the worst case scenario, you'll still be able to send Wardo a message in kind. 'Here's what happens to those who oppose me'. Best case scenario, you might be able to torture a confession out of one of his lackeys. Make them admit that Wardo was the one who sent them. You won't be able to execute the mongrel just for that, but you should be well within your rights to banish him forever."
"Hezzi..." It was disturbing, hearing his drisa speak so coldly, so emotionlessly, and about torture and execution, no less! The same fate Ander had to fight through with every last ounce of his strength! Not only that, he instantly thought up the scenarios it had taken him over an hour of careful planning to foresee. What kind of a Wolf was Hezzi turning into? And how much was he to blame?
"The only thing I can't figure out," Hezzi continued, "is why you haven't done it already. Gather all the Wolves like you did back when you announced we'd be going after Ander. Get Danado to point fingers in front of everyone. It should be easy to turn a gathering into a trial before Wardo even has a chance to realize what's happening. And even if he does, you're still the Chieftain. He wouldn't be able to stop you."
By the Cora, where was all this coming from?
"I can't do that, Hezzi. Danado won't speak."
"Why not?" Hezzi chucked a piece of wood into the junk pile so hard the whole thing toppled over in a cloud of ash.
"Because they threatened to take his sister's life, that's why."
Hezzi stopped. For a long while, tendrils of ashy smoke were the only moving things they could see.
Good, Kadai thought. If there's one thing he can understand, it's love for a sibling.
But then: "Make him talk."
"What?"
"I said _make_him talk. Make him understand there's more at stake here than Lana's life."
"Hezzi, by the Cora, do you even understand what you're saying?"
"Of course I do, Father. I'm not saying you should trick him, or threaten him, just make him understand."
You have to make them understand. It's the only way they'll learn.
Dammit, those were Aisa's words. She lived in a world different from the rest of them, and she was trying to drag her daughter along with her. And now he was hearing the same kind of talk from Hezzi? He didn't want to live in a world like that, a world that revolved around inflicting pain and enduring pain for the sole reason of avoiding even greater pain. At least, not anymore. He once stepped out onto the precipice of that world on a dark, stormy night twenty three years ago when he pressed a knife to his own chest. He was saved, yanked away from the edge of that deceptively peaceful world by the voice of his crying dosa, and only upon stepping back did he realize how close he really was to just giving up. That's what it really is, when you get down to it. Giving up. That's what it will inevitably lead to, if the pain becomes too much.
"Hezzi, you nearly died to protect Ander's life. That scar is still fresh on your body. How can you expect Danado to do something he believes will get her killed? You might as well ask him to murder her himself, because that's how he will hear it."
"Danado will die together with his sister if Wardo gets what he wants, and what he wants is for all of us to die. I may not be the smartest Wolf, but even I know that much. He's practically been screaming it from the village centre."
And speaking of Wardo, the trig bastard really was sitting in the village centre, relaxing in the shade of the Cora statue like the lord of all creation, surrounded by a small gang of warrior Wolves, perfectly safe. Kadai wanted nothing more than to walk over there and wipe that smug little smile off his face, but what would such a scene gain him? His jaw still hurt from the flying punch he received at Ander's trial, and although he would gladly suffer a dozen blows if it meant he could deliver just a single one to Wardo's insufferable grin, he couldn't see himself breaking through the wall of muscle he had built around himself.
Kadai pulled another piece of unrecognisable metal from the debris, probably the corpse of one of Ander's inventions, and tossed it onto the pile. He sighed. Ander managed to keep Hezzi from flying off into madness and despair, but he didn't like this cold practicality that had bloomed in its stead. It was oddly like a combination of Ander's smarts fused with Banno's cold-hearted ruthlessness, a determination to achieve what he believed was right no matter the cost.
It scared him, but what scared him even more was that everything Hezzi was saying was true.
"What if..." Kadai mused out loud. "What if we can guarantee his sister's safety? Maybe we could hide her in the woods somewhere. Or even in a cave."
"Wouldn't work," Hezzi shot it down immediately.
"And why not?"
"Wardo is a prissy little coward, but give him his due. He's a master tracker and a trapper on top of that. He knows these woods better than anyone. Maybe it would've worked if you could've protected her with a gang of warriors, but judging by the way they reacted during Garten's funeral, and the bunch always buzzing around his tail like a swarm of flies, I think they'd be more inclined to end her life than protect it. But maybe Danado won't consider that. Maybe you could try to go through with it anyway, and hope to condemn Wardo for his crimes before Danado has a chance to find out that Lana was killed during his testimony. Sacrifice one Wolf to save many."
By the Cora, Hezzi.
"Father?"
"I think we're done here," Kadai said and threw the last bit of wood onto the pile. "The wind will blow the ash away."
"But what about all the -"
"Throw it into the woods. Or burn it again, I don't care. I just... I need to think some more."
Kadai walked. He didn't choose any particular direction, he just walked. Puffs of ash and charred splinters of wood shook loose from his clothes as he moved.
"Ander taught me how important life is, Father!" Hezzi shouted after him, but Kadai couldn't bring himself to turn around. "It's life, Father! Not just yours and mine, but everyone's! Sometimes sacrifices have to be made..."
He kept walking.
"... just like you sacrificed Ander."
Kadai stopped. He looked down at his hands, covered in grey ashes, but what he saw was blood. His hands were saturated with it.
He walked. Eventually, his feet led him back to his tent. He needed to rest, and he needed to think. He needed to find a way to save his people, not just some, or even most, but all of them. That's what Ander would want.
But time...
Time was not on his side.
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