The Last Narkoy: Gathow: Book 2 by Elizabeth Price (find a book to read txt) 📕

the Marisheio attacked and that you’d probably hold up in one of these caves,” Sedom stated boldly. She glanced over at the pile of weapons, suddenly realizing there was more to these men than a hunting trip. Some of the weapons were military grade and in no way would they have been used for hunting animals. They were protecting something or someone, but who?

Danstu motioned for the men to lower their weapons. “Coppy was correct. How many survived?” he asked, his face stern and expressionless. It wasn’t what Sedom expected. He gave no emotional response, only the kind of response she’d expect from a leader assessing a situation.

“I was told two-hundred and twenty-one have made it safely back to Gathow, that is as of my last update. We don’t know how many are dead or how many were taken yet,” Sedom replied cheerlessly. “We're searching for other survivors. You’re the first we’ve found.” She waved Zion and Rosanheer inside.

“We were the only hunting party,” spoke another man.

Sedom turned to the man who spoke. He was an older Crehail man, graying about the chops. His hands shook as he held his pistol to his side. She could tell he was no hunter, but he had some military training simply by the way he held his weapon. Something wasn’t adding up.

“So you’re saying there is no need to continue searching?” Sedom questioned.

“No, Madame. We’re fairly certain we’re all that’s left. If you wish to continue to search, Terman and Olgesh will go along to help,” Danstu offered as he pointed to the two men beside him.

“MARISHEIO!” one of the children cried out. In a panic, all the men raised their weapons at Rosanheer as he and Zion entered the cave. He raised his hands followed by Zion.

“Uh, Sortec, mind introducing us?” Zion called out.

“Hold on now,” Rosanheer called out.

Sedom dashed in front of Rosanheer, ready to defend him if necessary. “These are my friends. He does not work for the Marisheio. If he did, I would have already killed him myself.”

“Put your weapons down, now!” Danstu ordered the group in the Crehails’ language of Vocten. Everyone in the group slowly lowered their weapons. “If they wanted us dead we’d been so by now,” he stated.

Sedom slowly stepped away from Rosanheer. “Good, good. I understand you’re all a little jumpy, we are a little too after what happened last night. Know that we’re only here to help and there is no reason to fear us,” she explained in a soothing voice.

“You keep mighty interesting friends. What do they call you?” asked one of the older men in the group.

“We are speaking to Sortec herself,” answered a Crehail man in his forties, who stood behind Danstu. He jumped away from the fire pit and hurried over to Sedom.

He was a scrappy man, large at one time, but looked to have lost a lot of weight recently. His hair was a mess of grass and was so filthy Sedom couldn’t tell what his natural color was. He offered his hand, after dusting it off on his tan, threadbare pants. “Taraam Alree. It is an honor to meet you, Chadon.”

Sedom looked down at his gritty hand, grinning to hold back her disgust. “Forgive me, I don’t shake,” she admitted. After her encounter with Hasapoi, she was beginning to think twice about shaking anyone’s hand, let alone one so dirty. She looked deeply into the man’s silver eyes, noticing a small mark in the corner of his right eye. It was a mark she recalled reading about a long time ago, the mark of a worker slave. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was also a tracking device in the form of a tiny microchip. She didn’t worry that it was tracking him, not from the caves. The rock was too dense for any tracking device to find him. It was probably why he hid within the caves.

She turned to one of the men when she heard her name whispered. “Sortec?” asked another with a gasp. “The Narkoy, Sedom Sortec?”

“The Chadon herself. This is an honor, Chadon,” Danstu said with a slight bow.

Sedom nodded. “Let's get this group back to Gathow. We’ll decide if we want to continue searching once these people are settled.” She took hold of Alree's shoulder, causing a dust storm to rise from his jacket. “Uh,” she sneezed. “You-a… stay close. Half the galaxy is looking for you and not the good half,” she said sneezing again.

Danstu offered Sedom his handkerchief and she gladly accepted it.

Alree grunted nervously. “I know. I just hope wherever you’re taking us has a bath,” he mentioned. Sedom nodded, agreeing too that he desperately needed to bathe.

“Into the tunnels? But, those animals will eat us!” cried a boy while pointing to the cave’s opening.

“She has a special pass,” Rosanheer assured as he guided the child into the tunnels.

Sedom took the lead, flashing her light into the tunnel. She called out her name again, sending several Hoviss running. Alree rushed up next to Sedom, matching her pace so close she could smell his insect-eating, rancid breath.

“Sortec, not so fast,” Alree called. His sudden advancement towards Sedom caused Zion to step in his way. He glared down at Alree, forcing the man to take a step back. “Um, Sortec, a moment?”

Sedom paid little attention to the man other than what her nose forced her to. Her mind was already thinking of how best to accommodate her new visitors and how she could benefit from them being in Gathow. Only when Alree cleared his throat a third time did Sedom realize he was near her.

“What?” she asked abruptly, her attention on a passing Hoviss. She raised her hand to keep everyone from walking further. “Alka emina! Esha Manun!” she called out, her voice echoing throughout the tunnel. The animals ran off down another tunnel. She