Kared's Children - Chapter 10

"Rucka!" she barked.

It peered at her.

She uncapped the waterskin.

It opened its mouth, revealing scattered, jagged teeth and a thick, pink tongue, and she squirted water into its mouth. Its tongue quivered as the water hit.

"Ugh," Damon said. He stood.

The creature cowered again.

"That didn’t help," Aleda hissed at him.

"Sorry."

The tip of its tongue was snaking around the edges of the its mouth, as though searching for any stray drops of water.

"Rucka!" Aleda said.

The tongue stopped. The Graywillow glanced at Damon, but opened its mouth again. Aleda squirted water into it. It swallowed greedily. She gave it more. It slurped loudly.

"His name is Reek," Aleda whispered. "His friends sent it down here, apparently to explore. His torch died and he was trapped in the darkness. He seems to think he’s been down here a long time, but I found his torch not far. It was still warm."

Reek burped.

"Yuck!" Damon said.

The thin creature cowered.

Aleda scowled.

"I couldn’t help it!"

"Nurnk bonka," Aleda said to the Graywillow. "Crum."

"What are you saying to it?"

"I’m telling him you won’t kill him as long as he behaves."

"Purm keentra?" the Graywillow peeped.

"Nakta."

"What was that?" Damon asked.

"He asked if you’d killed his friends. I said yes."

"‘Nakta’ means yes?"

"Nakta."

"How do you say ‘no’?"

"Tome."

"Nakta and tome. Okay. Those two I got."

Hearing Damon speak its language seemed to calm the creature. He sat up.

"What were they doing here to begin with?" Damon asked Aleda.

"Dragarth beeftik," Aleda asked the Graywillow.

"Klom tome," Reek replied.

This answer seemed to excite Aleda. She asked again, and Reek repeated his answer. She then spoke rapidly to the creature, who became more and more agitated, until at last he fell back to the ground and began squirming. His hands crept back over his head protectively.

"Aleda," Damon said.

She didn’t stop questioning Reek.

Reek squirmed.

"Aleda."

She looked at Damon.

He shook his head.

She looked back at Reek, frustrated. "He says he doesn’t know why they were here. He says he came because his friends told him to."

Damon touched Reek’s arm gently. Reek jerked, but Damon began to stroke it. Withstanding his revulsion, he stroked Reek’s head lightly. The sparse hairs on its head felt coarse. "Ask him-nicely-why his friends came."

"Nicka keentra," Aleda whispered.

Reek peeked at her. He seemed to think now that Damon was his protector.

"Nicka keentra," Damon echoed.

Reek looked at him and began babbling in its strange language of grunts and howls.

Damon didn’t understand any of it. He glanced at Aleda and she nodded without interrupting.

Reek finally slowed.

"Pim konk," Aleda whispered.

Reek looked at her frightenedly.

"Pim konk," Damon repeated.

"Deef," Reek said.

"Deef." Damon looked at Aleda. "What’s ‘deef’?"

"Sun. Or suns. It means days. He says his friends followed a flying monster."

Damon stood. "The Kagatje."