The trip between our hunting treehouse and the clan was not far. The clan most likely believed that we had gone hunting and had not come out to find us. As we approached the clan treehouses, I heard Kimmy gasp with amazement at the sight of our city.
I knew that compared to Kimmy's world ours seemed primitive. I could not make a judgment as to whether or not her land was more advanced than ours. But until the sky devils had arrived a decade ago, Zimbre had been a peaceful paradise for our people.
We wanted for nothing, had strong families, and healthy bodies. Now there were so few females that families were close to nonexistent. Without the females, the males became uncivilized and childish. There was always some kind of infighting now. The disease that had swept through the Zimbre people ten years ago had left its mark on our constitutions.
Our race, as a whole, was less healthy than it used to be. But now that the cupids had brought us our first mate, I hoped that all of that would soon end. The reintroduction of females into our population had to have a positive effect on our society and our health.
As soon as baby girls began to be born again, I hoped that we would become more acquainted with the old ways; how things had been before the arrival of the sky devils. This was my hope anyway, and the hope of my brother.
We rode into the stables, under the treehouse and released our Kong beasts into the corral with the rest of the clan's mounts. I closed the gates and as we moved out of the corral toward the ladders of the treehouse city, the Kong beast master stepped in our path, his eyes wide and his lips parted in surprise.
“Who is that?” the beast master said, motioning to Kimmy.
“This is our mate, Kimmy,” Konko said.
“Where did you find her?” the beast master asked, eyeing her soft curves.
I growled and narrowed my eyes at him, not liking him looking at my mate like that.
“Cupids brought her to us. She is the first of the mates they have promised,” I said.
“What mates?”
“You’ll see,” Konko said.
We pushed past the beast master and continued toward the ladder to the treehouse.
We continued climbing the ladder until we came to the first landing. The bulk of the treehouse city was in the high reaches of the canopy, far away from the dangers of the jungle below.
A few Zimbre males were busily tanning hides on the first landing and looked at Kimmy hungrily. One of the males growled and started to stand. But instead of stopping, I motioned for Kimmy to continue toward the next ladder and to climb up to the main level of the treehouse city.
I heard growls behind us as we continued on. There was no way to avoid the anger of the chief now that we were returning with our bride already claimed.
“I don't think they like me very much,” Kimmy whispered.
“They like you too much,” I said.
We hurried past the rows of vines that hung between the main walkway and the open public square. I hoped we could make it to our private quarters before being seen by the chief or any of his officers.
I led Kimmy down the hall with Konko right behind, wanting to get her out of sight as quickly as possible. It would be better to address the chief in private. Making a public spectacle of Kimmy was not the plan.
We hurried her into a side hall that led to our private treehouse. I heard drumming and singing in the distance. It was a festival day for the clan and many would be in the treehouses celebrating. I could smell the scent of roasting Cocoche bird meat.
We passed several groups of warriors on the way down the hall. Their eyes glared down at us as they spotted Kimmy. This was already not going well, but we had no other options. We had to bring her back to the clan for protection while we cracked the ancient codes.
Finally, we crossed the short rope bridge into our own treehouse, and I shut the vine door behind us. It was larger than the treehouse the hunting lodge we kept. There were two sleeping quarters, divided by a wall of thickly braided vines. The fire pit sat in the middle of the main room with our cooking equipment and table and chairs.
Kimmy sat on a pile of furs near the fire pit and drew her knees up to her chest, folding her arms around her legs. She rested her chin on her knees and looked concerned.
She was now a Zimbre like the rest of us. Stronger and bolder than she had been before. But being confronted by the clan and all of the lustful looks she had received on the way through the halls had to be bothering her.
First, Konko and I had no choice but to hide her. Now, we had no choice but to bring her back to the clan, to face our chief, and whatever dissatisfaction he would have with us. I knew that the situation was not the best, and I was going to change things fast.
I knelt beside the fire pit and started to build a fire. I knew the glow and the heat would make Kimmy feel more at home. Konko poured her a cup of cool water and handed it to her where she sat on the furs. She accepted it happily and a few moments later I had a small fire blazing in the fire pit. Konko offered Kimmy dried meat to munch on while we made ourselves at home together for the first time.
We all sat cross legged on the furs around the fire pit. Kimmy took a deep breath and let it out, rolling her shoulders and fixing a determined look on her face.
“The chief will be angry we claimed her,” I said to Konko.
“Why?” Kimmy asked.
“The cupids came to us and offered us a mate. We informed the chief of the agreement. He expected us to bring you to him before we claimed you. We did not feel it was safe, and I stand by that decision.”
A moment later there was a sharp knock on our door and angry voices on the other side. I stood with a growl and went to open the door.
“What is it?” I asked as I flung the door wide.
“The chief demands your presence. You and your brother and that foreign female you've brought into the treehouses of our clan.”
I motioned for Konko and Kimmy. We would have to deal with the chief now. With the increased activity of the sky devils, I knew that we would have to go back to the ancient temples and decipher the codes very soon. I did not want Kimmy in the middle of this mess and that meant she would have to stay with the clan.
I held her hand as we walked, a gesture that was foreign to the Zimbre but seemed to make her feel more secure. The warriors walking ahead of us glanced back at the strange gesture and shrugged their shoulders, continuing down the hall.
We rounded all the way around the main platform and came to a wide rope bridge that led to the chief’s treehouse. I walked across, next to Kimmy with Konko right behind us. When we arrived in the chief’s main chamber, we found him sitting on his jewel-encrusted throne, draped with the best furs over his seat and under his bare feet. The two females he had claimed for himself sat on either side, and he glared down at us, baring his teeth.
“You have claimed the foreign female already,” the chief said. “I can smell her scent. And I can sense that she has been changed. Why have you kept these things from your chief? Do you not owe me loyalty? Do you plan to overthrow the social order?”
“Of course not,” I said. “We only wanted to protect our mate from a potential interference from other males.”
“Now that I see her, I can tell she is not one of our own. Perhaps it would have been better to offer her to the clan so that the strongest males among us may have fought to have the right to claim her,” the chief said.
“She is our mate,” Konko said. “She was given to us by the cupids. You can sense it yourself; Kimmy was not originally a Zimbre, but she is obviously our mate. We all know it. Konko and I have changed her and we have claimed her. No other male can claim any rights to this female. How it is just to expect us to offer our own mate to other males? Since when do the Zimbre claim other male’s mates?”
“Since we have so few females left,” the chief chided. “We need the strongest males to mate with the females. Neither of you have proven that you deserve this rare and exotic female as your own.”
“It is too late to ask us to perform a feat of strength or win a tournament for our own mate’s hand. We have already claimed her. She belongs to us,” I said.
“That you have. And the question now is whether or not you should be punished for your betrayal.”
“We have the codes for the ancient weapons,” I said. “The cupids spoke to Konko and I. If you want to defeat the sky devils, you must allow us to go. We brought our mate to the clan for her protection. Now we must go to the ancient temple. It is now patrolled by the sky devils. They shot red fire beams at us. They are getting worse and worse every day. They are sucking up the entire jungle.”
“Vock is correct,” Konko said. “We must go back to the ancient temple and discover the activation for the ancient weapons. It is the only way to protect ourselves from the sky devils.”
“We should not be fighting among ourselves. It is the sky devils who are our enemies,” I said.
The chief heaved a sigh and sat back in his throne, rubbing his temples.
“I see your reasoning in this,” he said.
His females fussed over him as he frowned down at us. “I give you permission to go to the ancient temple to take down the sky devils as was promised by your cupids. The fertile female proves there was something to their claim. She is a blessing and a gift to our clan.
“You have my permission to leave your mate here. She will not be touched during your absence. Go to the ancient temple and activate the ancient weapons. We must take out the sky devils. They are encroaching closer and closer to our treehouses. If they send another poison gas cloud to descend upon our people, it will be the end of the Zimbre.”
“Thank you, chief,” I said, bowing forward in respect.
Konko and Kimmy and I walked back to our private quarters. It had gone better than I’d expected with the chief. Now all we had to do was the impossible: defeat the sky devils.
19
Kimmy
“I don't want to be left here,” I said to the twins as we sat in our private treehouse together.
Konko stoked the fire and Vock put a pot of water over the flame, throwing herbs into the liquid.
“You can't come with us, Kimmy.” Vock said. “It is far too dangerous.”
“Vock is right,” Konko said. “You must stay here for your own safety.”
“I don't know about you guys, but something about being told I should have been auctioned off to the strongest male doesn't exactly make me feel safe,” I said.
Ever since we had arrived on the treehouse, the looks of the males filled me with apprehension. It was clear that the males all desired me and that the few females were not only suspicious, but they flat-out didn't like me. The brothers seemed to think that it didn't matter, but how was I supposed to feel comfortable staying here alone?
“The chief has spoken,” Vock said. “You will be safe here. No other males will bother you; the chief promised it. We may be primitive compared to your culture, but we do have honor.”
I heaved a sigh and rolled my eyes. Did Konko really think that I was trying to insult him and his race? I was Zimbre now. I had been turned and had experienced my own feral form.
But my loyalty was to my mates, not to the clan, especially if they were going to talk about giving me to other males. That was something I just couldn't support, and never would, no matter what the twins said.
“I simply don't like all of this talk of giving me to other males. It's ridiculous. I was mated and matched with you.”
“You must understand Kimmy, the clan is in disarray since the arrival of the sky devils. Everything is in chaos. But it is Vock and I who can change that. We must go to the ancient temple to decipher the codes the cupids gave us. You must stay here in safety. We won't be able to work on our investigation if we worry about you the entire time.”
“So now you guys want to guilt trip me? Just great. I was kidnapped from my planet, taken to this weird place and given to two strange men with blue skin and yellow eyes. I was sucked dry of all my blood and turned into a panther, and now you want to make me feel guilty for not wanting to hang out with a bunch of males who obviously want to take me? Come on guys, you have to see this from my perspective for one minute,” I said.
I knew I was being juvenile and selfish, but I had to get my point across. The idea of staying with the clan without the twins was extremely unsettling. What if the chief suddenly changed his mind and decided he was going to take me for himself? There was no way that I could stop that from happening, and I really didn't put it past these people to do something completely uncivilized after all the talk at the chief’s treehouse of giving me to other males.
“We do see from your perspective, Kimmy. With our mating we feel each other deeply. We feel you as well as you feel us. You must know this is the only way. Our only concern is for you,” Vock said, reaching out to touch my arm.
I let out a long sigh and my shoulders relaxed.
“I know you're right,” I finally admitted.
I could feel their urgency and their panic. I could feel their desire to protect me. I could feel their loyalty to me. It extended beyond even their loyalty to their clan. I knew that the brothers would do anything to protect me, and that bringing me to the clan was the only thing they knew to do.
“We cannot leave the clan,” Konko said. “We would not survive in the jungle on our own; not indefinitely. It's not a way to live for a social creature like the Zimbre. I doubt a human female would be happy to live on her own forever either. Aside from that, you need the protection of the clan from the sky devils and the dangers of the jungle while we're gone.”
“How long do you guys expect to be gone?” I asked feeling a sense of panic rise in my chest. Konko was acting like they were going to be gone for quite a long time.
“We don't know, Kimmy. That is why you must stay with the clan, in case anything happens. This is your home now and these are your people. They will protect you,” Konko said.
“You must know you're scaring me. I don't want to be here without you. I'll just call the stupid cupids and make them take me home. I don't want to be mated with some other Zimbre. I only want you and Vock.”
I folded my arms and pouted, hoping that if I gave them enough attitude they would listen to me. I knew this was a difficult time for them, but it was a difficult time for me too. The fact that I wasn't completely mentally cracked right now was kind of amazing in itself. Vock and Konko had to give me credit for what I had already had the strength to accept as normal. I would only let it go so far before I stood up for myself and said no more.
“Nothing will happen to us, Kimmy,” Vock said. “You have my word of honor.”
“That's not going to count for much if the sky devils kill you,” I said, the tears starting to roll down my cheeks.
Vock and Konko sat down beside me and wrapped their arms around my shoulders. The herbal concoction that was boiling over the open flame wafted steam through the room and it smelled spicy and enticing. Konko poured me a cup of the tea, and offered it to me as Vock patted my back with his big hand.
I knew that they were trying to console me. I could feel them deep in my heart and knew that their primary concern was me, above everything. How could I be so selfish right now when their entire home was at risk? All I could think about was myself and what I needed from them. But I couldn't stand the idea of being left alone here without them, no matter how tender the care they gave me.
“We will defend you with our lives,” Konko said.
I took the first sip of the tea he'd given me. The flavor was sweet and spicy, like a mixture of cardamom and cinnamon with black tea. It was delicious and exotic, not quite like anything I had ever tasted before. I took a deep sip and let out a long breath of satisfaction.
“I know you guys are just trying to protect me,” I admitted. “It's just that everything has changed so much in my life and all I know now is how much I love you both. I need to be with you. The idea of losing you is just too m
uch for me. I can't… I can't,” I sniffled, losing my focus and bursting into tears again.
The twins held me in their arms and kissed me gently on the face and mouth.
“I hear the drums and singing of the festivals,” Vock said.
“We should go partake. They have brought meat from the hunt and it will be good eating,” Konko said.
They lifted me to my feet and dried my eyes with a soft cloth.
“Let us have a diversion,” Vock said, smiling at me gently. “You will meet some of the other females and it will put your mind at ease.”
“I doubt it,” I said. “They didn't seem to like me very much.”
“They will like you,” Konko said. “They have no choice.”
That didn't make me feel any better, but their confidence in the clan and in me somehow did. We walked to the door of our treehouse and across the rope bridge to the main hallway. Then we came out into the main platform of the treehouse.
It circled around a giant tree at the center and even burrowed into the trunk itself. A bonfire raged in a stone pit, around which dozens of Zimbre males and maybe half a dozen females were laughing, singing, and playing drums in a circle around the fire.
I could smell the scent of roasting meat and the sweetness of berries and fruit. It was an intoxicating aroma and even though I had eaten earlier that day, my stomach rumbled in anticipation of a hearty meal.
The drumming and singing vibrated through my chest, rejuvenating me and alleviating some of my anxiety as we walked through the lively crowd, full of smiles. Even as they looked on me as a stranger, I couldn't help but be swept up in the feeling of community.
The chief sat on a special chair near the fire with his mates beside him, offering him choice bits of meat and handfuls of fresh berries. Konko went to the head of the line and cut off a large slice of Cocoche meat. He put it in a basket and carried it to where Vock and I sat beside the fire.