CHAPTER 20:  BIRNAM WOOD TO DUNSINANE

	Gur'mekh came running over to Lenti.  He looked down at Demrath, 
and stared with horror at the ugly hemmorages that killed him.  "Oh my 
gods!"
	The pups, knowing no better, came sobbing to him and huddled next 
to him.  Very gently, Gur'mekh touched each tearful face with his 
tongue.  "He's gone!  He's gone!"
	Lenti ushered the pups away.  "Gur'mekh, what do you know of 
this?"
	Gur'mekh looked at her, wondering what she meant by that.  "I've 
never seen bleeding like this before.  Did he complain of any pain or 
run a fever?  I'm no healer, but I mean this all seemed very sudden."
	Lenti collapsed over Demrath's body, sobbing.  "Sudden??  One 
minute he was playing with the pups, and the next minute...."  She fell 
over the body.  "Oh gods!!"
	"I'd be careful if I were you.  What he had may have been 
catching."
	"That's not a disease!  No disease does this!"
	"I'm no healer, Lenti.  I wouldn't know."  He took his paw and 
gently stroked Demrath's face.  "And to think we were getting along so 
well.  He had everything in the world to live for."
	"And now I'm left with three young pups to raise.  They will want 
to know what happened to their okhim.  They're too young to really 
understand."
	"They have a ma'khim."  Gur'mekh pawed her gently.  "I'll take 
care of them.  They will lack for nothing."
	Tears welled up in her eyes.  "Bless you, Gur'mekh!  I didn't know 
if you were serious about that.  You can still surprise me."
	"I was never more serious in my life.  You stay here and I'll get 
some help.  We'll move him, my little barak ler."
	Gur'mekh started off to get help, when he suddenly heard a loud 
cry.  He froze.
	"What did you call me??"
	"I'm sorry?  I don't understand."
	She stared at him with a look of horror.  "How did YOU know he 
called me that?  He only used that name for me when we made love!"
	"Just a coincidence."
	"I don't think so!  There's a story behind that name, one you 
couldn't possibly know, unless...."
	Gur'mekh started to squirm.  "Don't get upset, my dear!  You've 
been through a terrible shock, and you're not thinking clearly."
	"Now I remember," she said, her eyes narrowing.  "The bleeding 
curse of Melmokh!  My gods, surely you wouldn't want to hurt that sweet, 
gentle ban'ret!  He trusted you, Gur'mekh!  Tell me you didn't speak the 
unholy words!"  Her hackles bristled.  "Tell me you didn't!!"
	"No, I didn't!  I swear!  Melmokh doesn't even handle petty 
quarrels!"
	"And how would you know that??  You haven't been initiated!"
	"Things leak out!  For the gods' sake, surely you don't think I 
would do a thing like that!"
	"Oh, I think it!  You go around stealing and working mischief.  
All of a sudden you have this big change!  You want to be the pups' 
ma'khim in case anything ever happened to Demrath!  Who's the bak'ret 
you're thinking of marrying?  Was it me??"
	"No!"
	"Her name, Gur'mekh!  What's her name??"
	"I'd rather not say!  She'd die if you found out!"
	"Or kill, you mean!  It's me, isn't it??  Be brave enough to say 
it to my face!"
	"You don't know what you're saying!  You're hysterical!  Besides, 
you can't prove anything!"  He realized with horror what had just 
slipped out.
	"Maybe I can't prove it now, but as Roh'kash is my witness, I'll 
make sure they all know what you did!  Murderer!  Murderer!"
	"No, I'm not a murderer!  I'm not!"
	"Murderer!!!"
	"For God's sake, not so loud!  You'll get me killed!"
	"That's what I want!  You'd better curse me while you still can."
	"No!  I love you!"
	"You'll come to regret that someday.  I swear by Roh'kash you 
will.  I'll never rest till I see you dead!"
	She fell on her husband again and began to sob again.  Gur'mekh 
slinked away sullenly.
	Inside his head he heard a mocking voice that would not easily be 
silenced.  "Maybe I should bleed her out too.  She's a trouble maker for 
sure."
	"Don't you dare!" Gur'mekh answered.  "She has pups to raise.  
Besides, I still love her!"
	"Oh, that really touches me," the voice said.  "I'm deeply moved.  
I wouldn't dream of harming her because YOU still love her."  Maniacal 
laughter echoed from the evil presence.  "You're weak.  You don't have 
the guts to tell me what to do."  Gur'mekh began to gasp.  His throat 
was closing up.  "Don't you dare!" the spirit repeated, mockingly.  "She 
has pups to raise.  Besides, I still love her!"
	Gur'mekh fell to the ground, almost gagging.  "Let me go!  What do 
you want from me?"
	"Submission.  And I'll get it too.  Now behave yourself and you 
can enjoy our time together.  Cross me and I'll torture you to madness."
	Gur'mekh gasped in a deep breath and let it out.  The air felt 
good venting his lungs, and he lay on the grass for a long time waiting 
for his heart to stop pounding.




CHAPTER 21:  A CRY FOR HELP

	Tormented by the entity, Gur'mekh went to his okash and tearfully 
begged her for help.  "I'm in trouble, Muti!  You have to help me!  
Please help me!"
	Kambra frowned, then sighed.  "What were you caught doing THIS 
time?"
	"I--I can't say it."
	She looked into his eyes inquiringly and concentrated gently but 
firmly.  The answer made her hackles raise and her jaw tremble.  "Oh 
God!  Oh dear God!!"
	Gur'mekh fell to the ground and began to sob.  "If I could put 
things back the way they were, I would!  I swear!  Oh gods I'm so sorry!  
Help me, Muti!  Don't let it destroy me, Muti!  I'm so scared!"
	As soon as Kambra could overcome her initial shock, she nuzzled 
Gur'mekh and kissed him.  "My son, my poor son!  I'll have to tell your 
okhim."
	"Must you?  He already thinks I'm a failure."
	"No he doesn't.  You must be brave, and you must be honest.  I 
can't fight this without his help."
	"You aren't going to tell the others are you?"
	"No."  She hung her head in shame.  "They would kill you."  She 
sighed.  "Whether or not you keep this promise, I will help you because 
I love you too much to do my duty.  But please promise me you won't use 
the curse of Melmokh any more.  Please?"
	"I swear," Gur'mekh said fervently.
	She could see in his eyes that it was so, and she kissed him.  
"You've had a hard life, but you're still my good little boy.  We'll get 
you back on the right path.  My poor child, how you have suffered!"
	Tears streamed from Gur'mekh's eyes.  "Muti, I love you!  I'm so 
sorry!  You deserved a better son!  I'd have rather died than hurt you 
like this!"
	"We'll survive this thing," she said.  "I can only pray that 
you've learned something from it."
	She went to meet Gur'bruk privately, afraid that he would lash out 
in anger at his son.  There was no fear of that.  Gur'bruk merely 
sighed, resigned that his son would end up in trouble someday.  But he 
held out the hope that Gur'mekh had hit the bottom of his downward slide 
and could only climb up from there.
	So they covered up the truth about Demrath and the two of them 
took Gur'mekh to a place alone where the ceremony would not be observed.
	Gur'bruk and Kambra nuzzled Gur'mekh as he lay on his back.  They 
prayed over him words as ancient as the hope of eternal life:
	"Might of mights, love of loves, before the sun you were the light 
of the world.  Look upon this child to be born and know that his name is 
Gur'mekh.  He is consecrated to you, receiving from us the fires of 
rebirth; may he carry on the line that after we are gone that the name 
of Roh'kash may not be forgotten.  Protect him from the claws of day and 
the jealous eyes of night, and gather his spirit when his eyes grow dim.  
Hear our prayer."
	Then as Gur'mekh lay on his back, Gur'bruk and Kambra took turns 
urinating on him, soaking him from the neck down.  Then they scratched 
dust on him, turning him into a mud-caked mess.  Kambra said, "Husband, 
it is time for me to be delivered.  Pray for the protection of 
Roh'kash."
	From time to time, Kambra howled pitifully in her birth pangs.  As 
she did, the wrath of the Makei began to make itself known.  A stiff 
wind blew from the west, trying to force them away from their goal.  The 
spirit began to torture Gur'mekh, closing up his throat till he had to 
gasp for every precious bit of air, and dimming his sight until he had 
to lean against his mother for guidance.  Still Gur'mekh, who was 
considered still unborn, spoke not a word as the ceremony demanded.  
Finally, Gur'mekh's throat closed completely, and as he lay being choked 
to death Kambra gazed deeply into his eyes.
	"I love him," she thought.  Her love became a mighty wave that 
swept over the Makei like a painful rash.  "I love him!  You can't have 
my son!  Give him back to me!"
	Gur'mekh gasped in a deep breath, but he stayed silent and 
submissive.  With trembling legs he tottered forward, straining to see 
his target just ahead.
	He was escorted to the river where with a silent bow of submission 
he flung himself in head first.  He rolled about and splashed, removing 
the pungent mud from his fur.  The evil clung to the bloom of muddy 
water that opened around him and travelled downstream.  His eyesight 
returned, and the hard, cold look left his eyes.  A peaceful smile 
spread across his face.  Even without words, Gur'bruk and Kambra joined 
with him in a warm shimmering love that made him feel drunk and giddy.  
How long it had been since the family was that happy!  And when he was 
completely clean, he stepped from the water reborn.  He fell to the 
ground and shouted, "Holy Mother, blessed is the name Roh'kash, sweet as 
honey upon the tongue!"
	"Thanks to you, O God, for our child is born alive and healthy," 
Gur'bruk said.
	"May he grow in love and beauty," Kambra said.  She remembered 
saying those words for the first time under happier circumstances.  
Nuzzling Gur'mekh worriedly, she asked, "How do you feel?"
	"Wonderful.  Better than I have a right to feel."  He nuzzled his 
parents and said, "I'm going to resign from the clan council.  I have no 
right to hold office.  Instead, I'm going to be a seer and maybe a 
healer too.  Roh'kash gave me this talent for a reason, and with the 
time I have left, I'm going to find that reason."
	"Thank God," Gur'bruk said.
	Gur'mekh nuzzled them both again.  "Hey, I'm hungry!  Why don't I 
go bring you back a nice gazelle?  Maybe even a wildebeest?"
	"You ARE feeling better," Kambra said.  "Go with Roh'kash, honey 
tree.  Success."
	Meanwhile, Fabana had just finished a good hunt and brought back a 
small duiker antelope to where Lenti and her pups sat stranded.  "Maybe 
this will help the little fellows."
	"May I take a few bites too, Fay?"
	"Sure.  It's for you too.  It could have been my Jalkort, and I 
know you'd be there for me."
	Lenti nuzzled her.  "You are a sister to me.  You're the best."
	Famished, the pups lit into the carcass.  Lenti held back to let 
them get their fill first.  
	"Bless their hearts," Fabana said.  "I want to help you raise 
those pups."
	Lenti winced.
	"What's wrong?  Did I say something wrong?"
	"No, it's just that Gur'mekh was by earlier.  He offered to help me."
	"That was uncommonly kind of him."
	"Kind??  He killed my husband.  I just can't prove it yet."
	"Killed him??"  Fabana shifted uncomfortably.  "I've seen the 
body.  I don't see how he could have done that."
	"That's because you don't know about the dark lore.  You grew up 
around humans.  They don't know what lies beyond the western sky."
	"What are you trying to tell me?"
	"Don't laugh.  Gur'mekh cursed my husband.  There's a demon curse 
that burns the blood.  It's an old protection used by the seers in times 
of great need."
	"I see."
	"You don't believe me."
	"Oh I believe you.  I've seen his eyes.  Gur'mekh gives me cold 
chills."
	"Keep Jalkort away from him for his sake and yours.  I tell you 
Fay, have a talk with your husband."
	"Are you safe?"
	Lenti sighed.  "I don't know.  He wants me, Fay.  He tried to hit 
on me earlier.  It's not safe to turn him down--everyone knows that.  I 
take the pups to a different place each night to sleep because he'll try 
to invade my dreams."
	"Can he do that?"
	"That and more.  Much more.  He can persuade the feeble minded, 
forcing his thoughts on them.  He's dangerous.  No one is safe with him 
around.  Not when he's angry."
	Fabana sighed.  "Jal thinks the moon and stars rise and set on 
Gur'mekh.  Jal is basically good, but he can be led astray.  I love him.  
I'd kill for him.  I'd kill Gur'mekh and face the consequences."
	"You wouldn't have a chance.  There's only one way: come with me 
to see the Roh'makh."
	"What could she do?"
	"She could make Shimbekh look for the truth.  Shimbekh is his aunt 
and she doesn't want to believe he's guilty, but she will tell the truth 
once she learns it.  I remember my Muti mentioning something about a 
prophesy.  They try to hush it up now, but Shimbekh used to say the son 
of Gur'bruk would lead us all to ruin.  Amarakh knows.  All she needs is 
to be reminded."  Lenti pawed her gently.  "We can do it, girl.  Where 
is Jalkort now?"
	"He's out hunting with Gur'mekh.  Where else?"
	Lenti looked worried.  "I'm not gifted, but I've just felt a cold 
wave down my back when you said that.  Pray, for your husband!  Pray 
hard!"




CHAPTER 22:  THE SPECTRE OF DEATH

	Gur'mekh had a certain quiet reserve and calm that he'd lacked 
before.  Jalkort noticed the change at once.
	"You seem to be in a very good mood, brother."
	"Indeed I am, Jal!  I feel--well--reborn.  God has been very good 
to me."
	"Yes, Roh'kash has blessed you with this great talent, and a great 
future is ahead of you."
	"Not the future you think.  If I want to be truly great, I have to 
stop raiding the Roh'mach's pantry.  I have to stop thinking about 
myself so much.  I have to help others the way God has helped me.  You 
know Jal, what's really important in life is this...."  He took his paw 
and patted Jalkort's shoulder.  "I mean a mountain can be big, a river 
can be strong, but love is something from the Ka.  It is the greatest 
gift of Roh'kash."
	"What a noble thing to say!"  Jalkort was all the more convinced 
of the greatness of Gur'mekh and looked at him almost worshipfully.  
"You're going to be the greatest Roh'mach ever!"
	Gur'mekh smiled.  "I don't want to be Roh'mach.  There are other 
ways to be great.  My Muti and Maleh are great.  Someday you'll 
understand.  It certainly took me long enough.  I'm going to spend the 
rest of my life trying to make up for...."
	Suddenly Gur'mekh felt dizzy.  He staggered and nearly fell.  "Oh 
gods!"  He began to gasp for air.  "Jal, it's happening again!"
	"What's wrong?" Jal asked.
	"I thought I was free of it!" Gur'mekh cried.  "Go find my okash!  
Tell her it's back--she'll know what I mean!"
	"Free of what??  What DO you mean??  Oh gods, brother, you look 
awful!  I'll get Kambra--you just wait right here!"
	Gur'mekh took in a deep breath and straightened up to his full 
height.  His eyes shone with a strange light.  "I don't need her now," 
he said defensively.  "I'm much better."
	"I don't know.  I don't like this."
	"Don't you think I know how I feel??".  He scratched the ground.   
"We have a job to do, and there isn't much time.  Follow me."
	If only Jalkort had been gifted, he would have seen the fear and 
helplessness in Gur'mekh's eyes as he was being pulled against his will 
toward his destiny on the savanna.

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