Ghost Monkey, стр. 23
The man smiled. "You make me wealthy today, but if any of those kids break the cups, I'm charging you."
"I'm good for it." He placed down a small purse, though coins made the fabric bulge. The vendor's eyes went wide when he opened it.
"Your coin is good here." He slapped the table twice and went to work on the rice pudding. The scent of boiling milk and sugar was pleasurable, and Sugriva shifted into his janaav form to get as much of the aroma as he could.
The boy from the other day sat by him. "You're not done telling me stories, are you?" He already had the pudding.
The next portion of the story made Sugriva smile. "I became a hero after Puncture day." He frowned. "It was built on the bones of my friends, but I still became a hero."
"You killed demons?"
"A lot of them."
Chapter NineThe Monkey and the Priestess
Age of Men 807
General Humbari stood in front of Sugriva with a self-important smirk. Sugriva didn't understand the smile. Labda, Bajjo, and Bagheer were cremated, their remains returned to the Ganga River to float down to the resting place. It took a month until Sugriva returned to camp, only to find all the patrolled villages were assumed lost. All the other kingdoms pulled their troops from Jaya in fear, reducing Humbari's army by two thirds. Meanwhile, rumors circulated of messengers from Prince Anka recalling the Jayan army. The General wandered off his path, and he would have to answer for it in the next life. However, in the current life it led to low morale.
Humbari puffed out his chest, as if he accomplished something. "We are getting our best together. Sugriva, you are the only one who fought and survived Puncture Day. You are the only one Ravasha revealed himself to."
The Haughty bear needs to be humbled. Open his insides and spread his guts as a message for others who stray from dharma.
"You will leave with seventeen other warriors and infiltrate the back lines. Your mission will be to cut off the supply routes. Take out pits if you can, but don't get yourself killed. If you keep them from the front lines, we can push them back and meet you. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." What else was an injured monkey to say to a rogue bear general?
Meanwhile, the image of the slaughtered village ran through Sugriva's head repeatedly. He saw Bajjo fall from the tree. He thought of how they had to cut Labda out of a Fang's belly to send him on. Sleep brought the images. Daydreaming brought the images. Sugriva blamed it on leaving his path, though he was sure priests would tell him the demons corrupted him.
"You will leave in a week. Spend that time getting your head straight." The bear cleared his throat. "I understand you saw things no one should see."
"Yes, sir," Sugriva muttered as the general left. Eighteen soldiers behind enemy lines. Groups of four were slaughtered by small groups of the Fangs, and they wanted to send out eighteen. It would be a blood bath, but at least the nightmares would end.
A priestess, Zaina, sat beside Sugriva. "The little monkey," she said, softly. "I heard of the horrors you lived through." No one else sat by Sugriva, so the woman's presence was confusing. Most could smell the corruption emanating from him, even if they couldn't pinpoint what created the unease.
"Why does no one sit by you?" Her dark brows furrowed. Zaina was older, but Sugriva had seen her before.
Sugriva sniffed under his armpit and waved away the scent with his hand. "I've forgotten how to bathe, I think. That's likely why."
The woman laughed. "With that sense of humor, why aren't more sitting by you?"
Somberness overtook Sugriva. "You've heard the stories. I have dreams of what happened, and what will happen. I wake up ready to kill whoever wakes me."
"Oh, who doesn't? A woman woken before she is ready is a sore sight." She took his hand in hers. For a second, she flinched, then moved into Sugriva, shoulders rubbing.
"There is a darkness. Something deep inside you."
She knows. Dispose of her.
Sugriva looked off in the distance at a bonfire. "Yes. There is. I'm not sure what it is."
"War." A delicate hand pressed against Sugriva's chest, and for a moment he could feel the cloud of uncertainty move away from him. "It does it to many, man and woman. They wake up screaming in the night, and I am to comfort them."
The thought made Sugriva blush, and he scooted down the log they shared.
"Oh," she squeaked, then laughed. "I don't mean comfort like that. I mean," she blushed, moving dark curls behind her ear, "I'm much older than you, not a janaav, and of a different caste. It would be quite improper." She giggled again, and it didn’t lessen the desire building in Sugriva.
Give in. Take her to your tent. Who will know?
The voice returned, and it ached throughout his body. Sugriva stood. "Why are you talking to me?"
"I am a priestess." She stood and smoothed out her robes. "I am coming with you to sooth you while we are in the jungle."
A sneer appeared, despite Sugriva's best attempts to keep it at bay. "A priestess entering Fang territory? Do you know how to fight?"
"I'm a priestess. I know how to defend myself and the temple, but war? I will need big strong men to protect me." She winked at Sugriva. "I will keep your heart, soul, and mind in balance. You just keep me in one piece. Deal?"
Sugriva bowed. "I don't have a choice." Then he walked off to his tent for what little rest he could get between the nightmares.
THE VILLAGE OF SURAMPA was large, considering it was behind enemy lines. There was a pit close by in an abandoned water temple.
As they approached, a soldier said, "I bet