Ghost Monkey, стр. 46
The staff vaulted Sugriva high above the burned town. He dropped down and the staff eased his landing. Soot clung to the bottoms of his foot and billowed up when he struck the earth. It matted his fur and clung to his wet cheeks. "Mobtachkta," he yelled, "where are you?"
"Monkey survived? Earth no kill?" The voice was a whisper, so subtle that for a moment, Sugriva thought it was in his head.
"No. Popped off one's head and it shattered." The soot swirled, taken up by shadows conjured by Sugriva. A portion of control was surrendered to chaos, and he could feel the vile power bloom.
"Miyam no see you?" The whisper circled around, and it was impossible for Sugriva to find the source.
"An old man taught me control, and the guards of the tomb were no match for my cleverness."
"Ravasha give bad plan," Mobtachkta said. "I demon lord if you dead. Said mind gone if village gone." The voice hung in the air. Then, as if a curious child, he said, "Mind lost yet?"
The staff shot out, and the demon grunted. The staff pushed hundreds of feet out, and Mobtachkta smacked against a stone. The staff came back and Sugriva dashed through the jungle.
Pikes of shadow thrust out from the foliage, and Sugriva dodged around them as water moved around the sword. With a somersault, he brought the staff down blindly, but the strike coaxed a yelp. Strike after strike hit, and shadows enveloped Sugriva and Mobtachkta, but Sugriva could see through it as if midday.
Mobtachkta's body transformed to its massive size, though he bled profusely. Bones broke and muscles ruptured. Pitch blood soaked up into the trees and bushes, killing them. Sugriva perched on Mobtachkta's distended stomach and asked, "What happened to the girl?"
The demon grinned through a cough. Blood dribbled down his cheek. "Yum yum."
"You weren't sent to kill me. You were sent to give me focus. Ravasha used you." The staff extended and retracted over and over again into the demon's face, well past shattering the skull and killing the beast.
Then the darkness swirled into Sugriva, filling him until it was day again. His eyes and nails went black, and smoke and blood were exhaled.
Chapter SeventeenThe Warriors of the Empire
Age of Finality
"It's beginning," Dameneh said. "Their scouts are coming back with information on the warriors."
“Will they attack?”
"No. They come in peace. Prince Anka will summon us soon. I predicted it, and that will scare him. It should scare him."
"Why, if they come in peace?"
"Prince Anka doesn't know peace or cooperation. He knows war. He loves slaughtering his enemies."
They heard footsteps approaching. "Our harbinger of freedom approaches."
THE COURT STARED AT Dameneh and Sugriva. Children whispered until parents nudged them to shut up. Even Prince Anka fidgeted on his throne. General Humbari scowled, and from time to time he huffed. It pleased Sugriva immensely.
"I bring this court to session," Prince Anka said. "There are men from the Empire off to the east. They encroach on Bahimatt. Every group—except the desert rats—veered to miss the city, but these warriors head straight for us. Our spies tell us the banner is of the Dian family, a powerful warlord in the Empire. While the Empire cast him out, it is possible this is a ruse."
Prince Anka sighed and rubbed his forehead. "It's impossible to deny Dameneh foresaw this incursion and said we would need Sugriva for it. The Ashtadash guide him, even though he turns his back on them for another spirit. So we will listen to him going forward."
Dameneh said, "Thank you. The One looks over us. The Ashtadash are spirits created by His hand, given no more wisdom than old age awards. My wisdom is found in fear of the One. He shows me the light when darkness surrounds us."
Humbari roared, "He mocks us. He thinks his God protects him? Strike the boy down on the spot and clean him off with a wash cloth. He is nothing."
Prince Anka raised a hand and the general huffed again, but at least he was silent. "I ask that you and Sugriva meet them in the field. If I have someone brave enough, I would ask they go along as a witness."
Divyan stepped forward. "I will watch them."
Prince Anka asked, "Are you sure?"
Divyan nodded. Whispers ripped through the chambers. "He saved all of us. Without him, we would all be enslaved or eaten. As for the boy—" Divyan shrugged.
DAMENEH SPENT MOST of the day talking about the One. Sugriva was fairly sure by nightfall they had heard every story there was in the history of the religion. They set up camp at dusk, and Dameneh informed them how important it was they believed. He said it was a great blessing that Sugriva converted. Divyan remained stoic in the face of a heretic.
After the camp was set up, Divyan said, "I'll scout ahead." Divyan went up in his hawk form.
Dameneh said, "You did something to him. But he doesn't seem angry, or you would be dead."
"No." Sugriva collected kindle and started the fire. "I gave his daughter the confidence to disobey him. I think in another life, when we were of the right caste, the idea of me marrying her would excite him."
"Is she still alive?"
Sugriva nodded, staying by the fire as the plains cooled in the night. "She flew off. Her husband died bravely. She rewed shortly after."
"Do you still talk to her?"
Sugriva howled, his eyes crescents from mirth. "Divyan would kill me. That and she strings me along pretty well. I'm outcaste already, so what's it matter?"
"There are strict rules on being outcaste, but here you are. I heard the story of you leaving, but never of you returning."
"That story is a ways off. But I was not accepted