Ghost Monkey, стр. 49
He slept outside to avoid Pankatav. The very sight of her made him sick. He realized she controlled the fish and likely knew the cannibals.
The sixth morning, Pankatav approached Sugriva. She said, "I have a child, and it is yours. I will birth it when the sun sets and you will have a son. I will keep him, and you will leave here cured in two days. Agree?"
"I’ll finish my two more days, then we will discuss my son." He refused to look at her, the itch reminding him of his infidelity to Prisha. The war between staying faithful to Prisha and knowing the hawk didn't love him back tore at his insides until his neck and jaw were sore and stiff.
He went into the water, but the water was thick and slithered around him. He looked off to Pankatav and understood. "You will kill me. You have your son, and now I die."
The underbrush moved and men came out from it: the cannibals from the other day. She spread her arms. "Men come here for whatever reason. I seduce them. These are all my children, each one quite capable of using water magic. Each one starved for man-meat."
"The crazy homeless guy was right," he muttered. "Are you even an Ashtadash?"
"What is an Ashtadash?" she scoffed, disgust apparent on her twisted face. "I haven't seen an Ashtadash in my centuries wandering Ji-Wei. I don't believe in them. I believe in me. I believe in my children. You will live on through my most unique child: a janaav water elementalist."
He thrust the staff down into the ground and propelled himself out of the lake and into the air. Water wrapped up his staff, trying to knock him off balance. The staff retracted, and as it lost contact with the lake, the water fell away. A brief and violent shower bombarded below. Sugriva fended off tendrils which formed in the deluge.
Pankatav smiled, until Sugriva aimed his staff at her. The stone shot out and lodged down her throat, tearing her in two. She split and seeped into the ground. The men chattered, giving off clicks and howls. Sugriva landed and was lanced by a water spear through his leg, the pain searing his muscle. In return, the stone staff shot out and pierced three men. He swung and cracked one man's skull. A coil of water, like a sapphire serpent, lunged at him. With a thrust, the staff sent him flying through the air and away from the attack. He saw the lake was half empty.
An adjustment with his staff sent him flying over the lake, though it barely cleared him over an orb of water. He splashed far away and launched himself to the opposite shore. When he landed, the pain in his lacerated leg made him wince. The men floated across the lake, water frothing as it propelled them, and the monkey grunted at them.
He braced one end of his staff into a small mound, and the other he used to pick off the cannibals as they raced across. One after the other fell, until a half dozen made landfall. Three more died before they reached him. The fight was quick and brutal, as Sugriva knew he had very little energy to spare, especially with Pankatav still alive.
The sandy mound grated against his back and shredded his clothes. The sun blazed down, baking him. "I didn't want to die like this," he shouted. Pankatav had to be around, listening. When she appeared, he would make her pay.
In the distance, across the lake, he heard the cry of a baby. Barely a day, and she already pushed the kid out. Pankatav came out of the house, but she didn't look like the alluring woman Sugriva recalled. She was the water, a fountain floating in the distance, splashing over the sands. Sugriva cursed. He didn't know exactly how strong she was, but if she could spill into the cracks of the earth to escape him, she could likely take control of the lake.
"I just want my son," Sugriva said.
The lake laughed with splashing, as if the fish all jumped in mirthful unison. Then it spoke, as she sunk below the surface. "You will not live to see the moon tonight. You slaughtered all my children, but if all I get is your seed, their sacrifice was worth it."
"Did I have a son?"
"I only give birth to boys. I control my children as I do this lake."
The water swelled, reaching toward him. He realized soon the water didn’t just swell, but it formed a wall to crash down on him. He supposed he was going to get that final cure everyone told him about. "Can you make it quick?"
"No. I will drown you for days, until I'm bored of watching the life leave your eyes. Until I bore of you begging me to end your miserable existence."
The water lifted him up and filled his lungs. The world went purple as he struggled for breath. Then it was dark. Shortly after, the world came back into view as water was violently expelled from his lungs, water pushing on his chest to force him to breathe, the force cracking ribs.
After the first hour, time blurred, and Sugriva lost any control of his body. The water washed away the fear of death. After several lost days, Pankatav tired of killing Sugriva. She placed him on an island in the middle of Lake Dyashka and had hippos circle it. Shortly after the sun came up the next day, Sugriva regained his wits, though his body was weak from the abuse. The hippos snoozed, though one kept an eye on the captive.
"I can't barter with you, can I?" The hippo looked unimpressed. Then Sugriva shifted into a monkey.
The hippo thrashed in