Vaintè called out to Enge. “Make them do their tricks,” she ordered.
When Kerrick heard the scraping of the bolt that secured the door he jumped about to place his back against the wall, sure as always that this would be the day of death. Ysel was beginning to laugh at him for it.
“Stupid boy,” she said, rubbing at the scratches on her bare skull. “Still baby-afraid. The marag brings us food and plays games…”
“Murgu bring death and they will kill us one day.”
“Stupid.” She threw a fruit rind at him and turned with a smile to face the one who visited them.
It was a strange marag who entered first, stamping heavily, and her smile faded. But the other familiar one was right behind, along with the brutal one, and the smile returned. It was another day just like any other.
She was a lazy and not-too-bright little girl.
“Speak to me,” Vaintè ordered, standing before the ustuzou. Then with emphasis, slowly and clearly as though addressing a young fargi, “Speak… to… me!”
“I beg, let me try first,” Enge requested with supplication. “I can get a response.”
“Not any more you can’t. If the creature cannot talk, that is the end of it. Too much time has been wasted.” Turning back to the female ustuzou Vaintè made herself clear, absolutely and directly clear.
“This is my personal demand—and it is most urgent. You will speak now and you will speak as well as any Yileibe. If you do, you will keep on living and growing. Speech means growth-speech means life—understand?”
Ysel understood—at least she was aware of the emotion of the threat—and fear, kept at bay so very long, returned.
“I find it hard to talk, please.” But the Tanu words elicited no response from the great ugly creature towering over her. She must remember what she had been taught. She tried, tried as hard as she could, making some of the movements as she spoke the words.
“has leibe ene uu…”
Vaintè was baffled. “Is that talking? What is it saying? It can’t mean ‘The old female grows adroit’.”
Enge was baffled as well. “There is possibly the meaning that growing supple puts years on females.”
Even as Vaintè was attempting to understand this possible interpretation her anger welled up within her. Perhaps, on another day, she would have taken this attempt, pitiful as it was, as an indication that the ustuzou was learning to speak. But not today. Not after the insults of yesterday and the infuriating presence of Alakensi. It was too much—and after she had even attempted to be polite to the disgusting fur beast. Reaching down she seized it by both forelimbs and raised it into the air before her, shaking it and bellowing with rage at the stupid creature, ordering it to speak.
The thing didn’t even make the attempt. Instead it just closed its eyes and produced water from them, threw its head back, opened its mouth wide and emitted an animal screech that hurt Vaintè’s skull.
Vaintè was beyond thought, her mind filled instead with blind hatred.
She leaned forward and sank her long rows of sharp conical teeth into the ustuzou’s throat, bit down hard, tearing out its life.
Hot blood spurted into her mouth and she gagged at the taste, throwing the corpse from her and harshly spitting out its blood. Stallan moved slightly, radiating silent approval.
There was a gourd of water before her face and she seized it from Enge and rinsed out her mouth, spitting and gagging, pouring the remainder over her face.
The blinding anger was gone, she could think now, and could feel as well the satisfaction in what she had done. But she was not finished. The other ustuzou remained alive—and with its death they would all be extinct. Turning swiftly she moved in front of Kerrick and glared down at him.
“Now you, the last,” she said, and reached out towards him. He could not retreat. His body moved and he spoke.
“…esekakurud-esekvilshan…elel leibeleibe…”
It made little sense at first and she stepped forward. Then stopped and looked more closely at the creature. There was a cower there, at least a clumsy attempt at a cower. But why was it moving from side to side like that? It made no sense. Then came realization—the thing of course had no tail so it could not do the lift correctly. But if that was really a tail lift, then it might be trying to communicate top-disgust-sensation as well as top-speech-volition. The bits and pieces were beginning to come together and in the end Vaintè cried aloud.