“Is that true?” asked Dzhenushkunutushen.
Nukurren made the gesture of bemused uncertainty.
“Who can know? I am the strongest gukuy that I have ever met.”
“She is also the fastest gukuy who ever lived,” added Dhowifa. The little truemale’s mantle was rippling with that shade of green which signified pride and admiration.
“Is that true?” asked Dzhenushkunutushen.
Again, Nukurren made the gesture of bemused uncertainty. “Who can know? I am the fastest gukuy that I have ever met. Stop bragging, Dhowifa.”
“Why?” demanded her lover. “It’s all true! And that’s all that saved you from the yoke.”
“What happened?” asked Ludumilla.
“One day, in the market, I was seen by a captain of the Anshac legions. She was seeking recruits for a new legion, and she bought me from my owner. I was sent to the training camps to become a warrior.”
“Were you freed?” asked Dzhenushkunutushen.
“Not then.”
“Did you try to escape?”
“No. To what purpose? Where would I go?” Nukurren made the gesture of resignation. “I was not unhappy at the change. The work was much easier. It is true that I met with no friendship in the ranks of the legion. I was a slave, and despised even by the lowclan recruits. But I did not care.”
Nukurren fell silent, mastering the lie. She had cared, and cared deeply, and had spent many nights in the camps filled with aching loneliness. But her shoroku, as always, allowed no trace of her emotions to show.
“You are lying,” said the demon Dzhenushkunutushen.
Nukurren stared at him, wondering how a monster could see into her soul. Then she made the gesture of agreement.
“Yes, I am lying. I did care. But I became accustomed to it. Soon enough the other recruits ceased taunting me. After I was attacked by several of them, and I killed two.”
“Were you punished?”
“For that?” Nukurren made the gesture of dismissal; yellow contempt rippled briefly in her mantle. “To the contrary. I was praised by my captain and promoted. And then I devoted myself to becoming a mistress of warfare. I was good at it.”
Nukurren fell silent. She refused to speak again that day, for reasons which were not clear, even to her. But on the next day, when Dzhenushkunutushen pressed her, she resumed her story.
“There is not much to tell about the eightyweeks which followed. There were many campaigns, and many battles. I acquired many more scars, but I no longer remember which they were. I was given my freedom after one battle where I fought well, and promoted again. Had I been highclan, or midclan, or even lowclan, I would have been promoted very often. Even though I am ugly, and look stupid, I am not. I always observed things carefully, and learned from them.”
“How did you meet Dhowifa?”
“After a time, I was promoted again, and assigned to the Motherguard.”
“What is the Motherguard?”
“That is the elite legion which guards the Divine Shell.”
“Nukurren was the only clanless helot ever assigned to the Motherguard,” interjected Dhowifa. “Ever. She was famous.”
“Stop bragging, Dhowifa.”
“It’s true! I remember the day you arrived. My bondbrothers and I snuck out of the Divine Shell to watch.”
“And what did you think?” asked Ludumila.
Dhowifa hesitated. Nukurren made the gesture of amusement. “Don’t lie, Dhowifa!”
The little truemale’s mantle shimmered with a complex web of colors, which suddenly dissolved into green. “I thought Nukurren was the ugliest gukuy I had ever seen. I was terrified of her. Everyone was, I think.”
“Not Ushulubang,” said Nukurren.
“No,” agreed Dhowifa. “Not her.”
The demons stopped abruptly, and stared at the two gukuy riding on the litter. Ludumila hooted a sudden command, and the owoc carrying the litter stopped also.
“You know Ushulubang?” demanded Dzhenushkunutushen.
Ochre uncertainty and confusion rippled across Dhowifa’s mantle. As always, Nukurren’s remained gray.
“Yes,” replied Dhowifa.
Instantly, Ludumila began shouting in the harsh demon language. The entire caravan came to a halt, and within moments the black demon came racing back to the litter. Watching him approach, Nukurren was struck again by the astonishing speed of which the demons were capable.
Once he arrived, a rapid exchange took place in the demons’ language. The black demon turned and stared at the gukuy on the litter.
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