Page 8 of Feast

Would the same thing that happened to that creature also happen to Ika? Was that a natural part of her species’ life cycle? Would she someday have to transfer her life force into a new little Ika?

That idea terrified Rolf. It kept him awake at night.

He also worried about what would happen to Ika after he was gone. He still had many years left, but he was not young. Eventually he would pass on. When that happened, who would protect his Ika? Another ukkur?

Rolf did not care for that idea at all.

From time to time other ukkur would pass through Rolf’s territory. They usually traveled in packs of three or four. They would stop by Rolf’s den in their yearly migration, looking to trade goods. Whenever this happened, Rolf would tell Ika to hide inside the den and remain quiet. He made her think it was a game, but really he was worried that some other ukkur might try to steal her away.

At first Ika thought that hiding was great fun, but as she got older, she was reluctant. Nevertheless, she obeyed Rolf. Ika was always obedient.

Sometimes the foreign ukkur who visited brought news from other parts of the world. In particular, they shared tales about something big happening in the lands to the south. Supposedly the ukkur were massing an army to defeat the nith once and for all. There were even rumors to of strange creatures from the stars who were able to make new ukkur inside their bellies.

When Rolf heard these rumors, his mind turned to Ika and the dead creature that she had fallen out of.

He considered taking her to the southern lands. Maybe that was where she belonged. And maybe they could find some other, younger ukkur who would take care of her and protect her after Rolf was gone.

But Rolf could not bring himself to do this.

He was too worried about losing Ika forever. He was afraid that someone would take her away and he would lose that warm, happy, painful feeling is heart. Without that feeling, he would surely die. He could not lose his Ika.

So Rolf and Ika lived like that together in the mountain den, and he kept her hidden from the world.

CHAPTER 4

Ika was hiding.

She hated it when Rolf made her hide.

It only happened two or three times every year. Other ukkur, usually a pack of three or four, would pass by bringing news from other places and looking to trade. As soon as Rolf caught their scent on the breeze, his normally happy demeanor would become stern, and he would command Ika to go inside the den and hide herself from sight until the other ukkur were gone.

Reluctantly, Ika would obey. She always obeyed her Rolf.

When she was little, the reluctance had not been there. Hiding had been a game for her. An adventure. And besides, when she was little she was scared of the strangers. What would she want to meet them for anyway? She had her Rolf, and that was all a little Ika needed.

But as she grew, so did her curiosity.

She wanted to look at the other ukkur. Study the shapes of their bodies. See how they were different from Rolf. And more important, how they were different from her.

Now, at eighteen cycles of age, it was almost demeaning that Rolf still forced her to hide.

But Ika did as she was told.

She never defied her Rolf. After all, he was her protector, her provider, her caretaker.

This time, however, she had selected a hiding place where she could spy on the mysterious visitors from far-off territories. There was a heap of musty old animal pelts that Rolf kept stacked against the back wall of the den. Ika had buried herself inside these warm furs, only allowing her eyes to peek from the shadows. From this position, she could see out of the entrance of the cave.

The view from the mouth of the cavern was of a pale gray overcast sky that was sifting a fine powder of snow onto the ground, like the powdered ksh that Rolf would put on the sweet treats he prepared for her every year on her finding day.

But it was not the sky or the snow that Ika was watching now.

It was the ukkur.

There were four of them this time. They stood just outside the entrance to the den speaking to her Rolf. They were dressed in cloaks made of dark animal pelts, and their breath puffed out in white clouds on the cold winter air.

Something about those three tall, dark, and confident figures stirred funny feelings in Ika’s belly.

Her fingers unconsciously fidgeted with the metal ring on the necklace around her neck. A nervous tick.