A Whisper of Wings Read Online Free Page B

as a pillar of the clan society. Even so, his inner strength had faded; since the loss of his wife in childbirth, a spark had slowly died within him. Nochorku had slipped into a strange, vague world of self involvement, and the only glories of his life were precedent and tradition.
    Zhukora glared down at the ground, her eyes glittering with bitterness. Would he have ruled against the interests of his own eldest daughter? Would he have shamed her before the whole assembled clan?
    Oh yes. Oh yes indeed…
    Time passed, but the old man felt no need to speak. He asked no questions about Zhukora’s life. It was a dull pain that she had almost grown used to. Zhukora finally stood and smoothed her gleaming hair.
    “I shall fetch your jewellry, father. Someone might come to visit us during dinner. It would be wise to be prepared.”
    “Yes. Well hurry on, then!”
    Zhukora knelt dutifully behind her father, tying gleaming belts and headbands into place. Suddenly the old man chose to speak once more.
    “I dreamed your mother’s Ka again last night. She came just after midnight when the moon was full. She always did love the moon; it always brought the red out in her fur…
    “It was so nice to see her once again. I do love her so. Sometimes it’s so hard to be without her. So very hard…”
    One eye suddenly opened, suddenly gleaming sharp and lucid.
    “How is Shadarii?”
    Zhukora made a face, tugging grimly at a leather thong.
    “She’s disgraced herself again! The Dancing Mistress came to me with yet another complaint about her! She refuses to toe the line and work with other girls.”
    Her father seemed not even to have heard. His thin, long face nodded slowly up and down.
    “Yes, a strange girl. So very strange. A certain beauty, though. So very like her mother…”
    Zhukora’s hands froze, and pain sparked deep inside her eyes. The girl stiffly stood and walked over to the lodgehouse door.
    “We shall be waiting below, father. Please come down when you are ready.”
    With that, she stepped out into space and plunged towards the ground. Dark wings flicked out to deftly slow her fall. The huntress landed silently, her face poisoned by a welling tide of bitterness.
    Shadarii emerged from the hearth shelter, a bowl of water balanced in her hands. Zhukora gave the girl a vicious shove, sending Shadarii sprawling in the dirt.
    “Get out of my way! You useless little cripple! You slew my mother with your cursed birth! You bring shame upon my mother’s soul and shame upon our house!” Zhukora’s voice cracked with hate. “Keep away from me! Take your fat arse and go eat where we won’t have to look at you!”
    Shadarii hunched beneath the onslaught, her antennae bowed. Pale ïsha fields of pain flailed brokenly about her. Zhukora stared down at her in fury, her chest heaving, thenith a sudden lurch the elder woman turned and stormed away.
    Shadarii wept in silence, covering her face in shame.
    Overhead, laughter rose to tear at her in spite. Javïra whirred past with a giggling stream of girls behind her. They were sneaking off into the night - off to meet their sweethearts in the forest bracken.
    The laughter bubbled on. Shadarii crushed her ears crushed between her hands and fled, launching herself out into the dark.
    She flew in vain. No matter where she went, her pain followed close behind.
     
    Notes:
    1) ïsha: The background aura or magical field generated by Ka (spirits). Kashran antennae sense the subtle ïsha flow around them, interpreting the changing character of the fields. ïsha perception shall be rendered as seeing “colours” or reading “tastes”, although the actual sensations are radically different. The Kashran sensitivity to ïsha is one of their most delicate, discriminating senses.
    2) Kashra: Contracted from the words Ka –shis Shatra Ramuuh - “Children of the Wind and Rain”.
    3) Woomera: A spear thrower. A length of hardwood held in the spear hand to increase the effective length