Chapter 29 - Katshi
741 Words
“How could he give this to me?” Katshi breathed for the hundredth time since they had returned to Minaloa, still clutching the scroll tightly between his fingers. Bringing the spell back to Omarihom had felt sacrilegious in and of itself, yet something in him hadn’t let it out of his grasp. Katshi couldn’t imagine reading it out loud and actually performing the ritual. Moru paced back and forth in the dim light of his teepee, running his fingers through his grimy hair.
“We have to.” Moru hissed at him. “You have to.”
“I can’t.” Katshi breathed, still staring at his trembling hands. “I think we should destroy it.”
“No!” Moru spat, he stopped pacing, glaring at Katshi. His nervous energy had been transferred into a wildness in his eyes that sunk Katshi’s stomach.
“How could I kill someone I love?” Katshi said. “Protecting everyone was the only reason I wanted this in the first place.”
“But think, one life for the good of the people?” Moru said, his voice dropping into a harsh whisper. “One life, for the rest of them to live.”
Katshi stared at Moru’s finger, held before his face, darkened by days of dirt and the dust of the road. His stomach was twisted in knots inside of him. He knew why they did this—better than anyone. But could he go through with it? Though he knew, in theory, one life for a thousand was worth the sacrifice, could he doom one of his own to such a fate? Could he sacrifice a piece of his heart for power, no matter how great?
“I can’t, Moru.” Katshi said, his eyes falling in defeat.
“I will help you!” Moru said, stepping closer and gripping Katshi’s shoulder. “You are not in this alone.”
Katshi could barely stand against the war he felt inside of himself. He had agreed to help Moru, that much he knew. But he had never expected it would end like this: him sacrificing everything.
“You can’t ask me to do this.” Katshi said, anger suddenly tugging at his chest. “It is not you who is losing someone you love. Not you who…”
“I have already given up everything!” Moru snarled, his eyes burning bright red. “How dare you lecture me about sacrifice and love? It was you who killed her. Your fault she’s gone. I only ask you to make it right, to restore some of what was taken from me.”
Katshi’s eyes widened, the anger in his chest quickly replaced by shame. He knew Moru was manipulating him, felt him twisting the dagger of his words to make Katshi submit. Yet still, Katshi couldn’t deny what he spoke was the truth. It was his fault she was dead. He hadn’t been there to heal her.
“You said you would help me.” Moru said quietly, his anger quickly replaced by a pain so great Katshi felt as though he could taste it in the air around them.
“I am so sorry, brother.” Katshi finally said, unable to fight him any longer. The shame inside of him was eating away at his flesh, like he was decaying from the inside. It was only right he suffered: that was his punishment.
“Will you help me?” Moru pleaded, and Katshi could not meet his eye. Instead, Katshi nodded slowly, everything inside of him beginning to crumble.
“Don’t worry. I will take care of everything.” Moru grinned, smacking the side of Katshi’s shoulder and stepping out of the teepee. His nervous energy seemed gone, and instead he strode out to find his victim with all the confidence of the Omari chief.
“Moru!” Katshi turned, calling after him. Moru paused, squinting against the sunlight as he looked back into the darkness of the teepee entrance.
“Who will you bring?” Katshi asked, feeling a trembling deep inside of himself.
“Don’t take on that burden.” Moru said. “I will take care of it, you will never even have to know.”
- Writer
