Tau sucked his teeth.
“Without his soldiers defending the flank, the hedeni cut through the rest of the rage. Four thousand men and nine Gifted died that day. Nine Gifted, Tau.”
As he told the story, Jabari’s voice lost its whisper, becoming a growl instead. “At the trial and under oath, the other inkokeli swore that coward Okar’s account was a lie. The force that engaged him was a fraction of the size he claimed. Then the idiot argued that the hedeni had gifts, that they appeared out of thin air and disappeared the same way. He—”
“Gifts?” said Tau.
Jabari cupped his hands near his crotch. “He had big bronze stones, to stand in front of the Guardian Council and tell them—”
“At Daba, the tribes were working together. They never do that. Something’s changed or is changing. Maybe—
“Don’t be foolish. They—”
“Maybe their gifts really have returned,” Tau finished, unwilling, that day, to be called foolish without some small counter.
Jabari gave Tau a hard look. “Don’t interrupt me,” he said, pausing, making it a point to hold Tau to silence. “The Goddess weakened the hedeni gifts for their mixing and blasted them away entirely when they decided to fight against us.”
Tau had known Jabari his whole life. He knew when the Petty Noble was on the cusp of anger, and Tau was good at turning his frustrations into a smile or even a laugh. It was one of the reasons they were close.
That morning, though, with Nkiru and his family dead, Tau couldn’t play the part. He shook his head, suggesting he didn’t agree with Jabari. It was a little thing, a small act of defiance. It turned the taller man’s face sour.
“You think it matters to Nobles,” Jabari said, “whether the hedeni miraculously had gifts that day? We didn’t hang Kellan Okar’s father for lying. That wasn’t his crime. We hanged him for cowardice, for proving himself unworthy to be treated or judged like a man.” Jabari stepped close, until he was looking down at Tau. “We hanged him for behaving like a Lesser.”
Heat swept up Tau’s neck and he stared up at Jabari, unwilling to step back or look away. He didn’t care about coward Okar or his crimes, but hearing Jabari compare and weigh a Lesser’s life so lightly hurt. If Jabari felt this way, it must have been so simple and uncomplicated for Lekan to have an entire family of Lessers murdered.
“We are Chosen,” Jabari said, still standing too close. “We fight, we don’t surrender, and we don’t run. The Nobles have tried to teach that to Lessers for generations.”
Tau couldn’t stop himself. “If we don’t run, then why are we on Xidda instead of Osonte?”
Jabari’s face twitched and he balled his right hand into a fist. Tau braced for the hit, but the blow didn’t come.
“I’m going in,” Jabari said. “I have to change for dinner.”
“Of course… nkosi.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow for training, Common Tafari. Be ready. I can’t afford to go easy on you anymore. The testing is close.”
CHAPTER THREE
TEST
Queen Tsiora left for Kigambe the next day, and her beauty was the topic of conversation for the rest of the moon cycle. She had captured the hearts of Kerem’s men and the imagination of its women. Tau could tell Jabari was particularly smitten, but they hadn’t spoken more than was needed as they beat and battered each other in preparation for what was to come.
The training left Tau with little time to spend with Zuri, and Aren had asked him not to tell her the truth about Nkiru’s family. Tau argued she had the right to know, but he felt relief that the burden of telling her had been taken from him. And yet, holding the secret didn’t help. The closer he got to Zuri, the more he wanted to tell her everything. Instead of making things better, keeping the secret tainted his time with her and left him guilt-ridden.
So on the morning of Jabari’s testing, as they marched to the fighting fields on Kerem’s borders, Tau was unsettled. He was worried about his future with Zuri, about his friendship with Jabari, and about having Lekan join them, instead of Jabari’s father, who, suffering an attack of gout, had remained in Kerem.
The march to the testing was the first time Tau’s father had been so near Lekan since learning the fate of Nkiru’s family, and that, along with everything else, had Tau feeling like he was walking through a nest of scythe ants. True, he hadn’t been bitten yet, but each step brought with it a fresh opportunity.
Head heavy with troubles, Tau stole a look at Jabari. The Petty Noble had to feel the day’s pressure. At the testing, he’d hold his sword and Kerem’s potential for prosperity or poverty in his hands.
“I’ll be fine,” Jabari said, noticing the glance.
“Soon you’ll be crossing blades with some of the best Noble fighters in the South.”
“I know,” Jabari said. “I’m ready. Aren made me so… with your help.”
The words were kinder than any Jabari had spoken in days, and it was more of a peace offering than a Lesser had any right to expect.
“You are ready. I know it,” Tau said, hoping it was true.
Aren drew apace with them. “How’s the knee?”
The day before, Tau and Jabari had collided in practice and Jabari had fallen.
“It’s strong,” Jabari said. “The swelling is gone. I feel fine.”
“Eyes on the Goddess,” Aren told his student.
“Always. I’m ready,” Jabari said, echoing Tau’s words and shooting him a smile. “I’ll not fail.”
“It’s luck that determines who you draw in the first rounds,” Aren told him. “Remember what I said.”
Jabari tapped his temple. “I have it. If I face Lanre, I’ll watch his overhand swing.”
“You’d better. It’s a feint, and he’ll crack those pretty teeth of yours with his shield while you gawp at his sword. And?”
“And Sizwe is quick.”
“Quick? That skinny bastard… Uh, no disrespect to his Noble person, but that skinny bastard is an inyoka, except he strikes twice as fast.”
Jabari laughed. He was always quick to laugh, thought Tau, but this was serious. He looked up and wiped sweat from his shaved head, more forming the instant the first swath was whisked away.
They were still a few thousand strides from the fighting circles, on the flat and fallow fields between Kerem and Mawas, and the sun was nearing its zenith. The testing would begin at midday and it was Hoard: too hot to grow, too hot to harvest. It would be horrible to fight in this swelter, which was the point.
He heard more laughter. Jabari was joking with one of the Ihagu. If all went well, the Petty Noble would be a full-blooded Indlovu in three cycles. Tau worried Jabari wouldn’t laugh as much after he’d spent time fighting the hedeni. He wanted nothing but the best for his Noble friend, truly, but he was glad he’d found a different path for himself.
“Keep your head straight too,” Aren said to Tau. “Watch Jabari and the other Nobles. This is a great opportunity. You’ll get to experience a testing before your own.”
Aren put his arm around Tau’s shoulders and squeezed. “It makes a difference, seeing how desperate fights get when something is on the line.”