Uzuri sat quietly, trying to ignore the constant gnawing in her stomach as she watched the progress of the setting sun. As the top of the crimson disk sank below the level of the treetops, she rose and padded over to Isha.
      "Gather the party." She looked at the sky hopefully. "We'll try again tonight. Maybe Aiheu will yet show us mercy."
      The younger lioness shook her head as she stood. "Not as long as that fool makes us stay here, " Isha growled.
      "Shh! I'm not sure if that's treason or blasphemy, but hold your tongue. Taka's spies are everywhere! "
      "Treason or not, it's the truth." She trudged away slowly, her tail dragging dejectedly in the dust as she headed off to rouse the other lionesses; it was time to hunt.
      Uzuri sighed as she stared after her. The trouble was that Isha was right. Taka's refusal to allow the lions to leave Pride Rock and seek out more fruitful hunting grounds was going to be the death of them. Already some of them were beginning to show signs of emaciation, their ribs standing out clearly against their pelts, once sleek and shiny but now dull and drab from the lack of nutrition. Shaking her head despairingly, she rose and crossed over to where the others now stood assembled.
      Sarafina rose to greet her. "Uzuri, " she whispered urgently. "I've got to talk to you."
      "Of course." She looked at her curiously. "What is it, Fini?"
      "We can't go on like this much longer. Why are we getting ready to hunt?"
      "You want to eat, don't you?"
      Sarafina snorted. "Of course, but I don't want to die for my supper. All we found on our patrol this morning was a small herd of elephants. You more than anyone should know how hard it is to cut a calf out of the herd and put it down."
      "We don't have to worry about that, " Uzuri said firmly. "To hunt elephants is corban, by my own decree."
      Sarafina looked at her for a long moment. "Then what are we left with? Picking off the rare straggler who happens to come wandering through? We can't depend on that."
      Uzuri sighed deeply. "I know, " she said tiredly. The lack of food was beginning to take its toll on her; her energy waned more and more each day. "So what do YOU suggest?"
      "Ajenti! " Sarafina called. "Come here a moment. Tell Uzuri what you told me last night."
      Ajenti grinned. "I had the most wonderful idea while we were out scouting a few days ago." She broke off, coughing raggedly.
      "By the way, I don't want you coming with us tonight, " Uzuri said worriedly. "You sound terrible."
      "I do? Great! " Ajenti snickered at the look on Uzuri's face. "You see, I've been faking that cough for the past couple of days."
      "Why?"
      "I'm going to play sick and stay here while you go hunting. I plan to sneak out a couple of hours after high moon."
      "Just where do you think you can go?" Uzuri asked. "There's nothing to eat for miles around."
      "I'm not going for food, I'm going for help. I'm going to try to get past those idiot hyenas and see Rafiki." Her face sobered. "Maybe he can ask the gods to help us; Taka certainly isn't going to."
      Uzuri sucked in a sharp breath at the audacity of this. "Do you know what will happen to you if you get caught? What about the guards? How are you planning to get past them?"
      Ajenti said, "Maybe if I’m sick enough, I can get an appointment to see Rafiki. I’m one of the better hunters if I say so myself, and Taka would do well not to lose me."
      Taka's sharp voice cut through the air. "If you're quite done chatting, ladies, it's well past sundown. You're late for the hunt."
      Uzuri raised her voice. "Yes, Sire." Lowering it to a hoarse whisper, she looked at Ajenti. "Stay here, for now. Pretend you're sick, like you've been doing, but don't leave tonight. We'll discuss this when we get back."
      Ajenti bowed her head. "Yes, ma'am."
      Uzuri and Sarafina joined the other lionesses who milled about restlessly, anxious to begin the hunt. After checking that everyone was present, she led the group in to Taka's cave. The King lay in the threshold, grooming himself silently as they approached. Clearing her throat, she said, "Milord, we ask for your blessing."
      Taka looked up and nodded. "Aiheu provides. Thanks be to Aiheu."
      "Aiheu provides, " she responded. She turned to leave, but stopped. "Taka, why do we continue this farce? There is no food to be found! I implore you, let us leave here and find better hunting grounds."
      He looked up sharply. "No! We will remain here. This drought will not last much longer. The seer has foretold it."
      "If we don't leave soon, the jackals will glut themselves on lion meat! " Uzuri humbled herself before him. "Taka, please reconsider. Do you think your father would have taken the word of a seer over the cries of his people?"
      "I said we stay! " he snarled. "You overstep your authority, hunt mistress. I will NOT be compared with my father, Lord rest his soul. Now be off before the prey escapes."
      "Yes, Sire, " she said through gritted teeth. She turned and led the group away.
      The young of the elephants were the subject of repeated near-suicide attacks by lionesses because there was little else to eat. Finally over the loud protests of the other lionesses, Uzuri had forbidden attempts on them because it was a senseless risk. Once in a while, a great while, an animal would pass through the Pride Lands bound elsewhere and they would catch it. Even when they were lucky enough to bring down a large animal, it proved almost not worth the trouble because the hyenas would move in.
      Hyenas were not welcome on the hunt, for they were not as skilled as lions. They chatted too much-something Uzuri could not tolerate. Not that any of the hyenas did much hunting anyhow. One of the major topics of conversation as they gathered for the hunt used to be how to get rid of the hyenas. That was until they began to suspect spies from Shenzi were everywhere, and it was not a foolish suspicion. One of them, Skulk, was particularly quiet on his feet.
      Hours later, the moon's pale light painted a small group of elephants. Beesa's pulse raced as she saw a youngster that had strayed too far from the group. Gauging the distance, she decided that she might just be able to cut it off and out of the herd. She began to drool at the thought. Gods, all that meat...the pride might be able to get a halfway decent meal after all. She started to move in, but paused, uncertain, remembering Uzuri's warning. Then the sight of her daughter gnawing on the scrawny carcass of that hideous rat sprang unbidden into her mind. Beesa had been shocked as she realized she could easily count her daughter's ribs simply by looking at her side. That decided her.
      "Aiheu provides, " she whispered. Easing forward through the dying grass, she slowly began to stalk the young elephant.
      Uzuri had already sighted the elephants a few moments earlier. She began to softly call out orders, shifting the inverted V pattern of their normal sweep for prey to a left oblique, herself at the head with the others staggered out on the opposite side away from the elephants. She turned her head, intending to shift Beesa over into the trail spot, and stared at the empty grass where a lioness should have been. "Beesa?"
      Malaika gasped. "Oh gods, Uzuri, look! "
      Uzuri's head whipped around, looking over at the spot where Malaika was staring, open-mouthed. "What the...."
      There was an elephant cow coming up quietly behind Beesa. Uzuri shouted, "Beesa! Look out! "
      Beesa turned around too late, her eyes widening as she saw the elephant charge. She shrieked as the elephant tossed the lioness's four hundred pounds into the air like a rag doll, then brought down her front feet on her with a snapping sound.
      "Close ranks! " Uzuri shouted. The lionesses ran to Beesa and formed a circle around her, driving back the elephant. Trumpeting loudly, the cow gathered her calf to her side and joined the herd as it began to lumber away cautiously.
      "I'm stove through, " Beesa gasped. "Isha?"
      "Beesa?"
      "Isha! "
      "I'm here, honey! " Isha drew near to listen to her sister's faint words.
      "Take care of my Lisani. Promise me."
      "I will, honey." Tears flooded Isha's eyes. She nuzzled Beesa and kissed her. "I promise. I love you, Beesa. Pray for me.”
      “I will, sis.”
      “Oh Beesa, why did you do it?"
      "I promised." Her face contorted in pain. "You must bring Lisani something special. Tell her it's from me." She gasped. Blood began to drain from her mouth. "Isha?"
      "I'm still here."
      Slowly, painfully, Beesa raised her paw and caressed Isha’s cheek. "Save yourself." Her arm fell as her last breath went out in a long sigh.
      "Oh gods! " Isha looked at the body with its horrible wounds. “My sister, ” she stammered. “She’s dead. What are we going to tell Lisani?” She glanced from face to face at each of the lionesses. “Why did that elephant have to kill her? Why? Why??”
      The lionesses stood silently for a moment, unwilling to take the next step which they knew was necessary. Finally, Uzuri stepped forward. She bent down and gently kissed Beesa's cheek. "Aiheu abamami." A tear rolled her face and splashed silently on Beesa's fur. “Pray for me, Beesa.”
      She retreated as Malaika stepped forward, followed by Sarabi. One by one, Beesa's hunt sisters came forward to bid her farewell. Finally, only Isha remained. The lioness stood immobile, looking down at her sister's body. She bent to kiss her cheek, but crumpled, sobbing, beside the still form. "Oh gods! " She tilted her head up and roared at the sky, giving vent to her grief as the other lionesses joined in, the eerie sound echoing back from the cliffs.
      Back at Pride Rock, the hyenas heard the cry. They came to Taka for an explanation, but he had none. “It doesn’t sound good, ” he said.
      Finally, the lionesses came trailing in slowly, eyes cast down and filled with tears. Taka looked from one to another uncertainly as they approached.
      "Uzuri? What's wrong? I heard a cry."
      Uzuri looked at him crossly. "Count us, Your Majesty. What do YOU think?" She shouldered past him roughly and sat down, her face quivering as she fought for control.
      Lisani came gamboling up to the hunting party. She butted up against Isha, purring happily as she greeted her aunt. "Isha, where's Mom? What did she get for me? A zebra?" Her face began to drop. “Another rat?” She saw Isha’s tears. “Nothing at all?”
      Isha's jaw trembled. "Lisani, Honey Tree, I want you to be a brave little girl. Very brave. Your mother....” She began to sob. “You’re going to stay with me now."
      Lisani stared as she took in the pained expression on her aunt's face. Looking around, she saw it mirrored on the others as they sat, staring at nothing.
      “Is she hurt?” She went to Uzuri. “Aunt Uzuri, what’s wrong??”
      “Oh my poor baby! ”
      Suddenly realizing that the worst had happened, she ran back to Isha and huddled against her warm body, bursting into tears. "I want my mommy! ” she shrieked. “Aunt Isha, I want my mommy! " Isha held her close with a paw. “We all want your mommy, but she’s gone.”
      Kh'tel, one of the hyenas asked, "Am I to take that poor Beesa is dead?"
      "You ARE to take it, " Uzuri said sternly.
      "Well then, the body is corban for a moon. That is the duration, isn't it?" With barely suppressed excitement, he said, "Pray tell, where is the body? We wouldn't want to trespass."
      Uzuri showed her fangs. "You sure wouldn't! ‘Cause if you touch her, you will be our next meal! "
      "Your Majesty, " Kh'tel protested. "I merely tried to follow leonine custom. I resent these vile accusations."
      "I'll show you vile accusations! " In a moment, Uzuri sprang on on the hyena, pinning him to the ground. Other hyenas moved closer, threatening, but she barked, "Come one step closer and I'll kill him! "
      "I forbid you to hurt him, " Taka shouted. "Let him go! "
      "Beesa is dead, and it's all his fault! Him and his kind! He doesn't touch her. Let the jackals have their fill, but I'll kill the first hyena that touches her! "
      "I know you're upset, " Taka said. "I'm sure you know you're overreacting here. We don't want a war, now, do we?"
      Hyenas glared at her. Lionesses glared at the hyenas. It was a tinderbox just waiting to burst into flame.
      "Let him go, " Taka said sternly. "I'd hate to have to MAKE you let him go."
      "You mean just you and I? One-on-one with no outside interference?" Uzuri had a fierce light in her eyes that froze Taka's blood. Clearly she could make good on her threat. "Are those your terms, Sire?"
      Taka was clearly at a disadvantage. He squirmed inside, trying to think of something, anything, he could say and not live to regret.
      Elanna said, "For the sake of the Gods, you two, concede the point. Let the hyena go, Uzuri. In return my husband will not punish you." She looked at Taka and half smiled. "Tell her you’ll let her go, dear. She’s reasonable."
      Taka nodded. "Yes, yes. Elanna speaks for me. We're all friends here. We just have our misunderstandings." He stared at Uzuri. "Don't we, my dear?"
      "Yes, Sire." She glared down at the still-trapped hyena and said, "We're all friends here." She kissed the hyena right on the end of the nose with a long, wet, drooling lick that made him gasp and sputter. "Mmmmm. Don't try to eat things that bite back, Hon. You might get invited to dinner."
      When Kh'tel was released, he ran in blind panic from the cave, wiping his nose in the grass and trembling.

      Taka’s espousal of Elanna had come when he was supposedly mourning his brother and Simba. But one day there came the most wonderful and yet frightening change in him. He came in to see Elanna as she lay in the cool of the cave. The blistering heat had soaked his golden body with sweat, and taken the fire from his eyes and the joy from his heart.
      That’s when a small miracle happened. “Husband, I know that there is not enough food to go around. But there is someone that wants to join the pride.
      “Someone I know?”
      “No, not yet.”
      “We have so little as it is. Male or female?”
      “I don’t know.”
      “You talked to them, and you don’t know? Was it a cub or something?”
      “Or something, ” she said. “I sensed the change in my body a few days ago, but today I’m sure. Taka, you are very clever, but you haven’t seen the light in my eyes?”
      “The light in your eyes?” The hair on his back stood up. “You mean I’m going to be a father?”
      “Please don’t be upset with me. We’ll have to stretch things a little, but we’ll make it somehow.”
      “Upset??” Tears came to his eyes and he nuzzled her, fondling her ears and cheek with his large paw and kissing her. “I love you, Lannie. My dear, precious girl. Upset?? I’m delighted! Oh gods, I’d almost forgotten there was beauty or laughter in the world. Lannie, I will give you sons and daughters. You will fill the world with beauty.”
      She kissed away his tears. “Go tell the world.”
      He came running out to the end of the promontory of Pride Rock and shouted, “Listen, all of you! Elanna is with child! ” He practically danced like a cub. “I’m going to be a father! ”
      Taka felt this small life would love him the way he loved Ahadi. The rest of the Pride Lands be cursed, this small treasure of his beloved would be his, fully his, and he would worship it. Be it male or female, it would be heaven and earth for him, even God. Surely there would be no unfairness in Taka’s heart. If he had twin sons, the kingdom would be divided upon his death. Never would he inflict on his own the pain and suffering he felt. And he decided something else as well, something dark and sinister. For the safety of his own, the day Elanna gave birth would be the day Rafiki died. He gave explicit instructions on this to his hyena guard. The curse would not live on in his children.
      There was no parade of lionesses coming to congratulate the happy pair. Only a few hyenas came by to fawn on him, seeking to ingratiate themselves. He despised this—it made the missing lionesses all the more obvious.
      Then came Fabana. She squirmed with delight. “I told you not to die, didn’t I? I told you that love would come, and it has.” She stood up on her hind legs and put her rough arms around Taka’s mane and kissed him. “I’m so happy! ”
      Taka purred deeply, kissed her with his large tongue and stroked her gently with his large paw. “I wondered when you’d come. You’re the first one I wanted to tell about little Fabana.”
      “Little Fabana! ” She kissed him again. “Aren’t you the big sweetie! Yes you are! ” He chuckled and rolled over like a big cub, batting at her lightly with his huge paw.
      The news struck a chord of dread in some of the lionesses. Isha and Uzuri went to Kako and took her aside. There was one place near the cistern where a small damp cave blew cold air year round. A nice place to escape the heat of summer, it was the doorway to a strange underground realm that was corban to creatures of the sunlit world. Hyenas hated it because of the constant dampness, so there was not as much danger of being overheard.
      “That cub could be female, ” Isha said quietly. “Then again it could be male. If it was, I wouldn’t give half a bleached zebra skull for Baba’s life. Scar will either kill him or send him off. He’s afraid of a good challenge. Pfft, I almost wish I was a male—I’d show him a thing or two! ”
      “He’s only shown me kindness, ” Kako said.
      “True. When it suits him, he can be a cute little kitten. But this kitten has claws, hon.”
      Uzuri said, “Listen to her, Kako. I’ve grown to think of you as my little sister. I would bleed inside if your son died. Make no mistake, we want to protect you. Your son is in grave danger.”
      “I’ll keep watch, ” Kako said. “It’s the only thing I can do. I can’t go home. I really can’t do that.”
      “You are home, ” Isha said, nuzzling her. “We are your family now.”
      “I love you too, ” Kako said. “Don’t think I don’t. If you have a plan—any plan at all—you tell me. Even if it’s getting rid of—your problem.” She couldn’t bear to say “killing the King, ” but it was understood. “We will either live together or die separately.”
      “Then it is settled, ” Uzuri said. “We will all see what we can come up with. May Aiheu give us the light.”

      Two and a half months after Elanna married Taka, she began having contractions.
      “Husband! ”
      Taka came running into the cave. “What’s wrong?”
      “I’m in pain. Something is wrong! Terribly wrong! ”
      Just then he noticed the blood. He is in a panic. “You’re not due for two weeks! ” Looking about helplessly, he shouts, “Midwives! Come quick! ”
      Sarafina and Isha come quickly. They took one look at her, and they were grim. “We need herbs. Your Majesty, Rafiki has always helped with these things. We really can’t do much without him.”
      Rafiki was under house arrest and couldn’t find what he needed in time even if let out. That does not stop Taka from sending for him.
      It took a long time for the mandrill to get to the cave. When Rafiki showed up, Taka bowed before him, closing his eyes tightly. “No matter how you feel about me, you must save the child. In whatever God's name you believe in, you must save the child! "I'll do anything, anything! You can go free. I'll make sure you never have to work hard again! Oh God, do you have a heart of stone??"
      Rafiki asked, “How long has she been in pain?”
      “About an hour.”
      “An hour?” He buried his face in his hands. “Oh Lord, so little time, and so much I must do.”
      “What do you need? I’ll send help with you. Take Sarafina—ride her back if you need to. But hurry! ”
      But does not even get to leave the cave before Isha, bearing a small dead male, goes past.
      "Put him down! " Taka said.
      He looks at the tiny body. "Rafiki, do something! Anything! My son, my son!! "
      Rafiki picked up the infant and hugged it. Tears came to his eyes. “So tiny. So beautiful. Such a waste.” Rafiki looks at Taka with some pity. "His spirit is already with the gods. It can not return."
      Isha touched Taka with her tongue. "Bayete." She took the small dead cub with her.
      Rafiki came to Taka and watched his soft, quiet sobs. “Is there anything I can do?”
      "You are useless to me, " Taka says to Rafiki. "Go back to your tree.”
      “I am not unmoved. There is no great love between us, but I feel your pain. Let me see if....”
      “Get out! "
      Sarafina, with genuine pity, told Taka, “You will have no more heirs. I’m sorry.”
      “Yeah, right. Now leave me. All of you! ”
      He has a short period of grief where he goes out on the promontory under the stars. Calls to his father Ahadi. “I wish I could believe! ” Sobs, “If there is a God, please help me! ” Fabana creeps stealthily out onto the point and sits by him, resting her head on him. She does not say a word--she does not have to.
      He roared. The lionesses took it up. There is no doubt what it meant.
      Still weak in the knees, Taka headed down Pride Rock and crept slowly to Kako’s spot where he found her with her son.
      “It seems the Gods have spoken, ” Taka said. “There will be no prince from my line.” His chin began to tremble.
      Kako quietly padded over and bussed his cheek. “I’m so sorry. You poor dear—I mean, Your Majesty.”
      “Kako, you came to me from the gods. Your goodness is one of the few things that can laugh at the curse that burns my blood.” He sighed, and with great effort said, “Mabatu is my Prince, and your future King.”
      “You honor us, Bayete.”
      He looked at Mabatu. “Hello, sport.”
      “Hello, Your Majesty.”
      “You are a prince now. You should call me by my name, or if you feel like it, you may call me...please call me.... Dad.?”
      Mabatu came and sat next to him, burying his head in Taka’s mane. “I love you, Dad.”
      “I love you too.” He kissed Baba. “You’re my last hope, son. Go to sleep a little early tonight ‘cause tomorrow, I’m waking you at sunrise. I have something I want to show you.”
      “What?”
      “You’ll see.”

      With food supplies dropping low, Shenzi was looking for ways to make things go further. Among the hyenas, the punishment of eating last and taking what was left became more and more common. It seemed to the rank and file that the leaders of the clan were looking for excuses to reduce the number of mouths to feed, and they were right.
      The most effective punishments would of course be banishment and death. Not that most hyenas were ready to turn on their compatriots at a whim. But Amarakh, the beloved former Roh’mach, had a daughter Takyla that many felt should have been the next ruler rather than Shenzi. This adolescent was the subject of constant harassment by Shenzi and her friends. Her ouster on a charge of treason could consolidate Shenzi’s hold on the clan and mean an extra bite or two for everyone at mealtime. Everything Takyla did or said was reported by some of Shenzi’s spies. Shenzi called them “Guardians of the Clan Spirit, ” but everyone knew a spy when they saw one.
      Getting rid of a lion would have been much more effective even than offing a hyena. But it would be highly unlikely to garner a strong complaint, much less any hard evidence. The lionesses stuck together on almost everything with a singleness that was impenetrable by the Guardians of the Clan Spirit. That left the male cubs.
      One male cub in particular posed a grave threat. For since Mabatu had become Prince, Taka had regained some of his youthful bravado. He began to look ahead more than a day or two at a time, taking charge and making difficult decisions he’d usually left to someone else. It was becoming progressively harder to control Taka, and Shenzi was worried that Mabatu would take heart and become a strong leader when Taka died.
      And die he would. Makhpil had clearly forseen that Taka would die young and violently. It was a vague prophesy, but one that filled Shenzi with the urgency of the moment. There was not much time to play the waiting game.
      To denounce Mabatu as a youth would almost certainly backfire. Taka worshipped the cub and would almost certainly fly in the face of the gods themselves to protect him. The thought, however slim, that Taka would rather give up his life than take another frightened Shenzi. For their last hold over him would be gone.
      To kill Mabatu was one possible solution. But Taka would not rest until the truth was out. He would take no one’s word for what had happened. Even if someone volunteered to carry out the job, admit guilt, and die to achieve greatness in Roh’kash’s clan, Taka would never believe they acted alone. They would have to be more subtle.
      Weeks passed into months. During that time, they did not manage to get rid of Takyla either, but they always had a couple of familiar faces missing at each meal from the strict discipline.
      Mabatu grew closer to Taka with each passing day. With Makhpil’s prophesy in the back of their minds, the hyenas began to worry that a weak leader would be replaced by the stronger one if they waited too long. So when Mabatu was a year and a half old, and a few bits of ruff began to form around his neck, the leaders of the clan had a private meeting and decided at that point that Mabatu must go.
      But how to do it? Certainly, Shimbekh must be involved. Fed information from Makhpil, she still made several correct predictions to Taka, enough to cover all the lies Shenzi wanted to sneak in.
      Relying on the old hyena proverb that a half truth is like a half carcass—it can be pulled twice as far—they decided on a lie that would soften the blow, but still strike home.
      Timid and unsteady, Shimbekh stood before Taka to deliver the news that may bring instant death. “My Lord, evil tidings.”
      “Oh?” He involuntarily put his paw before his mouth. “Surely not! ”
      “I don’t know how to say this, my lord. But there is an evil spirit in this place. One too strong for our powers to drive off. Unless Mabatu driven off early, the day after his mantlement he will go mad and kill his mother, then you.”
      “What??” Taka ran abruptly to within a few inches of her face. “If you’re lying to me, I’ll rip you apart! ”
      Regardless of her safety, she wept and kissed his cheek. “You love him, don’t you.”
      “Yes, I love him.”
      “Then....” She struggled for words. “Send him away now while his heart is pure. You know what it is like to suffer from the inside. There is nowhere to hide.” Her voice began to trail off. “No one knows what torment there is in the wounds we bear inside. We try to smile when our heart is breaking.”
      Mabatu was told two days in advance that he would get a commoner’s mantlement so he could do his leave taking and make the appropriate spiritual preparations. But he was not told why. Taka was clearly upset, and despite the obvious temptation, Mabatu showed him no hatred or resentment. Taka also clearly loved him.
      Mabatu and Kako were both in a bit of a panic. Baba was not ready yet—he had minimal hunting skills and he was still not what most lions consider mature. Kako makes an impassioned plea for a little more time—that not waiting a moon or two would be just condemning him to death--but is turned down by Taka. “He will learn. It’s Nature’s way. Besides, I will pray for him every night.”

      It was the night before Mabatu’s mantlement, a time most young lions would be spending with their mother, trying to say enough kind things to last a lifetime. But Mabatu was unprepared, and every moment had to count. That’s why Isha stayed home from the hunt to spend time with Mabatu, talking about hunting, fighting, and other skills.
      His greatest hope was to drive off hyenas, for he expected to live on carrion if he was to live at all. So he had to know their weaknesses, and how many of them could be safely dispersed. There was little hope he would blossom into a great hunter. Isha above all should know this for her skills as a huntress were second only to Uzuri. And because she had always loved Mabatu, she was desperate to do her best.
      “We must look at holds, ” she said. “Here on the arm, you can restrict movement.” She mouthed his upper arm gently above the elbow. “Here on the flank you can rip. But the throat hold is one of prime importance....” She put her arm over his back. “You strike them here and push with your weight.” Isha leaned on him. “It’s important to let your weight do the work. Then you go for the throat and cut off his wind.” She gently opened her mouth and caressed Mabatu’s strong throat.
      A moment later, she let go and looked up. “Your heart is pounding. Are you all right?”
      He stared at her. His nostrils quivered as the warm tides of his breath came and went. “Isha....”
      “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sorry.”
      “Don’t be sorry. It is I who have offended you.”