Ber jeered Gur’mekh on the way to judgment. "I hope the King rips you alive! Kill my son, will you?? May you rot in hell!"
      Lenti was right behind him, crying, “Murderer! Murderer!”
      Gur’mekh looked back at her and said plaintively, “I love you! How can you hate me, Lenti??”
      Ahadi came to the promontory and looked out at the distant approaching band of hyenas. He was not sure what was on the wind, but he had a good idea what was about to happen. He sent out a delegation of lionesses headed by Uzuri to confirm his suspicions.
      Gur’mekh whimpered. “Roh’mach, I was possessed by a demon spirit! Please, I didn’t want to hurt Avina! I swear!”
      “And you are much better now? Is that it?”
      “No! I’m not better! Please don’t kill me while I’m bound to this thing! It will steal my soul! Don’t let it steal my soul!”
      “I’m not letting it do anything to you,” Amarakh said curtly. “Explain this to Ahadi. You’re at his mercy, not mine.”
      Just then the lionesses fell in around the hyena guard, walking at a distance but still menacing with their strong, lithe bodies looming like giants around them. Gur’mekh began to shudder. “I didn’t want to hurt her! I swear!”
      One of the lionesses glanced over at him and scowled, showing her fangs. “So, you’re the little wretch that killed her! You’ll pay for that meal, scum!”
      “He killed my son,” Ber said bitterly. “He’ll pay for a lot of things today!”
      “Silence!” Amarakh said. “The King alone will pass judgment on the prisoner. The King alone!”
      Of course, ringed by so many powerful lionesses, Amarakh’s shouting was so much empty noise. She began to feel apprehensive herself.
      Ahadi stood on the promontory. Gur’mekh caught sight of him and began to squeal and yelp, struggling against the hyenas that held him fast. “Oh gods! Don’t do this! I’m innocent! Let me go! Oh gods, he’s going to kill me!”
      “Quit whining like a pup!” Amarakh said. “We have our dignity. Face him the way you faced Avina.”
      “I was possessed!” Gur’mekh shrieked. “In God’s name, ask Shimbekh! Please, call for Shimbekh! She’ll explain everything!”
      Ahadi watched the agony in Gur’mekh’s eyes. “There goes the most unfortunate of creatures,” he said to Akase. “I expected an arrogant buck and instead I got a terrified boy.”
      At the base of Pride Rock, two more lionesses appeared, flanking Gur’mekh on either side as he scrabbled up the slope, babbling almost incoherently about the Makei.
      Gur’mekh tried to hold himself steady as they reached the top of the path, but when he turned to see Ahadi sitting silently in the mouth of the cave waiting for him, he began to whimper again.
      “This is Gur’mekh,” Amarakh said. “He called for Avina’s life. His jaws are stained red with her blood. We bring him to your justice.”
      The hyena looked into the face of Ahadi. He could see death in his eyes. His knees began to buckle, and he urinated on the cave floor. “Roh’kash, help me! Help me!”
      Ahadi came over to him. Quietly, without malice, he purred, “I do not want to kill your immortal Ka. Aiheu will decide. I give you a chance to admit your guilt.”
      “Have mercy! Oh gods!” Gur’mekh fell on his back, soiling his fur in the urine as he began to paw at Ahadi. “I don’t want to die!”
      “That is not an option at this point. You will have an opportunity to be right with your God. Now tell me Gur’mekh, they didn’t torture it out of you, did they? Are you guilty as they say?”
      Gur’mekh knew there was nothing he could do to save himself. He decided to do the only decent thing. “Forgive the others. I talked them into it. All my fault. The Roh’mach didn’t know. All my fault. And I’m sorry. So sorry!”
      “It’s good that you’re sorry. Your friends are glad as well, for I will not punish them. Now don’t you feel better telling the truth?”
      “I thi-think so. Yes.”
      “Now then, I want you to think really carefully. I can make it swift and nearly painless. But the gods may not think you have suffered enough. Or I can punish you now, and you will die forgiven.”
      Gur’mekh knew he was not guilty of killing Avina. But he was guilty of killing Demrath. With the chance of eternal damnation looming over him, he tried to think clearly. “I don’t know,” he cried. “I don’t know!”
      “But you must know, Gur’mekh. When you do something, be it good or bad, there are consequences. I would not want to face God after an easy death. I would take my punishment now, but it is your decision.”
      Gur’mekh’s jaw began to tremble. “Help me decide,” he silently prayed. “Roh’kash, Great Mother, your will be done.” He gasped for air, his heart pounding. “Well then, I want to be sure. Hurt me bad. Hurt me very bad.”
      Ahadi looked around. “Take the cubs outside. Far away. Wife, you may want to leave as well.”
      Time dragged by as the young and fearful walked away. Gur’mekh kept silently repeating his prayer. “Roh’kash, Great Mother, rescue my spirit. Roh’kash, Great Mother, rescue my spirit....”
      Finally, Ahadi nodded gravely. “You ripped her alive. If you would find peace, I will have to return in kind.” He looked upward. “Oh gods, look down on your child. Witness his suffering and accept his atonement.”
      “If you do this, do you promise you’ll forgive me? Promise?”
      “I promise, son. While you can, go as far as you can. Your friends will have to drag you the rest of the way.”
      “I understand.” Gur’mekh shut his eyes and whimpered. “Mother Roh’kash!!!”
      Ahadi swept his abdomen with his outstretched claws. In a private hell of pain, Gur’mekh shrieked all the air from his lungs, gasped in and shrieked again. It was often said that at that same moment Gur’bruk and Kambra fell to the ground and covered their ears, trying to block out the squeals of his death agony.
      Gur’mekh gasped for air, foaming at the mouth and shuddering on the floor. His mangled, bleeding entrails were laid open to the horrified audience of hyenas. The Roh’mach had to look away, covering her face with a paw. Ahadi looked at his paw red with Gur’mekh’s blood and glanced again and the unfortunate wretch gasping out his life.
      “Somebody help me!” Gur’mekh cried. “I can’t get up!”
      Ahadi looked on the youth with compassion, taking Gur’mekh by the nape of the neck and lifting him upright. “Can you walk?”
      “I’ll try.” He shuffled forward, stiff-legged, his face a portrait of pain and hopelessness. “Roh’kash, great mother, my spirit longs to nurse at your side.” He gasped, struggling to finish the prayer of confession. “Forgive me. Brother Sun, Sister Moon, do not shine on my transgressions. Shine only on my good deeds. Let my debt be paid.” Tears began to flood his cheeks. “Oh gods, I’m hurt!”
      “I know,” one of the lionesses said. “It was a brave thing you did for me. I forgive you.”
      He looked and saw it was Avina. His heart focused on her. One of the blessed, she might be able to protect him from the Makei.
      Demrath nuzzled him. “I accept your sacrifice. Oh gods, we could have been good friends. Why do things work out that way?”
      “You are good and noble. Protect me in the moment of my death.”
      The members of the hyena escort looked around to see whom he was talking with.
      “He’s in shock,” Ber said.
      Gur’mekh turned to look at Ber. The old hyena, once so full of hate, could not meet the desolate eyes of the dying ban’ret. “I admit it. I killed Demrath.”
      Ber gasped. “Why did you do it? Why?”
      “Because I loved Lenti. I would have done anything for her love, but I destroyed her.”
      “Are you saying you really were possessed?”
      “Yes.” Blood-soaked drool began to run down his neck. “I’m sorry, Ber. Accept my death.”
      “You die a brave death. I accept it.”
      Gur’mekh’s agony was so great that his head swam. He stumbled, and some of the hyenas propped him upright. Reduced to a bare crawl, he had to will each step up the promontory.
      The Makei’s voice echoed in his head. “You don’t have to die. If you will curse Ahadi with the words I teach you, you will be King on Pride Rock and he will crawl to his death. Even now it is not too late. Do you understand me, Gur’mekh?”
      “Oh I understand,” Gur’mekh thought in reply. “I understand that you are afraid! I will feed off YOUR agony for a change!”
      One of the hyenas that walked ahead of him was Jalkort. “I know you tried to rush Shaka to save me. You were willing to die in my place.”
      “You knew I loved you, Jal.”
      “I’m going to try and help you, but you must resist the evil. Resist it, brother!”
      “I’m doing my best!”
      Again, the hyenas looked about. Ber alone understood what was happening. “Pray, Gur’mekh. While you still draw breath, pray. The Nisei are coming for you.”
      “You are good, Ber. Just like your son.”
      The Makei’s voice ran through his head once more. “I also forgive you for attempting to drive me out. If you’ll swear allegiance to me, we will be friends, not enemies. I will give you power, fame, and the pleasures of Akase. The prophesy was for you to take Ahadi’s place. And when you’re king, you can help the hyenas achieve mastery of the world. We will rule together, unbeatable and immortal. Just swear allegiance to me, and all this will be yours, and much more.”
      “No.”
      “Don’t be a fool!”
      “For once, I’m not a fool.”
      “If you don’t say yes, I’ll hold you together and let you linger for hours in this agony! And it can get worse, much worse!”
      Gur’mekh began to wretch up bloody scraps, wincing with the effort but helpless to stop. His moans were broken by fits of gagging. “Never!” he defiantly replied. Still, he felt such pain that he couldn’t stand it much longer. A cold sweat ran from his brow and his jaw trembled. Retching again, he shrieked, “God, let me die!”
      One of the hyena guards offered to push him off the tip of the rock but he gasped, “No! Don’t touch me! I can’t stand heights!”
      Jalkort whispered silent advice into Ahadi’s heart, and the King came out to the end of the promontory. Gur’mekh looked up and saw Ahadi’s large, sad face. He looked into those eyes and saw the goodness and sorrow Ahadi felt for him. Gur’mekh was glad that that noble creature would not be victimized by the Makei.
      “Do you release me, friend?” he asked in his desperation. “Have I paid the price?”
      Ahadi reached down and whispered, “You have paid in full. I forgive you. Relax, son--I’ll be gentle and quick.”
      Gur’mekh knew that the Makei was defeated. He smiled at Ahadi and exposed his throat.
      The lion took it gently but firmly, kissing away the burden of his mangled body. Forgiven, Gur’mekh’s spirit slipped away toward the eastern horizon to join his ancestors. He found peace at last.

      That night, Gur’bruk and Kambra crept quietly and sullenly across the savanna toward Pride Rock, tall and forbidding in the moonlight. They stalked to the base of the stone, already having scented what they were after. The smell made their hackles raise. Kambra in her ambivalence walked slowly and stiffly, everything in her begging her to flee, and everything in her being tugged forward by an okash’s love. Gur’bruk came to her shoulder and leaned upon her. His presence was comforting, and she found the strength to make the last few steps.
      At last, the grass parted, and lying on the ground before them in a broken huddle were all their hopes and fears.
      “Gur’mekh!” Kambra nearly collapsed. “Oh gods! My precious little boy!”
      “Courage,” Gur’bruk said, tears streaming down his face. He nuzzled her, but then turned back to his only son. His paw ran tremblingly over Gur’mekh’s face, tracing down his neck still potent with Ahadi’s scent. “Roh’kash has staked her claim on him. He’s at peace now.”
      Kambra tried to mumble a prayer, but she broke down and began to sob uncontrollably. “Oh Gur’bruk! Our son! Our son!”
      Some lionesses emerged from the grass. “This land is off limits to your kind,” Uzuri said. “King’s orders.”
      Nearly unaware of their presence, Kambra fell across the torn and battered body, howling pitifully.
      “His wife?” Uzuri asked.
      “My wife,” Gur’bruk said. “He was our only son.” He slumped, his ears and tail drooping. “Can’t you please just go away and leave us alone? We’re not hurting anyone. Please, for God’s sake, just go away?”
      The lionesses looked at the faces of extreme pain and grief, then looked at each other. “We did not see you here,” Yolanda said without asking any leave. “We will be back in a few hours, so do what you have to do.”
      “He’s too big for us to move,” Gur’bruk said. “We were banned, so no one else will help us.”
      Kambra asked, “What will happen to my boy?” She looked around at the lionesses one by one. “I know he’s dead anyway, but his bones need to rest with his fathers. His spirit can’t rest if he’s left here!” She fell before Yolanda. “Haven’t you lost a cub before? That could have been your son!” She crawled to Yolanda’s feet, kissing them with her eyes tightly shut. It was the most humiliating of hyena pleading gestures.
      “Don’t do that,” Gur’bruk said gently but firmly. “Can’t you see we’re lucky to be here at all?”
      Kambra moaned, reaching up with a paw and gently rubbing Yolanda’s forearm. She kissed the lioness’ foot again, anointing it with her tears.
      Yolanda cleared her throat. “Go on without me, sisters. I’ll be detained.”
      The hunting party moved on, and when they were out of range, Yolanda reached down and tenderly nuzzled the sobbing Kambra. “Stand up, honey. I’ll carry him for you.”
      Kambra slowly rose to her feet. She looked searchingly into Yolanda’s eyes. “Yes, you DO understand. Somehow, some way, I’ll repay this debt. I swear it.”
      “No debt, hon. Your son was very brave. You would have been proud of him.” As gently as if she were moving a cub, Yolanda took Gur’mekh’s battered body by the scruff of the neck and followed the hyenas back toward the eastern meadow. From there, Gur’bruk and Kambra went into exile. Yolanda last saw them heading across the desert. Whether or not they would make it, she did not know.
      Of course that same night the Makei was without a home, and he sought someone else to cling to. Someone who would voluntarily accept him. Shimbekh was too wise to take him in. But that was a momentary handicap. Somewhere out there was someone that would let him in.
      He began to wait on a hard-bitten and hard-biting female who was full of repressed rage, sorrows, and bitterness.
      Fabana stirred in her sleep. She was overwrought from the events of the day. She worried that she would grow old in destitution and ruin, never enjoying the life she’d heard told about by the clan members. Her heart began to fill with bitterness, a bitterness that was sweet incense to the Makei.
      Fabana heard something and looked around. A bright golden light appeared next to her. Staring from the bright light was a beautiful female hyena.
      “Are you a ghost??” Her hackles raised and she trembled.
      “No,” the form said in almost a dreamy lullaby. “I am who I am. Okash of all, child of none.”
      Fabana fell at her feet and kissed them. “Roh’kash ne nabu! Roh’kash ne nabu!”
      The Makei reached down and kissed her gently. “The Lord your God has come to rescue your people. I have anointed your unborn daughter to become the next Roh’mach at the time I have chosen. You will name her Shenzi, a name that will come to mean salvation for the race.”
      “I am yours!” Fabana fell on her back and reached up with a paw. “I am yours! Use me!”
      “I shall,” said the Makei. “Oh, I shall.”

      Melmokh strictly warned Fabana not to reveal the prophesy before the appointed time. Faithfully she agreed to keep silent, though her reputation could have used the help. A few of the hyenas treated Fay with disdain because of her husband, doubly unfair because Jalkort did nothing shameful.
      Since Gur’mekh was disgraced and dead, it was easier to rail against him and his followers openly instead of whispering in the shadows. Fay contented herself by imagining the looks on their faces when the plans of Roh’kash were made public. There would be an accounting then, by the gods!
      However, most of the hyenas were sympathetic to her plight, especially Ber. He tried to help her get by when she became too great with child to hunt, becoming a second okhim to her. He listened sympathetically when Fay needed a friendly ear and occasionally brought her some meat. There was only so much he could do since he was hunting for Lenti and her pups. But his friendship fed a hunger deeper than the pit of her stomach.
      Lenti was also like a sister to Fabana. She remembered the gazelle that she ate the night her husband died. Fay was the giver then in the days of her sleek, well-fed figure. Now the ribs showed, and she walked a little slower, her head bowed a little lower and her smile used a lot less. As Gur’mekh’s group had formed a clan within a clan, a common bond of grief united Fay and Lenti in a private world of grief.
      Korg and Skulk had gotten away with their role in killing Avina. It almost seemed unfair that they walked and slept and breathed the fresh morning air while Jal’s bones sharpened the teeth of jackal pups. At least they had the decency to look away when Fabana and Lenti walked by, and not brazenly meet their glance.
      Amarakh was already unpopular with most of the hyenas for her handling of the Avina affair. She had little to lose by being openly friendly to Fabana, even to the point of giving a public eulogy for Jalkort. Fay was very grateful, especially when Amarakh would come by to check on her. It was her link with respectability. As if Amarakh knew this, she would go out of her way to be seen with Fabana in front of the others, asking about her health and her pregnancy.
      When the pups were born, the first male was named Ed. This was a form of exorcism, for the name of her betrayer would belong to her faithful child, and the hurt would be undone. Banzai his brother would bear a warm place in his mother’s heart, for he looked like his father. But it was Shenzi that was of special interest. For this was the daughter of the prophesy. Small and helpless, the future Roh’mach snuggled to her muti to take her first meal. “Wherever you are, Jal, see your children. Aren’t they beautiful?”
      Fabana looked at Banzai’s face and wept. “Oh, Jal! You did not leave me without comfort! My poor, dear Jal!”
      It was not until four moons after the birth that the false Roh’kash made an appearance. It was very subtle to avoid frightening the children. The Makei needed their complete trust.
      Smiling, the being of light whined and licked Shenzi. “You’re beautiful. You’re so beautiful that my heart melts.”
      “That’s God,” Fabana said, falling face down to the ground and trembling.
      “Hello, God,” Shenzi said, boldly rubbing against the false Roh’kash. “I’m Shenzi.”
      “Show respect!” Fabana stammered.
      “SHOW respect? She will be SHOWN respect,” the light said. The false Roh’kash materialized as a beautiful female from the light. She dropped her front legs and wagged her tail. Shenzi began to bat her with her paws. With Fabana watching in near shock, her daughter began to wrestle with the Creator, laughing and finally collapsing in submission as Shenzi was bathed by Roh’kash’s own tongue.
      As days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, young Shenzi was the "daughter dearest" whom the false Roh'kash had anointed and given the power of life or death. And still not a word was breathed outside of Fabana’s family. “When the time is right, the truth will reveal itself,” the light would say. In a very bitter way, that would prove to be true.

      Shimbekh turned again to Brin’bi for comfort. Her first love had fled, her sister was gone, and Gur’mekh had been picked clean by the jackals. Her parents had turned inward in their grief and were little help in sharing her own burdens. Brin’bi’s friendship upheld her during a time when all other support was gone. And over time her feelings for him had had grown to a love.
      Brin’bi could feel that love, and it began to play upon him. He would appear to her more often, sometimes unbidden. And she never did anything to discourage him. In fact, she craved the every moment of the time they spent together.
      Giddy as a young bak’ret on her first date, she went to all of the places she enjoyed and took Brin’bi on a tour of her private world. But her favorite thing was to lie in the grass Gur’bruk and Kambra were wont to do, gazing into his soft eyes and loving him without a word. In her rapture, she remembered the Ecstasy of Limlorin:
 
Gentle zephyr out of the west
Bear my love on wings of fire
Straight to the heart of my beloved!
Who is like unto him?
His smile begets the sunrise,
His touch, the joy of life!
 
      “If I had not died, we would have had pups and hunted together.” Brin’bi looked down. “I’m sorry I cannot give you what you want. Of course we could try....” Brin’bi stopped, embarrassed.
      “What?”
      “I don’t know if it would work with you in that body.”
      “What??” Shimbekh was excited. “Come on, Brin’bi--are you holding back on me?” She peered deeply into his ka and could see his thoughts. “Let’s try it! Do you want to?”
      “All right. Close your eyes.”
      She stood, her eyes firmly closed. “Tell me when.”
      “OK. Here goes....”
      Shimbekh gasped. “I can feel you!”
      Brin’bi slowly passed through her. “Shimbekh!” he cried in undiluted joy. “Do you feel like I do?”
      “I hope so, Brin’bi! I can feel your joy! I can feel it! Warm, beautiful golden joy! You beautiful thing! Can you feel me too?”
      “Yes!” He sighed. “I didn’t realize how much you loved me! Shimbekh, my darling Shimbekh!”
      Brin’bi came on through, then turned around and kissed her.
      She could feel the lick. It was warm and moist, not like a ghost. She opened her eyes and kissed him back. “Will you have me?”
      “Do you know what you’re asking? You are still of this world with its passions and needs. Do you really want to pledge to me? A spirit?”
      She smiled and said, “Yes, Brin’bi. We both saw our first love take the right fork when we took the left. But who’s to say the left fork can’t lead to happiness?”
      He nuzzled her. “Bal dareth, Shimbekh?”
      “Dareth koh, Brin’bi!”
      They kissed and pawed each other. His touch was real and gentle. A tear rolled down her cheek. “Husband,” she sighed as a smile blossomed on her face. “Brin’bi, my husband!”

      Shimbekh was as anxious as any new bride to present her love with a child, someone that would be theirs to love and nurture. But she had one problem--Brin’bi was dead. In fact, she was faced with the embarrassing complication of registering her marriage with the Roh’mach and one other witness.
      Amarakh did not understand Shimbekh’s powers, but she did appreciate them. And anxious to have her young friend happy, she did not require any proof of their relationship, even the simple step of speaking with Brin’bi. Kambra was her other witness, and like Amarakh, she promised to keep the marriage a secret from the others.
      Officially married, she set about the task of having a child. Having a surrogate okhim was out of the question--she wanted to keep herself pure for her husband. So the only other way was adoption.
      There were certainly enough pups to choose from who wandered the stars, and she did consider giving her heart to one. But she wanted at least one warm body to lay beside her in the night, one who would grow and present her with grandchildren someday.
      Ber’meer, a distant cousin, had married the daughter of a seer, and his daughter Makhpil showed an emergence of strong psychic powers.
      Ber’meer had often given hints to Shimbekh of his desperate attempts to raise Makhpil. The stress of raising her was beginning to erode his marriage. Though it would be a challenge, Shimbekh liked Makhpil, and wanted to give her the home life she needed to grow into a secure and happy adult. It was either that or giving her up to the priestly caste for training. So Ber’meer was absolutely delighted when Shimbekh made him an offer. “Frankly, she scares me. I think she feels it, and she rebels against our authority all the time. Pardon my honesty, but I’m afraid she’s going to be another Gur’mekh”
      When Makhpil was weaned, she went to live with Shimbekh. She was told that it was an extended visit, in the hopes that she would grow fond of her new parents before the adoption became final.
      Makhpil was sad for perhaps a day. But once she peered deeply into Shimbekh’s eyes, she felt the spell of Shimbekh’s love. Like Gur’mekh, she was irresistibly drawn to her, drunken with a love she had not felt before.
      Unlike most of the hyenas, Makhpil could easily spot Brin’bi whom she called Okhim from the beginning, and she quickly began calling him Maleh.
      Shimbekh and Brin’bi did not treat her like a freak, but instead wrapped her in a warm, soft blanket of unconditional love. Under their encouragement, she quickly stopped her tantrums, blossoming into a vibrant young lady who was polite and anxious to please.
      Makhpil showed every sign of being delighted with Shimbekh and Brin’bi, but after one week, she began to look very sad. She would not admit to it, much less discuss it, but she sank into a depression. Finally, Shimbekh saw her huddled in a corner of the den they had dug her, sobbing. There was no denying it then.
      “Are you homesick, hon?”
      “No!” She continued to sob.
      “Well, what’s wrong?”
      “You’re going to send me back! I don’t want to go home! They don’t love me--they’re scared of me!”
      “Oh but they do love you. You frighten them, but you’re their little girl and they’ll always love you.”
      “But not the way you do.” Makhpil sniffed, wiping her eyes with a paw. “I like it better here, Muti.”
      Shimbekh shuddered. “Darling, you called me Muti!”
      “I’m sorry.”
      “I’m not!” She fondled her with her paw. “Honey tree, how would you like to be my daughter and live with your Maleh Brin’bi and I?”
      Makhpil’s tail began to wag so strongly that her hips shook from side to side. She jumped up and kissed Shimbekh over and over until she had to laugh. “OK, I take it that means yes?”
      Shimbekh now had a family, and though she missed the traditional closeness a wife would have to her husband, she adored Brin’bi all the more for coming to her unhappy world to keep her company. In the hard times ahead, he was a great comfort to her, as was Makhpil. Shimbekh saw in her what she once was, blithe, innocent and fresh.

      Lenti tried to raise the children as best she could. When she would leave to go hunting, Krull was left in charge of his sisters. He learned at an early age to take on large responsibilities, something that would come into play when he became Roh’mach. He didn’t know it, but very soon he would have all the responsibility he could handle.