No! Why would they do this to Khochu? He couldn’t kill his own people, even if Nikita’s tribe were trying to survive and test him. There had to be another option—there just had to.
Khochu set Kobe down and faced Priven. “I can’t do this, Chief. They’re my people.”
Priven glared and nearly shoved him down the hill. “You will not disobey orders from the chief, unless…” He snapped his fingers, and the hunters pointed their weapons at Khochu, morning sunshine glistening on their blood-painted faces.
“But they’re my people,” Khochu muttered, looking at Nikita for help.
She shut her eyes and tilted her head.
Fortunately, before the hunters stabbed Khochu, his people fired their bows and arrows, and they struck a few of the hunters.
Instantly, Khochu picked up Kobe again and slipped away from the fray, moving aside.
The tribes charged at each other, and Khochu looked away, too scared to fight or move. What could he do? How was he supposed to unite them? More importantly, where were his parents?
A hand soon grasped Khochu’s shoulder, and he jumped, whirling around.
“Shh! Shh!” Nikita placed her finger to her poofy lips. “Come on.” She tugged Khochu’s arm. “I’ll take you to find your parents.”
“But your father…!” Khochu whispered back.
“He’s distracted,” Nikita said, glancing at Priven, who was fighting with Yerik. “I’ll be okay. I don’t mind if they shun me; I’m tired of my tribe, anyway.”
That made two.
The two sprinted through the battle, dodging arrows and spears, taking cover behind tents, and holding each other close. Khochu followed every “coast is clear” gesture from Nikita and hugged Kobe.
“My tent is on the outskirts of the village,” Khochu explained, hoping that his sickly parents weren’t trying to fight. He didn’t know how much longer he would have Kobe; he couldn’t lose his parents, too.
A screech soon came from the sky, and Eva swooped down, landing before Khochu and Nikita.
Nikita gasped and jumped behind Khochu, grabbing his shoulders. And there he thought he was the only coward.
“Eva!” Khochu shouted. “Where are my parents? Please take me to them.”
“You can talk to that thing?” Nikita hissed in his ear.
“It’s an odd talent,” Khochu replied, stepping away from Eva, who spread her massive wings and took off. He still didn’t know how he did it.
Eva quickly moved away from the battle and headed toward the outskirts of the village, but soon a group of shadows appeared over the hills surrounding the tents.
They waited for a bit, as if communicating with one another.
Khochu’s tent soon came into view. Smoke from the chimney told him that his parents were still in there, thank goodness. How would they react to Nikita, though? Khochu saw his father chasing her away with a spear, shivering at the image.
Eva soon arrived at the tent’s entrance, and Khochu’s mother and father stepped outside.
Nikita stayed hidden behind Khochu.
“Khochu! There you are!” Vika shouted, tears glistening in her deep brown eyes. She rushed toward him, and Khochu peered back at Nikita.
“It’s okay, Nikita. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.” His voice was gentle, and he felt his face heat up.
Nikita gulped, but eventually came out, right when Vika reached Khochu and hugged him.
She squeezed his cheeks and kissed each one three times. “You need to stop running off like that, baby! The cannibals! What if—?” That was when Vika’s eyes landed on Nikita. “Who is that?” Instantly, she pulled Khochu and Kobe away from Nikita and stepped in front of them.
Khochu pulled Vika’s arm away from him. “Mom, that’s Nikita.”
“Is she a cannibal?” a voice suddenly boomed from behind. Sasha, spear in hand, hurried over to Khochu and Vika and threatened Nikita, who raised her hands.
“Dad, stop!” Khochu begged. “She’s not like the others! She helped bring me back here.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Vika said, tugging him away again. “She’s a cannibal, and you know we can’t be friends with them. A cannibal snuck in last night and killed one of the guards. Yerik found him.”
What? But that couldn’t have been… Could it?
“Nikita.” Khochu’s face drooped. “You killed one of our guards when you got me last night?” She was the only one he could think of.
“Khochu, I’m sorry.” Nikita stepped back. “I was only doing what Dad trained me to do.”
“I knew it!” Sasha’s brows furrowed, and he poked Nikita with his spear. “Out, out! You brought your people here to kill ours!”
Nikita sniffed and rubbed her nose. “I was only doing what Dad trained me to do.”
“To survive, you must kill.” There had to be a way to bend that rule, but how? Khochu thought for a moment, then an idea came to mind, and he stood up straight. Of course! His being captured by the cannibals and Nikita leading them there must have been a sign from the ancestors—a sign they tried to tell him in the cave. They had to return to the battle and get the chiefs.
Khochu opened his mouth to speak, but Eva suddenly screeched, and Kobe barked.
Instantly, Khochu’s mother and father stopped glaring and looked at them.
“What is it, Eva and Kobe?” Khochu questioned. Then… He saw them.
The shadows from earlier crept down the hills, closing in on Nikita, Khochu, and his parents. A rush of cold Arctic air swept through their fur, and they began to growl.
Great, just when Khochu thought things couldn’t get worse. He reached for Nikita, but Vika and Sasha ripped him away, wrapping their arms around him in a circle.
The three Saber-toothed cats lowered their bodies to the ground, showing off their massive front fangs. They circled Khochu’s group a few times, digging their titanic paws into the snow.
Khochu sweated, as did his parents and Nikita.
Within minutes, the cats roared, unsheathed their claws, and lunged at his group.
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and then Add to home screen.