CHAPTER 26: THE TRANSFERENCE

	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 uncontrolably.  "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."



CHAPTER 27:  BIRTH OF A ROH'MACH

	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 distain 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.


CHAPTER 28:  CONSOLATION

	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 Ecstacy 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 begats 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!"

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