Chapter Eighteen
Torg
Shame scalded my throat. I’d hurt Starr terribly, and suddenly the pain she’d caused me didn’t matter anymore. I was horrified that she had known of my shock when I’d first laid eyes on her. She was beautiful to me now, and I loved her to the depths of my being. That’s why I’d felt so betrayed by her lies.
If I expected honesty from her, shouldn’t I demand the same from myself? If she had told me the truth in the beginning, I would have rejected her. Just like she guessed.
But now I loved her, and I knew her. If Starr said the killing was self-defense, then I believed her because I did judge by behavior, and everything Starr had done since she’d arrived revealed what kind of person she was. My Starr was good and kind.
I had to apologize and mend the rift. I started after her, but Darq grabbed my arm.
“Let her go. When females get angry, the best you can do is stay out of the way until they cool down. I suspect Terran ones aren’t much different.”
“She’s not just angry, she’s hurt.”
“Which you can’t fix in the time you have available.” Darq’s expression was worried. “The situation is serious. They are talking about expelling you from the tribe whether or not you banish Starr. They’re furious you exiled Icha because of Starr who is a murderess—or not,” he amended after glancing at my face. “I’m only telling you what they’re saying.”
Starr was about to disappear around the bend. We weren’t more than a quarter tripta from camp. “All the more reason to go after her. I don’t want her to march into camp with everyone in an uproar.”
He nodded. “She would rile them further, and there’s no telling what state they’ll be in. Icha was whipping them up into a frenzy when I left. You have to deal with them now. I’ll intercept Starr and escort her to the cave. We’ll circle around to the rear so no one sees.”
I sighed. That was the best solution, but I didn’t like it. Sometimes I hated being tribal chief. “All right,” I agreed. “Tell Starr I’m sorry.”
“I doubt she’ll listen to me. Tell her yourself when you see her. I’ll keep her safe.” Darq jogged after my mate.
* * * *
“Not fit to be chief!”
“He should be banished—and the Terran, too!”
“Criminals, all of them.”
Angry voices filtered through the trees. Darq hadn’t exaggerated the rancor, and I was grateful for the warning and for him taking care of Starr when I couldn’t. A deep breath shored up my fortitude, and then I strode into the clearing where I’d introduced her to everyone. If anyone from the tribe was missing, you couldn’t tell. It appeared as though every male and female had gathered. They faced the dais upon which Icha and her new mate stood.
“Terra is sending their criminals to our planet!” Icha shouted. “Are those the kind of females you desire? A murderess who might kill you in your sleep?”
Her mate nudged her, and Icha spotted me. “There he is!” she shouted.
Half the people scowled at me, while others avoided my gaze like naughty children caught misbehaving. I pushed my way through the crowd and stomped onto the dais, forcing Icha and Frokel to make room for me. I’d met Frokel at council meetings. I hadn’t liked him then, and the present situation didn’t improve my estimation. “What is the meaning of this?” I demanded.
Before either of them could answer, someone shouted from the crowd. “Is it true? Are the females murderers?”
At least someone had the sense to ask, but unfortunately, the answer would not have a positive effect. How I wished Starr had confessed sooner so I had time to prepare, to meet with the others who had Terran mates and come up with a plan.
Icha smirked with triumph. Terra had sent us the women they didn’t want. If the exchange program had allowed a reciprocal arrangement, I’d personally escort Icha to the first ship to Earth.
My tribe stared at me, waiting for a response. Words had to be chosen carefully. “I recently learned the women who volunteered to come to Dakon had broken Terran laws.”
“Sounds like criminals to me!” someone yelled, and a cacophony of agreement buzzed through the crowd.
At the edge, I spied Darq. Why had he left Starr alone? What if she ventured out? Her presence would be like dumping kel oil on an open flame. Unable to signal him without drawing attention, I could only hope he’d return to the cave soon. I wished I was there. Starr and I had much to settle; we’d parted in anger and before I’d shared my true feelings, that I loved her and would stand by her no matter what.
One arm still in a sling, I raised the other to try to quiet them. “People, please!” I shouted over the din. “Listen to me!”
“Send the females back to Terra!” a man shouted.
“Nobody is going back to Terra!” I snapped. “How many of you have broken rules? Or failed to contribute to the storehouse? Or taken more than your share? Perhaps drunk too much ale and started a fight? Or attempted to woo another’s mate?”
Several men shuffled their feet.
“Or caused dissension in the camp by inciting rivalries.”
Gazes shifted to Icha, but then a man pushed his way through crowd. One of Icha’s many lovers, Bork and I had butted heads over the running of the camp. “You cannot equate those wrongdoings with murder.” He tore off his hood. A heavy forehead shadowed his eyes, but I could see his gaze flick to Icha before he turned to me. “Tell us, what crime was your mate convicted of?”
“She was falsely convicted. She is innocent of any and all crimes.”
“Murder!” Icha shouted.
Bork bounded up onto the dais, overcrowding the platform. “The female must be banished!”
“Banish! Banish! Banish!” the crowd chanted.
Exile amounted to a death sentence. Starr couldn’t survive the vast winter. She wouldn’t be like Icha who’d been sheltered by the first tribe she approached. With the circumstance of Starr’s arrival circulating at the camps, none of them would accept her. No one could survive for long in the frozen wilderness without a tribe.
“Expel the Terran! Expel the Terran!”
The animosity sparked a horrific thought: had one of my own tribe members set the traps at the meeting place? Had they tried to murder my mate?
“Stop!” I roared. “My mate’s name is Starr!” They had talked with her, interacted with her around camp. And now they called her “the Terran?” Public sentiment shifted faster than the wind, and blew even colder.
The greatest shame was that I, too, for an instant, had felt the same way. Hadn’t I condemned her at first?
I did not have time to convince my tribe with reason or merit. Anger intensified with every second. I could use the power of my position to control the outcome. Later, when emotions cooled, I could begin to win their hearts again. “I am tribal leader, and I will not banish Starrconner. If anyone disagrees with that, you are free to find yourself another tribe.”
“You have banished others,” Bork said.
“I exiled them knowing other tribes would shelter them.”
“Then you must step down as leader.”
“I won’t do that, either. I have led this tribe nobly and capably.” If I stepped down, the new chief would banish Starr. We would leave together, then, but I would not allow it to come to that.
“Then you leave us no choice.” Bork squared his shoulders. “I challenge you to a muta!” He jabbed me twice in the upper chest—my bad shoulder. It wasn’t a full-on punch, but he put more power into the ritualized gesture than required to signify a formal challenge of leadership. From the first chant, I’d expected a challenge, so I braced for it and took the blows without a wince, but it hurt.
“In accordance with our custom, the muta must occur before sundown,” Bork said.
I peered at the midday sky. “I will rejoin you here in one hour.” Better to face this head-on, get it over with, and return to normal. But, first, I needed to see Starr to reassure myself she was all right.
Bork didn’t fool me. He’d challenged me as much for the banishment of Icha as Starr’s supposed crime. But I would win this. My injured shoulder wouldn’t help, but it wouldn’t hinder me, either. Stovak the healer would have to patch me up again afterward.
Darq shook his head and slipped away. I hoped he had the sense not to tell Starr about the muta. If she got an inkling I planned to strip to my leggings and knuckle it out in the freezing air, she’d have a fit. At least I hoped so. I wanted to believe she still cared about me, despite my poor behavior.
“We will fight,” I told Bork, and then addressed the tribe. “When I win, you will accept the results.”
Winning the challenge was only the first step. I would still need to earn back the support of my tribe and patch things up with Starr. Then I had to work with Enoki, Groman, and Loka to capture whoever had set those traps and prepare for the arrival of more females. Would more of them improve the situation or worsen it? Would the men still be as eager for mates? Would they hold it against the ones who were?
The crowd began to disperse. Bork shot a look of longing at Icha. I’m doing this for you, his glance seemed to say. How could someone as perfidious and fickle as she inspire such loyalty? The men longed for females; until Starr had come along, I’d been filled with as much yearning as any of them. They had to understand that Terra offered our civilization hope. I couldn’t let someone like Icha destroy our chance.
I needed to prepare for the future. Starr and I would have a long talk. There could be no secrets between us. To ward off future confrontations like this one, I had to have all the information.