THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 323. A DISTRUCTION

"I am going into the chief’s fortress tonight, whether I have to do it without N’varu’s map. I can’t wait. I have a feeling things are about to get interesting." Sagiri said.

"I had a feeling you would say that," Kiuga said. It was right after lunch, and the squad headed to the pits. Kaka had said he needed to warm up, and Azir was leading the group, chewing Kaka’s ears off at the front with endless yapping.

"The rest of the squad had fallen behind, and they could hear what Sagiri had to say. Kiuga could let Kaka in on the situation later.

"We don’t wait for the Kai. We need to know the position of the council so far." Zazarie said.

"The chanting at the gate, I can only guess it is going one way. I also asked the kai to vote no. Whatever the vote. They will not win against me easily. They want to weaken me," Sagiri said, and everyone froze.

"Don’t worry. Someone wants to bring him, Azir, and me down together. The decision will not be reached easily, and someone else might just vote yes to get their paws on me." Sagiri said.

"A risky decision," Bukata said.

"It buys me time... I have a feeling something important is in the chief’s fortress. I am telling you all this so you don’t get blindsided like last time. You deserve to know what I intend to do." Sagiri said.

"You have started to finally consider us your squad," Banga said silently.

"When have I never?" Sagiri said, and everyone shook their heads.

"Don’t even get me started. If you hadn’t acted on your own back in Galka, you could..." Kiuga started to say, but stopped. Sagiri could tell the topic was hard for Kiuga.

"They could not have stopped coming for me. I will be back north in time to equal the scale. When that time comes, you will need to pick a side." Sagiri said.

"You are not going to let it go?" Kiuga asked silently.

"If someone wiped out your tribe and went after you, would you let it go?" Sagiri asked.

"No. I will make them beg for death and still never grant it as long as I live." Kiuga said in a chilling voice. It was unlike anything Sagiri had ever heard.

"Let’s not cross that bridge until the time comes," Zazarie said,

"What do you need?" Kiuga asked.

"A distraction."

"A distraction?"

"Yes. Make sure my presence is accounted for when I’m gone, and more so, no one should realize I am gone," Sagiri said, and Kiuga smiled.

"How big do you want the distraction?" Sagiri was a bit scared of what was running in Kiuga’s mind.

"Don’t go overboard, but I think we should give Thazir a show."

"What do you say about leaving the city? Well, or trying to?" Kiuga asked, and Sagiri narrowed his eyebrows.

"You don’t need to understand. Just leave matters of distractions to me." Kiuga said, still smiling, and sagiri did not ask more. He could let Kiuga do what he did best.

The rest of the evening went by with Kaka sparring in the pits with the other guys. He was holding back as much as he could against Azir. Kiuga had asked him not to show his full strength.

Even though Kaka was still holding back, Azir spent most of his time on his back in the sand pit. Not that Azir looked to mind anyway. He looked like he was having fun being beaten to a pulp. If only he knew who he was sparring against and what he was capable of at full strength. Sagiri was grateful that Kaka was holding back and using about ten percent of his strength.

Lira was now sitting close to him in silence, and Sagiri did not know what to say, so they both sat in silence and watched the others spar.

"Where are you, N’varu!!" Sagiri groaned silently after a moment.

Lira did not answer and just looked at him for a while.

"He will be here. You need to trust him. He is your best friend and loves you most." Lira said after a while, and Sagiri froze. Even so, Sagiri did not reply.

Night soon came, and the crowd at the gate was able to push through the gate into the inner city. They now demanded Sagiri’s blood. Soon, they would move to the war fortress. The council sitting was still running, and Sagiri could only imagine how things were going.

Sagiri found himself standing alone on one of the highest terraces of the War Fortress. The city spread beneath him in a sea of lanterns and firelight, beautiful from a distance and increasingly chaotic the closer one looked. His eyes remained fixed on the distant silhouette of the Supreme Chief’s Fortress, carved like the mountain.

The feeling was worse tonight. It had come back even more painful. It sat inside his chest like a hook, pulling harder with every passing hour. N’varu had gone searching for answers, for maps, for a way through the impossible defenses surrounding the fortress, and Sagiri trusted him more than almost anyone alive.

That should have been enough. It should have been easy to wait. Instead, he found himself standing there in full gear with Nokai at his side and his cloak already fastened as though his body had decided before his mind had. He wanted to move. Every instinct he possessed screamed at him to go now. Yet another part of him remained rooted in place. The inner city was unstable now. The council would convene soon. N’varu had not returned. If he moved too early, he risked ruining whatever his friend had discovered.

Sagiri closed his eyes briefly and exhaled. He hated this. Hated being trapped between action and patience. Kiuga had left his part of the matter up to him, claiming that he could not stop him, whatever decision he made. Between trusting his squad friend and the urge rooted in him, Sagiri was going mad.

Sagiri’s patience finally snapped. His hand tightened around the stone railing, and he took a step forward, fully intending to leave. Another minute. That was all he was giving it. If N’varu wasn’t back by then, he would move on his own. The feeling inside his chest had become unbearable, a constant pressure that refused to let him think of anything else.

Then, movement at the outer gate caught his eye. Sagiri froze. Far below, the massive gates of the War Fortress were beginning to open, and a lone figure stumbled through them. The guards rushed forward immediately, voices carrying faintly through the night. Even from this distance, Sagiri recognized him. N’varu. The sand shade looked terrible. Dust covered him from head to toe. His clothes were torn in several places, and he was breathing so heavily that he could barely remain upright. Whatever he had been doing for the last two days had pushed even him to his limits.

Sagiri was already moving.

He stepped from the terrace and dropped.

Wind tore past him as he fell from the upper levels of the fortress, his cloak snapping violently behind him. Soldiers below barely had time to look up before he landed in a crouch on the stone courtyard with enough force to crack the ground beneath his boots. He rose immediately and crossed the remaining distance toward N’varu. For a moment, neither spoke. Sagiri simply looked at him properly. The exhaustion. The dust. The state of him.

Then, for the first time in hours, the pressure inside his chest eased.

Had he left when he wanted to, he wasted all N’varu’s effort and missed the reason his friend looked as though he had crossed half the South without stopping.

Sagiri exhaled quietly.

For once, he was grateful he had waited. N’varu bent forward with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath before finally looking up. A tired grin spread across his face.

"Good," he managed between breaths. "You haven’t done anything stupid yet."

Sagiri stared at him.

"I was seconds away."

"Of course you were."

N’varu reached beneath his cloak and pulled out a weathered bundle wrapped in cloth.

"And that’s exactly why I ran all the way back. I haven’t stopped for a second," N’varu said. "I have to come with you, too. You can’t stop me."

"Fine. You watch the tower. If I am not out in two hours, something is wrong." Sagiri agreed quickly that even N’varu paused in surprise.