Free IN NATURA: a science fiction novel (ARZAT SERIES Book 2) by David Samuel Frazier

himself, and his Arzat blood was boiling. Were he to submit to Za’at now, he would never live it down. The stories of how he had bowed like a female to Za’at’s authority would be told over and over in the Arzat caves. Why, he would have to banish himself from shame. Were Za’at to report him to the Elders, he would likely be banished or killed anyway. I would rather die, he thought.
      Across the flames, he could see the other hunters from the corner of his eyes. Obviously, they were going to be of no help. He had trapped himself. Baa knew he was on own. He looked at the firelight reflecting in Za’at’s eyes, snarled, and leapt back over, even more determined to put the more senior Arzat in his place and prove himself in front of his peers. Whatever happened in the next few moments, either he or Za’at would be dead.
      Za’at was ready this time. He took a quick step to the side and brought the back of his arm down forcefully over Baa’s neck as the younger Arzat passed him. Baa stumbled and hit the ground, barely breaking his own fall in the process, his neck and head throbbing from Za’at’s blow.
      Baa rolled up and charged, but again, Za’at managed to strike him with another severe blow as he easily sidestepped the younger Arzat, playing with him—the senior Arzat clearly far more skilled in combat.
      Baa slipped and fell to the ground, but this time, he felt the full weight of Za’at come down on his back. Before he knew what had happened, Za’at had him pinned to the ground, with one of Baa’s arms twisted painfully behind his back. Za’at used his free hand to force Baa’s face and neck into the dirt.
      “Submit or die, Baa,” Za’at said calmly, barely out of breath.
      Baa fought for air, his mouth and nose getting the full force of the dusty earth to which Za’at had him pinned.
      “Submit or die now, Baa,” Za’at said to him again, shoving Baa’s face harder into the earth. “The choice is yours.”
      Baa knew that Za’at would kill him if he did not surrender. Clearly, there was no help coming from the other hunters. I should let him kill me for my foolishness, he thought, completely defeated. Finally, as Baa felt the pressure on his neck increasing to the breaking point, he yielded.
      “Za’at, son of Qua. I submit! I submit!” he cried out.
      Za’at spoke back to Baa, using only his mind and blocking so the others could not hear. “Do you submit freely? Or will you attack me again the minute I let you up and turn my back?”
      “I submit freely, Za’at,” Baa said, struggling to answer even with his mind under the pressure of Za’at’s viscous hold.
      “If you ever challenge me again Baa, or resist my instruction, I will kill you instantly. Do you understand?” Za’at said, applying just a bit more pressure.
      “Yes, Za’at! Yes!”
      Za’at gradually let up on Baa’s neck and then stood over him, eyeballing the rest of the hunters, looking for any other potential traitors.
      “It is fortunate for you that I will need everyone’s hands to carry our kills back to the caves or I would be done with you now, Baa,” he said aloud for everyone’s benefit. “I will decide when we get back to the caves whether or not to report your behavior to the Elders. Now, get up and gather your things. We are going home.”
      Somewhere, very close by, one of the fanged beasts howled. The scales on the back of Za’at’s neck rose, and he suddenly remembered the female. He looked over to the area where uman had been sitting. She was gone.

CHAPTER 8
    MIND READER
     
    The four of them were loaded up with as much gear as they could reasonably carry. For the Arzats, that meant three times as much as their human counterparts. A first aid kit—the contents of which were highly in question—blankets, sleeping bags, some cooking utensils, and extra clothing had all been stuffed into four large backpacks. Additional bags contained two high-powered