An Offering for Revenge: Pt. 5
A Soul is Set Free
The creature that was once Eilum thrusts its pointed snout into the warm evening air. His previous life was a fading memory. The little that remained was harder to recall. He could only remember the master and son as he had left them.
By now, their remains were on a slab in the embalmer's temple, being prepared for their eternity, at least what little remained of them. The Jackal smiled at the inner vision of the two of them at their judgment, Kel a well-gnawed frame of who he once was, next to Si all tangled...
No, he couldn't even maintain that vision. They were dead, and he was running free. The cubs were eager to follow him this night, would there be more to feed? The jackal ran with them through half the night, playing under the vast dome of darkness and fire, feasting on what the desert offered them.
The night wore on. The creature that was once Eilum grew tired. He had been running and playing for hours. This sensation of freedom was more than he could ever have dreamed. He loved the heightened sensations he now had.
His eyes were suited for the night. He could even see the faint glow of a single lamp, burning through the boarded windows and bolted door of the manor house just before the horizon.
He could smell the animals that were around them; he could smell the skin of the last remaining son of Hotep, sweating in his cell of mud brick.
His pointed ears could hear the terrified heart that beat in his doomed chest.
Without a sound, the jackal left the cubs and made for the light of the estate. It was not for rage, or vengeance, or hunger that he made for the house. This last hunt was for symmetry.
Una had never really mistreated Eilum, if anything, the youngest son was more sympathetic than anything else. Sympathy is not the same as kindness. The youngest acted detached from the others but had full knowledge that he could provoke the attention of the father and the oldest.
No, Una never beat or tormented Eilum, but for all those years, he never offered any help. The child just stood by, complacent and useless while Eilum suffered the torment of his father and brother. Now, he was the head of one of the most powerful houses in Upper Egypt.
The thought raced through the jackal's veins; his pace quickened, his breathing became deeper.
The memory of all the years of torment and pain was still there. The jackal would release the youngest son of Hotep from the bonds of this life so he could stand together with the father and brother before the great scale. The house of Hotep should face judgment together. Such would be the only way the scale could ever balance.
The house clarified before him, the terrified stirring of the last son roared in the jackal's ears. The hound slowed as he approached the house.
Before, he attacked first thing in the evening, when his rage was as fresh. Now, after running and playing in the desert for so long, the jackal was tired. He trodded slowly off the path leading to the estate, trying to catch his breath.
A moment or two, he thought. The jackal laid down in the sand to catch his strength. His breathing was heavy; his body was tired. Rage can warm his blood but had also burned his soul.
His breathing began to slow. The fiery eyes looked into the great blue veil of the night and followed the bright trail down to the horizon. Perhaps, another time, he thought.
With that, the jackal laid his head on his paws, and with a long exhale, closed his eyes.
Chapter 4: A Life is Spared Final: A Last Look