Zaka remained on one knee while the North waited for the sound of Nokai entering his throat. Every warrior had seen the Grand Chief defeated, but none knew what Sagiri intended to do with victory. They could not join the fight either. This was the chief's fight to finish.
Nokai rested beneath Zaka's jaw as Sagiri felt the pulse against the cold metal. It remained steady despite the duel, strengthening the soldiers' belief that their ruler could still rise.
Zaka Asakana's lips rebled as he gritted the next words.
"You owe the North an ending," then looked past the blade toward the ranks behind Sagiri, "a defeated chief cannot remain alive while his enemies stand over him."
Sagiri glanced at the two dead cats, whose bodies lay beneath the cedar and beside the place where Zaka had fallen, then replied, "You owe the North more than an ending."
