Chimípu raced along one of the side roads that lead to Wamifuko City. Her bare feet smacked against the ground but she didn't feel the sharp edges of rocks or the burning heat through her thick calluses. The only thing that intruded on her runner's high was the sand peppering her face and the heat from the ground buffeting against her thighs and arms.
She ran at an easy pace for her, just over a hundred miles an hour. It gave her a chance to watch the surrounding desert for another ambush. In the last few days, there had been at least a dozen attempts on her life. Most of the time they came from assassins from clans that could hide in shadows or in the ripples of heat rising off the ground.
Chimípu grimaced and rubbed her shoulder. Flecks of blood crumbled underneath her fingers and blew away. The last ambush caught her with her pants down in the brief moment she had to relieve herself. The resulting fight was short and embarrassing, not to mention bloody. The assassin had gotten in a few cuts in before Chimípu threw a rock through his chest.
She risked pulling her attention away from the surrounding desert and down to the small, translucent bird that raced in front of her. Barely larger than her fist, the delicate-looking avian easily kept ahead of her supernatural speed. Golden feathers rose from its glowing tail and fluttered around her, streaming along the wind that broke around its body and blossomed behind her into an immense plume of dust, dirt, and rocks that stretched for miles.
The spectral bird was the manifestation of her clan spirit, Shimusògo. As long as she chased him, she could outrun the fastest of horses or a raging sandstorm. On rougher terrain, the spirit would smooth out her trail to ensure her bare feet always struck against solid ground.
Stirring her thoughts, she glanced back across the desert. It was sunset and the brilliant reds and oranges had turned the sands into a sea of fire. Despite her speed, she could clearly see the ripples of heat rising off the ground. A prickle of fear ran down her spine and she peered closer at the wavers in fear of the last assassin who used them to ambush her.
Chimípu bore down and pushed herself to run faster. Despite running since before sunrise, she felt no exhaustion or agony as she accelerated. Her muscles easily kept up with her rapid pace; not even sweat soaked her clothes or glistened on her dark skin. The wind whipped harder against her face, tugging at her hair and buffeting her chest and throat. The ground blurred underneath her in the haze of the dust that the clan spirit kicked up.
Ahead of her, the side road intersected with one of the main roads leading into the city. Looking at the approaching junction, the muscles of her back tightened sharply and a headache pulsed in her skull. A major road meant more opportunities for attack like the one that killed Byochína.
The ashes had not cooled when Chimípu had found the courier's corpse. Ever since, Chimípu had been berating herself for not being there to save the younger woman. She should have been faster, should have been stronger. Then two of them would be running home.
She clamped her jaw tight and pushed herself faster. When she hit the junction, she was racing almost two hundred miles an hour. There were pedestrians and carts on the road heading in both directions. The air snapped around her as she sprinted past them. If they screamed at her, she was already too far away to be hear.
The city loomed before her. Carved out of the bottom of a destroyed mountain, Wamifuko City was the last bastion of the Wamifūko, a clan that once tried to take over the desert before they lost a war. Now, they were forced to remain within a chain, over sixty feet, of their home or risk being destroyed by the Kosòbyo, the same clan currently trying to kill Chimípu.
She pressed her palm against her hip to ensure her knife was still in place. It gave her a small amount of relief.
A quarter mile away from the gate, she stopped sprinting and slammed her feet into the ground. Her callused soles dug into the hard-packed earth and tore out a deep gouge. Rocks and stones shot away from her as she rapidly decelerated from hundreds of miles an hour to a complete stop only feet away from the cliff that surrounded the city.
Shimusògo disappeared as soon as she stopped running. The rush of power faded instantly and she was once again moving without magic.
Breathing lightly, she scanned her surroundings. The space between the wall and the crowds was exactly a chain across. She turned around looking for attackers and then stalked toward the nearest gate. Her joints began to throb with her closeness to the city, the energies of the Wamifūko interfering with her own clan magic.
When she saw the gates of the city were closed, she hesitated. She had never seen the city sealed up before. She couldn't help but think about the message tube hanging around her neck and wondered if someone already knew her secret.
Chimípu worried as she approached but she knew that the clan had allies in the city. Gichyòbi, the master of the gates, was a close friend to Rutejìmo and she hoped to take advantage of that to have shelter for the night.
All of the gate guards wore heavy plate armor. The nearest one had a helm shaped like a cat. When Chimípu stopped a respectful distance from them, cat-helmed warrior held up a gauntlet. “I am Figoshìna and I speak for Wamifūko.” It was a woman.
Chimípu bowed deeply. “I am Chimípu and I speak for Shimusògo. I need to enter the city to speak with Great Wamifuko Gichyòbi. It is of….”
Her voice trailed off as silence pooled around her. Warily, she trailed her hand to her knife. Looking with the corner of her eye she saw the folks milling near the gate back away.
A flicker of movement in the crowds warned her of the attack.
At her feet, Shimusògo appeared in front of her and raced past her.
She yanked her knife out and surged backwards.
Shimusògo accelerated her movement and she appeared a chain away with a snap.
Two attackers punched the ground where she had been standing. Both immediately lunged again for her again, their knuckles burned with blue flames.
Chimípu rushed them, the world blurring as Shimusògo pushed her to full speed in a single step. Her knife caught one of them in the throat, the blade slicing through his neck.
The second attacker clipped her. Pain exploded along her shoulder, and she slammed into the nearby stone wall. Stars swam across her sight. Levering herself off, she brought her weapon up to parry before her vision cleared.
The remaining man lunged for her, fists glowing.
A giant spear swung out from the stone wall and easily bisected the assassin. A blast of blood and gore painted Chimípu. A large armored man stepped out from the rock as if it wasn't even there. He wore a horse-shaped helm and his armor shimmered with power.
Slamming the butt of his spear into the ground, he took a deep breath and bellowed, “I am Gichyòbi and I speak for Wamifūko! The Chidafúko has sided with the Kosòbyo! Anyone from that clan still in the city is now dead.”
Chimípu swayed with relief. She had an ally in the city.
He turned and strode toward her, his metal armor creaking. “Great Shimusogo Chimípu, we must talk. Your clan is in danger.”