Kali awoke to the smell of something new. Water! ‘Sikio,’ she said groggily, ‘I smell water. Are the rains here?’

When she looked up and her vision came into focus, she found that there was not a cloud in sky. Still the smell was in the air. There was water, and close. Kali got up and stretched, before following the smell to the source. Sure enough at the edge of the den, between two rocks, lay a pool of water deep enough to dip her feet but barely wider than her shoulders.

She drank and sighed. Not so long ago she would have questioned such a miraculous appearance, though this sort of thing seemed to happen often in Sikio’s presence. Speaking of his presence, Kali thought. She wandered around the den, but he was nowhere to be found.

She sighed and lay next to the hippopotamus skeleton, which they had finally picked clean a few days earlier. The dry ground made her now barrel-like sides itch maddeningly. She craned her neck around to clean her flank but found that she could not reach, her excess flesh not allowing for it. After several attempts she gave up, the sudden change in motion causing her to rock back and forth gently on her belly.

Every day things like grooming were becoming more difficult. The barrel of her torso forced her legs to splay when she walked, giving her a waddling appearance, and this, combined with the weight of the fat and the huge meal in her stomach meant that walking down to the river was a task nearly out of her reach. She thought back to the lean huntress that she was, mere months ago, and a worry crept into her mind. Could she really keep this up? How would she ever hunt again?

Just then, Sikio returned to the den, dragging a well-fed zebra with him. It was the second that week alone. ‘Hey,’ she said. ‘Did you notice the pool of water over there?’

Sikio dropped their meal and said, ‘I did. Are you feeling hungry?’

‘Perhaps I am. Though, I have a question first. Do you know that story you told me? The one about the lion who saved his pride from the floods. That was not just a story, was it? It was you. That’s why strange things happen around you; why you can do this spell.’ The thought had been playing on her mind for weeks. With all that had happened, it seemed like the obvious conclusion, though she still surprised herself by saying it out loud.

‘It was me. Perhaps with some dramatic flair added for effect. I always have enjoyed a good story, even if parts of it are true.’

‘Are you a lion?’

‘I am not sure what you mean,’ he said.

‘In your story, I got the impression that the lion became something else after the story, after he; after you met the gods. You said that you became an agent of Kifi, that you wandered the world for a hundred years. You’re not that old, surely, you look as young as me.’

‘That part is true. I have lived a very, very long time, and as far as I can tell I will keep on doing so until the gods intervene, or I fall to some accident. Am I a lion? Well, when one is as close to death, as I was, one may summon Kifi, if they so wish. Kifi does not always appear, of course, though if one is sure, absolutely certain that their time has come, they may do so. One thing I did not mention is that Kifi cannot save lives, they may only harvest your mind. They are the embodiment of death, as you know, and while death can lead to new life for others – for the grass, for the trees, and for those who feed from these -, this will do nothing to preserve what you were. But what if a new body came from the body of the old, and what if it were inhabited by your mind? This may not be what you would consider natural, but something new may grow, like a weed, from your former body, and you may inhabit it, by the will of Kifi, of course.’

Kali took a moment to digest what he had just said. ‘So, you’re not the lion from that story at all? Or rather, your body is not the same, but you have the same mind, the same personality and memories?’

‘Does this,’ he paused. ‘Does this worry you? Is this new body a lion? Am I a lion? I was not born like this. This form had no mother, but one exists in memories from my old life, and I am for all intent a lion in body, despite this. I still need to feed like you, hunt like you, love, like you- ‘

‘Sikio, I am learning what I have gotten myself into here, and I won’t lie, I have doubts. No, not about you,’ she said when his expression changed. ‘I love you too. I am just worried about where this is going. Will I ever be able to hunt again? Will I soon be unable to run, or even walk?’

‘I understand your worries,’ he said, ‘and I hope that soon we will be able to enact the spell. I do not know if it will be tomorrow, or next week, or later; that depends on the will of the gods. I do not want you to be uncomfortable with yourself. If you want to stop, we may stop at any time or if you wish it, we may try to activate the spell early, but I cannot guarantee success so early. I also know that your kin will likely come to see us soon, and we must be prepared for that.’

‘Prepared for them to see me like this, you mean,’ she shuddered just then.

‘Yes, but also should they try to intervene. I will allow them to if that is what you want. If not, we can deal with this together.’

‘I’m worried about what my pride will think, and I’m scared about what is happening to me, but in my heart, I love this, I really do. I love being fat. I love how big I am getting; how heavy I feel. I love the attention that you give me, and I love that this-‘ she nuzzled his paunchy side, ‘is growing too.’

They bunted and lay together for a while. Kali rested her head on Sikio’s fat, round paunch, her head sinking into the soft flesh. It was true that he had fattened nicely. Perhaps not as prodigiously as Kali, but his torso had considerably thickened, and when standing his belly hung at least another half-foot lower than it had when they first met.

It was a warm day, and without the humidity it was a nice sort of heat. Kali drowsed and then drifted off to sleep for a while. She awoke to hear Sikio talking with someone behind her on the other side of their den. She kept her head down and listened.

‘There is almost no water left in the riverbed, we need to think about moving on as a unit and we can’t do that with Kali in that state.’ This was Ukuta. ‘You both have to stop now and get ready to leave.’

‘This a huge valley, Sire,’ Sikio said. ‘The rains, when they come, will cover an area of hundreds of leagues. They have not missed you; they simply have not arrived, here or anywhere. If you leave, you will find that things will be the same no matter how far you travel.’

‘You can’t possibly know that.’

‘I have travelled the world and seen these things before. Changes in the climate follow predictable patterns over long periods of time.’

‘Yes, they do. The rains come year after year, and they never fail. Only now they have. Look where those prediction got us.’

‘I am talking about patterns that extend beyond your lifespan, sire. Patterns that take place over many generations.’

‘What nonsense,’ Ukuta scoffed. ‘How could you possibly know that, you’re only Kali’s age!’

‘That is not strictly true. Listen to me, I predicted that the rains would fail to arrive, Kali will tell you, and my predictions have a habit of coming true.’

Kali, now up, approached the pair. ‘It’s true, sire, he predicted that this would happen long before it was obvious.’

‘Kali,’ Ukuta said with a worried expression. ‘You can’t possibly believe all of this nonsense. I know you better than that.’

‘I was sceptical about this all at first, but Sikio has been right so far. And the things he does is beyond the abilities of any hunter. It is like magic,’ she said and gestured at the hippopotamus skeleton.

Ukuta shook his head. ‘No, there is no magic here, just blind, incredible luck.’

‘What is the difference?’ Sikio said.

‘We plan to leave just before the last of the water dries up. The herds have moved on, and soon you will have no food for your little experiment, luck, or no. We plan follow the river downstream until we find water, and then we will decide from there what to do,’ he said and then paused. ‘I would urge you to come with us, Kali, but I suspect a week of hunger will do that job for me.’

‘I don’t think that will be a problem,’ Kali said. ‘We will not be going with you, and if this is to be our last meeting, sire, I thank you for everything that you have done for me and for our pride.’

‘Kali,’ he said, ‘you are most welcome. And if this really is our last, farewell.’ They bunted heads and the king turned and left.

Kali and Sikio said nothing. They sat down and tucked into the zebra, though less aggressively than normal. Sikio only ate part of a haunch but Kali made her way through the entire abdomen by herself. She flopped onto her back, legs played, and showed the sky her impressively fat and stuffed belly.

Sikio finished off what was left and then lay on his back next to her, his own paunch distended and round, if less impressive. He reached over and placed his paw on hers. ‘It will be okay,’ he said. ‘Everything is going to be okay.’

‘I know,’ she said. ‘I trust you.’

*

Something was stalking Kali. She spun around but saw nothing in the grass around her. But she could hear it; the low growl, the patter of too-quick footsteps, whatever was hunting her was no cat. Whatever it was, it was outmanoeuvring her easily. A rustle behind her. She ran as fast as she could, and kept running, but she began to slow down. Something was slowing her pace, dragging her down, and she realised with alarm that it was her, or rather more of her. Her belly grew as she ran, becoming rounder, fatter, until her torso became like a barrel and she gasped for air.

Kali slowed to a brisk walk, and then she felt the ground brush her under-belly, but she was standing! She stopped to catch her breath and then tried to move again but could not. She was stuck to the spot, her body holding her in place like a giant, fleshy anchor.

A rustle behind her. A growl. Her hair stood on end and she tried to turn but could not, the fleshy rolls on her neck limiting her movement. Then, silence.

She stood, or rather lay there for a while, listening. Whatever it was had gone, but she was stuck. This cannot be happening, she thought, this must be a dream. She shut her eyes and willed herself to wake up. When she opened her eyes again, she was once again the trim, powerful hunter she had been, and was lying in the den.

She laughed to herself at how silly her dream had been and was about to get up when a rattling voice, sounding on the verge of death, said in her ear, ‘Kifi will come for you, Kali, I promise.’

*

Kali jolted awake and panicked. She tried to jump to her feet, but standing took a great effort, and she was out of breath by the time she stood. She tried to move but only managed a short distance, her swollen paunch dragging across the ground before she stumbled and fell on her face.

Her heart was racing, and she panicked. Where was she? Why was she like this? Then she remembered. ‘Sikio,’ she mouthed, and then louder, ‘Sikio!’

Her chest was becoming tight and she found it hard to breathe, ‘Sikio…’. Her head began to spin, and pin pricks of light covered her vision, and then she was gone.

*

‘Kali, Kali!’

She opened her eyes to find Sikio standing over her. ‘Kali, I thought you had gone!’

‘Gone, what do you-‘ she had to draw another shallow breath to finish, ‘do you mean?’

‘You have been unconscious for hours. I heard you call out but found you collapsed. I knew that this would be a risk, but I thought that your heart could cope. It seems that we need to get the gods attention early.’

‘What do you mean, my heart?’

‘Your heart, in your chest-‘

‘I know where my heart is, Sikio. What’s wrong with it?’

‘-it can’t cope with the weight that you have gained. It was never meant to cope with this much of you.’

‘That’s ridiculous. I felt fine this morning, it was just a passing sickness, I’m fine now.’ She tried to get up but immediately felt dizzy and out of breath. She collapsed to the ground again, tried once more, not managing to fully-extend her legs, before falling, completely exhausted. ‘I can’t get up,’ she said. ‘What’s going to happen to me?’

‘Nothing will happen to you. We will finish the spell soon and everything will be okay.’

‘What is this?’ said a voice behind them.

Kali tried to turn her head but the rolls of fat on her neck bunched up and stopped any serious movement.

‘Sikio, you bastard, what have you done?’

Shamba appeared at Kali’s flank and moved to put himself between her and Sikio. ‘You’re a monster. Who would do something like this?’ he growled.

‘Shamba, we both need to do this. We both agreed to do this. It’s going to work,’ Kali said.

Shamba turned to Kali. ‘You don’t know what you’re saying, Kali. He’s brainwashed you into this and I’m going to put a stop to it right now!’

‘Get back,’ Shamba said as Sikio came closer. He let out a full-throated roar, something that Kali had never heard from the prince before. ‘I swear, if you don’t leave our lands now, I’m going to pull you apart.’

‘If Kali does not wish it, I will not leave her.’

Shamba shot forwards and swiped at Sikio, but he dodged just in time. ‘I’m not going to tell you again, monster. Leave. Now.’

‘Shamba, stop,’ Kali tried to stand and move forward, but her head swam. She fell sideways but was caught by Utani, who struggled to stop the momentum.

‘Kali, you must see that this is all wrong,’ her friend said when Kali had settled down. ‘You nearly passed out when you tried to stand. Shamba is right, we must get rid of him before he kills you. Where are you getting all of this food anyway?’

‘It’s difficult to explain,’ Kali said.

‘Mother, there is water here too.’

Neema and Ukuta walked past them. Kali could hear other footsteps, it sounded like the entire pride had arrived.

‘Where are you getting the food, outsider, and how did you find this water? Everything else has dried up,’ Neema said.

‘It is part of the spell. Extraordinary luck comes to the hunter, to me.’

‘You better share some of that luck with us now, Sikio, or there is going to be trouble,’ Utani said. She walked forward and Kali was shocked to see how much weight she had lost. Neema and Ukuta were looking thin too, and it made them look mean, like the rogues that they had spent a lifetime driving from their lands.

‘Believe me, I want to. I would if I could,’ Sikio said.

‘No, Utani, the time for that has long passed. Let me make this quite clear to you, outsider. You no longer have my blessing to remain in these lands. Leave now or die,’ Ukuta said.

For the first time since she had met him, Sikio looked angry. ‘You fools! I told you how the spell works. To try to stop us now when we are so close to finishing is to doom yourselves.’

‘This is your last warning,’ Neema said with a growl, ‘leave or die.’

‘Kali, do you want this? I can leave now, but the spell will not be completed. The drought will continue until it has stripped this land to the bone, and nothing is left.’

‘Of course, I don’t want you to go,’ she said.

‘So be it,’ he said, and lowered his head and bared his teeth.

‘Sikio, wait!’

Shamba threw himself at Sikio, but Sikio caught him mid-pounce used his momentum against him and brought him down heavily upon the ground. Shamba got up and roared but hesitated before swiping a few times. Sikio did not move to attack, choosing instead to dodge the swipes, but then Shamba sprang forward and grabbed Sikio’s mane in his teeth and shook him violently.

Sikio pulled himself free and hit the side of Shamba’s head with a strike so fast that Kali just about missed it. Shamba looked dazed, and then Sikio hit him again, and a third strike knocked Shamba over. He did not get back up.

Breathing heavily, Sikio turned to face the pride but Ukuta, Neema, and then Utani fell upon him simultaneously and he was bowled over.

‘Stop this now!’ Kali roared, but they ignored her as they wrestled in the dirt.

Sikio yowled in pain and Kali could not stand it any longer. She mustered what strength she had and, with great effort, pushed herself to her feet. She felt dizzy but the adrenaline pumping through her veins kept her lucid. She took a step forward and was met resistance; even standing her belly splayed out across the floor, but she dragged herself forward step by step.

Ukuta had Sikio pinned, and both Utani and Neema bit and clawed savagely at his flanks. Slowly, inch by inch, Kali moved closer to him. What could she do when she reached them? Just keeping herself upright was tiring, exhausted, and then there was her chest, which felt like someone was standing on top of it, then she began to cough.

Bua ran up to Kali’s side just as she began to tilt. ‘Kali, stop. It’s over now. He can’t hurt you anymore.’

She tried to speak but the cough got worse, and then it became hard to take a full breath. Kali slumped as the coughing fit persisted. The corners of her vision began to recede, and she choked for air, and then the world was gone, and she was somewhere else.

*

She found herself on a low rock, or platform, surround on every side by multiple raised dais where things sat. Terrible things. She tried to get a good look at one in her line of sight, but her vision became violently distorted, blurring into colours which stretched and contorted. She cried out as a terrible pain stabbed in her skull.

The thing in front of her spoke, ‘You are not ready to look upon divinity. Lower your gaze, beast.’

Kali did as it said, but then saw something lying on the ground next to her, bloody and broken, and unmoving. ‘Sikio!’ She tried to move towards him but found herself stuck to ground by the weight of her body, as before.

‘Help him, please!’

A loud ringing seemed to fill the space, and a thing with a voice like a rockslide said, ‘We cannot help the dead.’

‘He can’t be dead, please. We were close. We were both so close.’ She fell into despair and wept for a long while.

The mysterious entities around her hulked over her not in silence, but in the kind of quiet that one hears before the most ferocious of thunderclaps. The atmosphere around her seemed buzzing and alive, and for the first time she took stock of her surroundings. She was in a kind of shallow pit with a perfectly level floor that looked like stone but shimmered and moved like mat of insects if she looked for too long.

‘Where am I?’

‘You are near death, beast. Your spell has summoned us, and we have answered. It seems that things have gone awry for you and your friend, but we are most pleased that you are here.’

‘Yesss, mosssst pleassssed,’ hissed another voice. ‘A sssslab of flessssh ripe for the taking, and no one to ssstop usssss.’

They were right. With Sikio gone, she was at the mercy of these beings.

But she would be damned if she went down without a fight.