Phoenix’s Fire (The Ruins Of Men #2)

Chapter 2

Two

Rymar

A yla led the girl away, walking slowly so the battered woman could keep up. Side by side, I couldn't help but notice how different Ayla had become in such a short time. Her skin was now golden. Pale and creamy, but definitely not orin anymore.

The new Mole was. Her skin was that sheltered color of pale that had never seen sunlight before. Her hair was silver rather than Ayla's golden shade. The new one's eyes were even more blue than I'd expected, and I had a feeling she wasn't an ugly woman - once she was cleaned up. The swelling at her belly, however, told its own story.

Ducking my head, I let out a heavy sigh.

"Do I want to know what's going on?" Jerlis asked as he moved to stand beside me.

"Apparently," I said, looking up at his very large form, "Ayla is taking her to my place."

From the other side one of the Reapers asked, "And you're okay with that?"

My eyes were still on Ayla and the girl. Our little Phoenix had handled this perfectly, even if she'd left one hell of a mess behind, but that was okay. I'd clean it up. It was the least I could do after everything she'd been through in the last month or so.

"That's the girl the Wyvern saved," the second Reaper explained even as he leaned in to offer me his hand. "Rymar. Nice to see you again."

"Irrik," I greeted him. "Same. Do Jeera and Brielle know you're here?"

"Maybe?" He grinned through his beard, then flicked a finger after the girls. "Jeera's talking to Zasen. I have a feeling I'm going to get my ass chewed for not sending a letter about this. "

"We picked her up on our way here," the other Reaper explained. "Shadow found her."

"The dog?" I asked.

The man nodded. "Yep. Never travel without at least one. Shadow knows Moles. Holly doesn’t hate them yet, but she'll attack anything I point her at. Makes the trip a bit safer, since the coyotes don't like them and they'll alert to Moles before we see them."

So Irrik slapped his shoulder. "This is Lansin, one of our dog trainers. He's come for some buying, some selling - and the bounty."

"Picking up a bounty since we were coming this way anyway?" Lansin said. "Worth the trouble that one gave us."

"Because she's scared," I explained, looking back to Jerlis. "I didn't know they were coming either, but it sounds like that girl is one of Ayla's friends, and Ayla's taking her to our place."

"So she's safe?" he asked.

All I could do was shrug. "Not sure. I know as little as you do, but I trust Ayla. I have a feeling that if she's not, Ayla will cut her throat or put an arrow through her."

The mayor nodded. "Yeah, I can see that. So what do we do with her now?"

"Make her a refugee," I said. "I'll get her name and information, but tell the people she's a refugee. Jerlis, the women have no clue what happens above ground. All they know is we're supposed to abuse or kill them."

"Fucking irony," Irrik said. "So the damned Moles are as cruel to their own women as they are to the rest of us?"

"As if you have a problem," Jeera teased, walking her way into this conversation. "You fuckers put out bribes to keep them out of your camps."

"Works," Irrik pointed out before bending to kiss the Dragon woman quickly. "Mm, it's good to see you again. Where's Brielle?"

"Working," Jeera admitted. "Granted, I need to get her and Mom, then head over to Zasen's to see what's going on with this girl."

"The Mole?" Lansin asked.

"Yep," Jeera said, "and the gold one is the girl I told Irrik about. The one my big brother has a crush on."

"And Kanik," I mumbled a little too obviously.

Jeera just scoffed. "As if you're any better, Rymar."

"Hey now," I shot back. "I will have you know I'm her friend, and that's the only reason I'm here right now trying to sort this out."

"And I'm still waiting to know what you're sorting," Jerlis told me. "We're paying a bounty?"

"Yes, for any Mole they hang out," I explained. "It's from the discretionary fund, although I didn't think we'd really get one. I just know that if we get a man, we can question him now, and if it's a woman..." I gestured down the street to show Ayla's reaction said enough .

"Oh," Irrik said, breaking in. "You should know they've been collecting more often. We're giving them a few bushels of our unusable produce every week lately."

"How often before?" Jerlis asked.

Irrik furrowed his brow, thinking hard. "We used to set bags out every other week, give or take. They picked it up irregularly, though. Granted, they also take everything we leave."

"And it's all useless?" I asked.

Irrik wobbled his head as if that wasn't quite right. "Blemished, bruised, bitter, not fully ripe, and so on. The type of thing we could till back into the soil, but since it keeps them from attacking us, we just set it out in bags. Can't really do the same with meat, though."

I made a noise there, because he wasn't wrong. The bigger problem was rewarding those fuckers. Maybe the Reapers felt it was easier to give away their useless crap than fight back, but meat spoiled. There were too many people in the Mole compound to simply offer a deer or two. It wouldn't be enough, and they'd come for us anyway.

While I was thinking about that, Zasen and Kanik made their way over. They looked a little twitchy, though. Twice, Zasen looked back towards the road. Kanik just reached up and rubbed his shoulder.

"Give Ayla a moment to get the new one relaxed," he said, his tone soothing. "That's her friend."

"So she knows her?" I asked.

Zasen just nodded. "Meri."

And that was a name I'd heard a lot. "And the other?"

"What other?" Jerlis demanded.

Zasen lifted a hand, begging the mayor to give him a chance to explain. "Ayla had two friends in their base. Meri was one. Callah is the other. They were her roommates from the time she turned ten until she turned twenty, was forced to marry an old man, and stabbed him rather than simply agree. These were her only two friends, and one of them is here now."

"And pregnant," Jeera added.

"So make sure Mom knows," Zasen told her.

"Bigger problem," Jeera countered. "That girl isn't a little pregnant, Zasen. She's got to be nearly full term. I mean, the fucking baggy clothes those girls wear hides it a bit, but she looks pretty big." She paused, looking around at all the men in this circle. "Ayla said pregnancy is what kills women."

"Shit," I breathed. "And I'm going to bet that girl is as skinny as Ayla was when we found her, hm?"

"Very," the mayor agreed. "I tried to bring her to the stage, but I was worried I'd snap her arm. Her wrists are the size of a child's and there's no meat on them."

"Okay," Jeera said. "I have to get Mom and take her over there. Zasen, you and Kanik get a dress. Maternity clothes. Ugly is fine, and bigger is better than small. Irrik... "

The Reaper smiled at his girlfriend. "I'm following you. Brielle and I can figure out anything else you need, and - "

"We don't have the space," Zasen said, looking at me. "We just moved things around so Ayla could have her own room. There's no way we can fit this new girl as well."

"I can," Jeera promised. "It's okay. We'll handle this."

"And I'm going to hold you to that," the mayor said. "I'm listing her as a refugee, but if she tries anything..."

"She's fucking pregnant!" Jeera huffed back, tossing her arms into the air to make her point. "That woman is so fucking pregnant, waddling is the biggest threat she'll be. I haven't even talked to her, but I'm willing to bet she came here for a chance. She knew her friend got out, and she would rather risk her life than deal with what goes on down there. Maybe she wanted a better life for her child, or herself, or who knows, but she risked it all to get here, so make your threats, Jerlis, but do not try to act like she's anything but a desperate and likely abused victim."

The giant of a man actually hung his head. "Sorry."

"Men!" Jeera groaned before turning back towards the market. "C'mon, Irrik. Keep up. I've got things to do!"

"Oh, and that's why I love you, Jeera," Irrik called even as he hurried after her. "Lansin, you're with us if you want a place to crash."

"Shit," Jeera said, stopping again to look back at me. "If I take the girl…"

"No men," I said. "Well, or very patient men."

Irrik just rubbed Jeera's shoulder. "Lansin and I can find a room. It's fine, beautiful. Besides, he's got the dogs."

"Mom," Zasen suggested.

Which made Jeera suck in a breath. "Yeah! She has room. Okay. Boys, come!" She snapped the words like a command to one of the dogs.

Irrik laughed and followed. I just jerked my chin at the new guy, Lansin. "You're gonna let her talk to you like that?"

"She's speaking my language," Lansin admitted. "And if you don't need me anymore, I want a real meal, a good beer, and a room with a very soft bed."

"Know where you're going?" I asked.

The man grinned. "Sounds like they do. If not, I'll find something. Not my first visit to Lorsa, after all. Shadow! Holly! Heel!"

And like Jeera and Irrik, he walked off. Unlike them, he had two of those large, strange dogs the Reapers liked so much following him. A tailless man was working on moving the cart, which made me think they'd handled where to store it and the horse.

That left me, Zasen, Kanik, and Jerlis - along with the milling crowd around us. Some had made their way back to the market. Others had gone home. Still, the cluster growing around us meant more people had stopped, and someone was going to start demanding answers soon.

"You want me to handle this?" I asked Jerlis.

"Sure," he said, sounding like he wasn't sure I could do it .

So I looked over at Zasen and Kanik. "A dress," I told them. "Shoes. Everything else can wait, but the girl is going to need those, and we need to prove to her that we are not the monsters she expects. Worry about those, and I'll meet you at the clinic when I'm done here."

"Got it," Kanik said. "Zasen, it's fine."

"Fucking Moles," Zasen grumbled, but he did follow Kanik.

So I headed for the stage. It only took two steps before people realized I was about to make an announcement. Someone whistled. Someone else called out a friend's name, making it clear people were waiting for this.

Climbing the stairs, I reached the top of the stage and turned, letting out a piercing whistle. From all sides, people were pushing closer, some coming out of nearby stores. Others walked this way from the market. Lifting my hands, I whistled again, drawing their eyes but refusing to start until the flow of movement had slowed to a crawl.

"Listen up!" I bellowed. "As many of you saw, another refugee was brought to us by the Reapers!"

"A Mole!" someone called out.

I nodded, making sure it was big enough to be seen at a distance. "A Mole woman ! The Phoenix's friend. I do not know how she broke free yet, but she did. She's here. This woman is scared and helpless. She's confused and disoriented. The Phoenix and the Wyvern will make sure she's properly cared for, and she may have more information for us."

"Good! Then we can kill those fucking Moles!" someone yelled.

And the crowd cheered. I had to struggle not to smile, because it hadn't been that long since they'd been pissed about us taking in Ayla. Now she was a hero, and orin women were not seen as a threat. Well, mostly.

"That's the plan!" I assured them. "But Meri - the new refugee - is overwhelmed by how Dragons do things. She's not used to having the right to state her opinion. She's never been treated kindly before. She's been beaten and abused by the Moles. She's been terrorized until that is all she knows. Be gentle with her and she will return the favor, just like Ayla did."

"How do we know her name?" someone asked.

"Because Ayla grew up with her. This woman may have helped the Phoenix come here." I lifted a hand, holding them off. "I do not know that much yet, but I do know Ayla spoke of this woman and another. I know she called them friends, and they were the only people she used that word for before coming to Lorsa. So let us trust the Phoenix, because she has already proven herself. Let us give the new refugee a chance. When we know more, we will share it."

There was a murmur in the crowd and I saw a lot of heads nodding. A few looked angry, but they were likely the same ones who'd doubted Ayla. Either way, this news would spread, which meant Jerlis would be inundated with questions tomorrow.

Hopefully, I'd have some answers for him, because I hadn't seen this coming.