Chapter 3
Three
Ayla
T he walk home was slow. Meri's body was frail, thin, and weak. She kept her eyes squinted as much as she could, but since we were headed south, the sun didn't glare into her face. That helped. I knew because my friend looked around at everything, but the expression on her face was terrified.
"What is this place?" she finally asked.
"It's a town," I explained. "This is Lorsa, Meri. Most of these buildings are homes."
"But not all?" She turned to glance behind us, stumbling in the process.
I caught her, making sure she didn't fall. "Some of the bigger ones are businesses or other amazing things. One is a school! A whole building just for children to learn in. Another is a library."
"Like... Books?"
"I haven't been there yet," I admitted, "but I was told about it. And there's a church too."
That was more than Meri could take. Her feet stalled out, forcing me to stop beside her. "The demons have a church? Is it for the Devil?"
"It's to God," I promised. "Father Dayne is very nice, and he says God is kind and loving. He also made sure my marriage to Reynold was annulled."
"The elders said it didn't count because it wasn't consummated," Meri assured me. "He's still looking for a wife because the Righteous think you're dead."
"Does Callah?" I asked.
Meri shook her head as we continued walking. "No. She got your message, Ayla."
What message? I hadn't sent one! I'd promised Callah something yellow, but I hadn't been able to... Wait. The hunters! I had sent something back with them! Jamison hadn't been among the dead, which meant the healers had seen him. Those arrows I'd shot him with must've still been in him, and they were very yellow.
"The arrows?" I asked.
"I don't know," Meri admitted as I turned her towards the last house before the city entrance. "Callah just said you'd sent a sign that you were still alive. She said this was my only chance." And her hand went protectively to her belly.
"Okay, let's get you out of the sunlight so you can see." I slowed, making sure she didn't trip on the pair of stairs that led to the porch. "And maybe a bath? Some clean clothes?"
"Where..." Meri's words paused as I opened the door and guided her in. Then she looked around. "What is this?" she finally asked.
"Home," I assured her. "This is where I live. It's called a house, and it has two levels. My room is on the second one, but this is the living room." I pointed towards the kitchen. "That's where we cook. Over here is the bathroom, for the facilities and washing. It's private, meant for only one person at a time."
Meri followed me as I walked up the short hall. Unlike me, she didn't gawk at the other doors. She clearly trusted me enough to believe I wouldn't lead her into anything bad. Still, once she saw the large tub the Dragons used, a little rush of air slid from her lips.
Hopefully, the fire for the water heating was still going. Lifting the handle of the faucet, I trailed my fingers in the stream, thankful it came out warm. Pushing the plug into the hole at the bottom allowed the water to start filling the thing. Moving towards the cabinet to pull out towels for her, I couldn't take it anymore.
"How did you get out?" I asked. "Meri, you got married, then you told us what happened, and Gideon caught us. I didn't see you after that."
"He was so mad," Meri admitted. "He locked me in the room, keeping me there for days at a time. I managed to tell Mrs. Myers, and she made sure my brother Nateniel knew. He came to speak with me, reminding me I was now a wife and needed to act like it."
"I'm so, so sorry," I breathed.
"No, it worked out," Meri assured me. "I learned to be obedient enough for Gideon to trust me with chores. I was washing the laundry one night when Callah came in. It was, you know, her time." Which meant Callah had been washing the cloths she used for her monthly flow.
"So you finally got to talk to her?" I asked.
"She told me what happened to you," Meri admitted. "Ayla, you stabbed Mr. Saunders with a fork?"
"It was all I had," I admitted.
"Oh, but I never could've done that. I would've been too scared. And being married to him?"
"Which was why I'd rather die," I agreed. "But how did you get out, Meri?"
She looked over at the quickly filling tub, then back. "Well, I told Callah about my brother not caring at all that I'd been hit. He was horrible about it, Ayla. He said I deserved it because my husband is my lord, and I should treat him the same way I'd treat God!"
"But you didn't do anything wrong," I hissed.
"I know!" Meri said. "I mean, I kind of did, but I didn't deserve that! And Gideon had been so nice to me! He'd always smiled, but then - as soon as we were married - he changed. He stopped caring about me, and stopped trying to make me happy. He just wanted to breed me over and over, saying it was a man's right, and that he had needs!"
I grumbled in disgust. Sadly, I wasn't surprised.
"So Callah told my brother I needed to see him again. Then she did it again."
"When?" I asked. "Before or after I left?"
"After," she assured me. "All of this happened after. Well, except for my brother's first visit. That was only a few days after Gideon hit you so hard."
"Okay," I said, assuring her I was keeping up. "So you saw Callah recently, and she said she'd gotten my message?" Which meant after the last battle.
Meri nodded. "She'd been reading things in that room you found. She said she'd been climbing in there and learning all the things you knew because it had made you stronger than everyone else and she wanted to be brave enough to get kicked out. Well, when she got your message, she came up with a plan, and having my brother come see me when Gideon wasn't there was a part of it."
"Okay?" And now I was confused.
Meri just smiled, and the look was cruel. "I told Gideon the child was Nateniel's."
I gasped. "Is it?"
"No!" Meri assured me. "It's Gideon's, but because my brother came that first week, and Gideon knew, it worked. See, Nateniel and I have the same mother. A baby from that?"
"Would be an abomination," I breathed. "That's why they make the lists, so we won't inbreed and cause deformities!"
"Mhm," Meri agreed. "But when I said I was in love with my brother, and that I couldn't resist him, Gideon lost it. He said I'd committed adultery. Ayla, that's the seventh commandment, and since the child was believed to be incestuous, it's an abomination. They chained me for the Dragons as a sacrifice because it's one of the ten crimes that demand banishment."
"Gideon told them?" I asked.
Meri stood a little straighter and shook her head. "No, I did. I told Gideon in the dining hall, so when he reacted, it was loud. I made sure it would be a scene, because Callah said it would work. She said she'd gotten proof you were out here. She said you would find me and make it okay, and now you have!"
All I could do was stand there with my mouth open. Not only had Meri lied - a thing she'd been terrified to do the last time I saw her - but she'd made it work. Even more confusing, Callah had come up with this? She'd seen my arrows and knew I would help? But how?
Never mind all the rest of that! I would've expected the elders to throw Meri in quarantine rather than banish her. Granted, maybe the Righteous women didn't ever go to quarantine? Come to think of it, I'd always heard the threat, but I'd never known of anyone to be put in there.
"Callah came up with this?" I asked, just needing to make sure I understood.
"Yeah," Meri breathed. "She found the rules that are punished with banishment. She figured out how to make it look like my brother had done something wrong."
"What happened to your brother?" I asked.
Confusion took over Meri's face. "Nothing. Ayla, he's a man. He said it's a lie. Gideon said it wasn't and that he knew Nateniel had been there. Mr. Saunders said I must've seduced him, so I agreed, and I was banished. I mean, he and Gideon hit each other, and it took five men to pull them apart, but I didn't care. It worked! It actually worked, although I was so sure the wild men were going to abuse me."
"Reapers," I said, moving towards the tub to turn off the water. "They aren't really wild men, Meri. They're called Reapers because they reap what they sow. They're farmers, and they're where the Righteous get the vegetables and tubers."
"Oh."
I nodded. "And the Dragons aren't evil. They're different, and I know it's shocking, but they're mostly human. Science tried to make them better so humanity could survive on the surface, but they messed up and ended up giving them scaled skin and tails."
"And the battle?" Meri asked.
I shook my head. "God and the Devil are not fighting on the surface. The world is hotter than the compound, but it's not burning. It's just wild, Meri. Things are so different, and I know it's going to be confusing, but it'll be okay. I'm going to take care of you, and this place?"
"Lorsa?" she asked, proving she had been paying attention.
"Yeah," I agreed. "It's what I always imagined Heaven would be like. Lorsa is confusing and crazy and beautiful, but most of all, it's perfect. It's safe, Meri."
"But the Wyvern's here," she hissed, dropping her voice so it wouldn't carry - most likely out of habit.
That was when I realized we had an even bigger problem. "Meri, this is his house."
"You said it was yours!"
"It is," I quickly assured her. "I have a room here. He does too. So do Kanik and Rymar. They're men, but they are my friends, and that's allowed here."
"You married three men?" she asked, clearly confused.
"Friends only," I promised. "See, in Lorsa, people can just be friends. Men do not force themselves on women here. They are kind, and gentle too! The Wyvern is my friend. His name is Zasen, and he's teaching me how to use a bow. Kanik is a teacher, and he taught me how to speak Vestrian."
"What's Vestrian?"
"Their language," I explained. Then I groaned. "It's all so different, and I know it's going to be shocking and confusing, but I'll help you. It will take a while, but I will make sure nothing happens to you or your baby."
"If I survive," Meri said softly. "Mrs. Worthington told me to pray, but instead I sinned, Ayla. What if God punishes me for that? What if the baby isn't turned, or it's too big, or if I bleed?"
"It'll be fine," I promised. "Meri, they have medicine here. More than even I've heard about. We can have a doctor look at you - "
"That's not proper!" Meri gasped.
"A woman doctor," I clarified. "They have those. And nurses too. Real doctors, Meri, not just healers. That's why you needed to come here, because Dragons know how to take care of women. You'll see." I took a step back. "Have a bath. The things on the edge of the tub are shampoo for your hair and conditioner for smoothing it. The bar is soap, but better than what we had in the compound. It's all the things you know, okay?"
"Okay," she breathed.
"And I'll go get you a dress. I'm sure you're hungry too, right? And once you're all clean, you can tell me how you got here and why the Reapers were with you."
She nodded. "Okay. I just..." Flopping her hands against her side, she hung her head. "Ayla, I'm so confused."
"I know," I assured her. "But it's going to be okay now. You'll see, Meri. Callah did the right thing, and now everything's going to be okay."