Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
Ayla
T he messages were sent out in the morning, delivered by Lorsa's letter carriers, along with a hard knock on the door. Rymar headed out to get ours and returned waving a washed-out red card. I'd never seen anything like it before.
"Town meeting today at three," he announced, raising his voice so it would carry into the kitchen where Zasen was cleaning up.
"Won't Kanik still be at the school?" I asked.
Because Kanik now left the house early for his job. Normally, he returned sometime after four, and I didn't want him to miss the meeting. But if he did, I'd make sure he knew everything that was discussed.
"School lets out at three," Zasen said as he made his way to the archway so he could lean against it.
"But - " I tried.
"And they're supposed to make an announcement at the schools so everyone heads over to the city stage," Rymar assured me. "Teachers too, Ayla. Jerlis wants to make sure everyone knows to stay inside tomorrow."
"At least he believes her this time," Zasen grumbled.
"She proved her point last time," Rymar said. "But Jerlis said he was setting the time as three, but he won't start until the children, their parents, and the teachers get there."
"I'd also like it to be known Ayla is in the militia now," Zasen said.
"If we announce that," Rymar countered, "they may want her to speak."
"About what?" I asked.
Zasen crossed his arms and smirked at me. "About why we're doing things differently this time. It's your idea, Ayla."
"And yours!" I huffed .
"Mostly yours," he assured me.
"But I don't know what to say," I insisted.
"Yes, you do," Rymar assured me. "Just like last time, okay? You tell them the truth. They may not like it, but you still say it."
"I don't want to," I told him.
"I'll do it," Zasen said. "Rymar, it's my plan, built on Ayla's knowledge. So if people start asking questions, just call me up."
"Perfect," Rymar said. "Hopefully Jerlis will handle everything, but we all know he's not good at this part."
"What is he good at?" I asked.
"Numbers," Rymar said. "Jerlis is very good at making sure Lorsa can afford the things it needs without taking money from people who can't afford it. He thinks outside the box and has come up with many ideas to pay for communal things in a voluntary manner."
"What box?" I asked.
Zassen ducked his head to try to hide his smile, but it didn't work. "It's a saying, Ayla."
"But what does it mean?" I pressed.
"It means outside what's expected," Rymar explained. "The box represents normal things. The common wisdom. Jerlis might not be the most charming mayor we've ever had in Lorsa, but he's been good to the town. And he chose me to be his running mate because I am charming, so that makes up for his lack of social skills."
"You are charming," I agreed. "You'll be even more charming if you never make me talk to everyone again."
"Deal," he said. "But wear something tough-looking today, just in case."
"Leathers," Zasen suggested as he pushed away from the wall. "Wear your belt with it."
"My belt?" I asked.
Zasen murmured in response as he headed to the weapons closet and pulled it open. Reaching inside, he rummaged for a moment, then pulled out something. I caught a glint of metal before he turned, holding it out in his hand.
"You'll need a belt to hang these from."
Laying on his palm were two small krael. The handles were wrapped in brown leather. A blade curved around each one in a C shape, and two short points stuck out above and below the handle. Confused, I took the pair of weapons, surprised to find they were rather lightweight.
"These are krael?" I asked, because they were shaped a little differently from his.
"Your krael," he clarified. "The curved blade will allow you to cut when you punch, and the spikes mean you can pierce if you have to. However, I'd prefer you don't use them."
"What? Why?" I asked.
"Because you're better with a bow," he explained. "Ayla, you're much stronger than you used to be, but still not stronger than a hunter. A bow is. "
"But," Rymar said, "if anyone gets too close to shoot, you can show him even tailless Dragons can sting."
Those words made my lips curl into a smile. "Yeah?" I asked, looking between both of them. "And these are really mine, or just to borrow for now?"
"Really yours," Zasen assured me.
"Thank you!" I breathed, lunging in to wrap my arms around his neck, careful to keep the sharp blades away from him. "And maybe we can put some venom on them before we go?"
"My treat," Rymar said.
Zasen leaned into my hug, but also reached up to take the blades out of my hands. "These are going in the closet for now. And Ayla? You should thank Rymar. He bought them for you."
" We did," Rymar corrected.
So I let go of Zasen and threw my arms around Rymar's neck. "Thank you too, Rymar! I like them so much, and I really wanted a pair."
He tensed against me for a second, and then lightly patted my back. I just squeezed a little harder, trying my best to mimic the way Jeera hugged people. Rymar made a humming noise then gave in, twining his arms around the middle of my back
"Those are from all of us," he said beside my ear. "I just told Zasen to make sure you had the right kind. So remember to thank Kanik too."
"I will," I promised as I leaned back. "And I can wear them today so I'll look like a warrior and show Meri that's allowed?"
"So you can show everyone you are," Rymar said.
***
The sunlight was bright at three in the afternoon, but my eyes had gotten used to it at some point. I still wanted to squint a bit, but no worse than anyone else in the crowd gathering before the city stage. Unfortunately, the tailed tended to be taller because of their strange feet, which made finding Meri harder.
"What if she can't see me?" I asked Zasen.
"Jeera knows where we'll be," he promised. "I told her at the last militia meeting."
I nodded, but I was still looking. Finally, I spotted Brielle. Her navy skin and orange hair were stark enough to stand out in the mass of browns and greens that were so common. Jumping in place, I tried to wave, hoping they'd see my hand.
A grey arm shot into the air. "Ayla!" Jeera called, then the group angled toward us.
"See?" Zasen said.
I huffed at that. "They were going the wrong way."
"Not that wrong," he said before bending closer. "I can also see over everyone's heads, little Phoenix. Unlike you, I'm not short."
"I'm not short either," I insisted .
"You're tailless, so you're short." Then he grinned.
I rolled my eyes at him, making a production of it. Just like I'd hoped, he laughed, but a brown shadow slipped in to stand on my other side. I flinched, turning to find Kanik.
"Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to startle you."
"Do you have to go back to school when this is done?" I asked.
"Nope. That's one of the benefits of being in the militia," he assured me, but his eyes jumped up.
For a second, Kanik's brow creased, but then a smile began to grow on his mouth. Stepping back, he made a production of looking me over.
"Leathers, huh?" Then he laughed. "And your own krael?"
"Look," I said, grabbing the handle of one. "They fit my little hands!"
"Cutting and stabbing." He nodded in approval. "Nice."
"Thank you for them. I would hug you, but I don't know if I'm supposed to do that with so many people around."
"Do it," Zasen encouraged.
So I grabbed Kanik around the chest and squeezed as hard as I could. "I really, really like my weapons, Kanik. They make me feel like a real Dragon, and it's even better because all three of you got them for me."
"Ayla..." he said, easing me back. "I - "
"He didn't know I'd picked them up," Zasen broke in. "But Kanik's the one who suggested the spike on both sides."
"And now you get to show me how to use them," I told him.
"Use what?" Meri asked, proving their group had finally made it over to us.
"I have weapons!" I said, turning so she could see them hanging off my hips. "The guys bought them for me so I can have my own."
"Weapons?" Meri asked, looking at Jeera. "Does everyone have weapons?"
"Only the people who want to fight," Jeera said. "Doesn't matter if they're men or women."
"Rymar doesn't have any," I explained. "He does politics. Brielle does healing. Jeera does both fighting and healing."
"Just like Ayla," Brielle added. "That's what we meant when we said people can do more than one thing. Some do, some don't, but you're allowed to pick what you want."
"Move!" a woman roared before Meri could answer. All of us looked up in time to see Lessa waving her arms to force people out of her way. "There's a child here. I'll sting whoever steps on him."
"Me too!" Tamin said as he trailed after her.
The boy was holding Lessa's tail instead of her hand, but only because his mother had the other one. The baby was on her hip, but Brielle moved in to steal the child away as soon as Saveah was close enough. That was when Zasen crouched down.
"Shoulders?" he asked the boy .
Tamin nodded as big as he could, so Zasen scooped the kid up and settled Tamin behind his neck. When Zasen stood back up, the child squealed in delight.
"What is this?" Meri asked, her words in English.
"It's a town meeting," I explained, changing to her language. "In Lorsa, everyone comes and gets to hear what's decided."
"We also get to give input," Jeera said. "Rymar is actually the second-in-charge of town."
Meri gave me a confused look. "An Elder?"
"Similar," I assured her. "But in Lorsa, people are picked. They don't just age into the position."
"And we've had women in charge too," Lessa said. Her accent was thick, but that was definitely English. "The last Mayor was a woman."
I gaped at her in astonishment.
"What?" she asked. "She was!"
"That's English!" I said.
Which made her grin. "I've been practicing." Then she wobbled her head from side to side. "And I make my neighbor talk to me in English so we both know it."
"Drozel?" Zasen asked, sounding surprised.
"He said he wanted to understand the Moles," Lessa admitted, but she refused to meet Zasen's eyes.
So he reached out and touched her arm lightly, doing his best not to jostle Tamin in the process. "Drozel, Less?" he asked again.
"Yeah."
"Good," he told her. "He's a good guy."
Lessa glanced away, but I was pretty sure I'd missed something. Why was Zasen so surprised that Drozel would want to speak English? Even more confusing was why Lessa seemed almost embarrassed about admitting it.
But Meri moved closer to me, distracting me before I could ask. "This is all because of the hunters?" she asked softly.
"It is. Meri, when they come here, it's bad. People die." I caught her hand. "Children too. They say Dragons are beasts. They don't care about anything else, so we have to stop them."
She nodded. "We do."
And that was enough to make me smile. For the first time, Meri had called the people here "we." She'd included herself. She might not even realize she'd done it, but those words sounded beautiful to me.