Phoenix’s Fire (The Ruins Of Men #2)

Chapter 38

Thirty-Eight

Rymar

I headed up to the stage as the townsfolk began to gather. Sitting on the bench, Jerlis had the tip of his tail in his hands and was wiggling the end. He looked like he was bored with all this waiting - or nervous. Hoping it was the first, I moved to take the spot beside him.

"How long are you waiting before we start?" I asked.

"Until the flow of people stops," he said, looking over at me.

His eyes had no white part to them. Everything inside his lids was black, and while the mutation was heard of, it wasn't exactly common. He said it didn't cause him any problems, but every time I met his eyes, I could see my own yellow, red, orange, and turquoise skin reflected back, just like a mirror.

"What if this doesn't work?" he finally asked, proving it wasn't boredom making him fidget. Jerlis was nervous.

"If it doesn't work, we're no worse off than we were before Ayla told us when they'd be here," I assured him. "Jerlis, we know the day. This time, they won't even make it into Lorsa."

"What if they do?" he asked. "What if they go around our militia and storm into the city gates and we have no one to defend us?"

"Then we're still no worse off than when we didn't know they were coming," I said again. "Half the militia live on the north side of town. Sometimes, they didn't make it to the gates before the Moles were gone."

He nodded, then looked back at the street behind the stage. "Then there's no reason to wait."

Pushing to his feet, the massive red-and-black striped man let out a piercing whistle. Immediately, the volume of conversation in the crowd dimmed. People were still moving, doing their best to find their friends and family in the congestion, but most were turning to face the stage .

And there were a lot of people down there. Normally, only about a third of the population showed up to these. The news was spread by word of mouth, which meant there was no reason to walk across town to hear it. This time? I turned, realizing there were so many people down there the crowd had flowed around to the sides as well. It seemed everyone who could be here was.

"Listen up!" Jerlis bellowed, his deep voice carrying nicely. "According to the Phoenix, we know when the Moles will attack now. That day is tomorrow!"

He paused as a swell of conversation rose. Nodding, he let people accept that, then continued, "Because of this, our militia will meet - and stop - them before they even reach Lorsa. But sending our protection forces outside the city walls is not ideal. Sadly, it's the only option we have."

"We need them here!" someone said just loudly enough for it to carry.

Jerlis lifted a hand, showing he'd heard. "We have the police forces still, along with others who are not skilled enough to be in the militia, but brave enough to make sure we're not helpless here. And if this works? For once, after how many years, for the Moles to get nothing from us?"

A cheer rose up at that. Jerlis looked around, nodding to show he agreed with the sentiment. "But this means only essential jobs will be operational tomorrow. All schools will be closed! The militia will report to Zasen when and where he tells them, so they can prepare to protect Lorsa. The rest of us?" He looked from one side of the crowd to the other. "We will get to a safe place and shelter there until the city bells ring. That will be well after dark."

"How long?" someone yelled.

"How will they know to ring the bells?" someone else called out.

That set up a murmur of questions, but a woman near the back screamed one that stood out. "What if they don't come back?"

Jerlis glanced over to me, then shook his head subtly. Clearly, he didn't know how to answer those, so I moved up beside him. Patting the air, I waited for the voices to die down.

"Our brave militia volunteers ," I said, putting emphasis on that last word, "have been preparing for this since the last battle. Zasen has devised a plan of attack that - "

"Did he ask the Phoenix?!" someone demanded.

I lifted a hand, begging them to give me a chance, but at the same time, my eyes scanned the crowd until I found a bright teal boy sitting above the heads of the people around him. Following him down, I found Zasen watching me. I nodded at him, then tried my best to answer what I could.

"The leader of Lorsa's militia," I tried again, "has found a way to use our Dragon abilities to the best advantage. Thanks to the Wyvern's experience with the Moles, and the Phoenix's knowledge of them, we think this is our best chance to protect everyone inside the city walls."

"What about those outside?" a man yelled.

I looked back to where I'd seen Zasen, but he was gone. Tamin was now on Kanik's shoulders, and there was a line of shifting bodies. Trailing that, I found Zasen making his way towards the stage towing Ayla along behind him.

"Those outside will be the militia," I answered. "Yes, they are risking their lives, and yes, we should all be grateful for them. I'm not about to promise they will be fine, because we all know what the Moles do. But let's let the Wyvern explain this himself."

It took a few more steps for Zasen and Ayla to reach the stairs, but then they hurried up. Ayla's eyes were a little too big, proving how much she hated this, and the moment she reached the top, she gave me a scathing look.

"You said I wouldn't have to talk!"

"You won't," Zasen assured her before lifting his voice. "You want to know the plan?" he roared, proving he could bellow with the best of them. "It's simple. We go out there!" He stabbed his finger to the south. "We head into the forest and catch the Moles before they're ready for us. That gives us the advantage. We have arrows coated in Dragon venom. We have more arrows - so many arrows! We have knives and krael. Most of all?" He lifted his tail. "We have venom, and we know they cannot stand against that."

His words made a few people cheer in support, but there was still worry on too many faces, so Zasen gestured to Ayla. "The Phoenix has answered every question I have. Our newest refugee, her friend, has told us what she can, but they are not Moles. They were victims of the men down there, so our plan may not be perfect, but it's better than it's ever been before."

"What about injuries?" a woman called out.

"We will have medics with us," Zasen assured her. "Every team will have at least one person trained in first aid. We have assigned meeting points, ways to signal problems without alerting the Moles, and have planned for as much as we can. Sadly, this is not a guarantee. Like Rymar said, some may die tomorrow. Many of us will likely be injured, but we're willing to do this to protect those we care about."

"And remind them we can understand English," Ayla said.

Zasen flashed her a smile. "The Phoenix has another good point. This time, we can understand their orders. Thanks to the women the Moles cast away, we know their words. We can make out their orders for movements and planning. They cannot understand us, though."

"But this will only stop them once!" Ayla said, yelling at people the exact way she'd said she didn't want to.

"Go on," I encouraged.

She gave me a terrified look, so I nodded. When that wasn't enough, I gestured to the crowd. On her other side, Zasen reached up to clasp her shoulder in a gesture of support. It was enough to make Ayla stand a little taller.

"This," she yelled, "is a way to turn them back. What we hope for is a way to truly stop them. To make sure they never come back. That will not be easy, and until we find it, we want to keep them as far from this perfect place as we can!"

"Nice," Zasen praised. Then he gestured to her. "The Phoenix is right. This will not be easy, and it will not be the end, but tomorrow we will not lose children. We will not wonder if our parents, siblings, and partners have been taken from us. Those we mourn will be warriors who accepted the risk, not citizens caught unaware. We do not want this war, my friends, but the Moles don't care. They started this. Tomorrow, we take the first step in finishing it!"

People immediately began cheering at that. Ayla flinched, then looked up at Zasen with a smile taking over her face. I found myself nodding, surprised at how nicely Zasen had handled that, but this was his area of expertise. He knew how to tap into the anger and resentment people had suffered with this long. It was what drove him most days.

"All you, Jerlis," I said, shifting aside so he could have the center of the stage again.

The man moved forward, patting at the air. "You have the rest of today to make sure your supplies are full. Food, water, and anything else you'll need to pass the time will not be available tomorrow, because the store owners will be busy securing themselves. As always, the hospitals will be open, and emergency services will do their best without the militia members who staff many of those jobs. Now let's all head home and make sure we're ready for this!"

"I thought you didn't want to talk?" Zasen teased Ayla.

"She did good," I said before she could try to apologize. "That was exactly what they needed to hear."

"But what good does this really do?" Jerlis asked, turning those dark eyes of his on Ayla. "So we fight them out there. How is that going to stop them from coming back?"

"It stops us from dying," she said, "and will cost them more hunters. We will take their guns, which means they have to replace those weapons, and there's only so much in the compound. People, items, and everything else. It's not limitless!"

"So we become just like them?" he asked. "We exterminate them before they exterminate us?" The man shook his head. "There has to be a better way."

"We need to get back into the compound," Ayla said. "I just have to get a hunter to tell me how."

"What if they don't?" Jerlis asked. "What about the Dragon women trapped inside there? Are we killing our own families with this?"

"I hope not," Ayla said. "But do we risk the ones here or the ones down there?"

"I don't want to risk any of them!" Jerlis roared.

Ayla pulled into herself even as she leaned back, but then she did the last thing I expected. "Yelling doesn't make it stop!" she screamed at him. "Yelling doesn't change anything. All yelling does is scare the people who are just as worried as you are !"

That made Jerlis take a step back. "I'm... I'm sorry."

Ayla nodded as if she'd just made the point. "I don't like being scared. I'm tired of everyone thinking that terrorizing someone else will fix things. It doesn't with yelling, and it doesn't with hunting, and it doesn't with anything. So I'm doing my best, Mr. Mayor, and I'm sorry the men didn't tell me everything, but I'm not like them. I..." She pulled in a deep breath, then blurted out, "I don't feel bad about killing them, but I didn't go looking for them. They came looking for my friends. I'm just not going to shut up and take it anymore. I'm not meek. I'm not subservient, and I'm certainly not silent !"

"I'm sorry," Jerlis breathed.

But I was staring at Ayla in awe. Never before had I heard her lash out like that. "Go away, Jerlis," I said as I headed over to clasp her upper arms, rubbing them lightly. "Now that was a speech," I told her.

She ducked her head. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not," Zasen said. "And you're right, but so is he. It's easy to hate the Moles, but - "

"Rymar!"

My head snapped over to not only the sound of my name, but also the voice calling it. No, not now. Of all the times and places for my mom to push her way in, now was not a good one.

"Zasen, take her hom-"

"Rymar!" Mom called again as she jogged up the stairs. "You gave such a good speech, and this?" She turned to smile at Zasen, but her hand reached out to bat mine away from Ayla's arm. "So you're the girl who lives with my son, hm?"

"Cailyon..." My father groaned as he jogged up the steps to catch up. "Don't make a scene."

Ayla was looking at the tailless woman before her as if completely confused. Then again, the only thing my mother and I had in common was our hair. Hers was orangey-red, but pale streaks of grey swooped down from her temples. A few lighter strands were mixed in with the rest, but it only tamed the shocking color. It certainly didn't stand out enough to make her look anything but stunning.

"Mom," I said, guiding her back. "Let me introduce you to Ayla, the Phoenix. Ayla? This is my mom, Cailyon, and my father, Emerton." I turned to my father. "Where's Dad?"

"Talking to your papa. He's here with Farina."

Ayla just turned back to me. "Rymar, I'm confused."

"Yeah, I bet," I grumbled, because how the hell was I supposed to explain my parents to her? And why now?