Chapter 85
Eighty-Five
Ayla
Z asen was doing something stupid. It was because I'd admitted that was my brother, and now he was going the wrong way! I didn't know what to do about it, so I took off, jogging in the direction he'd said. The pond. I was pretty sure I knew where it was, but I wasn't as familiar with these woods as the ones around our house.
Holly kept pace, trotting obediently beside me. Maybe I should've sent her with Zasen? But that would be a bad idea. What if neither one of them came back? Or what if Holly died to save Zasen? Or Zasen to save Holly? No, none of this was okay, and he was an idiot. I should go back, but two of us wouldn't be enough either.
When I finally burst into the Dragon camp, they were tending each other's wounds. My head whipped from side to side, seeking someone who could help me.
"Jeera?" I begged.
"What?" she called back from where she was bandaging someone's arm.
"Zasen's an idiot."
"I keep saying that," she said around a laugh, but it faded when she realized I wasn't joking. "What is he doing?"
"Taking my brother back," I admitted. "I shouldn't have said anything, but he's carrying him back to the Moles!" My lungs were clenching with fear. "Alone."
"We need arrows!" Drozel bellowed, obviously having heard me. "Jeera, Omden..." He looked around then finally said, "Xav! Everyone else get your shit bandaged well enough and head back. The last thing we need is to be out here when they can actually see!"
Quickly, every one began passing over arrows. Most of these weren't the war arrows I liked, but right now, I didn't care. My quiver was still mostly full, but the others were shoving in as many as they could fit. Before I knew what was going on, Jeera caught my arm and pulled me back the way I'd just come.
"Where?" she demanded.
"The camp," I explained. "I told him Tobias and Sylis said they'd come back, and then we found my brother. His leg is broken, and he's hurt pretty bad, but not fatally. Probably from one of their grenades. Zasen said he's going to be a diplomat and prove he's not the Devil."
"Faster!" Drozel snapped.
The group of us broke into a quick jog. As we moved, Drozel laid out a basic plan. It involved me and him on one side, Jeera and Xav on the other, and our dogs with their respective owners. We were going to let Zasen be as stupid as he wanted, but with a little backup to get him out. I just really hoped this worked!
But as we got closer, we split. The camp was in an open area. There were clusters of trees on one side, and the hill I'd used was on the other. Sadly, Jeera aimed for the hill with Xav and Demon right behind her. Drozel lifted a finger to his lips for silence, and patted the air to show we should go slowly.
I followed him as we crept closer, never approaching from the open. The density of the forest and the destruction from their weapons made it even easier. Drozel's pattern was nearly impossible to see out here, and for once, my tan leathers didn't make me feel like I stood out. The few times we did cross a gap where they might see us, we moved quickly.
But something was happening.
Finally, we got close enough to hear voices. The Moles were bickering, talking over each other, but then someone began calling out, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" It sounded like Sylis.
"If you kill me, more will come," Zasen said as if it was simply a fact. "I'm also not the most terrifying thing up here anymore."
"The words of the Devil!" a Mole sneered.
But another pointed out, "He brought back Elijah."
I pushed forward a little more, using one of the heavy evergreen trees to shield me from sight. If the deer couldn't detect me through this, there was no way a Mole would. Surprisingly, Drozel didn't try to stop me. Instead, he pushed in against my back, watching over my head.
Before us - and close - Zasen stood with my brother on the ground before him. His stinger was completely exposed, but his bow was on his back and his krael were hanging from his belt. He looked as if he was unarmed, but I knew that could change quickly.
Zasen spoke again. "This man is wounded. Lower your guns and come help your fellow Righteous."
"It's a trap," one of them yelled from further away.
I reached over and snapped a branch. From where I was standing, I could see Zasen clearly, and his tail lashed at the sound. On the other side, some kind of bird chirped so his tail flicked again. When I looked up at Drozel, he nodded, making me think Zasen really had heard us and knew he wasn't alone .
"It's not a trap," Zasen said gently. "I'm not alone, but it's not a trap." Which confirmed it.
"Then why did you bring him back?"
"Don't talk to the Devil."
Zasen laughed at that. "I've gone from being the Devil's servant, to being the beast himself? I assure you, I am neither."
"But you suddenly know how to speak?"
Zasen smiled, turning to look at the entire crowd before him. "You gave us a present. You left her chained outside your home, barely dressed, waiting to die. We found her. We took her back, and she taught us how to understand you. To show you my appreciation, I'm offering this man back. A gift for a gift."
"There's no way a woman could teach them so fast," someone insisted.
But another countered, "Does it matter? They've learned language! "
Zasen chuckled. "I've always been able to speak Vestrian. The Phoenix showed me how you use English. This should prove we're not beasts."
"You're not a man either!" one of them shrieked.
But Gideon stepped forward, daring to lower his gun as if planning to negotiate. "What do you want for him?"
"Stop killing my people."
He shook his head. "Mine need to eat."
I couldn't take it anymore. Standing, I pushed through the tree and right into view. Holly followed, putting her body between me and the Moles protectively. Her lips curled and her growl was deep, but I didn't tell her to stop. No, I wanted them to see the world was filled with more than they could imagine.
Embracing my anger, I turned to face the men who had sat beside me at dinner so many times. All of them, swallowing something so vile! They'd never flinched at the taste of it. They'd never explained the wounds they received, except to blame the wild men and demons. I couldn't stand to see them lying about it, even to themselves!
Now, they all stood braced. Many held guns, but not all. They also couldn't shoot Zasen because they'd have to fire through each other. But what bothered me most were the three carts at the back. They weren't empty. My eyes jumped across them, disgusted at the chunks of scaled and skin-covered meat inside.
Blue, green, tan, and all the shades of tailless skin I could imagine were in there. I saw it. I couldn't help but see it! Clenching my jaw, I pushed back my revulsion before turning to the man who seemed to be running the show this time.
"Eat deer," I told Gideon. "Pigs, birds, rabbits. There's game in the world. There's plenty. The world is not burning! You can see that for yourselves. The Devil is not here, just people who look different than you, but they are not the same as beasts. God has provided more than enough, but you choose to eat the flesh of men? Tell me, Gideon, who is in the wrong?"
There were eleven men left - twelve if I counted my brother - and they were all staring at me with their mouths open. Blatantly, I lifted my hand to the trees, letting Jeera and the men know to stay hidden, and moved to Zasen's side .
Then I looked from him to the men pointedly. "I should cut off your tail," I hissed in Vestrian.
He shrugged, completely unconcerned. "He's your brother."
So I switched to English. "My brother who never cared enough to help me when I needed it. My brother who stood by while I was sold to the highest bidder in a lie they call marriage. Moles are not Dragons, Wyvern - they do not love all of God's creatures. They live in a pit, spread lies, insist they are righteous, and spend their days worried about either giving or receiving punishment! What is that, if not Hell? And nothing about their evil ways makes them worth helping! This is their punishment. They starve because they cannot learn, refuse to adapt, and worry more about the way things used to be then how they actually are now."
"Then we should teach them how to be better, Phoenix." He looked back at the Moles. "Take your man and leave. We will let you go. Fire a single shot, and we will kill you all. Is that clear enough?"
Gideon gestured to the man beside him. "Get him."
"He can't walk," Zasen warned.
"He'll probably die," Gideon shot back. "So why did you carry him so far?"
Zasen shrugged. "Because if we keep trying to kill each other, neither of us wins. Hunt deer. It tastes better - or so I hear."
But I pointed straight at Meri's former husband. "That is Gideon Kobrick."
Zasen caught my arm and lowered it, switching to Vestrian. "Do not tell him she's alive. Now, when I nod, simply walk into the woods proudly. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Wyvern," I mumbled.
He looked back at Gideon. "Are you the leader?"
"I am now," he said.
Which made Zasen smile. "Good. I will remember your face. If you return, I will kill you slowly." Then he looked at the rest. "We do not want to hurt you. We would much rather teach you how to find animals to hunt and harvest. Things that do not fight back. We would be willing to help you relearn how to survive on the surface, but to do that? You must stop attacking us. Now, talk to your elders. If you're wise, you'll ask your wives. But the decision is yours: live or die. Your actions will show us the answer."
A few of the men were nodding at that. Maybe three. One of them was Sylis. Beside him, Tobias was completely still, but I saw his eyes on me. The other men were ones I didn't know, and lying before me, my brother had his eyes clenched shut, panting against the pain.
Then Zasen said in Vestrian, "Walk into the woods proudly, Ayla. Do not look back; do not stop. If they shoot, run."
So I turned gracefully, just as I'd been taught when living with Moles, and walked back into the tree I'd come out from. Holly followed. Zasen stayed right beside me, and neither of us looked the least bit worried until we hit the brush. Then we both bent quickly and scurried, gesturing for Drozel to keep up.
Holly kept glancing back, but I couldn't hear any pursuit. We also didn't head straight north. Instead, the three of us raced for the closest grouping of foliage and vegetation, making sure we were impossible to find. Only then did Zasen let out a trill.
By the time the Moles recovered from our brazen departure, we were all long gone.
Drozel had sent the militia back to town, so there was no point in heading to the pond to meet up with them. Instead, we all turned north, listening hard to make sure we weren't being followed. I said nothing for a while, not until I was sure we were truly out of harm's way.
Zasen was chattering with his sister as if that had been nothing more than a little bit of entertainment. Drozel kept sighing, proving he thought it was as stupid as I did. Beside me, Xav kept glancing back, likely as worried about the Moles giving chase as I was. But eventually, I couldn't take it anymore.
Reaching out, I grabbed the end of Zasen's bright blue tail, pulling him to a stop. "What were you thinking back there?" I demanded.
He tried to downplay it. "Someone had to show them we're people, not animals."
Jeera and the other men paused, moving closer, but I wasn't going to let Zasen get away with this simply because others were around. "So you walked into a group of guns? Are you an idiot?"
"I keep telling you," Jeera muttered.
I groaned in agreement. "Zasen, they don't care if you speak English. They call you Hellspawn. They say you're demons. They still don't think you're human, and they never will!"
Drozel looked at me in astonishment. "Really? But we can talk to them now."
I simply gestured to my body, then Zasen's. "Tails? Bright colors? I'd never heard of men like you. I read so many books when I was down there, ancient ones from before the world changed, and they said nothing about stripes, patterns, colors, or tails - and that's all they have."
"And now they can't deny we talk!" he shot back.
"They don't care!" I screamed at him. "What part of that is hard for you to understand? Calling you beasts is just an excuse. Just like they called me a woman, saying we're the gentler sex, as if that made us inferior. For decades, they have been coming to Lorsa, into your homes and pulling off your clothes when they butcher the meat. They know you aren't beasts, but the excuse is all they need, and they will cling to it desperately, because that is the only way they can feel superior!"
"Just like men have done throughout history," he agreed. "But Ayla, how do you think the oppressed won their rights? History is filled with someone being subjugated, and eventually things changed - but only when they stood up for them. When they took risks."
"But not you!" I sighed. "You can't do that, Zasen. What would happen if you weren't around?"
"Rymar and Kanik would make sure you're okay."
"I mean to the Dragons, you idiot! "
Xav cleared his throat and stepped back. "You're not gonna win, Zasen. Just start sucking up, man."
"You're not thinking past your nose, Ayla," Zasen insisted, ignoring him.
"I am." I took a breath and lifted my chin. "The leader of the militia? How many people do you feed with your hunting? There are a million ways you could have handled that which didn't involve giving them the chance to shoot you !"
He crossed his arms almost like he was daring me. "Like what?"
"Like giving Elijah the idea that you're a good man, taking him close, then yelling and vanishing before they got to him. Like taking enough people to make a standoff. Like trusting me to know them better than you do."
Xav chuckled once. "She's right, Zasen."
"She is," Jeera agreed. "Ayla survived down there."
So Zasen looked over at Drozel. "Are you going to tell me I'm an idiot too?"
"Nope," Drozel said. "I'm pretty sure you've already figured that out. What I want to know is why you even tried."
"Because something has to change," Zasen said, "and I saw three men in there thinking about it. That's three more who might reconsider what they're doing and help Ayla's friends." Then he looked down at me and smiled. "Sometimes, Ayla, the ones we're trying to convince aren't the ones we talk to. They're the ones listening."
"Oh," I said, because it seemed he did have a good point after all.