Chapter 4
Manu squatted beside the female, her hand still in his grasp.
She was shivering, her face reddened by the frigid temperature and fierce wind.
As inadequately dressed as she was, he was surprised she was alive at all.
He took off his coat and wrapped it around her, finding himself sinking into her soulful brown eyes that glowed like amber caught in sunlight.
“We have to move,” Jalall urged.
Manu glanced at his friend and captain. Jalall was right.
They needed to get back to Navara, but there was no way he could move the woman with her leg in its current condition.
He blew out a breath and looked at her limb once more.
He wanted to see how badly it was damaged, but in the end, it didn’t matter.
He reached into the bag he kept tied to his belt and drew out the green leather pouch.
As he pinched some of the magical herbs between his fingers, Jalall held out a flask.
Manu nodded his thanks and dropped the herbs inside.
As he returned the pouch to his bag, Jalall swirled the herbs into the water and handed the container to the woman.
She hesitated, her wary gaze looking Jalall over slowly. Manu watched their silent exchange. From an early age, Jalall had caught the attention of others. Sometimes, he used it to his advantage, but it often landed him in trouble. So, it didn’t surprise Manu that the human might find him appealing.
“It’s water and healing herbs,” Manu told her.
Her head swung back to him. A small frown puckered her brow before she grabbed the flask and drank deeply.
The longer he watched her, the more amazed he was that she was still alive.
Her clothes were worn, her boots thin. She wasn’t wearing gloves or even a scarf to cover her neck and face, nor did she have a head covering.
Her dark braid was crusted with ice and snow, as were her eyebrows.
Manu met Jalall’s gaze and nodded. They couldn’t wait for the herbs to take effect before moving.
The wolvites could return at any time. Jalall put a hand behind her back as bronze magic snaked from his palm into her.
The female went limp, the empty water flask falling from her hand as Manu caught her against him.
“Let’s go,” he said, gathering her into his arms.
Jalall straightened, his lips pursed. “You won’t be able to move as fast as usual.”
“Good thing I have you three with me,” Manu replied with a grin as he got to his feet.
Jalall shook his head and ordered the other two guards to spread out as they began their journey home.
Manu adjusted the woman. She was as light as a feather—too light.
He glanced at the sky, hoping the snow would wait until they reached the mountain.
He leapt over the stream with ease, but the landing jarred the woman. Even in sleep, she groaned in pain.
“Are you sure this is wise?” Jalall asked.
“I am.”
“She’s human.”
He looked at his friend. “She’s a person in need of help. We’re not lowlanders, old friend. We have the means to assist. That means, it’s not just our duty to do it, but it’s also an obligation.”
Jalall began the climb up the mountain slope. “I know.”
“Do you?” Manu asked crossly.
His friend halted and slowly turned to him. “I’ve been watching your back since we were barely walking. I will continue to follow you until I take my last breath. I just wanted to warn you.”
“Shall I leave her, then? Drop her right here and let the wolvites have her?”
“Manu—”
“I’m serious. Should I? Is that what you would do if I wasn’t here?”
Jalall looked away and sighed.
“Because I remember when we found Aman barely clinging to life six years ago. Now, he’s one of your lieutenants.” Manu turned his head to look at Aman, who had already reached the top of the peak and stood waiting for them. “It’s okay to bring in strange elves, but not humans?”
“Aye. Fuck,” Jalall bit out as he glared at Manu. “Is that what you want to hear? We have enough trouble with the Masters and the human children. We don’t need her.”
There was such a deep-rooted fear of humans among the Mountain Elves, and Manu had no idea where it had come from. Their race rarely interacted with other elves, and there was even less interaction with humans.
Manu grunted. “This place has isolated us from the other elven races. It means we’re slow to hear what is happening in the lowlands.
But we do hear. Everything that’s happening with the Masters has been done by elves.
Yet it is those you would welcome into our home instead of humans, who are being subjugated simply because they don’t have magic.
Imagine if the positions were reversed.”
Jalall sighed again as he shook his head, his anger gone. “You’ve always had an idea of what the world should be, old friend. I hate to be the one to keep reminding you that it won’t ever be like you hope it will.”
“Not as long as kindness is ignored.”
Jalall slapped him on the back and grinned. “Do you always have to be right?”
“Only when it counts,” he replied with a laugh.
There was no more talk as they made their way to Navara. The wolvites didn’t follow, but Manu knew they were there. If Aman hadn’t seen the female and gone to investigate, she would likely be dead now.
Jalall was the first to walk into Navara.
Manu was next, with the other guards behind him.
Unfortunately, their arrival didn’t go unnoticed.
Elves stopped to stare, whispering and pointing at the woman.
They couldn’t see her, but that didn’t stop the news of their arrival from spreading like lightning through the city.
Jalall gave him an I-told-you-so look but didn’t say anything more.
He wouldn’t. His friend kept that for when they couldn’t be overheard.
Manu never wanted someone who always agreed with him. It was why he’d installed Jalall as captain. Because he didn’t hesitate to voice his opinion. It also helped that Jalall had his ear to the ground and knew the happenings within the city.
As they headed deeper into Navara, Jalall dropped back to walk beside him and whispered, “We could bring her to my place.”
More and more elves came to look at the woman Manu had in his arms. He could’ve brought his coat up to cover more of her face or unbraided her hair to keep her rounded ear hidden, but that would’ve only delayed the inevitable.
Besides, he wasn’t the kind to hide things. He opted for honesty with his people.
Yet he saw the prejudice in their faces, and he hated it. He kept the children secluded in his home, but even they were getting restless. The woman just needed a few days to recover, and then she would be gone. She would never even see them. Just in case.
“All right,” Manu agreed.
Jalall turned from their path and headed toward his house.
Once inside, Manu followed his friend to a spare room.
Jalall pulled back the covers so Manu could lower the woman onto the bed.
He glanced at her face as he did and saw that the magical herbs had already worked to repair her blistered skin.
“Do you want your coat?” Jalall asked.
Manu shook his head as he gently straightened her injured leg, then removed her shoes. “Leave her to rest for now.”
“She’s looking better already.”
Jalall covered the woman, and the two of them walked out.
“How is she alive?”
“You mean because of the state of her clothes or lack thereof?” Manu asked when they reached the front parlor.
Jalall shrugged out of his coat and tossed it over a chair as he scratched his cheek. “Exactly. She should’ve succumbed days ago if she came from the lowlands.”
“Where else could she have come from?”
“Brought here by a Dark Elf, perhaps.”
Manu sighed as he dropped into a chair. “We can’t rule out that possibility. She might be running from the Masters. We won’t know until she wakes, and we ask.”
“You assume she’ll speak the truth.”
“I try to never assume anything. Her body is in rough shape.”
Jalall nodded. “You should rest here, too, for a bit. You go out there, you’ll be stopped by others demanding answers.”
It was tempting, but all that would do was delay the inevitable. “I’d rather face this now. Maybe I can stop the spread of some of the rumors.”
“Shall I join you? I can post guards outside the door,” Jalall offered.
“I can handle it. Have some food. I can hear your belly rumbling from here.”
Jalall’s laugh followed him out the door. Two steps out, and Manu wished he had remained with his friend. Just as Jalall had predicted, citizens swarmed him, demanding to know why a human was within the mountain.
Manu stopped and lifted a hand, waiting for them to quiet.
“We came upon an injured individual surrounded by wolvites and rendered aid. It shouldn’t matter if she’s an elf or a human.
We guard these mountains against threats, but it is also our responsibility to help those in need.
The woman is resting and healing now. I know nothing about her and won’t until she wakes. ”
“How long is she staying?” someone asked.
Manu shrugged. “That depends on her injuries. Now, please, everyone, go back to your day.”
He didn’t wait for them to disperse as he shouldered his way through the crowd toward his home. He opted to enter through the side entrance in hopes of going unnoticed. After he slipped inside, he hurried to the stairs and up to his room, softly closing the door behind him.
“Is it true?”
Manu jumped at the sound of Sameer’s young voice.
He turned and found all six of the children sitting on his bed, watching him.
Their ages ranged from three to fourteen.
As the eldest, Sameer had assumed the role of protector.
While Manu didn’t know the full story, he knew Yaz had found the boy dying in the street.
Sameer’s body was riddled with scars, and he wore a patch over the left eye he had lost in a beating by an elf.
No one should have to endure such hardships, but especially not children.
Manu knew what they wanted to know, but still he asked, “Is what true?”
“That you found a human woman,” Malini said.
As second eldest, Malini stood her ground against anyone who even thought about harming her siblings. The six had only had each other to rely on until Yasmin found them.
Manu looked longingly at his bed. Even if the children weren’t here, he wouldn’t have slept. There was too much to do. “Aye. She’s resting and healing now.”
Jaya, the youngest, sat perched on Sameer’s lap, her dark eyes watching him thoughtfully. Despite her age, she had the eyes of someone who had lived decades longer.
“Who is she?” Malini demanded.
“That hasn’t come up yet. The wolvites were about to attack her, and she was already injured. We had to get out of there quickly. Once she wakes, I plan to get some answers,” he told them.
Jaya slid from Sameer’s lap and made her way over, arms outstretched. Manu picked her up, tucking her against his side. She gently touched his face. He turned to look in the mirror and saw the scratches.
“You’ve a wound on your back, too,” Malini said.
Manu flashed a quick smile to Jaya and set her down. He pulled his herbs from his bag and dropped them into a glass before adding water and drinking.
“Do you think she’s from the Masters?” Sameer finally asked the question all of them likely wanted to know.
The children knew the risks that Yasmin and Ravi took. All the adults tried to keep them from worrying, but there was nothing anyone could say that would alleviate those concerns until their family was reunited.
Manu set the cup down and faced the kids once more. “I don’t know anything yet. What I do know is that humans don’t come here unless driven. She might be running from something, but I haven’t ruled out the possibility that she was brought here.”
“What better way to find us than by sending in another human?” Malini said softly.
Manu walked to the bed and dropped to one knee in front of them.
They should be playing and getting into trouble, but each of them knew the horrors of life on the streets in Rannora, of having an empty belly and no place to call home.
Yaz had brought each of them into her world and protected them.
None of that would ever erase the things they had seen or endured.
He held out a hand to Malini, who put her small one into his.
He held it for a moment before releasing her.
“It’s one of the many reasons the woman isn’t here.
We’ll let her rest up and then help her get to where she’s going.
But that means all of you need to stay out of sight.
If she is from the Masters, I don’t want her to see any of you. ”
Sameer sat up straighter. “That won’t happen.”
“I promised Yaz and Ravi I’d protect you, and I’ll do that for however long it’s needed,” Manu vowed.
Malini twisted her hands nervously in her lap. It was the only thing that gave away that she was anything but stoic. “What of Yaz and Ravi?”
“I’ve not heard anything since the last time Dain checked in,” he said.
Jaya perked up at the mention of the Dark. “Dain?” she asked excitedly.
Sameer returned the youngster to his lap. “Dain isn’t here now.”
Jaya’s lips puckered and turned down in a frown.
At that, Malini got to her feet, and the rest followed suit. “You need to get some rest.”
Manu straightened and turned as they filed past him and out the door. He had worried how they would adjust to Navara, but they had adapted better than most. The two eldest usually did the talking, but that didn’t mean Din, Hadi, and Surya, or even wee Jaya, weren’t listening to every word.
He had always believed Navara the safest place in Shecrish. Times were changing, though, and he needed to be prepared.