Chapter 73
Seventy-Three
Ayla
T hat afternoon, the men started gearing up. This time, they would get the chance to prepare for battle, but surprisingly, they didn't put on armor. Instead, Kanik and Zasen came downstairs wearing little more than those loincloths they'd had on when I'd first seen them.
Then they began adding weapons. Across their chests, they strapped leather with places to hold knives. Along their hips, they had belts with hooks for their krael. Each man claimed a bow, but not the simple ones I was used to. These looked different, with pulleys and other complicated devices.
In other words, they were putting on more ways to kill. Like this, they were terrifying. The leather matched their base color, for the most part. Not the pattern, though. But as they moved, I realized the patterns on their skin would help them blend into the shadows.
At their encouragement, I'd put on a set of what Kanik called "hunting leathers." It was pants! I wanted to put a dress over it, but Zasen assured me the skirts would get in my way if I had to fight. They hadn't before, but I believed him.
I also felt like I was naked. The shirt laced closed, hugging my chest and waist so much it pushed my breasts up. Worse, there was a finger gap between the bottom of it and the pants. Granted, when I tucked my sign die and ring into the front, it wasn't likely to come out. That would prevent it from flopping around and getting in my way.
But my pants? Those were just as tight. Not uncomfortable, though. Weird, certainly. Revealing, definitely. They also gave my legs more freedom, and since none of the guys looked too hard, I decided this had to be okay. Besides, Jeera wore clothes like this. So did Brielle and Saveah. Naomi's pants were looser, but not even she wore a dress.
Then there were the boots. They hugged my feet in the best way, feeling like strong slippers. They also came up to the middle of my calves and laced so they matched the shape of my body. They, more than anything else, made me feel like a warrior.
A mostly naked one, but still a warrior.
Then it was time to go. The men had to organize their positions. Rymar and I needed to get where we belonged. For a moment, I considered hugging the guys before I left, but that just seemed like too much. I liked hugs, I'd realized, but I still didn't know when it was okay to do them.
So I waved instead. "Please be safe," I told Zasen and Kanik as Rymar guided me from the house.
I had my own bow, now strung, and a quiver of yellow-fletched arrows. Nothing else. That was okay, though. I wasn't sure I could stab a man to death. Not because I wouldn't want to, but simply because it seemed like it would take a lot more strength than I had.
I was also very self-conscious. "Rymar?" I asked. "Do I really look okay?"
He laughed once, the sound coming out with more force than I'd expected. "Yes," he assured me emphatically. "Ayla, you look absolutely amazing. Just like a Dragon. Pretty much like all the other Dragons." Then he gestured to his own pants. "Functional, right?"
"Right," I said, trying again to convince myself of that.
Rymar led me to Saveah's home, knocked, and then she invited me in. He waved before heading up the street. In truth, I was scared. I couldn't help but worry about if I'd ever see any of these men again. They'd become my friends. They'd taken care of me. In the last battle, I hadn't had time to even think of such things because it had all happened so fast, but now I couldn't stop.
"Put your bow and quiver on the counter," Saveah said, pointing to where she meant. "And Tamin, you will not touch it. No shooting arrows in the house, do you hear me, young man?"
"Yes, mama," Tamin mumbled before looking up at me and smiling wide. "Hi, Ayla. Are you going to play hide with us?"
"She is not," Saveah said. "Ayla is going to play watchman tonight, Tamin. That's why she has her bow. Now, go find the toys you want and put them in the closet, okay?"
"Okay!"
He ran off and Saveah chuckled. "It's easier if they think it's a game," she explained. "He still doesn't really understand what happened to his father. Death is something he can't quite grasp as permanent yet."
"I'm sorry," I told her.
She shrugged sadly. "I am too, but it's not your fault. Tasult and I couldn't afford a big enough house unless it was close to the south entrance, and we knew we'd need space for the babies. I wanted to have four, you see."
"You're still young," I assured her.
"And I will never find a love like him again," she countered just as Tamin returned.
"Mama! I got my bear for Taris, and papa for me."
"More," Saveah told him. "You're going to be playing hide for a while. Get some games too, sweetie."
"Okay!"
It took three tries before Tamin had finally filled their little nook with enough to keep both him and his little sister entertained. Saveah had packed a large bag with diapers, snacks, and other supplies for the kids. And when the sun began to set, she ushered her babies in, having me close and secure the door behind them. Not lock. Just make sure it was properly in place so no one would notice the bookshelf might lead to more.
Outside, the sky was starting to change colors. Right now, it was mostly orange, with hints of pinks just starting. Since I was at Saveah's, the sunset was behind us, which meant the sky over the trees was getting darker, and quickly.
Movement made me suck in a breath. I couldn't be sure, not at first, but there were shadows in the forest behind Zasen's house. Along the whole edge over there. The light was still bright outside, which made it hard to be positive of what I was seeing, but it was as if the darkness was rolling.
Then they began pouring out. In groups of four, men dressed in black and holding guns slid down the steep hill before setting their weapons to their shoulders and moving out in formation. Each group seemed to go in a different direction, and there were many more groups behind them.
This was more than the usual twenty-five hunters Mr. Cassidy had said they sent out. There had to be almost fifty! Or maybe that was my panic rising? It just looked like so many!
I rushed back to the counter for my bow and quiver, then shifted to the side of the window, refusing to stand in front of the glass where they could see me - but I kept watch. If anyone came this way, I would kill them. If they tried to enter the house, I would kill them. If I had any excuse, I would make sure these assholes died.
Because Kanik was right. That word did feel good, even just thinking it. It felt stronger than anything else I had, like it proved how evil they were. Yet before my eyes, the hunters were spreading out, starting their patrols as they looked for "lizards" in a section of town that was locked down tight.
"Start breaking in doors!" someone yelled in English.
And then the first arrow flew. The shot was bad, whizzing past a man to impact harmlessly in the dirt. It still gave away the Dragon's position. The hunter turned, aiming down his weapon, and a Dragon roared.
From where I was standing, I could barely see him, but he was brown. Dark brown, like Kanik. That made the sound of the pop even louder as the first shot rang out. The Dragon dropped, landing face-first in the street, and more gunshots began going off.
"Kill them all!" was screamed in English.
And in Vestrian, "Hold your positions! Stay in cover!"
Arrows began to fly, but the man in the street got an arm under himself, trying to lift himself up or crawl. I couldn't be sure, but it meant he wasn't dead. Yet he could still be dying. The loincloth was the same color as his skin, just like Kanik's. The markings on his back were impossible to make out from this angle. He looked smaller. Maybe younger? But did I really want to just stand here at the window and watch?
"Saveah?" I said, hurrying up the hall. "Saveah!"
From the other side of the bookshelf, she replied. "What?"
"I think Kanik's down in the street. I have to go help. I'm bolting the front door, but do not come out!"
"Ayla...." She paused for a long moment. Then, "Go. Just go! Don't let them die!"
So I ran. The front door was already locked, but I had to double-check. Once I knew every bolt, chain, and latch possible was secure, I pulled my quiver over my shoulder and ran through the house, aiming for the door at the back. There, I paused long enough to look out the small window, making sure no Moles were visible, and then I slipped out.
I couldn't lock it behind me. I didn't know how. Still, they were hidden, so it had to be okay. Maybe the Moles would think the house was deserted?
Gunshots were going off all around me. Some were close. Others were distant. Now that I was outside, I could hear the bell in the middle of town ringing, but that wouldn't change anything.
I had to get to the man. I needed to save Kanik! Nocking an arrow to the string, I readied my bow and made my way around the house, trying to both hurry and move as quietly as possible. Not easy on the grass under my feet.
And then a pair of men rushed around the corner. Hunters! Their black leather armor and guns made it clear these men were not my allies. Their eyes were on the street, which gave me just enough time to aim, sending an arrow toward the closest man's chest - but that wasn't where I hit.
The point pierced the side of the man's throat, spraying blood. He gasped, the sound almost a gurgle, which made the other man spin. The first collapsed, but the second man saw me - and I knew him.
"Jamison?" I asked, scrambling for another arrow.
His eyes narrowed. "Ayla Ross?"
"You can't come here anymore," I told him. "These are people, Jamison, not lizards."
"And we need to eat!" he snapped.
I could see his hands shifting on the gun. I was not-so-subtly putting an arrow onto the string. The pair of us were no more than fifteen feet apart, and my heart began to slow. A strange calm took over, and it was as if the panic that was pushing me shifted to something bigger.
"No," I told him. "Thou shall not kill. Thou shall not steal. Thou shall not covet!"
"This," he said, his voice verging on a growl, "is called surviving, Miss Ross."
"That's not my name anymore."
He laughed. "You were always such a sniveling little brat. That's why I never proposed. You think you know more than everyone else, but you have no clue what it takes to feed you women. You can't imagine the hardships we go through for you. And when you're asked to do your one duty, you refuse?"
A cold smile began to curl my lips. "My God is loving, Jamison. Yours is a lie."
Then I flicked the bow up, drawing and releasing the string as fast as I could. I didn't have time to truly aim. No, I was just trusting all the days of shooting at targets. I didn't need to hit him perfectly, as the shot at the other man proved. I just needed to stop him.
He turned, raising his gun, and my arrow slammed into his shoulder - right at the joint. The man's arm dropped to his side. The weapon fell from his fingers, bouncing as it hit the ground, but I was still moving. Reaching over my shoulder, I pulled and nocked another arrow, then shot.
"You stupid woman!" he screamed, backing away even as my second arrow landed in his thigh.
Jamison stumbled, but now I was stalking him. "They taught you to fear the Wyvern," I screamed. "Now you will learn to dread the Phoenix. That is my name. I am not Thadius Ross's property. I am mine! Do you hear me?"
"Ayla!"
I'd just gotten another arrow on the string when Zasen burst from behind a house across the street, rushing towards me. Jamison and his partner weren't alone, though. They came in four. Always four.
My eyes jerked to the right as another man lifted his gun. I drew the bow and released. That shot slammed into his ribs, just under his lifted elbow. For a moment, the man stood there, looking almost confused, before he staggered.
But my distraction gave Jamison enough time to run - or hobble. He was retreating, heading for the gate, and the fourth member of their group was moving to cover him.
"You cannot have her back!" Zasen roared out in English before loosing an arrow of his own.
The blue-fletched end was the only thing visible after it slammed into the fourth man's chest, right into his heart. He was dead before he hit the ground.
"I think Kanik's wounded in the street," I said, trying to make it the rest of the way around Saveah's house to see.
"That's not Kanik," Zasen promised.
I pushed my head through the wood and the string of my bow so it rested across my body, then turned back for the dead man. "We still need to help him!" And I grabbed the gun.
"What are you doing?" Zasen asked.
Searching the corpse's body, I found a second magazine and tucked that into the waistband of my pants, flicked off the safety, and then stood. "I'm covering you, Zasen. I can't pull the man out of the street, and he's going to die there without help." Then I moved to the gun Jamison had dropped and took the magazine from it as well. "And this time I won't run out of bullets."
He nodded. "I trust you, Ayla." And then the Wyvern dropped his bow, bent, and rushed out to where the brown Dragon lay wounded in the middle of this firefight.