Yaaf
The Brotherhood was really neglectful of its most important strategic asset.
Outfitting the buildings with climate control would have been costly, but the Brotherhood could afford it, and it would have made life much more comfortable for the women and children.
He doubted anyone had even considered that.
According to the teachings of Mortdh, women were inferior and were created for the sole purpose of serving men. No one cared about their comfort.
Once the collective had realized how untrue that assertion was, they had also realized that Mortdh was a false god because a true god would not have taught obvious falsehoods. It had taken them some time to reach those conclusions, though, because their exposure to women had been so limited.
Mattie was the one who had solidified the realization, and her relationship with Dimitri served as a role model of how males and females should interact.
Each brought different assets to the union, and even though they were not the same, they were equals.
Their love was beautiful to watch because it had a solid foundation of mutual respect and kindness.
The collective struggled to comprehend how anyone could justify or glorify the domination and subjugation of those they were supposed to care for.
It was a form of brain rot, fueled by the Brotherhood’s relentless propaganda.
Regrettably, humans and immortals alike were weak-minded and easy to manipulate.
Well, sometimes it was useful, the collective reflected, and making it possible for Number One to pass through the enclosure unseen was just one of the many ways the Eight utilized their compulsion woven together with thralling ability.
When he reached the playground the teacher was already there, preparing for the meeting with Tomek's help. They were spreading out woven mats on the ground, the same ones the children used in their makeshift classrooms.
Number One counted eight more young children, some on the climbing equipment and some in the sandbox, and two groups of older children who were occupying opposite corners of the fence on the far side of the yard.
Two mothers sat on a bench, talking in hushed voices not because they were whispering secrets to each other but because they had a lifetime of Mortdh's teachings drilled into their heads that women should not be heard.
He leaned against the wall of the bathroom building and returned his attention to the teacher and Tomek.
Sullha wanted to bring Saphira along, and he could start vetting her now, but he preferred to wait.
Her reaction to what Sullha was about to reveal would be a better indicator of whether she was to be trusted than a random collection of thoughts he could skim while she was busy preparing for the meeting.
The children would no doubt suffer if she left, but that wasn't reason enough to deny her freedom.
In the background, the hive mind continued the debate of who should be saved first, but Yaaf distanced himself from the discussion and retreated into the place where his thoughts were private, or as private as they could be within the shared mind.
He'd been doing that more and more lately, and the others didn't object because they understood that it was necessary if he was ever going to make Sullha fall in love with him.
She came through the gate a few minutes before six with Burda by her side. The old woman looked tired, but there was a spark in her eyes, and Yaaf wondered if Sullha had already told her what the meeting was truly about.
Burda was on Sullha's personal list, but there was a question mark next to her name.
The woman was too old to start a new life.
Taking her out of the enclosure and putting her into the modern world might not be the best thing for her.
Besides, the ones who needed rescuing the most were the women of breeding age who would soon have to return to work.
Not that the mothers they were saving belonged to that category, but despite everything, the mothers came first.
If Burda stayed, she could be helpful for future extraction missions. The problem was communicating with her, unless…
An idea arrived in the collective mind, clear and simple. They could leave the communication device the clan had given them with Burda.
After the extraction, they would no longer need it.
Besides, with the transmitter located on top of the water tower, the device would become useless once the ship left the harbor.
They would need to relocate the transmitter so that Burda could use the communication device from within the enclosure walls, but that could be easily done.
She could be the bridge for future extractions, the hive mind agreed.
Then the counterarguments began.
They needed to keep the communication channel with the clan open. They could take the transmitter with them and install it on a high point in the ship that they were commandeering for their escape.
The idea didn't work as proposed, but it had merit. The collective came up with an alternative.
The clan could deliver a new device for Burda, but it would have to be done before the Eight left the island so they could show her how to use it. First, though, they had to vet her and see if she was willing to do that.
It was risky, but Number One had a feeling that Burda would be on board with it.
The problem was time. He needed to communicate the idea to Sullha first, then Sullha needed to communicate it to Burda, and only after Burda agreed, the Eight needed to contact the clan and ask them to deliver the device.
Then the clan had to do that before the Eight left the island, so they could teach Burda how to use it.
There was another way.
They could give her their device and have the clan deliver a new one for them, perhaps even directly to the ship. That would be much more doable.
As soon as Tomek spotted his mother, he ran to her at full speed, flinging himself into her arms as if he hadn't seen her in days.
Hugging him to her body, she laughed. "If I knew you would miss me so much to give me such a big hug, I would have left you with Saphira more often."
He extracted himself from her arms and gave her a hurt look. "Then I will not give you hugs when you return. I don't like it when you leave for so long."
"I'm sorry." She crouched beside him and pulled him into her arms again, even though he didn't want her to hug him and was trying to wiggle out of her hold. "I promise I will not do that again unless you ask me to."
Frowning, he looked at her as if she wasn't making any sense. "Why would I ask you to be gone for a long time?"
"Because when you are older, you will want to spend time with your friends and not your mother."
He shook his head. "Never."
She mussed his hair. "I'll remind you of that in a few years."
He gave a look that communicated he doubted that would ever happen. "Can I go play now?"
"Yes, you can." She leaned in and kissed his cheek.
He wiped his face as if she had slobbered all over it and ran off.
"He is a sweet boy," Burda said.
"Yes, he is."
"For now," Burda said. "Enjoy it while it lasts."
Sullha's smile wilted. "I'm doing my best."
The two walked over to where Saphira and Tomek had spread the mats and sat down on one.
"It's almost six." Sullha turned to look at the playground gate. "I wonder if they will all show up."
That's my mother, Zohara, Number Six shared with the collective as the woman walked through the gate. She looks so much older than I remember.
Yaaf thought the same of Gindah, Number Seven's mother, but then he remembered her only vaguely and his impression of her might have been colored by her son's.
She came, Number Five thought as the next woman arrived.
Karina walked slowly, her hands clasped in front of her, looking like she wasn't sure she wanted to attend the meeting and was still contemplating leaving.
She scanned the playground without focusing on anything in particular until she saw Burda and Sullha, who were waving their hands to get her attention, and she walked over to them with a slightly more confident step.
Number Two's mother arrived next, and his reaction to Mirumah was neither surprise nor resentment. He just acknowledged that it was her. It felt almost like he didn't care one way or another.
Number Four, on the other hand, had a very strong reaction to his mother arriving with his sister. It was like a burst of light emanated from him when Baruha and Asira walked through the gate.
He was happy, and the collective basked in his happiness because it wasn't something they got to experience often, if at all.
Rohilah arrived a moment later with the sleeping Bianca in her arms, the little girl's head resting on her shoulder. She saw the gathering and walked over to where the other women were sitting on the mat in the shade of the mango trees.
Number Three was glad to see his mother and sister again, but his reaction was more muted this time around. He wasn't as excited because he hadn't doubted even for a moment that his mother would show up with his sister. He had been sure they would.
Yaaf was waiting for one more, Sullha's mother, and the thought of her not showing up stressed him because it would upset Sullha.
When he saw her coming through the gate, he let out a breath, and the collective seemed to also sigh in relief. They had all grown to care about Sullha, his feelings for her bleeding into the hive mind and making them all fall a little in love with her as well.
Leehy looked older than the others by a substantial margin, even though she was younger than some of them. It was the look of someone who had given up. The spark was gone, and he wondered what made her come.
Was she doing it for Sullha? Or was there still life in her despite the deadened appearance?
She looked around as if she had no idea where she was supposed to go, and at first, she didn't see Sullha.
The gathering was next to the back wall of the yard where there was shade from the mango trees, while Leehy was scanning the area where the children were playing on the equipment and the sandbox.
Perhaps she was looking for Tomek?
Burda saw her, raised a hand, and waved.
Leehy noticed and headed her way.
Sullha got up to greet her mother. "I'm glad you decided to come."
"I said I would."
"Come sit with us. Karina, can you make room?"
Karina shifted on the mat, clearing a little space. Leehy sat down beside her and arranged her skirt over her knees, not looking at anyone, let alone exchanging greetings as the other mothers had done.
It was rude, and it made the others uncomfortable, but Leehy didn't seem to notice.
Sullha shifted positions to sit facing the other women, and then she turned her head and looked directly at him as if she could see him.
She couldn't, not while still under the influence of the thrall, but she could sense him somehow.
Yaaf considered removing it just from her, but she was too close to the other women now, and he wasn't that precise. Removing the thrall selectively from one person in a tight cluster of others was difficult. He could accidentally expose his presence to someone he shouldn't.
Sullha looked at him, or rather in his direction, for another moment, gave a small nod of acknowledgment, and turned back to the women.
"Thank you for coming," she said. "I assume that most of you came because you were curious, and some of you came just because I asked and you were too nice to refuse."
The collective tightened the thrall, and the mothers and younger children began drifting toward the gate, responding to the collective's mental suggestion that it was time to go.
Sullha swept her gaze over the emptying playground, then back to him, and he realized that she needed to know he was there before starting the meeting.
She needed to know that he was keeping her safe.