Chapter 12 Hrad #2
“Kate is a soldier.” Which means she may have been killed fighting back. I don’t point that out, though.
“Charlie is a twit. He will tell them everything if he thinks it will win them over.”
I incline my head in agreement. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that.
“Erica and Neve are smart. And Kate knows enough about the Honey not to do something stupid.” I am glad I am not stuck with her because she was far too interested in having a mate before she even got to know me.
Alisha has gotten to me…but only wants me to save her people.
“The Honey will assume one of the women is in charge, because that is how our tribes work.”
“Will the tribe risk crossing the ocean if Charlie tells them about the colony?”
“This tribe doesn’t have ships.” That is another reason they were selected.
“They may speak to neighboring tribes, but the continent the colony is on was thought to be a myth, and the crossing is not easy. That is not to say it won’t happen, or word won’t pass among the banished.
There will be some who believe the risk is worth the possibility of a mate or a new home. ”
Alisha presses her lips together.
It’s not what she wants to hear.
“Be glad there are no Honey-human children.” If there were, the Honey would be far more interested in human women.
“I hadn’t even thought of what that might mean.”
“There are other things to consider.”
“Like?”
“Some tribes may see human women as a lesser kind of mate, suitable only for third sons because there will be no children.”
“Third sons aren’t chosen?”
“Very rarely, and men with too many brothers often have a harder time being chosen as mates because they tend to have more sons.”
Alisha nods. “Scientifically that is true, but we also wonder if it’s something in the soil, or in your DNA. I have a friend who is researching because we want to find out if it will happen to us when they stop messing with the numbers.”
I heard that the unbalanced nature of the colony, with three women for every man, is not natural among humans. On Earth, it was far more equal, something I struggle to imagine.
I hold out my hand. “Can I see the map?”
She hands the tablet over. I scan the camera footage, seeking any sign of movement. If I were one of the warriors discovering a strange ship and people, I would not leave it on its own. So there will be warriors nearby. “Are there cameras inside the ship?”
“There is a recording device in the cockpit in case of accidents. I can’t access it remotely.” She chews on her lip. “I should have set up a camera on the outside of the ship.”
She’s right; we need more cameras to see what is going on. Hugh should’ve been more careful with his drones. I pause. “What about the drones that they were using? We don’t need to fly them—”
“Yes.” She grabs the tablet. “If they are destroyed, I won’t see shit, but if they are being carried back to the settlement…”
“Even if it can’t fly, the camera may work.
” Unlike my brothers and me, these warriors do not have the advantage of having a human woman willing to explain the tech.
It was Sabine who tried talking to Edilk to beg for release.
She taught us about the whisperers. And while I wasn’t there for the rescue from the screamers, I have listened to the story be recounted several times around the fire with gol.
Her fingers move fast. I move closer, peering at the screen. I need to learn to read the human letters more quickly.
The first image that appears has us both tilting our heads before realizing the image is upside down.
Equipment is spilled in the dirt, and two warriors are picking through the objects as if trying to work out what they are.
I scan their markings seeking clues about their standing in the tribe.
Warriors sent out in hunting parties are usually unmated, second or third sons.
They are less likely to be taught the family trade and are more likely to be responsible for feeding the tribe, an essential skill, but one with a much higher risk of death.
Again, I’m relying on the knowledge of my tribe and those of my brothers, and even though we pooled that knowledge and wrote it in both our language and in the human language, courtesy of Sabine and Mia, it is contradictory in places because our customs vary. As do our markings.
“Is there two or three?” She whispers.
“Two. See the markings on their hands and neck.”
“They seem the same to me.”
I want to tell her to look closer, instead I explain the difference as her reading the markings is the same as me trying to decipher human letters. “He has a hook with two barbs, and the other has a hook turned the other way and one barb.”
“Oh…what does it mean?”
I glance at her. “We are far from my tribe, so I’m not sure. It’s usually family and birth order, but I’m not sure if they are low or high status.”
“Unmated?”
I nod. “As far as I can tell.”
“You need to check in their pants?”
My lips curve. “I’d rather not get that close. I need a good look at their chest and throat markings, and even then, I’m not sure. They have nothing on their palms.”
Now that my shock has subsided, her idea is the most logical one, the one that gives us a chance of rescuing our people and going home. Matings have been made for reasons other than love. Some tribes mate for diplomatic reasons, but in those cases the woman can take a second mate for love.
Is that what Alisha would do?
How long until her human mate gets sick of me?
The mating bond is not something I ever thought I’d need to worry about. Even though I was willing to fight for Bridget, it was more to stop Yva from doing something stupid.
She glances at me with far too much hope in her eyes. “Got any ideas, raid planner?”
Several. From Alisha acting as though I am her captive and used for brute labor and translating, through to remaining hidden, or being her mate.
“First, we need to secure the ship and hope they haven’t damaged the cockpit. Then we need to take some tech to the village and talk to their leader.”
“Agreed.” She stares at me like she’s waiting for the rest of the plan.
What I told her wasn’t a plan; they were the goals, and there are many ways to achieve them.
“We are on their land and exploring it, without offering to meet which is bad. We also need an excuse for flying the drones, so they don’t ready a war party and gather others to do the same.”
“Can we not claim they are a game?”
I frown. “What kind of game?”
“A hunting game? Perhaps you were trying to teach us how to hunt?”
“Why here and not on your land? Why are we here if not to spy?”
She chews on her lower lip. “Why are you here? They will see you are far from home because of your markings?”
I draw in a breath, sure I am going to regret my next sentence, but if we are all killed at least I won’t regret it for long. “I am traveling with my mate.”