"Is there a problem?" he asked.
"Did you make a deal with the Reapers?" I asked, turning the chair so I could see him as Rymar found his own office chair.
He nodded. "They will check the tree every other day. If there's a Mole chained there, they will bring them to Lorsa - chained - and turn them over in exchange for money. Quite a bit of money, but I think it's worth it. Why?"
"Because I don't want my friends to die there," I admitted. "If Callah thinks I'm still alive, then maybe she'll put a fork into her own husband? But what if that doesn't work again? She turns twenty in a few months, and we both know what happened to Meri."
"Ah..." He nodded. "Well, Jeera and Brielle have a..." He smiled. "Let's call him a friend. He's a Reaper, and he said they'll be at that farm for a few more months."
"And then?" I asked.
"Then we'll figure something else out," he promised. "Maybe we'll know how to get in and kill all the men by then, Ayla. That's what Zasen really wants to do. His goal is to stop the Moles once and for all. Before you arrived, he intended to kill everyone in there. He was hoping you'd help him get in."
"I will," I promised.
Rymar just leaned closer. "Everyone, Ayla. He didn't have a clue Mole women were victims. Now? He's rethinking that. He's trying to come up with a way to help save your friends. We just have to protect Lorsa first."
"I know," I assured him. "And Callah's smart. She knows how to act pious. I always thought she was so much more devoted than me, right up until the day I was told to marry Mr. Morgan."
"So she's like you, hm?"
I nodded. "We learned how to ignore things because our mothers were possessed. Meri's wasn't. She was a good wife who had many babies. Callah and I were laughed at because the Devil took our mothers."
"We call that mental illness," Rymar explained. "And it's not surprising that it hits women in a place like that. Depression, anxiety, and worse. Being kept as an object? Abused, tortured, and with no way out? I think most of your women down there probably have some sort of trauma to overcome."
"Like me?" I asked.
He nodded. "You were scared. You didn't know how to state your opinion. You're also smart, so you played the game well, being very polite and kind all the time." He chuckled. "And then you killed a bunch of men, and we realized you aren't a sweet and innocent lady. You, Ayla, are a warrior. We just need to teach you the parts you should've gotten as a child."
"I like that," I said. "What I don't like is waiting."
"Me either," he agreed. "And today is going to be a very long one. I want you to head over to Saveah's early though, okay? It'll help keep the kids calm."
"What are you doing?" I ask. "Will you be there too?"
He shook his head. "I'm going to organize the doctors, nurses, and people who will carry the injured. When you leave to go to Saveah's, I'm heading to the clinics so we can get ready for the influx of injuries that are sure to happen."
"So what are we supposed to do until then?" I asked.
He smiled at me sadly. "We wait. And wait. And then we wait some more."
Yeah, I was afraid of that. Luckily, I was also good at it.
Seventy-ThreeAyla
That 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?"
