took the cup of water and brought it up to her severely chapped lips, tipping it back slowly. “There you go,” she said, trying to speak over another fit of the woman’s coughing. “I wish I could have brought more for you, but this was all I could scrap up.”
“It’s fine, Brenda. In truth, I don’t think my stomach could handle much more than this. It’s not used to food anymore.”
The young girl began to weep softly. “I wish this nightmare were over. I wish someone would just kill her.”
“Watch what you say,” the old woman whispered with a harsh edge to it. She looked out into the dark hall , half expecting someone to barge in at any moment. “The walls have ears. You know that as well as I do. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” She looked around again, cautiously. “Your visits are about the only thing that keeps me sane these days.”
The girl nodded silently. There came a loud bang from upstairs, startling both of them. “I have to go,” the girl said, suddenly a bit shaken. “I’ll leave the tray here.”
“No, take it with you, as well as the water. Now go. I’ll see you again soon enough.” The girl nodded again before scooping up the tray and scurrying from the cell. The old woman watched her go, wishing she could stay for another minute or two. Although nothing had really changed, the room seemed to appear darker. The girl had only been gone a few seconds, but that was all it took for loneliness to creep back into her bones.
* * *
Eric leaned heavily against the wall, his thick, scarred arms folded across his chest. He waited patiently for the others. No doubt his actions would be questioned. It wasn’t their choice to make, he thought. I stand by my decision .
The beaded curtain bloomed inward, clacking loudly as a few lines of beads bounced off the ceiling. Eric didn’t even need to look up to know whose angry entrance that was. “Are you trying to make my heart stop!” barked Jade, racing up to him. Eric almost flinched at her intensity, certain he was about to be slapped senseless. “First you deny my right to protect you, insisting on roaming about the village alone, making yourself an easy target. Then, by some miracle, you survive an assassination attempt only to—”
“To have them released,” Wara interrupted , entering the room casually. Her slow entrance had been less aggressive than Jade’s, but she looked just as angry. “It was an outside chance, I admit, but they might have talked had you let Amoshi do his job.”
“I grow ti red of your endless excuses to justify murder,” Eric growled, pushing himself off the wall. “Besides, it is me they want. Not you or your village. My choice does not affect you or the other villagers.” Jade’s confused expression proved how little she knew about the tactics being used this morning. It was clear she had not been told the whole story.
“It no longer matters,” came a tired voice from the doorway. Kelus entered, his youthful step now gone . He dragged his feet across the bearskin rug. “The two of them fled the moment they were unburied. They disappeared into the forest like shadows. Our scouts have already lost trace of them.”
“ Unburied?” Jade mouthed quietly, her confused expression now changing to one of shock.
Kelus walk ed up to Eric. He looked old, eyes heavy with fatigue. The little man reached up and jabbed a stiff finger into Eric’s chest. “I know you listen to your heart, Eric. You don’t seem to know any other way.” He jabbed him a few more times for emphasis. “If letting them go was what it told you to do, then it was the right choice. When it seems like the world is against you,” he jabbed his chest one last time, “let this be your guide.”
Eric said nothing , his gaze drifting over the top of Kelus’s head. The others followed his gaze, then froze. They watched in silence. No one had heard him come in. The beads strung in the doorway weren’t even
“It’s fine, Brenda. In truth, I don’t think my stomach could handle much more than this. It’s not used to food anymore.”
The young girl began to weep softly. “I wish this nightmare were over. I wish someone would just kill her.”
“Watch what you say,” the old woman whispered with a harsh edge to it. She looked out into the dark hall , half expecting someone to barge in at any moment. “The walls have ears. You know that as well as I do. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” She looked around again, cautiously. “Your visits are about the only thing that keeps me sane these days.”
The girl nodded silently. There came a loud bang from upstairs, startling both of them. “I have to go,” the girl said, suddenly a bit shaken. “I’ll leave the tray here.”
“No, take it with you, as well as the water. Now go. I’ll see you again soon enough.” The girl nodded again before scooping up the tray and scurrying from the cell. The old woman watched her go, wishing she could stay for another minute or two. Although nothing had really changed, the room seemed to appear darker. The girl had only been gone a few seconds, but that was all it took for loneliness to creep back into her bones.
* * *
Eric leaned heavily against the wall, his thick, scarred arms folded across his chest. He waited patiently for the others. No doubt his actions would be questioned. It wasn’t their choice to make, he thought. I stand by my decision .
The beaded curtain bloomed inward, clacking loudly as a few lines of beads bounced off the ceiling. Eric didn’t even need to look up to know whose angry entrance that was. “Are you trying to make my heart stop!” barked Jade, racing up to him. Eric almost flinched at her intensity, certain he was about to be slapped senseless. “First you deny my right to protect you, insisting on roaming about the village alone, making yourself an easy target. Then, by some miracle, you survive an assassination attempt only to—”
“To have them released,” Wara interrupted , entering the room casually. Her slow entrance had been less aggressive than Jade’s, but she looked just as angry. “It was an outside chance, I admit, but they might have talked had you let Amoshi do his job.”
“I grow ti red of your endless excuses to justify murder,” Eric growled, pushing himself off the wall. “Besides, it is me they want. Not you or your village. My choice does not affect you or the other villagers.” Jade’s confused expression proved how little she knew about the tactics being used this morning. It was clear she had not been told the whole story.
“It no longer matters,” came a tired voice from the doorway. Kelus entered, his youthful step now gone . He dragged his feet across the bearskin rug. “The two of them fled the moment they were unburied. They disappeared into the forest like shadows. Our scouts have already lost trace of them.”
“ Unburied?” Jade mouthed quietly, her confused expression now changing to one of shock.
Kelus walk ed up to Eric. He looked old, eyes heavy with fatigue. The little man reached up and jabbed a stiff finger into Eric’s chest. “I know you listen to your heart, Eric. You don’t seem to know any other way.” He jabbed him a few more times for emphasis. “If letting them go was what it told you to do, then it was the right choice. When it seems like the world is against you,” he jabbed his chest one last time, “let this be your guide.”
Eric said nothing , his gaze drifting over the top of Kelus’s head. The others followed his gaze, then froze. They watched in silence. No one had heard him come in. The beads strung in the doorway weren’t even
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