Page 12 of Alora: The Portal (Alora 2)

“He’s Water Clan.” Kaevin replied.

“And he tried to kill me,” Jireo added.

“Maybe he didn’t mean to,” Alora argued. “He looks like a nice guy.”

“Who looks like a nice guy?” asked Beth, arriving at the scene.

“This Water Clan warrior who attempted to kill me. Alora wishes to transport him to Montana and save his life.” Jireo held up his bandaged arm.

Her eyes grew big. “Is that the reason you called Kaevin and Alora? Because that guy was trying to kill you?” She moved next to him, checking for other injuries.

“No, I didn’t… What are you talking about? I didn’t call Kaevin and Alora.”

“I would describe it as a compulsion.” Kaevin’s eyes narrowed. “I felt I had to get to you, or you would die. How do you think we’re communicating with one another? This isn’t the first time.”

“I don’t know how I could have spoken to you in the other realm, unless you’re developing the gift of farsight.” Jireo fingered the blond stubble on his sparsely bearded face.

“So this warrior tried to kill you?” asked Beth, kneeling down to examine him. “He seems pretty young, to me, but he has a lot of muscles. You must have been amazing to beat him, Jireo.”

Alora dropped back to her knees beside Beth. “Wow, he does have a lot of muscles. Does he look evil to you?”

Kaevin tried to hold his temper. He certainly didn’t want Alora admiring the young man’s muscles. “It’s not about whether he looks evil. He is evil. He’s Water Clan. He has the bondmark. I know you can sense it, Alora, even though he’s unconscious.”

“I sense the bondmark, and the bondmark feels evil. But he doesn’t feel evil to me.”

“Good people of Stone Clan are dying while we’re arguing over him.” Kaevin was on the edge of losing control.

“We can’t just leave him here on the floor, waiting to die.” Alora’s voice took on that stubborn edge it got when she was being unreasonable.

Laethan pushed the girls out of the way, arriving with two other men. “No worries, Alora. I’ll not let a man die without attempting to save his life, no matter his clan. Still, we must bind him in case he awakens. With his blood loss, it seems unlikely he could hurt anyone, but we can’t take chances.”

“Come Alora—we should go.” Kaevin tugged on her arm.

“Where did Wesley go?” asked Beth, standing on tiptoes and peering from side to side.

Kaevin scanned the room, spotting Wesley behind a support post with his back toward them. He was obviously in intense conversation, gesturing wildly as he spoke. Kaevin craned his head to get a better view.

“He’s over there. Who’s he talking to?”

“It’s my sister. I saw her hair—no one else has tangles like that.” Jireo was already moving toward the pair. “What’s she doing here?”

The other three followed him to the far side of the healing house.

“Jireo! I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried about you.” Arista wrapped him in a hug.

He grasped her arm and pushed her back, examining her from head to toe. “Arista, what’s that bandage on your leg? And why aren’t you at home with Mother?”

“I got my first genuine battle wound,” she stated proudly. “It was an arrow, and I’m fairly certain I killed the man who shot me. You never told me how badly it hurts. I swore when it hit me, but I didn’t cry at all. My eyes watered, but that’s not the same as crying. I’m a warrior now, and a warrior would never desert her fellow warriors simply because she received a small injury.”

“She wants to go back into the battle.” Wesley spoke with tight lips, his anger seething under the surface. “She’s reckless and irresponsible, and she wants to get herself killed.”

“You’ll stay right here, Arista. You’re already wounded.” Jireo’s expression was fierce as he wagged his finger at her.

She lifted her chin. “I’ll wager you’re planning to return.”

“I’m following orders, and I’m of age. You’re not.”

“You’re not of age—you don’t have eighteen years yet.”