Page 139 of Phoenix's Fire

The dog returned to her handler, but I lifted a krael so Tobias could see it. "Do not try anything stupid. I will kill you, and if I can't, both of those men and the dog will."

"And I'll enjoy doing it," Zasen said in English.

Tobias just opened his hands and kept them pressed against the ground. "I don't want to be a hunter. I just wanted to find you, Ayla. I want to get her out, because after you and Meri..."

"What?" I demanded.

"Ayla, no one wants to marry her. They say she'll need to be reminded of her place. The men think all three of you must be corrupted, so I asked to court her.Because we're both from quarantined mothers, I had to prove myself, and this is it. They made me a hunter since we've lost so many."

"Since the Phoenix killed them," Zasen said, moving to stand beside me. "If your mother was in quarantine, what is her name?"

"Ione," Tobias said. "Her name was Ione."

Zasen grabbed my shoulder and eased me back. "Let him up," he said, still using English. "Ayla, I think you've just found the mayor's missing sister."

Forty-Three

Ayla

"What?" I asked, surprised enough to take my eyes off Tobias as I checked to see if Zasen was joking.

Then I looked at Tobias again. He was big - huge even. So was Jerlis. His hair was a mousey blonde, different from most of the Moles. There were signs, but I'd never realized it before I'd seen so many different people. Tobias looked enough like everyone in the compound to blend in, but just different enough to show he wasn't quite one of them.

"Your mother was in quarantine?" I asked, needing him to say it again.

He nodded, lying perfectly still in the leaves. "She was, and she had dark hair, not blonde. She told me this wasn't all - well, that."

"The compound," I realized.

He nodded again, quickly and nervously. "She also told me women aren't worthless. They're people, and if I was a good boy, I'd remember that, so I did." His eyes jumped over to Zasen, then back. "Ayla, that's why I never yelled at you. I made a promise to my mother, and I was trying to honor it."

But Lansin pushed in. "You need to get out of sight." Gunshots in the distance echoed his point. "Find out what he knows, then kill him. I have to make sure Irrik's okay."

"Go," Zasen told him. "I'll handle this. Tell Drozel he's in charge."

"If this fight lasts that long," Lansin said. "Holly, guard Ayla. Shadow, heel!" Then he turned and jogged off.

Zasen simply pointed away from the shooting. "Behind those rocks, Mole. Ayla, get your bow."

"But - "

The look Zasen gave me had me turning to find where I'd droppedthe thing. It wasn't far, laying on top of the leaves, but only a few steps past that was the still body of the other man. I jogged over, snagged my weapon, then turned back in time to see Zasen clasp Tobias's hand and pull him up.

The men ended up face-to-face. Zasen was taller, but not by much, and considering his altered feet, that said a lot. Tobias was just as broad across the chest, even though he didn't have the same muscles. Seeing him like this, Tobias looked almost frail.

"Let me make this clear," Zasen told him. "If you reach for that gun, you're dead. If you try to run, you're dead. If you do anything to hurt Ayla?" He smiled cruelly. "You will die very, very slowly and feel all the pain I can cause. Do you understand, Mole?"

"Yes, Mr. Wyvern," Tobias breathed. "But what's a Mole?"

"A small animal that burrows under the ground," I answered as I hurried back to them.

Zasen pushed Tobias forward. Holly followed. The thing that surprised me was how willing Tobias was to get behind an outcropping of rocks and turn to face us.

"Do you have Meri?" he asked.

Zasen lifted a finger. "Why?"

"I promised Callah I'd ask," Tobias hurried to explain. "She found a way to get Meri out, she said. We all saw the fallout, but then she wasn't on the tree, so I hoped. I told Callah you would find her, and I hoped I wasn't lying. We know you're alive, Ayla, because of the arrows, but Meri's pregnant and - "