Page 22 of Phoenix's Fire

"How long until she's ready to talk to us, Ayla?" he asked.

That made her head snap over, and the joy on her face vanished. "What?"

So Zasen flicked a finger back towards the door. "The girl. I know she's scared, so I didn't push, but I need to talk to her."

"She's not going to hurt anyone!" Ayla insisted. "Zasen, she escaped! She wants to be safe. That's it."

"And she knows things," he countered.

Which made Ayla fall silent, but Kanik couldn't take it. "And Ayla's thrilled to have her friend out of that mess, Zasen. Stop being a dick."

"He's not being a dick," I said, trying to calm the tension of this whole surprising day. "He's asking Ayla for advice."

Ayla just chewed at her lower lip for a moment. "I don't know," she finally admitted. "Meri's so scared. I've been trying to remember how I felt when I came here, and I don't think I was that scared. Was I?"

"You were pretty scared," Zasen admitted.

"Not that scared," I assured her. "Even when you were terrified, you lashed out first, not last."

"Yeah," Ayla breathed.

"Which," I went on, "is why Ayla gets to decide when Meri's ready to talk to you, Zasen. That girl already thinks you're going to eat her. Don't make it worse."

"I haven't done anything!" he huffed.

"You did in the past," Kanik countered. "C'mon. You were the one who started the city militia. You were the one who carried the bodies back, leaving them outside so the Moles would know who you are. You, Zasen, said making them fear us might make them stop."

"And it didn't work," I reminded him.

The man growled under his breath. The sound was anger and frustration merged together. Naturally, my eyes jumped over to Ayla, but she didn't even flinch. It seemed she'd learned that when we said we wouldn't hurt her, she could believe it. Even more proof of how far she'd come, in my opinion.

"Why do you need to talk to her, though?" Ayla asked. "I can tell you everything."

I made a noise, keeping Zasen from answering. "Ayla," I said, "you're not going to help her by sheltering her."

"But she's scared!" Ayla insisted.

"She is," I agreed.

"She also has to experience things to stop being terrified of them," Kanik added. "Just like how we let you learn at your own pace. We didn't hold you back, Ayla. We gave you the chances and allowed you to take them. We trusted you to know your own limits."

She began chewing on her lip again, and her eyes had dropped to the ground. She wasn't sulking, though. This was her version of being stubborn. Sure, it looked meek and submissive, but I had a feeling she might never lose that habit. It had been literally beaten into her.

"She doesn't know what they do," she admitted. "She's already suffered Gideon's abuse. Isn't that enough?"

"No," Zasen said, but his voice was gentle. "The Moles will come back, Ayla. When they do, someone will die. People's loved ones will be carried away, butchered, and fed to your other friend. Mothers will lose sons. Husbands will lose wives. Children! Do those people deserve to mourn someone we could save by asking your friend what she knows?"

"No..." Big blue eyes looked up at Zasen. "But she's not ready."

"I know," he relented. "But what if she knows how to get in, Ayla? Didn't you say I shot her husband?"

"Yeah."

"That means he's a hunter, right?"

Her jaw clenched. "Yeah." Her reply sounded angry this time.

"So she may have heard things from him. She might know something she learned after she was married."