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Paige shook her head and blinked back the moisture in her eyes. “Why, Austin? What was so important you had to hurt her? You can’t spend the money. And what are a few colored stones going to do for you?”
“I’m not going to be stuck in this hell-hole forever like the rest of you,” Austin sneered. “There’s a way out of here and I’m going to find it. And when I do,” he shrugged, “I’ll need something to get me by.” He looked past Paige, to the crowd. “And there’s not one among you that wouldn’t do the same. You can lie to yourself all you want, but when it comes down to it, you’re no different.”
Angry comments and arguments filtered through the onlookers.
“Are you saying you know of a place?” someone dared to ask.
“Ya, ya we do!” Cam yelled, giving Austin a wide-eyed, thin-lipped glare to get him to support his obvious fabrication. “So, keep that in mind. You do anything to us, and you’ll never find out where it is.”
“Enough of your lies.” Old Man stepped forward, silencing everyone. “Bring her,” he called.
With a hand fisted in Austin’s shirt, Taran held him in place as Wilma helped Aiesha to the remaining stool in the center of the circle. Her head was bandaged, and the light clearly hurt her eyes, but she walked proudly, if a little unsteadily, to face her attackers.
Taran turned his attention to Paige. Her heartbreak played across her face as she stared at Austin and shook her head. Finally, as Old Man moved to the center of the circle, she moved to stand with Wilma, behind Aiesha.
“We uphold community law so we can live peacefully with one another,” Old Man stated. “The Golden Rule, some of you call it. Aiesha has been harmed by these men. It is her right to choose the punishment that fits their crimes.”
He turned to Cam and Austin. “There are several to be addressed. Damage to property. Theft. Disregard for human life. We will call that attempted murder.”
“Wait a minute!” Cam squirmed under Finn’s strong grip. “I wasn’t attempting no murder. She just wouldn’t quit fighting Austin over that stupid necklace coin. So, I tapped her with that pot. No biggie. Look at her,” he pointed. “She’s fine.”
“You have this coin?” Old Man asked Austin.
When he didn’t answer, Taran gave him a little shove.
“It’s in my pocket,” he admitted.
“Get it,” Taran ordered.
Austin pulled the coin from his pocket and grudgingly held it out to Old Man, who handed it to Aiesha.
“And the stones?” Old Man queried.
After a moment of silence, Austin dug in his other pocket, pulled out the small leather pouch and passed it to Old Man. “That’s it,” he grumbled. “That’s all I took from her.”
“It was not you, who damaged her furs?”
Austin looked away.
“You?” Old Man asked Cam.
“No. I didn’t cut up her furs. And I didn’t take anything.”
“That is not true. One of you, perhaps both, destroyed valuable furs, and stole many hours of labor gathering the materials for baskets. Preparing them. Weaving them. The same for the clay pots and the damage to their contents. What will you pull out of your pockets to return her time and labor?”
Austin and Cam exchanged an uneasy glance but neither of them spoke.
He turned to Aiesha. “What do you require as recompense for these thefts?”
She studied the two in front of her. “All they have,” she finally said.
Taran watched them both exchange sighs of relief. Clearly, they had no possessions.
“It is done,” Old Man said. “They are yours to command. They will work for you until your stolen time is replaced.”
“Now, wait a minute!” Cam shouted. “That’s not fa—”
“And now we will address the attempted murder charge.” He pointed to Cam. “This man has admitted injuring you. What do you require as recompense?”
