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It was so nice of him to come to collect Dalhu in person. That way, her mate could not decline the invitation.
Onidu opened the door and bowed. "Good afternoon, Master Kian. Please, come in."
"Thank you." Kian strode into the cabin's living room. "Hello, ladies."
Amanda rose to her feet. "If you've come to get Dalhu, you should have called first because he's not dressed yet." She kissed his cheek. "I'll let him know that you are here."
The look of regret in his eyes gave her pause. "What's going on, Kian?"
"Let's sit down." He walked over to where Syssi was sitting in an armchair and joined her. "I didn't come to take Dalhu to his bachelor party, which regrettably is not likely to happen. The group that went to visit the ruins at Tehuacalco decided to turn the tour into a rescue operation."
When Amanda took her seat again, Kian continued to explain what had happened, and the cheerful atmosphere they had been enjoying turned somber.
"Those women have been through hell," Kian said. "And they have nowhere to go. Kalugal convinced me to take them to the sanctuary, which means that they are coming here. I need help organizing cabins for them on one of the lower decks, getting them clothes and other necessities, and helping them get settled. Tonight's celebration has to be moved back by at least two hours."
"That's not a problem," Amanda rushed to say. "I don't mind waiting until almost midnight. I just need the ceremony to be done before that so Dalhu and I can welcome the new day as a married couple."
"I can do the shopping," Syssi offered.
Alena lifted her hand. "I'll help."
"So will I," Sari said. "We will bring our Odus with us to help carry everything back to the ship. How many women are there?"
"Twenty-three," Kian said. "Aged fourteen to twenty-two."
"Damn," Amanda cursed under her breath. "Fourteen?"
He nodded. "The monsters have been dealt with."
"Good. I'm glad. I hope our guys didn't show them mercy."
"They didn't." He smiled at her with a pair of elongated fangs. "They got up close and personal if you know what I mean."
"Oh, I do. Good for them."
Kian had been careful in his description of what had been done to the women's relatives and to them, but only as far as his choice of words. He hadn't omitted any of the atrocities they had committed, and if Amanda had fangs, she would have helped tear those monsters apart.
"Are they bringing the amulet on board?" Syssi asked.
Kian's eyes blazed with light as he turned to look at her. "Don't even think about touching that thing. It's evil."
"Is it?" She arched a brow. "Did Jacki or Kalugal say that?"
"They didn't need to. It was powered with the life force of countless victims."
Syssi shivered. "Yeah, you have a point. But it has just helped us save these women, so at least those lives weren't lost for nothing. It's not that I want to touch it, but maybe we should save it in case an emergency comes up, and we need a glimpse of the future."
"There is always one emergency or another, so using that logic, we would be using the damned thing all the time. Luckily, it belongs to Kalugal, so the only one who will be using it is Jacki."
Syssi frowned. "I'm sure he would let me borrow it if I asked."
"He probably would, but I don't want you to ask."
Syssi's expression turned stubborn. "We will see about that." She pushed out of the chair. "If we want to get stuff for the girls, we should get moving."
"I'm coming with you." Amanda started rising to her feet.
"No, you don't." Syssi put a hand on her arm and pushed her back down. "You need to rest and take it easy. Your sisters and I can handle a simple shopping trip."
