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I want to say something to support Mila’s decision but before I can Gweneth jumps in.
“No, it’s not,” Gweneth says.
“Fine,” Mila says, giving in at last.
Elara pulls some straw from the mattress upstairs and prepares them for the draw. Mazabuta offers to hold them since his hand is bigger. We take turns pulling and I go second but mine looks to be one of the longer ones. My stomach does a flip and I have to swallow bile, but I tell myself that it will be okay.
Elara pulls and hers is longer too. We all look at Phoebe. Phoebe draws and it’s clear that Mila lost. She will be staying with Samhaja. That poor man. Samhaja is frowning and he growls as Mila groans.
“Great,” Mila says. “Just perfect.”
It doesn’t take long at all before the four of us are led out of Samhaja’s house by Mazabuta. My stomach flips and flops and I’m sweating so much it’s ridiculous. The other girls and I keep looking at each other but no one speaks. What is there to say? We volunteered. Each for our own reasons, but none of us knew what we would be in for when we agreed to come.
The Urr’ki village? Town? City? It’s kind of big to be a village, or so it seems from what we’ve seen. I don’t know. I’ve only seen the city we all lived in right after the crash and the shots that were in old Earth vids, anyway, it’s very dreary.
The outskirts are the worst by far, but even this far in, where it’s nicer, things are drab. There is a heaviness to the air that is a lot more than just atmosphere. Itfeelsheavy. Elara sighs wearily as she looks around. She’s rubbing her arms, for warmth or comfort I don’t know but I do completely sympathize with the action.
“Where are we going to go?” I ask.
Mazabuta is more or less at the head while the four of us surround him in a loose gaggle. He grunts and looks over his shoulder.
“I need to find each of you a safe haven,” he says with a deep frown on his face. “I know some people.”
Some people. Who? And what do you mean safe? How much trouble are we actually in?
I chew my lip and try to keep the negative thoughts from filling my head. Mazabuta leads us through the wide streets and then turns down a smaller side road. The streets and roads of the city, as I think of them anyway, seem to be as much paths laid out between homes. This side road is narrow, forcing us to walk in single file. Mazabuta stops at a door and knocks.
I’m right behind him looking around. There is debris that looks and smells like garbage stacked up close to the walls of the houses. Small windows are set high on the wall, too high to see into easily. I hear someone behind the door then a lock rattles and the door opens.
An Urr’ki fills the door. A fire backlights him, casting his shape in shadows. All I can clearly see are sharp eyes that look intelligent and a deep frown on his face. He barks something in the Urr’ki language then he and Mazabuta get into an exchange.
I look over my shoulder at the other girls. I’m cold. Probably colder than I have any right to be because as much as I don’t want to admit it, I’m scared. I got into this as a way of proving to myself as much as anyone that I’m every bit as good as my sister. Now, though, I’m regretting opening my damn mouth.
Gweneth is chewing on her lip then shakes her head and shrugs. Elara raises her hands in an I don’t know gesture and drops them. I turn my attention back to the Urr’ki when there is a loud, harsh bark followed by silence.
“You,” Mazabuta says pointing directly at me, and my stomach hits the ground. I swallow, hard, and point a finger at my own chest. Mazabuta nods sharply. “You stay here.”
“Uhm, okay,” I say, looking from him to the shadowy Urr’ki in the doorframe.
I got this. I can do this. It’s fine. I’ll be fine.
I take a step forward feeling anything but fine but hey, fake it until you make it right? It feels as if I’m dragging my stomach along behind me as I walk. The Urr’ki doesn’t move out of the door so I come to a stop right in front of him, tilting my head back so I can look up at him. He is staring over me at Mazabuta, barks something and Mazabuta utters a return harsh bark. Only then does he move out of the door.
“This is Bhoja,” Mazabuta says. “He will see you are kept safe.”
Safe. There’s that word again. Okay, well I came to help prevent a war, safety isn’t likely to be the top priority for anyone. Safe is good. Safe is great. If only I didn’t need to be kept safe.
I nod and step over the threshold into Bhoja’s house. He holds the door, silently staring out of it at Mazabuta. My breath catches in my chest now that I can see him without the backlight.
His skin is a gorgeous soft green. Lighter than any Urr’ki I have seen, almost a seafoam green. His tusks stretch up past his wide nose. He wears his black hair long with two bangled braids that dangle past his shoulders to rest on his chest. His eyes are a rich emerald shade of green that accents perfectly with the lighter shade of his skin. He shifts his gaze from Mazabuta to me and I swear I want to melt when those beautiful eyes look me up and down. He frowns but there is the hint of a smile playing across his lips.
I clear my throat involuntarily as a shiver traces down my back. I have to force myself to look away because otherwise I’m staring and that is just awkward. He closes the door and the snap of it shutting has a finality to it that makes my stomach drop once more.
He stands with one hand on the handle resting his head on the door. I watch, unsure what I’m supposed to do. I glance around his home, which is very similar to Samhaja’s place. There is a stairway behind me, opposite the door. This level is an open floor with a sitting area that has a couch looking piece of furniture and a chair that sits facing a fireplace and a kitchen slash dining room. The dining table is tucked under the angle of the stairway.
“Ahem,” Bhoja clears his throat, standing up straight and he turns around. “Zmaj?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I speak that.”
