Page 143 of Phoenix's Fire

"Your friend tried to shoot him," Zasensaid.

"Tobias?"

He nodded. "That was the gunshot. I thought he was shooting at me, but he hit the other guy's leg. Holly grabbed him right after, and I finished him off."

"She would've," I crooned at the dog.

He chuckled. "Yeah, probably." And he sighed. "But he shot at another Mole. That makes me want to believe him, but what if we told him too much?"

"Callah will still hear," I said. "Gossip is supposed to be a sin, but everyone hears everything. If Tobias spoke with me, and if Callah really knows I'm alive, maybe it'll be enough for her to find her own way out? She made it work for Meri!"

"And she hasn't left herself," he pointed out.

"Because it isn't easy," I explained. "Women are never allowed close to the doors. It's not like she could just open it and run. Never mind the alarm."

"There's an alarm?"

I nodded. "Once, when I was young, a gatherer made it go off. The compound went into shelter. Later, we were told it was a new gatherer who forgot his training."

"Which says almost nothing," Zasen growled. "And it means it'll be even harder to break in."

"And we have to tell Jerlis."

That made Zasen look over at me. "What?"

"You said Tobias' mother was the mayor's sister," I clarified. "When I was on that stage - well, the first time - Jerlis asked me if I knew her. The way he said her name? He was desperate, Zasen. We have to tell him he has a nephew."

"Shit," Zasen breathed. "Yeah. First, we have to see how many we lost."

I didn't want to think about that part, but it was enough to make me stretch my legs. The fight had been fast - even more so than I'd expected. The sky was just shifting from sunset to dusk. It wasn't even nighttime!

Finally, we descended a hill and I heard voices. Among a cluster of trees, shrubs, and boulders, there was a trickle of a stream. Zasen headed for that, then followed it between a jumble of rocks. The ground shifted to pebbles, but on the other side of the bushes? Dragons.

Dozens sat in small groups. Friends were checking on or bandaging others. My feet paused as I looked around, hoping for faces I knew. Everyone seemed to be scraped up, cut, or messy in some way, but most of them were smiling.

"Ayla!" Kanik's voice came from behind me, and his arms followed a moment later. "I was starting to get worried."

"We have a story," Zasen assured him.

"Holly, come!" Lansin yelled, proving we'd been spotted by more than just Kanik.

"Zasen!" Jeera yelped, leaving her current patient to run over and wrap her arms around her brother.

Zasen hugged her back, holding her tight. "Are you okay? Who did we lose?"

"Four," she said, listing off their names. "Ayla was right. The arrowsmade a huge difference. It helped us keep them from taking all but Ermial, but we're going to need to carry their bodies back."

Zasen pushed out a heavy breath. "Just four," he said. "Did anyone count the - "

"If you fucking yank it again!" Drozel roared, making me look over.

He was lying on his stomach with Omden sprawled halfway across his back as if trying to restrain him. Still, Drozel had lifted up enough for another man to rush in, pushing him back down. A brown-skinned tailless woman had a knee on Drozel's tail, and it looked like she was trying to do something to it.

"Leave it!" Drozel snapped.

Which made a little laugh slip from Zasen. "They..."

Kanik moved to my side and nodded. "He got shot in the tail."

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