Page 124 of The Silent
Kyra clutched her stomach,nausea making her body shake. Prija dropped her instrument to the ground and clutched her temples, crying out as she fell to the side. The earth beneath them rolled and shook; then everything wassilent.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Leo and Kyrawalked off the mountain with their friends, one warrior lost but a sister found. Prija walked behind them, draped in Intira’s blanket and clutching Niran’s hand. Her other brother was at her side, carefully holding the instrument she’d used to sing against the angel. Rith and Alyah walked behind them, bloody and black with smoke. Everyone was exhausted, and tears ran down their faces from the heat and the sting ofthefire.
They found Sura pulled over on the side of the road that ran along the east side of the temple hill. Seven human women were with him, and seven children. Four were girls. Three were boys with wide eyes who hadn’t yet reached puberty. Their cheeks were soft, and they sat next to the van, listeningtoSura.
Kyra held Leo’s hand out of desire, not necessity. The minute Arindam died, the painful noise that covered the plain ceased. The land was silent now, except for the soul voices of the humans who lived and the Grigoriwho’dfled.
“We’ll have to coordinate with the scribe houses in Dhaka and Dimapur,” Rith said. “There hasn’t been a scribe house in Myanmar since theRending.”
“We can help,” Niran said, nodding to the Grigori boys. “I’m sure Sura will want to keep the boys with us. They will have challenges we are more suited to dealing with. Since we know their father is dead, we don’t have to worry about mental manipulation or their free will beingcompromised.”
“Will it be the same with the girls?” Rith asked. “What should we dowiththem?”
Kyra’s stomach sank. Despite the pretty words of the Irin council, she should have expected this.Kareshtawere never wanted. The discarded mothers were never wanted. She could see the defeat in the women’s eyes. The ones who had stayed with Sura likely had no other place to go. They were pregnant or had children from the angel. They were dirty and abused. Cast off from the powerful and unwanted by theworld.
She tasted the bitterness on hertongue.
“What are we going to do with them?” Alyah asked Rith. “Find homes for them, of course. Where do you think they’re goingtogo?”
“We’ve already taken responsibility for the others,” Rith said. “The Bangkok scribehouse—”
“I should have known,” Kyra said bitterly. “I should haveknown.”
Leo squeezed her hand. “Reshon, we will notabandonthem.”
“I know you won’t, but this one?” She nodded at Rith. “I don’t know you, and I don’t trust you. Why would these women trust you? They mean nothing to you.Kareshtaare not your problem. Weneverwere.”
Anger flared in Rith’s eyes, but Kyra turned away from him. She thought about the temple in Chiang Mai. Could they take four more girls? What about the women who were pregnant? Would they agree to go to Thailand? At least four of them were carrying boys and would suffer through their pregnancies. There were ways to combat that, but only with Irinamagic.
“Stop.” Sura walked over and spoke quietly. “This is not the place to discuss these things. We need to get all of them to a safe place. Can your people help with that?” heaskedRith.
Rith gave a sharp nod and pulled out his phone. Kyra leaned on Leo’s shoulder. She wanted a bath. She wanted a bed. She wanted the silence and peace of Leo’stouch.
The angry scribe walked back a few moments later. “Dara has secured a house thirty kilometers from here. If we all get in the van, we can make it before the roads are busy. She wants us to wait for instructions fromthere.”
Leo glanced at Niran and saw themannod.
“Fine,” Niran said. “Let’s get everyone away from here and cleaned up. We’ll all feel better once we’re out oftheopen.”
Kyra and Leo squeezed into the van. A twelve-person van carrying twenty-two people was hardly comfortable, but they managed. A short ride later, they rolled into a walled compound with mango trees covering a courtyard, and a large house in the center. With practiced efficiency, Sura and Alyah sorted everyone into groups and arranged baths for thelittleones.
Leo picked her up and carried her to the room at the top of the house. It was stuffy, but opening the windows helped, and the room had an attached bath. There was no hot water, but Kyra and Leo didn’t need it. They bathed each other, then fell into bedexhausted.
* * *
Kyra woketo Leo combing out her long hair with hisfingers.
“Good morning,” hewhispered.
She stretched and nuzzled her face into his neck. “Is itmorning?”
Leo pointed her head at the window. Grey light was giving way to a gold bloom in the east. She buried her face back in his chest. She wasn’t sure she was ready to facetheday.
“We slept all day and all night?” shemurmured.
“You did. Prija did too. Whatever magic you two were working, it took the energy right out of you. I woke up a little last night.” He smiled. “I washungry.”
