Page 26 of Hair, She Bears
“Mother, we have a problem.”
6
Malik hissed and quietly set her on the bed. Bending over, he yanked his boots onto his feet and leaned to his left to retrieve his shirt from the floor. He whipped it over his head and turned to her. Pressing his mouth to hers, he kissed her, his rough assault bruising her lips, and broke away.
“Sunset, three days. Use the mirror to contact me.”
Rising, he pulled the curtain aside and peered out. He slipped past the flimsy material and headed down the staircase, balancing on his toes, so his heavy boots didn’t echo in the tower. Zenna dragged her shirt up her legs, shoved her arms through the straps, and padded to the top of the staircase.
Taking two vials of Votras Alute, Malik uncorked them and swallowed the contents of both, his back to Zenna. Convulsions jerking his body, he groaned and stumbled, catching his balance on the small worktable. Discarding the bottles in the mortar beside his father’s empty vials, he turned and lumbered toward the window.
Pressing his head against the shutter, he listened. After a moment, he unlatched the shutter and pushed it partially outward. Climbing into the open space, he glanced back at Zenna and winked, then stepped from the window and vanished.
She screamed, clamping her hand over her mouth immediately, and raced down the staircase. Leaning out the window, she searched the darkness for Malik. Minutes crawled by. A shadow slunk beneath the window, and Malik’s shaggy head appeared. He raised his arm in a salute and crept across the courtyard, disappearing just as Mother exploded from the building in the center of the compound.
“How can Carlyle be missing?” Mother’s anger whipped across the compound.
“I don’t know,” Jax replied. “When I returned, he wasn’t at his post.”
Mother swung, his fist striking Jax in the stomach. Jax crumbled to the ground, a soft moan accompanying his fall. Mother stepped over his limp body and strode across the compound, heading for Zenna’s tower.
She squeaked, grabbed the shutter, and yanked it closed. After latching the wood, she backed away, turned, and darted up the staircase. Diving behind the curtain, she jerked it across the opening to her loft, and her gaze slid over the small enclosure. She snatched up the mirror and the small sack, leapt onto the bed, and shoved them both under her pillow. Ripping the covers over her head, she waited, her heart thudding, hammering a loud rhythm of terror. Had Mother seen her?
No sound came from outside the tower. Shoving off the sheet, she climbed from the bed, crept to the curtain, and pulled it aside. Mother’s angry face waited on the opposite side. Screaming, she stumbled backward and crashed into the bed.
“Where is he?” Mother growled and stepped forward, his face hidden in shadow.
“Who?”
Mother’s hand whipped out and closed around her neck, pinning her against the bedpost.
“Carlyle, the man I assigned to guard your tower.”
Zenna’s fingernails dug into his hand, prying his iron grip loose, tears streamed down her face. She gulped in a deep breath.
“He left.”
“Did he say why?”
She shook her head, her eyes darting left and right. There was nowhere to go.
“What did you do?”
“I gave him a full dose of Votras Alute.” The words burst out of her mouth. Mother’s hand flew, smacking her across the face, and the taste of copper filled her mouth.
“Why would you do something so stupid? You could have killed him.”
“You know it won’t.”
Her quiet statement enraged Mother. His hand sailed in the opposite direction, slapping her other cheek, and stars exploded behind her eyes. A barrage of blows followed, each one rattling her teeth as they landed. He released her, and she slumped to the floor, a puddle of agony.
Mother knelt beside her, pulled out a handkerchief, and wiped his hand on the cloth, taking care to remove the blood from his cuticles.
“I’m adding the cost of Carlyle to your debt. Shall we say, another ten years?”
“He was in pain,” she replied and cried out as anguish radiated through her jaw.
“And now you’re in pain.” He leaned forward, resting his hand on his leg. “Was it worth it, helping another individual?”
