Page 11 of The Mentor
My words didn’t calm him. They had the opposite effect and made him get in my face, shouting. “You know the laws. Unless you’re her protector or husband, you don’ttouchher.”
When his shouting caused droplets of spit to land in my face I pushed him back harshly. Adrenaline was rushing through me and when Magni took a swing at me, I welcomed it.Let’s see who the better fighter is.
Boulder’s voice boomed from the doorway. “Take it outside, will ya?”
But neither Magni nor I was thinking straight, and we went at each other. He was like a wild beast: strong, fast, and precise in his movements. The rumors of his fighting skills weren’t exaggerated, and he knocked the air out of me when he got a clean hit to my abdomen.
It took Boulder and two of his workers to pull Magni back.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Boulder shouted at him. “You’re supposed to help get the school ready, not tear it apart.”
Looking around I saw chairs, tables, and boxes tumbled over.
Magni tore his arms free from the men and stomped outside with a demand to Boulder. “Outside now!”
I followed them and ignored Kya’s shocked face when I passed her. Clearly male aggression wasn’t a normal sight for her.
Magni waited for Boulder to join him outside before he spoke. The two workers, Kya, and I stood watching.
“Where were you when they kissed yesterday?” The blame in Magni’s voice was thick.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Boulder’s head swung to me with ten different shades of angry.
I opened my mouth to speak but Kya beat me to it. “Stop it! All of you. This is nothing but a misunderstanding.”
The sound of a drone made me look up to see Boulder’s hybrid approaching.
“You better talk fast before Christina and Raven land,” Boulder said and stabbed the air with a threatening finger at me.
“Like she said, it’s a misunderstanding,” I insisted.
“In the Motherlands we kiss all the time. It’s no big deal,” Kya said and stepped in front of me.
Boulder frowned. “What kind of kiss are we talking about?”
“Just a peck on the cheek,” Kya lied. “And I kissed Archer, not the other way around, so there’s no need to punish him for it.”
“All right.” Boulder held up a palm toward Magni, who was rubbing his red fist. “Maybe you overreacted. I’ll ask Christina to explain our ways to Kya so it doesn’t happen again.”
By now the hybrid had landed and as the door opened, Boulder ran to help Christina out.
He looked so happy when he first set Christina gently on her feet and then reached his arms up again to help down the second passenger. It was the little girl I had heard about and been curious to meet.
“Hey, sweetie,” Kya called and although I knew her heart was probably racing as fast as mine from the whole drama, she reached her hands out when the girl came running. Raven reached Kya’s shoulder in height and was like a miniature of her with large brown eyes and big curly-brown hair.
“Is she your daughter?” I asked, surprised that Kya hadn’t told me yesterday.
“No,” Kya said. “Raven is a student.”
My head was spinning with excitement. To me Raven was like a mythical creature. In this country, little girls were as rare to see as an endangered species. I had heard about girls, but until I was offered this job, I never dreamed that I would see one with my own eyes.
“Hi, Raven,” I said in a soft whisper as if my dark voice might scare her. “My name is Archer and I’m your new mentor.”
Kya cleared her throat. “Raven sweetie, do you think you could help the men unpack some boxes? Christina and I need to talk about some grownup stuff.”
“Okay.” The girl nodded and took Boulder’s hand. Apparently, he’d made a good impression on her because she was grinning up at him and telling him something I couldn’t hear because I was too busy eavesdropping on Kya’s and Christina’s conversation.
Kya was threatening to go back home, saying she had been misled and calling me power hungry and uncooperative.
