Page 31 of Lucie
Chapter Fifteen
Warning
This news stunned them both, and Lucien saw his father immediately tense. “You did? Where? What happened?”
“A few weeks ago. He was leading a battalion of men.”Hobronwaved at the battle lord. “But they weren’t wearing armor such as that. Or carrying such finely-crafted weapons.”
Yulenglanced at his son, and the samethought passed between them before he turned back to the councilman. “Which way were they headed?”
“North, I think.”
“When did you encounter them?”
“At our compound, or what’s left of our compound,”Hobronsadly mentioned.
Lucien glanced around and took in what he saw with a fresh eye. Yes, these were allMutah. Or, inJohna’scase, a combinationof full and half-Mutah. But they were not all hunters. He was certain at least a couple of them were merchants. Shopkeepers who’d been pressed into service to carry a weapon if for no other reason than self-preservation.
“Go on,”Yulenurged.
“There have been a surge of attacks onMutahcompounds fromNormalsthese past few years, ours being one of them,” the councilmanexplained. “It got to the point where we realized we weren’t being held under siege. Their intent wasn’t to starve us into surrendering. They wanted us dead by any means possible. That’s when we decided to escape at the first opportunity and seek a place of sanctuary.”HobrongaveYulena pleading look. “We’d heard of you,D’Jacques. Stories about you andAtrilanhave fueled our dreams for years.Now, with the loss of our compound, they’ve brought us hope. Or, if not hope, at least the possibility of finding a safe zone where we can live out our lives without fear of persecution.”
Lucien watched the barely visible tic at the corner of his father’s mouth. Ever sinceYulenandAtty’smarriage, the couple had made it their life-long mission to bringNormalsandMutahtogether.And if not to completely eradicate, at least try to eliminate as much as possible the centuries old hatred between the two.
“What was the name of your compound?” the battle lord inquired.
“Asa Valley.”
Yulengestured to the others standing around. “Is this all that are left?”
“Yes.”
Johnastepped forward and facedYulen. “Yourguess was correct.Philloand I were looking for game when I caught sight of you. But we had no intention of challenging you. I could see you were Normal, and we were about to retreat when I saw you.” She looked directly at Lucien.
“You saw I was halfMutah, and that intrigued you,” Lucien remarked.
The huntress gave a nod. “We never expected to find aMutah, or a half-Mutah, in the company of a Normal army.”
“This imposter you mentioned. Did he look anything like me?”Yulenquestioned.
“No. In the face, no. But he had all your distinguishing marks.”
“Such as?”
Hobrontouched his head. “He had your color hair, although it didn’t look natural. And closer to the scalp, it was very dark. Almost black.”
“Probably rinsed with a lightener. Go on.”
TheMutahtouched his cheek. “He also had a scar there, but it isn’t as long or as prominent as yours.”
“And he claimed to be me.”
“Yes.”
“Was there a woman with him who claimed to beAtty?” Lucien asked.
“No.” The man adamantly shook his head, making his long hair swish fromside to side. “We asked where she was. He said she’d been killed byMutahwho’d contracted the madness, and that was why he was on a mission of vengeance. To avenge her death.”
Yulenfrowned. “Any mention of his children?”
