whole time I continued to defend myself, while getting in a few shots at the Flighters, who were quickly growing less enthused. They had given up on the cave. They wanted to escape. One guy dragged an unconscious Flighter toward the jungle. I knew he was unconscious because I made him that way. Another Flighter quickly helped him, and the three scampered into the bush.
I looked around, ready for the next attack. It never came. I had only been in the fight for a minute or two, but it was over. The Flighters had disappeared into the jungle, carrying their wounded. I looked around the clearing to see several Jakills looking dazed. Three were out cold. One of those was the little guy with ratty eyes. Most stood around, breathing hard, not wanting anything to do with chasing the Flighters.
Siry stood in the center of it all, surrounded by his fallen friends, breathing hard. It looked like he was barely able to stand. Blood flowed from his nose and a gash on his cheek. It reminded me of my own wound that I got from the quig that attacked me on Third Earth. I looked at my forearm. The wound was completely gone. I didn’t know whether to credit my Traveler powers of recuperation, or the incredible medical technology of Third Earth. Either way, I was better. In all sorts of ways. I had shaken the last effects from the bee attack and the medication.
“You can fight,” Siry said breathlessly.
I replied with a shrug.
I glanced up the face of the mountain to the cave opening that led to the tribunal cavern. Standing there were the three members of the tribunal. Genj and I made eye contact. I expected them to send help, or to yell a quick “You okay?” or even give us a simple wave that acknowledged what had just happened. But nobody moved. Several kids lay at their feet, bleeding. They didn’t seem to care. How messed up was that?
I had no idea who the Flighters were, or why they were after the tribunal, or why the Jakills were playing the game from both sides. There was a very strange dynamic happening on Ibara.
Siry knelt down by the little guy with ratty eyes and gently turned his head over. The kid moaned. A nasty- looking black-and-blue mark was already forming on his cheek, right next to a nastier-looking gash.
“He needs help.” Siry was worried. I was glad to see that he cared about his guys.
“What about the tribunal?” I asked.
Siry scoffed.
“I don’t get it. You just saved them from the Flighters.”
“We’re dirt to them, Pendragon,” Siry said with venom. “Their reward will be to let us sink back into the jungle and not arrest us.”
I shot a look up at the tribunal, to see Genj, Moman, and Drea step away from the cave opening. Siry was right. They didn’t care about the wounded Jakills. They didn’t care about Siry, the son of a tribunal member. What was going on? The tribunal wasn’t evil. At least, I didn’t think so. How could they be, if Remudi was one of them? Nothing added up. I couldn’t tell the good guys from the bad guys.
The blond thief knelt next to Siry. “Telleo,” he suggested.
Siry nodded. “Yes. She’ll help.”
“We can bring the wounded to the hut where I’m staying,” I offered. “There’s medicine and-“
Siry shot me a vicious look. “We don’t need your help.” “No? You’ve got a short memory.”
The blond thief played peacemaker. “Why not let him come?” he asked Siry. “Without him, more of us would be bleeding.”
“He was an ally of my father’s,” Siry argued.
“And he won the battle for us,” the blond guy countered.
Siry gave me a dark look. “What do you want, Pendragon? Why are you here?”
“That’s a long story, but you gotta know I’m here as a friend.”
Siry was torn. He wanted me gone, but I’d gotten some credibility by helping them turn back the Flighters.
“The things I showed you, it was to make you understand how different I am from my father. Whatever he stood for, I don’t want any part of it.”
“I understand that.”
“Don’t be an idiot. You’re an outsider. As long as the tribunal thinks they need you, they’ll leave you alone. But if they change their minds and think you’re a threat…” He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t have to.
“I’ll risk it,” I said.
I heard a sniffing sound as if my dog, Marley, were around and I had bacon in my ear.
I turned quickly to find the girl named Twig had her nose by my cheek. “You don’t smell scared anymore.” She looked at Siry and smiled. “I like him.”
“We might need him again,” the blond thief added.
Siry gave me another look. He scowled and said to me, “Don’t get in my way.”
I had been accepted by the Jakills. I hoped that was a good thing.
(CONTINUED)
Siry picked out four Jakills to help move the wounded, including his blond friend. The others were told to scatter. The six of us awkwardly carried the unconscious through the village and back to the hut. Along the way we got strange looks from the people of Rayne. We were a bunch of scruffy-looking kids, carrying three bodies. I’d stare too. Many of them quickly turned away and hurried back into their homes, as if we were carrying the plague. When we got back to the hut where I had first woken up after being attacked by the quig-bees, Telleo was sitting outside, reading. She looked so peaceful sitting there. It wouldn’t last.
“What happened?” she asked, jumping to her feet. She looked around anxiously, as if worried that others were watching the scene.
“A group of Flighters tried to attack the tribunal,” Siry answered.
“Bring them inside quickly,” Telleo instructed while glancing around again. She definitely didn’t want anybody seeing us. We carried the wounded inside the hut and gently laid them down on beds. Telleo did a quick appraisal of each.
“We have to get a doctor,” she concluded.
“No!” Siry barked.
“They need care,” Telleo protested.
“Then give it to them,” Siry shot back. “I don’t want doctors here.”
Telleo was on the verge of panic. “But I can’t-“
“You can’t or you won’t?” Siry asked sharply.
This shut Telleo down. She nodded. “I’ll do what I can.”
Siry pointed to the other Jakills and said, “Go home. There’s nothing more to do here.”
Three of them left right away. The blond thief came up to me. “My name is Loque. Thank you.”
“Pendragon,” I responded.
He gave me a friendly hit on the shoulder and left. “Let her work,” Siry said to me, and left the hut. Telleo and I were the only ones left. Or at least, the only ones conscious. She looked scared. “Can you help them?” I asked. “I can try.”
“Why doesn’t Siry want doctors?”
“Doctors work for the tribunal. He doesn’t want anything to do with them.”
“What about you?” I asked. “Are you a Jakill?”
Telleo gave me a surprised look and chuckled. “No, I’m not. I don’t think the tribunal even knows that name. I’m surprised that you do.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, well, I work fast.”
“The tribunal would not be happy if they knew I was helping them. I could lose my job.”
“Isn’t that kind of… wrong?”
“It’s complicated,” she said with a resigned shrug. “I’m glad the tribunal didn’t send you away.”
“I’m glad they didn’t have me executed! They made Siry my babysitter instead. He’s supposed to keep me out of trouble. Some joke, huh?”
Telleo’s expression turned dark. “Be careful of him,” she said softly. “He’s not a bad person, but he’s playing a dangerous game.”
I walked for the door. “I’ll be careful. Good luck with these guys.”
