Page 42 of I Married Amreth

“There you are,” Enre said with a big smile. “I’m glad you were able to quickly find your way.”

Although he spoke those words in a jovial tone, I didn’t miss the underlying relief in his voice. It struck me then that, as much as his people respected Aku’s authority, they didn’t necessarily share his views on everything. They had trusted his judgment in allowing me to fly my mate here on my own, but they had not equally shared his faith in me. It didn’t hurt my feelings but increased my respect for Aku as a leader. Considering all that was at stake for them, it said a lot as to the level of loyalty his people bore him.

“The directions were perfect,” I said gently as I put my mate down on her feet.

She adjusted the strap of her bag across her chest, ran her fingers through her hair to comb it after the wind seriously ruffled it and smiled politely at Enre and our hostess. Despite her lingering nervousness, the poise and calm demeanor she displayed filled my heart with pride. If not for my ability to read a limited range of emotions through one’s aura, I would have been fooled by her apparent stoicism.

“Good, good! Amreth, Ciara, let me introduce you to Kald Vala, leader of Jaln Village. Vala, these are the off-worlders we told you about, Amreth and Ciara, who are working diligently to help save our people,” Enre said, gesturing in turn at my mate and me.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Amreth and Ciara,” Vala said in a gentle voice. “The people of Jaln welcome you and thank you for whatever assistance you may provide with our plight. We—”

“Samra telankay!”an angry male voice suddenly shouted, interrupting her.

Unsurprisingly, my translation implant didn’t recognize the language. However, I didn’t need it to guess as to the nature of his words. He repeated them in a litany while charging towards us.

As one, the other villagers, who had gathered at a short distance around the square to witness our arrival, moved towards the male to restrain him. He was the angry aura I perceived during my descent. On instinct, I pushed Ciara behind me and spread my wings to hide her from view. They grabbed his arms and tried to hold him back while he struggled to free himself, shouting the same words in a loop. The depth of pain and sorrow in his voice and on his face told me all I needed to know.

The illness had taken a loved one.

Enre and Vala took a protective stance in front of us. That erased any lingering concerns I might have had as to their intentions or the safety of my mate in this village.

“Muti, calm yourself!” Vala commanded.

I placed my palm on each of Enre’s and Vala’s shoulders and gently pushed them aside so they would no longer obstruct my view of the shouting male. They cast a worried look at me, but I kept my eyes locked on Muti. I made no threatening gesture and instead cast a focused blast of mybakaanon him. As it had an area of effect, the people in his direct vicinity also felt some of my calming aura, tension bleeding out of them but also loosening their grip on him as they were trying to restrain him.

With him receiving the greater concentration of my power, his efforts to free himself weakened, his eyes slightly glazed over, and his angry shouts devolved into unintelligible words before turning into choked, teary sounds. My heart broke for him when he fell to his knees, his body rocked by violent sobs. Many of the people around him crouched by his side. They intertwinedtheir tails with his, caressed his head and back, and whispered soothing words in their language.

Ciara pushed on my left wing, clearly wanting to see what was happening. With most of the threat now under control, I folded my wing and drew her to my side. Vala walked towards Muti, knelt directly in front of him, and pulled him into her embrace. She whispered to him in their language in an almost maternal fashion. I continued to send appeasing waves his way, and his sobs gradually faded. Vala pulled back, cupped his face with both hands, and wiped his tears with her thumbs.

She spoke a few more words to him. He nodded, his features tortured by sorrow, despair, and something akin to guilt. Vala kissed his forehead then helped him up at the same time she rose to her feet. She gestured with her head at a couple of villagers. They promptly approached, each holding onto one of Muti’s arms, and gently escorted him.

His tribe leader continued to stare at him walking away with a sad expression filled with pity before she turned towards us. As if following her cue, the rest of the villagers also shifted their attention back to us. A quick survey of their emotions reassured me that this incident had not turned them more hostile. But a definite hint of despair now infiltrated their emotions.

“Because of the disease your people brought to us, Muti is about to lose his mate. She’s in a critical state, and his two infants are fighting for their lives,” a female to our right said bitterly.

Despite the harshness of her tone, her anger wasn’t aimed specifically at us, but at off-worlders in general and at the situation that was destroying their people. A single stern glance from Vala quieted her.

“No words can express the sorrow we feel for the tragedy that befell your people,” Ciara said to the female in a soft voice filled with sympathy. “The few of us here are not your enemies.You have every right to be angry. None of this ever should have happened. We personally didn’t cause this, but we will do everything in our power to make sure to stop it. It will not bring back those who have already been lost. We can only devote ourselves to prevent it from ever happening again.”

“Can you?” Vala interjected with a sliver of defiance in her voice. “The sickness came back after the first humans said it was cured. Throughout the past decade, it kept coming back. Italwayscomes back. And this time, it is hitting my tribe harder than it ever has before. Twenty-three of my people started showing signs just three days ago.”

“The same day you arrived!” that same female said, the underlying accusation audible in her voice this time.

A few heads nodded while some other people in attendance muttered their agreements in their language. Another swift peek at their auras reassured me that they still were not turning hostile, although their anger was blossoming. There was nothing even remotely alarming yet, but I mentally prepared to act quickly to take my mate to safety should things turn sour.

Having learned my lesson from the first time they’d captured me, I made sure to bring back a psychic disruptor so they couldn’t mess with my mind again. I didn’t actually believe they would turn on us. But when it came to my woman’s safety, I didn’t take risks.

“Our arrival on that day is a pure coincidence and not linked in any way,” Ciara said in a tone that brooked no argument. “The type of illness that is afflicting you only transmits through something you eat. It also takes a certain number of days before the first symptoms appear. So whatever caused this new wave, the sick tribe members ate it long before we arrived on Kestria.”

“But what food?” Vala asked. “And why only them, not the rest of us?”

“That’s what I am hoping you can help us determine,” Ciara said. “I have many questions about it that will hopefully put us on the track to finding the source. But Enre has also brought test kits for us to detect if any of your food stores are currently contaminated as well as find out if anyone else among you has been infected but isn’t showing signs yet.”

“The tests were kept in a cool environment, as per your instructions,” Enre said swiftly. “Should I go fetch them?”

“In a minute,” Ciara said. “First, we need to set things up in a way that we can do this in an orderly fashion and ensure we keep track of everyone that has been tested. There’s also a small questionnaire that we need them to fill.”

“Yes,” Enre said. “Ernst explained the procedure to me. We will set up the tables and chairs and have the forms ready.”

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