Page 5 of Jewel of the Sea

He shook his head. Even if she couldn’t see his mouth, his eyes were troubled.

She took Macy’s letter out of her pocket and passed it to Breckett. “Here.”

He tucked it away, and they both returned their attention to Randall.

“I’m sure, like in most places, everyone here has a job to do.” He paced slowly along the stage, boots thumping on the wood, hands clasped behind his back. “Our job is simple. We hunt the creatures that give people trouble. Doesn’t matter if it’s a snatcher plant taking your babies or a pack of krull eating your crops. We control their numbers so humanity can thrive.”

Aymee grabbed a handful of her skirt and pressed her lips together.

“I got a pemling problem! Want to come deal with that?” a woman called out.

The crowd laughed again. Pemlings were fist-sized vermin that could eat entire silos of food if they weren’t kept in check.

Randall raised a finger, his smile tilting to one side. “That’s a bit smaller than what we tend to specialize in, ma’am, but we’d be more than happy to come take a look. Afraid to say we didn’t come all this way to deal with some pemlings.”

“Then what are you here for?” Aymee asked.

Pausing, Randall turned his head toward her. When their eyes met, she saw an unsettling spark of interest in his gaze. “We’re here to help The Watch, Miss…?”

“Help us how? We’ve been doing well.”

“He’s here for the sea monster,” another person said from the left side of the room. “Aren’t you?”

Aymee looked in the speaker’s direction but couldn’t tell who’d said it. Her stomach twisted. “He’s not a monster.”

“Aymee,” Jeanette warned quietly, catching her daughter’s hand.

The scrutiny — and interest — in Randall’s gaze intensified. “We don’t always follow rumors across Halora, but the story we heard from this town... Monster or not, this thing must be viewed as a threat until we know more about it.”

“He is no more a threat than you or me.” Aymee couldn’t stand and listen to this in silence. “Jax had many opportunities to hurt people, but he didn’t. Helethimself get captured. He obeyed every instruction given to him without resistance. Even when he escaped, not a single person was harmed. How could you consider him a monster?”

Commotion erupted in the hall; everyone in town had their own version of those events, though almost everyone in town had been either in the comfort of their homes or here in the town hall, drinking, when Jax escaped. The only people who knew the truth would never betray Jax and Macy.

“He caused no trouble,” shouted one of the men who’d guarded Jax.

Randall silenced them by lifting his hands in the same manner Walter had. “I don’t want everyone to argue about it. We’ve heard some stories, and we came to sort it all out. We might carry some big guns, but we’re on your side. If thisJaxis on your side, too, we won’t have any problems. But until we know that, without a single doubt, we must treat him as a dangerous beast. Becausethatis what will keep people safe.”

“He’s not a beast!” Aymee snapped. “We’ve lived here in peace for years before he came, and we still live in peace months after he left. You’re here for no one but yourselves!”

One of the other rangers — older than Randall, with short blond hair and a cruel grin — barked a laugh.

“Aymee!” Kent pulled Aymee back, and she stumbled into him.

Randall’s smile faltered, and his brow creased. “I understand emotions are high in the wake of what happened here. I’m not going to take offense. We came to help, and that’s what we intend to do. Our first goal is to determine what that will entail.”

Breckett cleared his throat. “What she says is true. Thatbeast,as you call him, brought my daughter back after we thought her dead at sea. She was badly injured, and he exposed himself to make sure she got the care she needed. The whole time he was locked in that tank, all he did was ask about the welfare of my daughter. He is not a monster.”

“I should very much like to speak with your daughter, sir,” Randall said.

“That’s not possible.”

“So, he didn’t bring her back in time?”

“He did, and thanks to him, Doc Rhodes, and Aymee, my Macy lives.”

Randall’s gaze shifted from Breckett to Aymee. “Me and my men would love to talk with the two of you further over the coming days.” He looked out over the rest of the crowd. “Anyone with information, we ask that you share it with us. Our job is to defend the humans of Halora. That means The Watch, and every other town on this planet. We can’t make a decision that will potentially affect everyone on this world based on some anecdotes.

“Please, rest assured, we’re not here to disrupt your lives. We’re not here to stir up trouble. We’re here to prevent any more of it. If this Jax is truly harmless, we’ll move on.”

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