Page 13 of Dark Elves of Ardani

If he did, he did not reply.

Basira grabbed the back of the half-elf’s collar and pulled him to his knees. “Tell him to get up,” she said to Zara.

“To your feet, please, kinsman,”Zara said. Standing straight, he was taller than either of them, though he was not so large that Basira couldn’t push him where she wished. Holding his arms, she directed him to the door, and he obeyed, shooting a piercing glare at Zara. She glared back.

“Are you really going to keep him here?” Zara asked as Basira positioned him between herself and the door, using him like a shield.

“What other choice do we have? We’ve already got him. At least now we have a hostage, in case more of them get in.” She watched the door, waiting. Zara held her dagger at the ready. “The Paladins will be back tomorrow. We only need to make it until then.”

They waited in silence, listening for the telltale sound of creaking floorboards. None came. They heard only scattered shouts from outside and distant sounds of windows breaking. Eventually, even those sounds faded.

They waited there until the light of morning shone under the door.

Chapter 5

They put the half-elf in a locked room in the back of the inn and waited for the Paladins to return.

That morning, he was the sole subject of discussion around the long, communal dining table in the inn’s common room. Basira had not permitted anyone but Tahir to lay eyes on him.

“We should execute him,” said one of the older men, slamming his empty tea mug on the table. “Publicly. Make an example of him and leave his corpse for his kin to find.”

“For Astra’s sake, don’t say such gruesome things,” said one of the women at the table. “I can’t stomach it while I’m eating.”

“I’ll bet the girl would like to see him dead.” The old man turned to Zara, smiling. “How about it? Would you want to do the honors?”

“Leave her out of it,” Basira said, refilling his mug with steaming tea. He hadn’t asked for more, and Zara wondered if she’d filled it just so he’d stop banging the mug around.

Most people had emerged from their hiding places that morning to find money gone, enchanted items taken, or medicine cabinets plundered. Some people complained of broken windows or locks. But to everyone’s surprise, not a single person had been hurt in the attack. Basira said it was a miracle.

“She can speak for herself, can’t she?” the old man said, looking at Zara. “What do you say, girl?”

Zara sipped her own tea. She’d been pacing the common room since day broke, unable to sit down. Basira had told her to get some rest, but she was far too filled with nervous energy to sleep.

As the old man watched her, and the other people at the table waited for her response, she got the feeling she was being tested. The villagers still weren’t sure if they should trust her. It was her accent, she thought, that put them ill at ease. It was a constant reminder that she wasn’t quite one of them, even if she looked like them. Her native language, and perhaps her native culture, was Varai.

She wasn’t really bothered by their unease. Aside from Basira and her family, she still wasn’t sure whether she liked these people enough to want to be accepted by them, anyway.

“I think we should wait for the Paladins to return,” Zara said.

The front door of the inn banged open, startling all of them. Bright light and cool air washed in, along with a group of Paladins.

“Tahir!” a Paladin called. He and Naika were carrying Theron between them, his arms slung over their shoulders. At first, Zara didn’t see anything wrong with him, but then she noticed the greave missing from his left shin, and the blood soaking through his pant leg. Tahir rounded the counter as the Paladins set Theron down in a chair.

“What happened?” Basira asked.

“An encounter with the elves,” one of the Paladins said. “We killed one of them, but not before she got a good hit in.”

“It was my own fault,” Theron said. “I was reluctant to harm a female, even a night elf female. But they’re every bit as devious and bloodthirsty as the males. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Let’s see the damage, then,” Basira said.

“It’s nothing,” Theron said good-naturedly, pulling up his pant leg to reveal a deep slash through his calf. “A flesh wound.”

“With all due respect, Paladin, it looks like it’s going to be an infection if you don’t let Tahir take care of it,” Basira replied.

“By all means,” Theron said, sitting back. He grimaced as Tahir wordlessly propped the injured leg on another chair.

Basira poured another cup of tea and set it down in front of Theron. He looked up, spotted Zara, and smiled.

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