Page 33 of The Mentor
“What are you thinking?” Kya asked me.
My chest heaved up in a big intake of air and I slowly released it. “I'm thinking about what punishment we're going to give Sky for this.”
“It wasn't Sky's fault,” Kya objected. “You can't punish her for it.”
My eyes shot daggers at her and my voice rose in volume. “She pushed him! Marco told me.”
“She didn't mean to.” Kya’s voice was a little frantic. “We spoke to Sky when you were gone and she's devastated about what happened.”
Christina joined in. “Did you know that William was dangling a huge spider in front of Sky’s face.”
I huffed. “That doesn't give her the right to push him into a fire.”
“It was anaccident!” Kya almost shrieked. “Sky pushed William when he tried to put the huge, ugly spider down her jacket. She is traumatized by what happened to William. All the children are.”
“No shit?” I muttered and didn’t share that I was traumatized too. How the hell would I ever again be able to relax around a bonfire in the future? I shook my head to clear it. “I used to think of little girls as innocent, but now I'm not sure anymore. Pushing someone into the fire is goddamn evil.”
“Sky isn't evil,” Kya breathed. “It was a reflex – nothing more – and I'm not allowing you to punish her for it.”
“In that case, you and I have a problem because the girl deserves a big spanking.”
“That’s right,” Magni backed me up.
There was a collective gasp from the Motlander women but at least this time Boulder, Magni, Khan, and I took the same side.
“Would you have objected if it had been reversed?” Khan asked the women.
“Yes, hitting children is never okay,” Pearl said firmly.
Finn cleared his throat and stood up from the circle around the bonfire. “Look, I only just learned about this experimental school tonight, and I think it's the greatest thing ever. I get that you were all scared but now that we know the boy is going to survive, maybe you could all calm down and sleep on it before you do anything. Why not ask the kids tomorrow what happened and let them explain themselves? Don’t give a verdict until you know all the facts, is what I’m saying.”
Kya nodded eagerly. “Yes, that's an excellent suggestion. Tomorrow we’ll sit down with both children and ask them to explain themselves.”
“Glad I could help.” Finn smiled. “I wish I could've visited under more pleasant circumstances and that I had been included in your little circle of secrecy.” He smiled widely. “Seeing so many women and girls in one place is nothing short of extraordinary.”
Pearl leaned her head back to look up at him. “We couldn't tell you, Finn. Only adults who would be a good influence can be included in this project.”
“Hey, I'm an excellent role model. I don't fart at the table very often, and I always shower at least once a week.” Finn winked at Pearl.
Pearl laughed and the tension in my chest eased a bit. “You’re definitely trouble, Finn, we all know that.”
“Yeah, but you still love me,” he said charmingly.
Khan got up to stand next to his friend and swung his arm around Finn’s shoulder, pulling him close in what looked like a painful hold. “If it weren’t for your doing really good tonight I would've punched you for flirting with my wife.”
“I would never,” Finn said with a look of innocence. “And my energy would be wasted anyway. Pearl made her choice, and now she has to live with marrying you when she could have had a handsome devil like me.” He flashed a wide grin and hurried to take a few steps away from Khan as soon as he struggled out of his tight hold. “I'll be back in a few days to look in on William. If anything changes or more kids decide to roast each other, just call me, okay?”
I nodded my head and waved my hand when he said goodbye and left.
CHAPTER10
Sky’s Punishment
Kya
I had slept poorly that night. What happened between Sky and William three nights ago at the bonfire was such a tragedy. For two days, I had managed to protect Sky from the spanking the men wanted her to have. It was ludicrous that they didn’t understand how old-fashioned their ideas of disciplining children were. Sky was already suffering from the delusion that William would kill her once he was well enough to do it.
Obviously, I had tried solving it the peaceful way by making the children reflect on their actions and apologize to each other for what they did wrong. Archer had scolded William for dangling the spider in front of Sky, but the Nmen considered it a harmless prank that in no way justified Sky’s violent reaction.
