Chapter 8
Anna sat on the couch and listened. The sounds of the village died away into the dark. Aquilla’s voice answering Penelope Ann in the next room faded and died, too. Was Penelope Ann in there right now, telling Aquilla that Anna brought Menlo those skidhopper eggs to eat?
How much longer did she have before Aquilla barged out of the room to confront her? The light changed from golden to green to royal blue, and the brilliant yellow Angondran aurora lit up the sky. Then the soft buzz of Aquilla’s snoring reverberated through the wall. He wasn’t coming to confront her any time soon. Penelope Ann must have kept the eggs secret.
Anna let out a long breath, but she couldn’t relax. She paced around the room, but she only wound up pacing toward the store room. Was Menlo asleep? She paced around again and stopped by the door again. What harm could it do if she just looked in to check on him? Then she had an idea. She stuffed a box from under the counter into her pocket, took up the lamp in one hand, and ducked out the door.
She lifted the bar off the store room door as quietly as she could. Lamplight flooded the store room, and Menlo squinted up into it. “It’s only me. It’s Anna.”
He slumped back on the floor. His composure vanished from his face, and the despair he hid so well in front of Aquilla darkened his eye. “I’m not hungry.”
Anna’s heart melted. She shut the door behind her and thanked heaven the store room had no windows. She set the lamp on the floor and sat down in front of Menlo. “I didn’t bring you any more food. I don’t know when I’ll be able to find any more, but I’ll keep looking. But I brought you something else.”
He didn’t look up. “Is it a weapon of some kind?”
She smiled. “I’m afraid not.”
“Then it’s no good to me,” he grumbled. “You better go back inside and go to bed.”
She pulled the box out of her pocket. “You might find this useful. It’s a medicinal salve. It will kill the pain in your wounds so you can get some sleep.”
He turned away. “I won’t be able to sleep with my hands tied like this.”
Anna set the box down. “Come here and I’ll untie you.”
“Don’t bother,” he snapped. “You’ll only have to tie me up again before you leave, and I’ll be in the same predicament as before. Why don’t you leave me alone? I can handle this by myself.”
She sighed. “Come on, Menlo. Let me help you. I’ll untie you now, and you can rest your hands until I leave. The salve will make you feel better, and if you like, I can stay while you get some sleep.”
He grunted and turned away.
She studied him. “You’re exhausted. That’s why your patience is wearing thin.”
She got up on her knees and untied him. Then she opened the box. He jerked his head away when she tried to rub the salve on his forehead, but she persisted until he gave up and let her do it.
“There.” She sat down and scraped the remaining salve off her finger. “Doesn’t that feel better?”
He stole a glance at her. “You’re right. It kills the pain.”
She burst into a smile. “What about your wrists? Would you like to rub some on them?”
He hesitated. Then he held out his hand. “You do it.”
She couldn’t help but smile again. She cradled his hand in hers and rubbed the salve into the purple line around his wrist. When she finished, he offered her the other one. “You really know how to make Aquilla mad.”
“He’s mad enough already,” Menlo muttered.
Anna chuckled. “You gave perfect answers during your interview. Piwaka is defending you now. Aquilla won’t be able to keep you much longer.”
“He’ll keep me as long as he wants,” Menlo returned. “He won’t let me go until he gets his revenge.”
“He can’t exactly revenge himself on you,” Anna replied. “You don’t know who killed his brother, and he won’t find out by torturing you.”
Menlo’s head shot up. Then his shoulders slumped. “This is the second time you’ve done me a good turn, Anna. I feel honor-bound to return the favor.”
“What do you mean?” Anna asked.
“I lied to him,” he replied. “I do know who killed his brother.”
Anna’s jaw dropped. “You do? How could you? You said you were only a foot soldier in the war. How could you know who was the division commander along the Eastern Divide?”
He must have been feeling better, because he smiled. “Everyone in that war knew where the Eastern Divide was. It’s the main border feature between our two territories. I would have to be dead not to know where it was. And I know who the division commander was because I served under him. I fought with him along the Divide, and I was there when he killed the Avitras Alpha. Aquilla’s brother Erius was Alpha before him.”
Anna stared at him. “Then why did you lie? Why don’t you tell Aquilla what he wants to know and save yourself all this trouble?”
He gazed into her eyes. “You really care about what happens to me, don’t you? I wasn’t expecting that, even from you. I lied because, the moment Aquilla finds out who killed his brother, he’ll get rid of me.”
“He’ll.....get rid of you how?” Anna asked.
“He’ll kill me,” Menlo replied. “Once he knows the identity of the killer, he won’t need me anymore.”
“But that would spark a war with the Ursidreans,” Anna pointed out. “He wouldn’t want to risk that.”
“He doesn’t care if he sparks a war,” Menlo replied. “All he cares about is getting his revenge. In fact, sparking a war is exactly what he wants to do. Then the man who killed his brother will have to cross the border to fight it. He’ll have to come to Aquilla instead of Aquilla having to go find him somewhere. It all fits in with his plan.”
Anna’s head fell into her palm. “This is terrible. This is the worst thing that could possibly happen. What if he keeps attacking you until he finds out the truth? It would be better if you didn’t know anything. Then he couldn’t force you to tell him.”
Menlo shook his head. “He won’t stop, and eventually, I’ll have to tell him what I know.”
“What about your Alpha?” Anna asked. “When he finds out you’ve been taken prisoner, he’ll come for you.”
“That’s exactly what Aquilla wants,” Menlo replied. “The sooner our factions go to war, the happier he’ll be.”
“What are we going to do?” Anna cried.
Menlo looked down at his hand still cradled in hers. All of a sudden, she became aware of her skin touching his. “There’s nothing we can do.”
She pulled her hand back. “We can’t just sit around waiting for disaster to strike. We have to do something.”
“Like what?” he asked.
Anna opened her mouth. Then she shut it again. “I don’t know.”
He took her hand again, and this time, he cradled her hand in his. The salve radiated its heat into her fingers. “You’ve already done more than any one person could be expected to do under the circumstances. You should be careful not to endanger yourself any more than you already have.”
This time, she forgot to pull her hand back. “I’m not in danger.”
“You’re in more danger than you realize,” he told her. “Aquilla won’t let anyone stand in his way, and you aren’t even Avitras. What are you to him? You’re a stranger. He won’t hesitate to get rid of you, too, especially when he figures out you’ve been helping me.”
Penelope Ann flashed through Anna’s mind. How long could she hold out before she broke down and told Aquilla that Anna was helping Menlo? Anna always counted on Penelope Ann to help her settle into Avitras territory, but she couldn’t count on her now.
Her mind swept over the village, and the people Penelope Ann introduced her to. She’d come to consider some of them friends, but now they might as well have been a thousand miles away. She wouldn’t trust one of them to help her. None of them would cross Aquilla.
She looked up to find Menlo studying her. “What’s on your mind?”
She shook her head, but she couldn’t hold his gaze. His eyes searched her heart. He already knew without her telling him. “Nothing. I guess I’m just tired.”
“You should go to bed,” he told her. “Tomorrow’s another long day.”
“It won’t be as long for me as it will be for you,” she replied. “Why don’t you lie down and get some sleep? I’ll watch until you wake up. That way, I won’t have to tie your hands again until I leave in the morning.”
He shook his head. “It’s too risky. You should leave now while you have a chance.”
She didn’t budge. “This could be your only chance to get some good sleep. You should take it while you can.”
He cast a sidelong glance at the rope lying on the floor. This time, Anna read his mind. He dreaded her retying his hands behind his back. She didn’t have to argue to convince him. “Lie down. Here. Put your head on my lap. You’ll be more comfortable that way.”
His head shot up, and his eyes drilled into her soul, but he didn’t argue. He sighed and laid down. The instant his shaggy head came to rest on her leg, he closed his eyes and his breathing lengthened and deepened. He was more exhausted than either of them let themselves believe. In a moment, a steady purr rumbled up from his throat and he fell asleep.
Anna’s hand hovered in mid-air above his head. Then she moved it down to his shoulder, but she didn’t dare let it fall. She wouldn’t let herself take the last final step across the line between them.
She imagined running her fingers through his hair. She rubbed the soreness out of his shoulders and massaged his neck. But in reality, she didn’t touch him. He needed sleep, and she would sit up all night and guard him while he got it, but she couldn’t touch him the way she wanted to. He was a prisoner. He had to hold himself on guard.
She sat all night and watched him sleep. He fell into a bottomless pit of exhaustion and never stirred. Her feet and legs went numb from sitting still so long, and he didn’t rouse even when she shifted her weight to let the blood flow back into them.
Every time fear seized her and commanded her to run for her life, one glance down at his sleeping face convinced her to sit still. His ordeal was so much harder than hers. The risk she took helping him was nothing compared to his danger. He needed rest more than anything right now, and she could endure some discomfort, for one night at least, to make sure he got it.
The faintest streak of morning light peeked under the store room door before she let her hand fall on his shoulder. “Menlo, it’s time to wake up.”
He jolted awake with a gasp. “What?” He bolted upright, and her hand fell away.
“I have to go now,” she murmured. “It’s dawn. The village will be up soon. I have to tie you up again and bar the door before anybody finds me here.”
In an instant, calm settled over him. He nodded. “Of course.” He sat back in the same place against the wall. “I’m ready.”
She looped the rope around his wrists, but didn’t pull it tight. The angry welts on his skin wouldn’t let her.
“Make it tight,” he told her over his shoulder. “Make it the way it was when you came.”
She did as he commanded, and he flinched when she tugged on the rope. She squatted in front of him and tied his ankles. “I’ll try to find some more food for you. I don’t know how long it will take. The Avitras don’t eat meat. Just know that I’m working on it.”
“Don’t endanger yourself,” he told her. “Keep yourself safe, no matter what.”
She stood up and moved toward the door. “I have to try. I can’t see you like this without trying something. I only wish I could do something more to help you.”
He didn’t say anything else until she turned her back on him and put her hand against the door. Then he called after her. “Anna?”
She looked at him.
“Thank you,” he told her. “You are helping me.”
She broke into a radiant smile and hurried out of the room. She dropped the bar across the door and hurried away from the house. She had to cover her tracks before Penelope Ann or Aquilla found her.