"If
we agree," Wil stood looking at the far wall, not at his wife or
the Sentience. "What guarantee do I have that they won't attack
us once we free them from Surau?"
"You
have my assurance, you'll all be safe from their attack."
Wil
turned slowly toward her, measuring his words and gestures,
evaluating each before speaking. "We had your assurance before
that we would be safe, yet they tried to kill us. We had the
protection of your sentinels when the giant spider tried to kill my
pregnant wife. You'll have to pardon me, but I need more than that. I
don't need promises and guarantees. I need to know that no one will
hurt us after we aid them. In short, I need a hostage. Someone they
care about."
"Wil!"
Matilda was shocked. This was something she never thought she would
witness, the deliberate incarceration of an innocent person by her
husband.
Sentience
spoke decisively. "You're right, Wilhelm. Only by having such a
hold are you guaranteed their cooperation. They're a brutal,
primitive people. They may insist on a hostage of their own, an
exchange to be made when the mission is complete."
"No,
otherwise the deaths of three people would have been avenged long
ago. Revenge isn't something any of us can afford. We'll need allies
to fight the Kahlea. Perhaps when the time comes, the Blue Devils
will join us."
"Chimarria,"
she corrected.
Wil
merely shrugged. "Tell them my terms and get back to me.
Meanwhile, I'm going to bathe and eat something."
"Would
you like to be in on the negotiations?"
Wil's
visage turned cold and lifeless. "There are no points to
negotiate. If they want my help, then give me a hostage, someone
important to them. Don't let them lie, I'll test them. If I have to
kill some of them to get their full cooperation, I will."
Sentience's
eyes blazed. "They're my children, Wil and covered by my
protection! We have certain rules here!"
Wil
rounded on her, left index finger punctuating his words, his anger
barely contained. "I'd gladly kill each of them if it meant I
could get my people back. We're like family out here. They'll provide
me a suitable hostage and I'll test them if I think they're lying.
I'll kill that hostage in front of their eyes. I'll shoot down anyone
who tries to harm my people. I don't care if they're the last of
their kind, I'll wipe them all out. Those are my terms." He spun
away from her.
Her
voice stopped him briefly. "That spider you killed in the
cavern, it was the last of its kind. With her death, came the
extinction of an ancient people. She was defending herself and her
young. Now that she's dead, her eggs have died. Do you want to be
responsible for the end of another race?"
Wil
drew a deep breath, exhaling slowly, he marshaled his emotions. "She
attacked us when we gave her no call to. She tried to kill a
defenseless woman who was with child. I'd happily exterminate her a
hundred times to insure the safety of my family." He swung
around again, speaking this last carefully and distinctly. "Make
no mistake, to protect my people, I'd destroy this entire planet and
everything in it."
"Does
that include the Maker and me?"
Wil
said nothing, jaw clenching, nostrils flaring. "That includes
anyone foolish enough to threaten us. If that means the two of you,
so be it." With those words, he was gone.
The
Sentience watched him walk away, unmoving, her face serene. Matilda
stared after him, aghast.
"I'm
sorry, my lady. I haven't heard Wil speak like that in a long time. I
don't know what came over him."
"Don't
apologize, Matilda. Had he said anything less, then I would know he's
not the man for this job. It's that kind of protectiveness and
loyalty a man in his position must have. Leordovik had that same
attitude and he lies in the Halls. It was built for him."
A
brief silence followed as Matilda digested this information. "Will
you bring him a hostage?"
"I'll
provide him with three. The elders and priests of the clan are the
most important to it. They can't easily be replaced for their
apprentices have all died by Surau's hand. They'll come to secure the
safety of their people."
"Will
we be safe?"
"From
the Chimarria, surely. From Surau, that is another matter."
©
2017 Dellani Oakes
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