Eli carried his empty plate and bowl over to the counter near the sink. “Let me know when you’re ready to leave.”
While she and Eli made quick work of the cleanup, she noticed Vedin’s men had gathered around the impressive array of weapons on the wall. They clearly found the various blades fascinating. One started to touch a rapier, but Vedin barked an order that had the man jerking his hand back down to his side.
Eli joined them in front of the display. “It’s all right. Feel free to handle any of the weapons you find interesting.”
He took the rapier down and offered it to the Blademate who’d shown interest in it. “I don’t know where he got all of these, but most of them have been hanging on this wall since before I was born.”
Once again Vedin played translator. In short order, they took down several swords and even a double-bladed ax to examine closely, which made Safara smile. Evidently boys love their toys no matter which side of the barrier they were born on.
“Hey, while you guys do that, I need to call my father.” Which was another conversation she wasn’t looking forward to at all. “It shouldn’t take long.”
Eli handed Vedin the machete he’d been holding and joined her near the door. “I’m guessing he won’t be thrilled to find out that I stumbled into all of this. Do you want me to talk to him instead?”
“Thanks, but he’ll want to hear it from me, since he was supposed to take over for me at some point. I also need to see how Granddad is doing.”
She stepped out onto the porch and dialed her father’s number. He answered on the second ring. “Hi, I expected you to check in before this. What’s going on up there?”
Safara hadn’t gotten very far with her explanation when her father interrupted her, his anger coming through all too clearly when he said, “What happened to our plan of waiting and watching?”
She didn’t blame him for being upset. Facing off against eight rogues by herself wasn’t the smartest thing she’d ever done. If she’d been in her hiding spot when they came charging out of the cave, she would’ve stayed there. Probably.
“Remember, I wasn’t alone. Eli was there, too. We were holding our own when Vedin’s Blademates showed up. The rogues broke off fighting and ran away. One funny thing, though. The Sworn Guardian assumed Eli was a Paladin, just like I did when I first met him.”
Her father didn’t let himself get distracted. “Son of a bitch! And what was Eli doing there in the first place? Didn’t I warn you about letting him poke his nose in our business?”
Sometimes her father forgot that her temper matched his. “So you’d rather I’d have died on a Kalith sword than for Eli to learn the truth?”
A sharp intake of breath was followed by a slow sigh. “Safara, you know better that that, but it’s hard enough to keep a lid on things without dragging outsiders into the situation.”
And there was the real problem. Eli wasn’t an outsider, not anymore. Time to change the subject for a minute. “How is Granddad doing?”
“Not all that good. He was a lousy patient to begin with, and then he started running a slight fever. They upped the antibiotics and gave him something to knock back his pain. Personally, I think they should give me some of that, too. You know, to take the edge off the pain the old man causes me with his nonstop complaining.”
She laughed. “The problem is the two of you are so much alike.”
He didn’t bother to deny it. “True enough. Your aunt went back home, so I’m stuck babysitting the old coot for the foreseeable future. I won’t make it up there tonight, although I hate to leave it all on your shoulders. Of course, since Tiel is already on our side of the barrier, there’s not much use in watching the cave entrance. If they cross back over, hopefully that Sworn Guardian and his men will be waiting for them.”
Them trying to return to Kalithia wasn’t her real worry. “If it is the light disease driving all of them across the barrier, what if Tiel and the others go on the attack? Tiel alone was bad enough. If they’re running in a pack, there’s no telling what will happen.”
“There’s nothing we can do about that until we figure out where they’re headed. I’ll alert our contacts in the area. If they hear or see anything, they’ll let us know.”
That was true, but was it enough? She hesitated, knowing he wasn’t going to like her next question. “Dad, do you think we should notify the Paladins in Seattle to see if they can send in some support?”
It wasn’t the first time she’d brought up that subject, but old-timers like her father and grandfather couldn’t get past their hatred for the age-old enemies of their people. On some level, she understood how they felt. After all, her own mother had died on a Paladin sword. There wasn’t a Kalith in this world or their own who didn’t have the same kind of horror story to tell about a loved one.
But her logical mind never failed to point out that the Paladins fought a never-ending battle to protect this world from a malignant invasion. Most of the time, the people who crossed the barrier from Kalithia were sick, driven by a need to kill anyone who crossed their path. Maybe if the Kalith people did more to keep their problem people from escaping into this world, the Paladins could become allies instead of enemies. The only time she’d dared to say that in front of her grandfather, he’d gone ballistic. It had been tempting to remind him about the old saying that if they kept doing the same thing over and over, they’d always get the same result.
Her father finally answered. “You know that’s not going to happen, Safara. If those bastards somehow tracked the message back to us, we’d all end up getting shoved back into Kalithia permanently. I’d probably be fine, but you can’t risk it.”
She hated the pain in his voice when he added, “I can’t lose you like I did her.”
Although she didn’t remember her mother, she’d never for one moment doubted that she’d been the love of her father’s life. “All right, Dad, but you know I had to ask. I have enough leave coming to take tomorrow and the next day off if necessary. I’ll stay up here until you or someone else comes to relieve me.”
The door behind her creaked as Eli stepped out on the porch. He leaned against the railing next to her but remained silent until she disconnected the call. “I take it he’s not happy. Is it because of your grandfather or because of me?”
No use in sugarcoating the situation. “Both, not to mention the situation with Vedin and his Blademates and the men they were chasing.” She nodded toward the door. “Are they ready to go home?”
“Yes. They’re anxious to get back and sound the alarm.”
