“Shur?” she asked Shur, a fairly pointless question.
“Shh,” he hissed. “Get them to be quiet.”
Addie snapped her fingers twice and had to repeat the command to get them to calm down.
“Thank God you’re here! Zoark’s out there, and he needs help!”
She pulled Shur toward the boulders, inviting him to take a look for himself. He looked, and what he saw didn’t change the hardened expression on his face one bit.
Zoark was still standing, surrounded by the males who were doing their damnedest to intimidate him. They were going to pound him to the ground.
Addie looked Shur over. “Do you have a spear? A club? Where is it?”
Instead of answering, Shur grabbed her arm and pulled her away from her observation post. “Let’s go. Get moving!”
She dug her heels. “Like hell we’re moving. Where’s you fucking spear?” she shouted, causing Shur to wince and Ihr and Ehr to flutter frantically about.
The marauders turned in their direction like one, and Zoark launched at the leader.
Without wasting another second, Shur scooped Addie up and broke into a run.
“No!” she wailed, “Let me go! Put me down! We have to help Zoark!”
Her struggles meant nothing to the massive male who easily slung her over his shoulder as he scaled a small wall of sharp rocks at full speed. Addie’s last sight of Zoark was with his strong arm raised, swinging the enemy’s club, fighting off the bloodthirsty animals disguised as people.
She felt sick to her soul, crushed by the reality of it. Incapacitated by the overwhelming feeling of failure. Moaning in utter despair, and bounced on Shur’s shoulder, lost in time and space, swimming in her misery.
They reached their settlement - she heard Melmie and Oh’na’s raised voices. Shur gently lowered her down, and Addie slumped limply against the rock where he propped her.
“Why?” she whispered brokenly. She felt broken. Every part of her.
Shur shook his head. “I had to save you.”
“But Zoark…”
“I couldn't help him.”
He wouldn't have. The stupid Rule of the Fallen.
“But he’ll… die.” She had to swallow before saying the word out loud.
Shur was doing his best to console her, but his furrowed brows clearly communicated that didn’t understand what all the fuss was about Zoark. “I saved you. That’s the most important part.”
Addie crumbled next to the rock. More people came out to investigate the commotion, but Addie wasn’t paying them much attention. Vircea came running, beyond herself with anguish, and Oh’nil emerged. She saw Chele from afar. Illied sidled closed to offer fake platitudes and quickly left. Everything around her was hazy, and the pain of loss left no place in her body to process other stimuli.
Oh’na dropped next to Addie and crawled under her arm.
“Don’t cry, Addie. Don’t cry…”
She wrapped her arms around Oh’na and held on for dear life. Oh’na became the anchor that held her on this earth. If she let go, Addie was afraid she’d float away, dissolve in her grief.
Shur left her side, summoned by the High Counselor to give an account of the events.
Oh’na wriggled free. “Wait here. I’ll bring you some Timpho grass. Don’t leave, Addie.”
Leave? To go where?
Addie lay on her side, curled in on herself.
