Free Aegis Rising by S.S.Segran Page B

to look at the sleeping Fiotez on his bed. “I will see to him,” she murmured. “You must go and rest.”
    Tikina gave her an appreciative smile. “Thank you. You must keep him hydrated. Squeeze the juices of these leaves”—she held up a fistful of jagged-edged leaves—“into his mouth every little while, and keep feeling for his temperature. At the slightest sign of spasm, call for me immediately.”
    Huyani signaled that she understood. They sat together for a little while, talking softly about Huyani and Akol’s time with the five outsiders. “What did you do with them?” Tikina asked.
    “We fed them some deer meat, which they consumed ardently. They said it was the best they had ever had. Afterward, Akol and I decided that we need to tell them a few things, as we felt it was not right to keep them in the dark for an extended time.”
    Tikina pursed her lips, and then nodded. “Tell me, though. What did you and your brother talk to them about, and how much did you reveal?”
    Shrugging, Huyani responded, “We told them how we found them, and informed them about the Guardians. We did not say what they were, but Jag had been in and out of consciousness during the period in which the Guardians brought the five to us, and he figured it out. We told them about you, the Elders. We also told them about the skills we carry within ourselves. Akol and I only shared our abilities, as we did not want to overwhelm them. We said our skills are not impossible. Lastly, we told them where they were.”
    Tikina’s eyebrows rose. “Oh? And how did they take to that?”
    “They looked at each other in confusion,” Huyani giggled. “It means nothing to them. They have no idea where this place is.”
    “Of course they would not know. As far as we are concerned, the outside world is not aware of us. I am pleased you did not give too much away.”
    “We told them that you would like to meet them soon.”
    Tikina smiled widely. “Could you perhaps arrange a time tomorrow where we may meet them?”
    “I am sure I can.”
    “Very good. Is that all that happened?”
    Huyani twirled a lock of her straight hair with her index finger. “There is one other thing. They seem to be getting impatient. They want to know when they will be able to leave.”
    Tikina sighed quietly. “It is only to be expected, I am afraid. As I have said before, I believe that these five are special.”
    “You think they are the ones?”
    “I cannot say for sure, but I must admit that their arrival here is very intriguing.”
    A moment of silence followed, broken by a guttural cough from Fiotez. Huyani glanced at him and noticed he was still asleep. “Grandmother . . .”
    “Yes?”
    “Do you know anything about Kody’s father?”
    “Father?”
    “Yes. He kept asking about his father, and when we told him we did not know what happened to him, he became forlorn. We tried to soothe him and take his mind off the uncertainty, and now it nags me. Did the Guardians indicate anything about his father?”
    “Alas, they signaled absolutely nothing about this. If the boy’s father had been with them and something ill-fated happened, we would have known about it from the Guardians.” Tikina was quiet for a while, then added, “I will see what I can do to find out more about this.”
    Huyani nodded. After some time, Tikina bade her granddaughter good night and was about to exit when she turned around with a mischievous smile. “The two girls . . . one has gray eyes and the other has brown, am I correct?”
    Startled, Huyani looked up at her. “How did you know?” She saw the playful look on Tikina’s face and groaned, “Oh—the eyes of Tyse.”
    Tikina simply chuckled and left Fiotez’s neyra , leaving Huyani in wonder.

10
    “O ne word I have is bizarre ,” Kody muttered. He tapped a small bruise on his lower arm. “I mean, go figure this: Our plane crashed from a freak storm; we were picked up by giant bears and brought to this place