Surprisingly, while my fluttering heart pounds furiously against my ribcage, my protective instincts overpower my fear. I step forward, placing myself in front of Mel, Kiley, and Derry. If these colony cats are taking a bite out of anyone, it will be me. I hope even the smallest taste causes horrible indigestion. Huh. Guess I’m not deadset on flight. Maybe just dead, full stop.
Brody refuses to be sheltered by me, but he doesn’t block me as I do the others. He stands faithfully at my side. I sort of love that about him. It’s the difference between bumper pad bowling and bumper car driving.
Barry’s chilling by the boat, not a care in the world. His pecs wave hello. I’d wave back if fast movements wouldn’t cost me a hand. I’m a bit attached to mine, ya know?
The stranger before me is of the jungle, an undergrowth extension. Her limbs are stretched beyond comfort as if someone took hold of her long, dark hair and the bottom of her feet, pulling from opposite ends.
Undoubtedly reacting to my adrenaline surge, a second person moves with feline reflex to her side. She’s marginally shorter than the first. Her darting eyes show an even more pronounced wildness. It’s a strange connection they share once in proximity. One operates the body while one operates the mind. Two bodies in sync.
Ryan steps forward, instinctively cutting through the tension fortifying the riverbank we’re standing on. “Aella,” he coos, hands splayed in greeting. “It’s wonderful to see you again.” Her lip hitches strangely at his welcoming words. Is she smiling? So creepy. Aella uses the air element to draw in whoever or whatever she wants so long as it’s living. Puts Declan’s puppeteering to shame. Hands down.
The second Solathair hisses at him. “Evadne.” His tone is curt, unlike the warm current I’m used to. Is that intentional? Must be. Evadne is an earth elemental. Her specialty is communicating with nature. While Aella’s clearly unsophisticated, she’s far more civilized than her companion. Evadne has some major social shortcomings. Makes me look like a social butterfly.
Notably absent is Akantha, their fire elemental. Her ability is what has us venturing to the rainforest. She accelerates powers. We hope to use this to strengthen my fire, reknitting the severed thread tying Ryan to Mel.
Also absent is Dreyna, the fourth Solathair in the Amazon Coterie. She’s a water elemental, the most powerful of their lot. Functioning as a filter, she allows them to work in sync. A unit.
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“You bring many,” Aella replies gruffly. “I bring Evadne.”
I can’t get a read on her emotions. They’re getting blocked by Evadne’s distress. She’s twitching worse than my eye. Every time someone shifts behind me to improve their vantage point, she stalks, her pitiful whimper transforming into this throaty whine-wail. She isn’t scared. She’s annoyed about being restrained by Aella. With any luck, whatever leash she’s using isn’t retractable. Those things are a menace.
Ryan makes proper introductions, ever the diplomat. They don’t trust us. Why would they? Obviously, he means something to them, or they would’ve no-showed, but gaining their favor won’t be an easy feat. Nor will the underlying threat of a knife to the back help us trust them. They probably don’t use knives. If they do, I’ll bet it’s a canine affixed to a stick, tied together by the hair of their fallen enemies. Canine is a funny name for a cat tooth, don’t you think? Ironic, really.
When I tune back in, Ryan’s explaining how I severed his connection to Mel, along with all the details leading up to our unannounced arrival. Aella listens to every detail. Evadne hears none of it. She’s too busy watching us, sizing us up. She seems more eager to pounce than the jungle cats.
“They wait here,” Aella commands harshly, eyeing the three Sumairs still safely behind me, ignoring Barry entirely. “Until we agree.” She points to Brody, her nose scrunching up. “It can come.”
Brody snorts derisively.
“Not without me.” Derry shoves past me.
Evadne, who hasn’t yet spoken, meets his advance with a resounding growl. Okay, this one is definitely more animal than person. Brody catches the back of my shirt before I completely fall, pulling me up and maintaining his station at my side. His wolf-bear suddenly seems less intimidating. It’s a domesticated animal, whereas this one is utterly untamed. Not even Molly compares.
Aella holds her hand in front of Evadne, the stop motion instantly halting her. “Uncommon ground.”
Ryan lets out an unsteady breath. “We protect our interests.”
She nods. “Just girl then. We stay in range. No interruption.”
I step ahead of Derry, turning to give him a pleading look that I hope will register better than my thoughts. I’ll be fine.
He wraps his arm through mine like a tether. Brody stiffens, his arm winding around my free one. He gives Derry a knowing look. Are these idiots seriously going to take off running? “You won’t get very far. Don’t bother trying.”
This earns me a hiss from Evadne, but Aella does something I don’t expect. She puts her back to us in a show of trust. Evadne does not mimic the movement. Instead, she snarls and leans forward, preparing to strike.
“We do not fight them,” she scolds firmly. Evadne backs down.
Each step away from Evadne causes the woman to twitch more aggressively. I follow, happy to separate from her, even if it means being alone with Aella. At the tree line, she addresses the group. “I call when choice made.”
“Thank you for considering it.” Ryan moves back to stand by Mel, who has two contrasting streams of hope and despair running from her eyes.
As I cross into an unfamiliar world, it helps that the rescue wagon is right outside of view, but I still wonder if this might finally be the moment Karma has her last hurrah. Fingers crossed, I won’t go out with a bang.