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Wolves and Men
Book 6 prologue-c

Book 6 prologue-c

This place was a woven tapestry of tan stone and smoky darkened glass, giving it a texture and flowing color that the shiny black obsidian of the City Under the Mountain just didn’t have. Even so, she missed her home and was ready to take it back. She only hoped the meeting that Huan Li had asked her to attend went as well as they hoped.

She met the only other surviving Elder from her home in the middle of the street. Huan Li looked tired. He had had meetings like this one every day with two or three groups of different people a day. To her, it seemed more like interrogation sessions than meetings, interrogation sessions that she wasn’t invited to.

“Good morning, Ansuya,” The aged man said with a smile, “Did you sleep well?”

She smiled in response, “Yes, Huan I did, thank you.”

She pointedly looked over at this city’s version of the tower. It was only a little taller than the surrounding buildings, but at the crest of it shone a golden dome than gleamed brightly, catching and reflecting every bit of light from the ceiling crystals making it seem to glow with an inner light, the shining beacon of the heart of the city. She had to admit it was impressive.

“Have they stated when they want us?” she asked quietly.

Huan Li shook his head. He pressed his hands together as he looked at the much younger looking woman. “The Elders of this city don’t like us being here. There is a sense that because we were targeted and our city found, then we endanger them by being here. They are not cowards and would fight just as we have to defend their home, but there is a growing unease with our presence here.”

Ansuya nodded. “I have sensed the same quiet animosity towards our people. Huan, we can’t stay here.”

The old man nodded his head. “When the time comes, we can expect support from the people here, but they won’t fight our battle for us. At the most I’d say they’d commit no more than three or four packs.”

“Three or four?!” Ansuya hissed sharply, “That’s ridiculous!”

Huan Li’s brow darkened, “Yes I know, with so many of our people lost we can’t hope to be strong enough to take on the three Houses that attacked us. But they have their enemies here as well and with the constant destabilization that goes on above our heads they can’t afford to allow themselves to weaken too much either. It’s a perilous slope that they must tread carefully.”

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A man appeared quietly before them. His skin was a rich brown, like most of the people here, but his eyes were a very striking light blue. He silently ushered the two of them into the building. Huan Li and Ansuya made it a point to walk side by side as they entered. Huan wasn’t any happier with the sexist views of their hosts than she was. But they were guests here, their silent protests and Huan Li appearing as much an equal to his female counterpart as possible was about as far as either of them were willing to protest the culture here.

After climbing two sets of stairs they both came forward into a circular room with the dome arching overhead. The Elders were arrayed in a half circle in front of them. Much like they themselves, where the human born were in their human form but the three wolf born Elders were in their werewolf form sitting with backs arrow straight in cushioned chairs.

Huan Li and Ansuya both bowed to the gathered assembly. Ansuya allowed Huan Li to speak first, this was not the time to ruffle feathers.

“As-salaam 'alaykum Elders,” Huan Li began, “we thank you for your hospitality and aid in these dark times.” A single raised hand from the central sitting Elder silenced Huan Li.

“MarHaban, elder Huan Li. We have provided you aid and shelter and yet we have received nothing from you. How is our hospitality repaid?”

In her mind Ansuya had envisioned this meeting going a little differently but the hostile tone and the casual response to Huan Li’s formal greeting in Arabic was as blatantly disrespectful as receiving a slap in the face in public. This would not go well.

Huan Li opened his palms towards his hosts and tried to speak but was silenced before he began. “We have graciously hosted you without warning and without any promise of repay,” the Elder continued, “yet you come before us almost daily, demanding our help in what is clearly a struggle for you and your city. I don’t see how any of our spent resources or people will benefit us in any way. However, the loss of those people and resources would cost us dearly. Why should we continue to spend resources and our time on a group of people who don’t seem to appreciate our position in this?”

Ansuya spoke quickly, “If our appreciation has not been made plain for your aid and hospitability these past few weeks than let me reiterate that we are most grateful and humbled by the aid provided to us by our brothers and sisters here in the City Under the Sand.”

“I don’t know how things are done under the mountain,” the werewolf sitting to the far right said quietly, “but here, you do not speak to an Elder unless you have been asked to speak.”

Ansuya felt her cheeks flush and her eyes flashed anger and rage at the humiliation of being talked to like a child. But she was an Elder and she was older than most, if not all, the men sitting in front of her and she would show her quality by keeping silent, even though that act in itself would give them the satisfaction of thinking her cowed.

The lead Elder looked back at Huan Li. “We will allow time for you to gather you people. We need to be about our business and the constant struggle that we engage in both here and topside among the world of humans. Things are strained as I’m sure you have gathered from your short time here, and we must look to the safety of our own people first.”