Dawn's light might have woken Alex a bit earlier. Might. She loved sleeping in, but the heavenly scents of Cale's breakfast enticed her to get up. His sweet bread was unparalleled, although he was often to busy to make the time-intensive recipe.
Alex sniffed the air ostensibly in front of Cale. "I better check on Dola and Raba. I wonder what shape the new girl's in, I just can't imagine." Actually, she could imagine all sorts of scenarios: new girl in withdrawal, new girl sobbing, new girl angry . . . on and on it went.
Cale had pity on her and tore off a piece of the warm bread for her to eat as she walked to the Mercy Tent. It melted in Alex's mouth and she practically floated there. Then she saw the scene she had imagined waiting for her.
New girl angry was the closest: she was chewing out Dola and Alex caught the words as she got closer.
"I am not staying here with some worn out old whore—" the girl said, her voice a raspy gurgle, soft and slightly slurred
Alex yanked her backwards. "Nobody talks to Dola that way. Dola has more courage in her little finger than you do in your whole drug-addled body, girl."
The girl jerked away. "Shut up, alien whore! You're jealous because I'm cutting in on your action with those three brothers!"
Alex's free hand glowed like a red-hot coal but Dola caught her wrist.
"Please don't. Just let her go and don't judge her. You don't know what she's been through. Please?" Dola added the request at Alex's furious expression.
Alex's hand stopped glowing red.
"Fine. Thanks to Dola's mercy, you can go, girl. Don't presume on it again." Then Alex had an idea. She should run it by Gabe, but there was no time. "Tell Flint not to dare send any young virgins." Alex plastered jealousy on her face. "I know they wouldn't like them."
With a sly look that told Alex that she had bought the ruse, the girl walked off. When she was far enough off, Alex flew aloft and followed as high as she could and still see the speck of the girl. The girl ended up in the mountains, but in the opposite direction from Drake's place.
The mountains loomed close, and far enough away she could see the border where they faded into thorn trees and far beyond them, the ocean. The mountains also provided good cover for brothels, Alex figured. There must be a trail up there, unless they terminated in a sheer drop to the forest below. Once Alex saw the cave entrance where the girl disappeared into and she marked the location mentally, she flew back to camp.
"We should be having visitors tonight," Alex announced to the brothers.
At the somber looks she received, Alex toned her voice down. "I know I should have talked with you, Gabe, but I didn't have time. I thought it would save some lives."
The brothers didn't look any happier as she outlined her plan. At the end, they were silent and Gabe and Rile glowered at her.
"You practically ordered some young virgins for us," Gabe said sourly. "Do any of us get a say or should we all just follow orders?"
"I did it to save them," Alex protested.
"Let's storm the brothel. We'd all be more comfortable with that," Rile said.
"We can still do that. I put a backup plan in place."
"Did you doubt we would go after the whole brothel?" Gabe asked, eyes narrowed in anger.
"Will you stop? I have no qualms about your integrity. I was worried that the brothel might be too well-guarded for the four of us. I thought better to save three girls than none."
"Alex, fly me there for recon," Gabe ordered.
Alex found recon incredibly boring and shifted restlessly. The ground was flat, the grass pocked with giant rocks. It looked over the steep, impassable mountainside with the rocky trail below.
There wasn't much activity during the day and Alex wondered if they saw a true picture of the defenses. This must have occurred to Gabe, for he said he planned on staying the night. When Alex sighed, he amended that they would stay only until the second watch. They flew back for Cale and Rile. Raba agreed to wait at their tent for the virgins to be delivered.
The visitors to the brothel that night meant nothing to Alex, but the brothers looked like they were memorizing each face. Some they recognized with great distress, some with resignation, but in the end they all looked angry. Alex just stayed angry.
When a sudden, high-pitched wail and sobbing that sounded like it came from a young girl filled the air, Cale and Rile grabbed her arms and pinned her to the ground to keep her from flying in.
"Alex, don't let anger rule your mind. We are incredibly outnumbered. We'll need help," Rile said.
She glared up at them for a moment, then sighed and closed her eyes. "You can release me. When are we coming back?"
"As soon as we recruit the help we need," Gabe said.
The evasive answer was effective and Alex came back to camp without protest. Back at their tent, Gabe ordered them to bed.
"You're not serious!" Alex protested. "What about getting help?"
"Since when do you object to sleep?" Gabe countered.
"When there are young girls—"
Gabe held up a hand. "Stop, I know. I will ask Rake for help in the morning. Do you want to wake him up in the middle of the night and ask?" Gabe said.
"Sure." Alex looked capable of it.
"Let me rephrase that: do you think you will get a positive answer if you wake him up in the middle of the night?"
Fortunately, that logic and Alex's need for sleep overcame her fury and impatience. She flopped down on the bedroll with a dramatic groan and even kicked her feet in a temper tantrum for a few seconds. Then she slammed one pillow over her head and clutched another against her chest. She was asleep in three breaths.
"I never want to see what would give Alex insomnia," Rile whispered to Cale, who nodded vigorously.
She even slept through the arrival of the three little virgin girls. Cale watched through the gauzy flap of the tent as Raba spoke to the three. The eldest of them was no more than ten years old. Raba pulled the youngest girl close for a second and whispered something into her ear. The girl nodded and clung to her neck. Cale stepped out of the tent and nodded to Raba, who held out her hand to the other two girls. The oldest took it and then the hand of the middle girl.
"We're going to the Mercy Tent, girls," Raba said in a kindly voice. "No male will use you here. These are Guardians and they protect us. Do not fear them."
Gabe eased out of the tent, unfolding his long torso as he stood up. "My brother and I will escort you to the Mercy Tent. There are guards that keep their distance. You are safe now."
The girls watched him with wide eyes, clustering closer to each other. Raba hugged the one she was holding and started walking toward the Mercy Tent. Cale and Gabe fell in behind them, and no one spoke until they reached their destination.
Once there, Dola opened the tent flap. With a wide smile on her face she led each of them to a sleeping pallet in the tent. Some of the girls blinked sleepily, their eyes adjusting to the dark after being outside. Others slumbered on, their eyes closed tight in the warm, cozy air. They sleepily tangled themselves in their blankets and pillows, their feet and arms falling over the edges until they were tucked snugly into their bedrolls. Soon all were cuddled together and asleep.
***
A/N
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Shared Mercy Book 5 of the Guardians Saga
Fantasy#1 love power highest ranking. Alex and the dragon brothers have fought evil on multiple worlds. But some evil cannot be fought with a sword or staff. Will Alex and the brothers overcome a new kind of evil?
