Wrath of the Gods [Legacy, BK 3 - Hiatus]

4.2 - Ezra

Not long after Suon had chased off the children, I found myself settled in the meeting hall with Chief Naekas, Benji, Mavi Zuise, and Poe. I sat on the hand-woven rug before the dias with Vasco nestled in my lap. We were debating yet again the best course of action for dealing with the war band that had driven Chief Naekas' tribe from their village. It had been weeks since the warriors had taken the village and they showed no interest in moving on as we'd hoped they'd do.

"I don't see another choice," I said in my broken use of their language. "Chief Naekas would rather not settle on new land. It's hard to be so far from one's ancestors and familiar hunting. But the tribe also can not stay here. The temple is at capacity and the resources here are limited."

Benji nodded. He sat on my left, his legs crossed beneath him. "Ezra is right, our last course of action is to evict them from the village." He had agreed with me from the start, but he wasn't happy with the idea any more than the Chief.

"No fighting, though," Naekas said sharply from his seat on Benji's other side. "Our warriors are not the same as those in the village. We would not win and the cost in lives would be great."

Mavi Zuise took the time to adjust the sleeves of his robe before he answered. The temple's head monk was pensive, a worried frown deep in the lines of his face. He turned to the Chief. "I am thankful for the tribe's hunters and the help that the rest of your people have given to my fellow monks here at the temple, but Hasim is right. We are struggling to stay ahead of everyone's needs here. I do not like the situation. There is no other alternative that is the immediate answer such as this one." He turned back to the rest of us. "I am in agreement with Chief Naekas though. There needs to be as little fighting as possible."

I held back a sigh and instead ran my fingers along the feathers on top of Vasco's head. The argument had gone full circle a few times now. The temple could not continue to support the villagers. The Villagers could not settle a new land without the resources or the time to find a patch of jungle that didn't already belong to another tribe. That left returning to fight for the village the only option. But was there a way to do so without endangering more lives than we had to?

"We need details," I said, carefully. "If we knew the warrior's patterns, when the camp is the quietest, when we could catch them the most unguarded, that would be the best. We've been through the village once, but they may have changed their routines or where they've stored things. If we could use the element of surprise to overpower them as quickly as possible, we may be able to take the village with very little fighting, if any at all."

Poe grinned at me. "You can use the demons to your advantage as well, maybe even find a few wild ones to drive into the village as a distraction before sending our fighters in. If we can stir them into chaos, it would be easier to take control of the situation."

"But do we have enough Summoners for that?" Benji countered. And I understood his worry.

"We have everyone who is capable of Summoning a demon," I said. "That will have to be enough."

"I don't question Hunter or Anissa and Tessa's readiness for a mission like this, but you've only just found Jett." Benji shrugged, his expression one of concern. "He's brand new to all of this, not even initiated yet. Do you really think he would be ready for running into a fight against a group of seasoned warriors?"

Benji had a point, but I had to be optimistic.

"I think that by the time we are ready to move against the war band he could be. It will take some time to gather the information we need, at least seven days. Jett could be ready enough to be of some help by then. He did see a witch attack me in New York City and still followed me here. I will work with him and I'll ask Hunter to help, that will speed things up a little. But whether we have six or five summoners, we will have to make it work."

"There is also John," the Chief said solemnly.

I hadn't wanted to mention it, because I knew the toll John's powers took on him. But in this instance, powers like his were very handy to have. And from everyone's grim expressions, they agreed.

"I don't know if we could get John to go with us again," I started.

"I will speak with John," Poe said.

The words were simple, but the tone and presence that Poe put behind them, made it difficult to say anything further on the matter. I needed him to teach me how to get that sort of control over conversations.

"Thank you," I said. "Benji, would you and Suon figure out a watch on the village and gather as much of the information as you can? Routines, when they change watch guards, any point during the day that is the quietest, and anything else that you think might help us."

"Sure," Benji said, stretching his legs out in front of him.

Shifting Vasco's weight into the crook of my left arm, I stood carefully. "I should probably go find Jett then. We need to get him initiated this afternoon if we want him ready to join us when we move against the war band. We don't have time to spare."

Mavi Zuise nodded. "Thank you, Hassim."

I left them with a promise that we would talk again soon, but I didn't have to look back to know Poe had followed me out into the courtyard.

Vasco stirred, his eyes opening as he let out an ear-piercing shriek.

"I thought you broke him of that," Poe commented.

The little demon stretched out his wings and I had to hold him out and away from me to avoid getting a face full of feathers. Vasco winged his way out of my grip to resettle on my shoulder. "No, not really."

Poe chuckled and I glanced off across the courtyard at Hunter, Mai, and Jett. They were seated under the tree talking, and the deja vu feeling from the sight was strong. Was it really only a few weeks ago that I'd given John a pendant under the same tree?

Hunter caught sight of us and waved, causing Jett to look over at us too.

I had to reassure myself that what we were doing was the right thing. We were working to put an end to this war, to get Chief Naekas' people back to their homes. But if I looked at it from an outsider's perspective, would I see the same thing? I said that I was sure Jett would be ready to join us by the time we moved to push the war band from the village, but the reality wasn't so clear. It was possible that Jett wouldn't want anything to do with us.

And I needed to be ready to accept that.