Will of the Witch [Legacy, BK 2 - Completed]

Chapter 10.4

Ezra

I was still struggling to catch my breath from the fight as Chief Naekas turned to cast a searching look over his people. Other than fear and concern on the villager's faces, everything else seemed normal. No injuries, no signs of fighting. So, why was everyone here?

"What happened?" I asked Tamner.

The healer's expression was grim, though it softened he focused on me. "Warriors, Hassim. Many warriors from the north. They took the village."

Chief Naekas said something in his native language to Amna. She replied quickly before bowing to him and Tamner, her thick braid falling over her shoulder as she leaned forward. "Come into the temple," she said in English as she straightened. "I'll see to it that your people are given shelter and food."

"We'll help." Hunter dismissed his demon as he and John followed Amna into the crowd of villagers. Chief Naekas addressed his people in a big booming voice that echoed off the high retaining walls of the Temple's courtyard. Relief filtered through the villagers.

Poe's presence was a comfort as I felt, rather than saw, him come up to stand beside me. Something in him had changed the night that he'd helped John, but he refused to speak of it. Whatever it was, it nagged at me. Like one of those stupid riddles Liam used to give me when we were kids.

I glanced up at Poe, wincing as the afternoon sun stung my eyes. He wasn't looking at me, his gaze instead focused on Benji and Kaylee where they were helping Anissa with a couple of packs.

"You found all of the lost Reinhardts?" Poe asked.

Part of me wondered if Poe could sense the same oddness to Kaylee as I had the first time I saw her in the jungle since he was a previous Head of the Reinhardt family.

"No," I said, shielding my eyes against the sun glare. "There's still one we've yet to find, back in the other world." The image of him walking down a New York City street, with the collar of his leather jacket pulled up against the cold night wind was still vivid in my mind, even though I'd had the vision of him months ago. But I had a feeling he wasn't going to come to me as the others had. I was going to have to track the last lost child down.

I turned to lead the way into the temple hall, but Poe's concerned expression stopped me. "What's wrong?"

Staring a moment longer, he stepped past me. "It's nothing." Poe crossed the bare dirt of the courtyard and disappeared under the shadowed archway as I watched.

'Nothing' my ass. But I was willing to bet that whatever it was, I wouldn't hear about it until Poe was ready to talk about it.

It didn't take long to gather everyone who needed to hear the Chief's explanation of events inside the main temple hall, which was just under the archways off the first floor. The hall was decorated as the rest of the temple, pieces of colored stone were pressed into the earthen walls, the designs swirling into murals much like the ones we passed up the stairs to the rooms we'd been granted.

There was only a wooden dais set in the back of the room, with a well-worn cushion placed in the center of it. In front of the raised platform, a woven rug covered the dirt of the floor.

I lowered myself to the floor next to Poe, as he sat with Chief Naekas on his right. Benji came in as well to sit on my other side as the old monk, who'd spoken with us when we'd first arrived, came in to take a seat on the dais.

John was the last to arrive, taking the free space next to Benji. I couldn't be sure because of the shaded light but John looked pale. His normal tan skin ashen. I wanted to ask him if he was alright. Maybe it was still too soon for John to be up?