Strange New Eyes

Chapter Nineteen - Prisoners

"Mother, no!" Aysel screamed. She wrenched herself from her father's protective arms and dragged herself across the tangled bed, reaching for her mother's arm. But it was too late. A flood of blood was already rising from the gash in her wrist, pooling in the air above her like a fierce storm. She sent it racing towards Dunyasha's chest, twisting it into knives and daggers as it flew. Dunyasha dodged. The spikes missed her chest but impaled her shoulder, and the force of the blow pushed her against the wall. She cried out, and seeing her in pain, Aysel did too.

"Stop!" she yelled. She finally took hold of her mother's hand. "She's not dangerous!"

Her mother turned to her, eyes wide with fear and disbelief. She kept her blade poised above her dripping wrist. "Aysel, get back behind your father."

"No!" She slipped out of her father's reach and before her mother could stop her, ran to Dunyasha.

"Aysel!" her father called, but she didn't listen.

She threw her arms out in front of Dunyasha, just like her mother had done for her. "Don't hurt her," she begged. "I can explain."

Her father was on his feet now too, his own blade in hand. "Aysel, you've gone mad," he said in a shaking voice. "Get away from that thing before it kills you."

"She won't kill me! We're..." She didn't know how to finish, but knew this wasn't the time to ask.

"We're on the same side," said Dunyasha from behind her. She pulled herself off the wall and walked, hand clutched to her bleeding shoulder, to stand next to Aysel.

Her parents gasped. "It can talk?" her father whispered incredulously.

"'She,'" Aysel said. "Not 'it.' 'She.'" She reached out a hand, and Dunyasha took it. Her parents' eyes widened further. "This is Dunyasha," she said. "I went looking for someone to help Elkin, and I found her. We're going to try our best to save him."

"But... but it's a Beast!" her mother whispered.

"She's a person. Quite a good one, actually." Dunyasha's hand tightened in hers. "We're going to try to help Elkin, but we have bigger problems."

Dunyasha nodded. "The people who did this to your son are planning on doing it to others. We need to stop them."

Her father blinked. "We?"

"We," she said simply. "It is time for my people to stand alongside Letters in battle, rather than against them."

"How do we know this isn't a Beast trick?" her mother asked. "You bewitched our daughter. Now you're trying to fool us with your lies."

"She's not lying, and I'm not bewitched," Aysel said, still holding Dunyasha's hand, she stepped forward. "There are people who plan to kill all Letters with the same poison that hurt Elkin. Dunyasha wants to help us fight them. If she doesn't, more people will die. We need her help. And we need all the help we can get for Elkin." She looked down at his sleeping face, and gently brushed a curl off his forehead. It felt as brittle as ash in her fingers. "If you can't trust her, trust me. For him."

Her mother bit her chapped lips. "I will... listen." She let her blade fall. "For him."

But before Aysel could get a word out of her mouth, the cabin was flooded with light. She threw her hand up over her eyes; even torches were blinding after so long in the dark. She instinctively pulled Dunyasha closer to her, as if she could protect her from the red-cloaked figures that stormed into the cabin.

"Elrel, Aydin," the woman in the front said "We heard shouting. Has Elkin woken? Is there news of Aysel?"

Her mother said nothing, but her eyes darted over to where Aysel and Dunyasha stood. There was no time for them to hide as the woman raised her torch. The light fell on Dunyasha's wild face and curved body, illuminating her as bright as sunlight.