Chapter 14

Loyalties

The large Toxicroak man, his name Hung, gave Harun a shiver. The simple fact that he was here was a large statement about his abilities. The transportation chambers were originally enchanted to only allow their own bloodline and those with them to enter the village by normal means. And yet here the man sat across from the low table.

"I must thank you for seeing me on such short notice," Hung said. He picked up a small cup from the table filled with steaming berry tea.

Harun simply watched the man sip it, his own cup still sitting near. "Any man serving the Keepers is welcome in my home." He kept his voice level with a touch of firmness.

Hung noted the tone. The village head didn't want him there and he wasn't afraid to make it perfectly clear. "Now, to the matters we need to discuss. Perhaps you had heard rumors, but Vall's temple has been opened." He watched Harun's eyes blink gently. "By a human." There was barely any response. "You don't seem surprised by this."

Harun simply shrugged. "I had heard rumors. I normally do not attribute rumors such as these with any truth. They are most often filthy rubbish that lowly wives create to pass time and interest."

"I can assure you," Hung said firmly, "that this is no simple rumor." His poison sack rippled with a rumble.

"May I ask, then, why you have come to me?" Harun already knew the answer, but it would be better to create the illusion of innocence.

"We know that there are two Eons helping her, one fire and one water. They were last seen moving towards your village."

"And you believe that they are hiding her in my village," he finished.

Hung nodded. "It would be a good place. You are a line that still employs marked humans."

Harun had to pause and weigh his words carefully. A slip would completely leave him open. "The legend of Vall's temple is well known. I am certain that you would wish to keep such knowledge repressed as much as possible."

"Of course."

"Then I am sure that you understand why I would be hesitant to order a search of the village. The people would demand an explanation."

"You will not tell them."

"But I will not lie to them."

Again Hung's poison sac rippled with annoyance. "I don't believe you understand the position you are in."

"The same could be said of you. The Keepers are not all-powerful, Mr. Hung." It took a high level of control for Harun to keep his voice level.

Hung glared at him. "We shall see." He took one last sip of the berry tea and stood from the low table. "We know she is here. You will produce the human by midday. If we believe you are holding out somehow, we will take matters into our own hands. Good night, sir."

The room fell silent as Hung bowed and stepped out. The wall slid shut behind him.

Harun's hands, which had been sitting patiently in his lap, came up to support his chin. Curse the Spirits for this.

His hand came around, smacking his small cup of tea off the table.

Curse every one of them.

SCOTT GAVE ANAI the news as soon as they got back to the tree. And now they sat around the main room debating on their next move.

"There's no way he'll take this public," Anai said in thought. "He can't risk the panic."

"How safe do you think it would be to just stay here?" Chloe asked.

"Hard to say. It's a big village, but it won't take him long to find you," Anai answered.

"What about going somewhere else?"

"There are three other villages, but there's no way we could reach them in any reasonable amount of time."

"Safron City should be only a day away. How about there?"

"We could. It's easy to hide in a crowd."

Chloe looked over at Scott, who had remained silent the entire time. His mind seemed to be somewhere else at the moment. She wondered what he could be thinking about.

A voice outside called out, breaking into the room. "Sain!"

Everyone looked up. Scott was the first up and to the door, it opening automatically.

His father, Harun, stood on the branch pathway directly outside. The glowing orbs above them created dark shadows that stretched across his face. "Sain, he's here. It's time for you to give this up."

The blatant statement through Scott off guard. He looked around. People were already starting to look out of their windows to check on the noise.

Anai caught the subtlety, though. He never said anything about Chloe. To anyone watching, it would only appear like a simple argument.

After his moment of shock, Scott finally answered back. "No. We aren't going to just hand her over."

"Sain, think about what you're doing," Harun pleaded.

"I have." He turned back to his sister and Chloe. "We're leaving."

Harun sighed. "I didn't want to have to use force." Chloe saw his face suddenly get stone hard. "But there is too much at stake." The man thrust his hand forward. A rush of wind passed over him, kicking up his robe. Steam leapt from his palm as a tight jet that flew at Scott's back.

Scott suddenly turned, pushing his fist at the steam jet. A beam of fire cut through the steam, dissipating it. At the same time, he dashed forward, following in the path of his counterattack.

Harun hadn't expected any force and the fire attack surprised him. It struck him dead in the chest. His element advantage made the damage minimal, but the force of it made him lose balance. And then Scott was there slamming a fire-powered fist into his chest.

The two crashed together. Harun howled as he fell backwards. He backpedaled to find his balance, but ran out of ground first. His body started to fall over the edge of the branch, but Scott's hand suddenly grabbed onto his robe.

The entire scene occurred in the span of a few seconds and ended with Harun's body teetering over a hundred foot drop and his only saving grace his son's grip.

The man looked down to the ground and then up into his son's eyes. "You would put your faith them over your own people?"

Scott shifted his feet, grunting as he struggled to keep his father airborne. "I'm putting my faith in her."

"She's a human," Harun said harshly.

"Times change. If we don't start trusting them, what's the alternative?" He paused to let his words sink in. With a heavy pull, he hauled the man back onto his feet.

The two stood side-by-side for several seconds. Harun simply glared at Scott. "Get out. I will not be held responsible."

HUNG WATCHED FROM a branch above as the group of three walked out of the tree and down the path. A crowd had formed from the ruckus, the rising sun casting light over the scene.

The man smiled and tagged along, staying out of sight.

A/N: Yep. We're getting to several good fights. I hope you all aren't stupid enough to leave now.

And I hope you aren't stupid enough to not leave reviews. *hint hint*