Chapter 56
Night descended. Daklis had not come to her. No one had. Aerlid briefly left the river to find out what was happening. Daklis’ tribe was gone.
It doesn’t really matter. Riley thought, still a little disappointed. Even if Daklis’ tribe wouldn’t follow her, at least they hadn’t all thrown themselves at her. She was in the same position as this morning.
It hadn’t gotten any worse.
Riley gazed up at the stars, her arms wrapped loosely around her knees. Aerlid was singing to the moon again.
She didn’t like the feel of this place, yet it was so familiar. Fear and violence hung heavily in the air.
Like the gemeng village of her youth.
Like Astar.
It would be a relief to leave this place, to be somewhere people weren’t afraid all the time, even if the only reason was because there were no people.
Riley spent the rest of the night pondering that. Leaving would be a relief, but she couldn’t help a heaviness in her chest at the thought of how these creatures lived.
Aerlid stared at her. To say he was shocked would have been an understatement of the highest order.
He could barely speak.
He managed weakly, ‘could you repeat that?’
Riley had a grimly determined set to her face. ‘I want to stay here.’
‘And command this tribe and lead them to a brighter tomorrow?’ Aerlid paraphrased. He felt ill.
‘I want to try, Aerlid. Maybe we could change things here.’
He blinked, trying to clear his eyes. Surely his senses were failing him. ‘How?’ he demanded.
‘I don’t know.’ Her determination wavered for a moment. ‘I don’t know how or if we can. But we have nowhere else to be. We don’t lose anything by trying.’
Aerlid closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. ‘Riley, these creatures are made of human and ehlkrid. If I had to, I don’t think I could pick which species was more violent. You know, before the ehlkrid came the humans were always fighting each other. If they didn’t have gemengs now they’d still be fighting each other. Violence is in their blood.’
‘Further, these people neither love nor fear you. They won’t listen to you. You’ll be constantly fighting with them. Whichever way you look at it, this is an impossible task. And it’s not our problem, Riley. We’re not responsible for how these creatures choose to live.’
‘I see. Still, I would like to try. Do you have any suggestions?’
‘But I don’t think this is a good idea..’ had she heard a word he’d said? She’d looked like she was listening. Perhaps he’d been imagining that.
For a moment Riley looked confused. ‘I understand your concerns, but I would still like to try. I don’t think I would be happy if I left here without trying…’ her voice trailed off. Then she said more matter-of-factly, ‘So, do you have any suggestions?’
Aerlid paused. He heard the sadness in her voice. ‘And what of my opinion?’ he asked, his voice gentler. ‘Shouldn’t we make this decision together?’
‘I thought we just did.’ She looked at him as if he was being obtuse on purpose.
‘That felt a lot like you deciding to me.’
They stared at each other for a few moments.
Aerlid sighed, ‘I understand you feel bad for these people, I understand that. But it is impossible, and you aren’t responsible for how they live. Please, explain why we should stay.’
Riley, puzzled, spent a few moments in thought. What more could she say, other than that she would regret not trying? ‘This is a horrible place,’ she began slowly, ‘I don’t want to live here. But…’ she hesitated, ‘I’m strong. I can leave if I want. Maybe… it’s not so easy for them, maybe they don’t like it here either. So I would like to try… and there is nothing else we would be doing if we didn’t try. So if we stay a little longer, we don’t lose anything. We can try. I would like to try. I need to try.’
Aerlid scrutinized her hard. ‘Alright.’ He said with a defeated sigh.