This seemed to go a long way to sober both women up. I was glad something could.
"Bow and arrow?" Talise asked with a tilt of her head, and I could tell her curiosity was piqued.
"It's a type of ranged weapon Itold Mira about," Ireplied. "Ithink it will help a lot to increase the defense on the island. You don't have to get close to the enemy to take them out."
"That sounds very beneficial!" Talise exclaimed with wide eyes.
"It really can be," Iadded. "I wish I had a way to draw out a diagram for you so you could understand better.
Talise gave me a weird look, then walked over to the shelves behind her work table. She reached up and pulled off one of the flat rocks, grabbed something out of the jar next to it, returned to the table, and handed me the contents of her hands.
"Will this work?" she asked.
I looked to see she'd given me a slate and a crude piece of chalk. I knew about such things being used back before paper became readily
available from the stories my great-grandpa told me about when he was in primary school.
"That will work splendidly," Itold them with a smirk. "Now, the best wood on the island to use would be bamboo. It is sturdy and flexible. We
can use the plant for all sorts of things, including eating the inside shoots
once we cook them. Raw, they are poisonous. Do you know what I mean by bamboo?"
The two women looked at one another and turned to me with concerned expressions.
"Yes, we do know," Mira answered. "Some of it grows in the places we inhabit, but there isn't a lot of it. The bulk of it grows deeper inland in the jungle areas. We had to stop going deep into the forest areas because we haven't been able to keep the wild animals culled, and they have gotten out of control."
"What kind of wild animals?" Iinquired.
"Mostly large boars and rodents," Talise answered. "The rodents
aren't a huge threat if they don't bite you, but they carry a disease that can make us very ill. The boars have huge tusks and will attack without
provocation. The water dragons used to keep their numbers to a minimum, along with our men hunting them …"
She left the thought unfinished, but I knew where she was going. The men were all gone, and the water dragons were dying off, as well. It seemed
as if we had gone full circle back to the cloud of melancholy that was never too far away.
"The plans for the bow and arrow can wait," I said softly as I looked at both of the women. "I would like to know what happened to all the men, if you will share with me. I think that was your intention of inviting me here tonight, but I don't want to press the issue if you aren't ready."
They looked at one another and back at me. Then Mira sighed heavily and seemed to resign herself to the idea.
"Yes, Ben,I will tell you the full story of what has happened to our men and what we have had to endure," Mira blurted out while she still had the nerve. "After what you did today, you have earned the right to at least hear the story and know everything you are up against."
"I know this isn't easy for either of you," I offered with a smile. "I really will not force this on you, but am more than willing to listen to
anything you want to tell me."
Mira sighed again and composed herself.
"That spear you found today belonged to KingZale, my sister's beloved and mate," she almost whispered. "He was a righteous and
honorable man, the last of us to bond with a water dragon. He and his
dragon, Geysis,perished on that field nearly four summers ago during a pirate raid most brutal."
"Are you sure it belonged to him?" Iquestioned.
"Yes, most definitely," she quickly replied. "Did you notice the silver bindings?"
I nodded my head to answer her, since I didn't want to interrupt.
"Those were made from my sister's own hair," she told me. "Bonded mates always carry a token from their partner into battle for blessings and luck. Many of us have silver hair, but none quite like Nerissa."
"I understand how there is no doubt now," Isighed.
"Over the past ten cycles, huge raiding parties have attacked our
shores steadily every spring," Talise said and gave Mira a chance to gather her thoughts. "At least once, but sometimes as many as three times
throughout the summer and up to the storm season."
"What are they after?" Igrowled. "What do they want?"
"Anything they can get their grubby hands on," Mira spat.
"They take crops, weapons, food stores, and even women," Talise said sadly. "We believe they somehow cursed our previous water supply. Since they started raiding, there hasn't been a child born or even a
pregnancy. The few who were pregnant lost the child before it was carried
to term. The crops that fed from the water supply stopped producing and died off. It was the only thing that made sense and could have affected us all so quickly. Our men located a new active source for our well within the village, but they didn't livelong enough to find out if it would work."
"What happened to them?" I asked quietly.
"There was another raid within the same moon cycle," Mira sighed. "The last of our men, led by Arrick, were almost successful in killing their leader. They were so close when this huge booming fire erupted around
them and took all their lives. We had eighteen males left in our village, and they all died that night, including my fledgling nephew just old enough to fight."
"Shit," I groaned quietly as my stomach lurched.
I didn't know what to say to these women who had lost so much. There were no words of comfort, nothing that could make it better.
"When was the last raid?" I asked as Idecided to focus on the future.
"Five new moons ago," Mira replied.
"Tell me about these raiders," I requested so I could get to know more about my new enemy. "What do they look like? What do they fight with?"
"They are all shorter than you, but are very bulky and beast-like,"
Mira told me. "They have a thick hide that provides them with some natural armor, but they have weak spots under their arms and at their neck and
groin."
"Do you know where they come from?"
"They always attack the eastern shoreline," Mira told me. "There are several islands surrounding this one, but we are not sure if they come from there or somewhere else. We have no way of traveling to those islands. We don't have the means or knowledge of how to build boats, that knowledge died with our men. On top of that, as you saw earlier, there are all types of beasts to contend with out there in the open sea."
"Ahh, this is a lot to think about and get around," Itold her as I
rubbed my chin. "Maybe we can start with trying to build a small but sturdy boat. Small enough to easily construct, but tough enough to withstand some damage. I have been around boats my entire life and might be able to use
that for our benefit. But, before any of that, we must make this island as secure as possible, meaning defensive measures and filling up the food storages to last through the storm season."
Both women nodded in agreement and motioned for me to continue.
"We will start with fortifying and improving the barricades on the
eastern shore," Ibegan. "We need to get nutrients back into the ground so the crops will flourish again, start hunting the jungle areas for bamboo,
meat, and food sources. I also wanted to begin making bows and arrows and teaching you all how to use them."
They both gave me a perplexed and awestruck look. It was like they wanted to believe me, but didn't dare. I would just have to show them it could be done.
"I know it sounds like a lot," I assured them, "but Iknow we can get it all done before the storm season. We just have to work together as a
team."
"I want to believe we can," Mira sighed, "but it's going to take a
while to get everyone as enthused about it as Talise and I are. But, after
hearing how you saved the queen today, I think more will be on board. You will just have to be patient.
"Iagree," Talise added with a smile. "You have instilled hope in the two of us, so I am sure the other women will feel the same way as soon as they see what you are capable of."
"Thank you for your vote of confidence," I said graciously. "Now, I can sketch out that bow and arrow for you to look at."
Talise reached out and grabbed my hand before I could pick up the slate.
"Ben, it is very late," she said softly. "Why don't we put our minds and bodies to rest? We will be at our best in the morning and able to think clearer."
I smiled at the healer. I couldn't help being touched by her concern for my welfare. Iknew it was genuine and that convinced me to do what she said.
"You're right, Talise." Ismiled. "Let's get some sleep and start on all of this in the morning."
I started to get up and make my way back to the palace to leave these women in peace. I just hoped I could find my new room without disturbing too many people.
"Where are you going?" Mira asked before I reached the door.
"Uh, Talise said it was time for bed," I replied and jerked a thumb over my shoulder, "I was going to go to my room."
"Itold you earlier that you could sleep here," Mira laughed.
"You don't have to leave," Talise smiled, "not unless you want to."
Before I could stop it,I felt a blush warming my cheeks, and my
pants grew tight in the crotch at the thought of sharing a bed with these two
again.
"We are just going to sleep," Mira added with a smirk. "The queen has forbidden anything else."
"S-Sleep is good," Ifumbled.
I was somewhat relieved to be able to crawl into bed between these two beautiful women and not have to worry about anything else, but I still couldn't shake the thought of feeling their naked bodies pressed against me.
We all fell asleep in the same bed, much as the night before. Each
woman laid her head on my chest, and I rubbed their backs until they were resting soundly, snuggled up tight to me. It took me longer to fall asleep
because my mind was in overdrive. I couldn't stop thinking about what this village had been through and how I could help prevent any more
devastation from happening to them. I'd grown very protective of these women in a very short time, and I was going to give them my best. So, I drifted off to thoughts of alarm systems and catapults and the affection of grateful women.
"Nooo! Run, Hali, run!" a woman's voice suddenly screamed.
It jolted me and both women wide awake and out of bedin a matter of seconds, and Ifrantically looked out of the doorway to see a fire burning
about a hundred and fifty yards in the distance, and two hulking figures were walking away from the flames.
"Shit," Igroaned. "Those fuckers are here."
I hadn't even had a chance to get started on the defenses or new weapons. Guess I was just going to have to use what was on hand to kill these assholes.
"Mira, can I have a weapon?" I asked right as the warrior handed me a spear and a stone sword.
"Another chance to prove your worth," the warrior grunted as I took them from her and saw she was armed with the same thing. Then she turned to the healer. "Talise …"
"Yes, I will fallback to the palace and bring anyone I see along the way with me," Talise interrupted stoically. "I will get the infirmary ready to go for any injured."
Talise gave us both a brief hug at the door and headed toward the palace.
I followed Mira the opposite way and toward the commotion. My heart was pounding from the adrenaline rush, but I'd been in a few high stakes rescues and chases with the Coast Guard, and I pushed the
nervousness away as much as I could.