“Agreed.”
We proceed with care. She steps to a point where Dalton can spot her through the trees, and then I ease into the hatch opening.
My gaze goes first to Victor. He lies slumped on the ground, his eyes shut. Dead? I can’t say for certain, but I think so, and if not, there’s nothing I can do. Nothing I particularly want to do either as the image of that dead settler family surfaces.
The shaman and I proceed step by careful step until we stand in the clearing less than three feet apart. This is the first time I’ve seen her in the full light of day. She’s older than I thought, definitely in her sixties. Her shoulder has been patched up more expertly than I would have expected, given the substandard medical care I saw on Maryanne.
It’s one thing to lack the skills to do better; it’s another to have those skills and withhold them, and my dislike for this woman solidifies into something dangerously close to hate. I rein it in. I can’t afford that. I’m h
ere to get my people to safety, and protect Edwin and Felicity, and help those hostiles who will accept it.
“You shot me,” the shaman says without preamble.
“You tried to attack us.”
“I tried to attack the man who murdered one of my people. You also killed my husband and two more of my people a year ago.”
“Again, in self-defense. They took us captive, and they planned to kill us for our clothing and supplies.”
Anger surges through my voice. I want to say more. I want to say that this is what they do at her behest. They will kill us for trespassing on their territory. They will kill us for our goods. They will take us captive and brainwash us like they did to Maryanne. I don’t know what Bennett’s story is, but my gut says he wasn’t with them by choice. They had lost men. They needed more, and so they took one. Because this woman told them to.
If I start down that road, I will not come back. So I say, as evenly as I can, “We are not your enemy.”
She snorts.
“Your group attacked three people in the forest last week,” I say. “They were with him.” I nod back at Victor. “You attacked because they were hunting you. Because you had reason to believe you were in danger. Yes?”
No answer.
“Did you not attack them?” I press. “Are you not responsible?”
Still nothing, which tells me I’m correct. She just doesn’t deign to answer.
“You did. Presuming it was self-defense, that’s between you and them. It has nothing to do with my people in that plane or the settlers you’ve kidnapped.”
Her face remains implacable, and my frustration rises.
“What do you want?” I say.
“To be left alone.”
I gesture toward Victor again. “Considering you just killed the last of the four who came after you, it seems you’ve got your wish.”
“More will come.”
“Not if I can stop it, which I think I can. However, if you kill us, more will definitely come, because the only people who give a shit about you are here.”
Her lip curls. “You’ll protect us, will you?”
“Yes, Heidi,” says a voice behind us. “They’ll protect you.”
At the name, the woman’s head jerks up, her lip curling even more as her gaze lands on Émilie, sliding from the plane as Dalton grabs for her. Émilie brushes him off and steps forward.
“Hello, Heidi,” Émilie says. “I always wondered where you ended up.”
The woman—Heidi—lets out a sound close to a growl.
“She’s…” I glance at Émilie. “She’s one of the researchers, isn’t she? One of the original Danish employees.”