The silence that followed was deafening, but the accusing looks Tula had expected didn't come.
"Is he going to live?" Rolenna asked.
Tula shrugged. "I don't know. The devil rewards his minions, so I suppose Navuh will pull through."
Tony snorted. "Navuh was no minion. He was a general. Do you know what will be done with him, provided that he survives?"
"Keep him locked up," Yamanu said. "You don't need to worry about him anymore. He's no longer a threat to you."
"So, what now?" Beulah asked. "What are we waiting for?"
"For my friend to come up." Yamanu took out the harness from where he'd tucked it into his wetsuit. "Who wants to go down first?"
Eluheed and Tamira exchanged glances and then both looked at Tula.
"I'll go first," Tula said. "I've already done it once tonight, and you can watch me to see how it works."
"Let me go first." Tony took her hand, squeezing it tight. She could feel his questions, his hurt, his confusion, but also his trust. Despite everything, he still trusted her.
"It's okay." She squeezed back, even though she knew she didn't deserve it. "I think the ladies want to see me do it to feel confident that they can do it too."
Yamanu cleared his throat. "Tony should go first. I'll need your help with the ladies, Tula."
11
ESAG
"Prepare the medical bay," Yamanu's voice crackled through the device in Esag's ear, making his stomach drop.
Was Tula hurt?
"Areana and Navuh are incoming with Anandur and Arran," Yamanu continued, sounding only slightly distorted but still clear enough to understand the words, just not what they conveyed.
Why were Areana and Navuh incoming? And where was Tula?
"Navuh is severely injured," Yamanu answered Esag's unvoiced question. "He dove after Areana, thinking that she had fallen, and he crashed on the rocks below. Tula and I are going back to evacuate eight additional people from the harem. I need four of you to get nine scuba gear packs and get moving. I will have everyone waiting for you at the bottom of the cliff by the time you get here."
Esag's mind was spinning, caught between understanding and anxiety. He'd seen through Tula's eyes and felt her guilt aboutleaving the others behind. The other ladies were like sisters to her, their bonds forged not by emerging from the same womb but by the crucible of shared captivity.
He understood why she couldn't leave them.
But understanding didn't stop the anxiety clawing at his chest. Every second she stayed on that island increased the danger. What if someone discovered Navuh was gone?
"I'll be damned," Callan said. "Yamanu's lucky socks have proven their worth again."
Esag frowned at the Guardian. "What do you mean?"
The guy gave him a look that implied it should have been obvious. "We've captured Navuh and gotten Areana off the island, but what's more extraordinary is that because of Kian's paranoia and his insistence on doubling and quadrupling our numbers, we have all the scuba equipment we need to extract the additional eight. Four of us will take the equipment of the remaining nine suits and bring it to the cliff for the other harem escapees to use."
"What about me?" Drova asked. "Can I come?"
Callan shook his head. "Yours is the ninth wetsuit. We need it for the additional people we are getting out of the harem."
She pursed her lips and stood with her arms on her hips. "You can use the Zodiac to transport some of the ladies. With Navuh gone, I'm the only one who can do what he can, and I can command the Doomers to stand down. I told you all that I can help and that you should take me along."
She directed the last comment to anyone within earshot, including the captain and his crew. They would all need tobe thralled when the mission was over because there was no way they hadn't wondered about the strange-looking girl who thought she could replace the tyrant and command his army.
"We heard you the first five times." Brodie rolled his eyes. "We know how valuable you are."
