Nineteen
"Cristo!" the boy exclaimed and whistled softly as he bent over Zach. Then he turned and ran through the house. So much for friends, Elyse thought angrily.
As soft light struck the walls of the small hallway, she looked up. A bent form in a long shawl crept toward them, followed by the boy and two men who looked no better than the ones they'd just left. Elyse raised the pistol.
The bent figure halted, holding a lantern up high, and Elyse could see it was an old woman. Zamora?
The light from the lantern slipped up Elyse's body until it revealed her face. The old woman mumbled something, and the boy quickly came around and whispered back to her.
The woman made a soft clucking sound; then, completely ignoring the pistol Elyse held, she pushed past her and once again held the lantern aloft. Light spread over Zach and the pool of blood beneath him.
Elyse immediately dropped to Zach's side. When the old woman held out the cane and would have poked at the dark wet stain at his shirt, Elyse batted it away.
"No!" she hissed, the one word she knew was easily understood.
It immediately brought a response from the boy as well as the two men.
She wasn't about to let them come near. He'd risked his life by coming after her. It was her fault he was hurt. She owed him this much.
One word from the old woman halted the others.
It was difficult to believe that this was Zamora. The look on Zach's face when he'd mentioned the woman's name was secretive, almost tender. Surely this wasn't Zamora. But Elyse had to know if she could help them.
She tried to make herself understood, speaking very carefully and slowly. "I need to find Zamora."
Elyse groaned. Her knowledge of Portuguese was limited. Her Spanish was hardly better, but she decided to try it.
She pointed to Zach's shirt."Sangre. Mucho sangre. Por favor...We need to find Zamora." She stared at them, tears of frustration in her eyes.
“Por favor!”Please, she thought desperately. "Ayuda...?"
The larger man moved her aside as if she were nothing more than a bothersome insect. The other man joined him and, together, they lifted Zach and carried him up the stairs at the end of the hallway.
"You are brave,senhorita." The old woman spoke perfect English.
Elyse stared after them in confusion. If this was where Zamora lived, then where was she? Zach was carried to a bed in a room at the top of the stairs.
Orders were given in a rapid flow of Portuguese. Then the two men quickly left the room, and the small boy took up the lantern. The old woman carefully unbuttoned Zach's shirt, pulling the shirt away from the knife wound.
"Take the lantern," she curtly ordered Elyse. To the boy, she said, "Fresh cloths, hot water." He bounded out of the room.
Elyse held the lantern aloft, though her hands were shaking. The old woman looked, up at her briefly. "He has lost much blood."
Elyse nodded mutely. "We were attacked at the Green Dolphin. Where did those two men go?"
"Do not concern yourself with them." She glared at Elyse. "We must think of him."
The boy returned.
"Hold the light steady!" she growled, then muttered to the boy, "Take the lantern from her before she drops it." She jerked her head toward the lad.
"You must help me!" She looked up at Elyse. "And quit shaking. You will do him more harm than good. Are you afraid of a little blood?"
"No!" Elyse snapped, not caring if that offended her.
The old woman chuckled. "So, you are spirited as well as brave. Amazing for one so small. Are you a girl or a boy?" She gestured to Elyse's clothes.
"Shouldn't we bandage him before he bleeds to death?"
