Aizel wanted to stomp her foot and yell her words. “Do you know Robin Lockwood?!” she screamed in her head. How else could she ask that?
Lockwood.
She could work with that.
Scanning the area, she bent down and picked up a piece of soft wood from the ground near the fire.
She pointed toward the leader’s belt, where a small ring of keys hung on his hip.
He followed her gaze and placed his hand on the jangling implements. “Keys?”
She nodded, then made a motion with her hand as though unlocking something.
“Keys twist?”
She kept repeating the motion, looking around at the group of bandits to see if anyone else understood.
“Unlock,” Erich muttered.
“Quiet,” the bandit leader snapped under his breath. Then, louder, as though no one else had heard that, he said, “Unlocking something?”
Nodding, she reversed the motion.
“Locking something?”
She nodded, smiling brightly. Then she held up the piece of wood.
“Tree?”
She shook her head.
“Wood?”
Nodding again, she made the locking motion and next indicated the wood.
When the leader said nothing, she stopped moving and stared at him expectantly. This was his chance to put it all together.
“Keys. Locking. Wood.” He said the words slowly, trying to make sense of them.
She nodded, encouraging him to say the words again.
“Keys. Locking. Wood.”
Aizel turned to Erich, hoping he might have understood, but his face was scrunched in concentration. She could see him mouthing the words. “Lock. Wood.”
She grabbed at the jewel around her neck, yanking against it although she knew it would do no good. “Robin Lockwood!” she screamed in her head.
“Your necklace,” the bandit leader continued, as though her actions were still part of the game. “Wait... that necklace looks familiar.” His hands tapped the air as his mind connected the clues she had given him. “Bird. Lock. Wood. Robin Lockwood!”
Aizel clapped her hands together.
“You’re a friend of Robin’s? Well, why didn’t you say so!” The bandit leader slipped his knife back into a leather case at his belt. “What about him?” He indicated toward Erich with his thumb.
Aizel had momentarily forgotten about Erich. He didn’t look as relieved as she thought he would. Rather, his face was unreadable. His eyes looked confused and he kept looking between her and the bandit leader.
Aizel nodded, hoping her vote of confidence would vouch for Erich.
The bandit leader exhaled loudly, his shoulders dropping as his whole body relaxed. “Do you have any idea how relieved I am? Sometimes, I really hate what I do.”
