Page 56 of Dark Destiny: A New Thread in the Tapestry

Yaaf frowned. "How could he think that? Everyone we care about is in the village, and their visits are organized and supervised. We are grateful for that, but we'd prefer to live where our loved ones live and see them whenever we want."

Bowen waved his hand as if that were precisely what he had meant. "Kian doesn't spend his days thinking about you. That's why you need to present your case and say those things to him. But that's just one part of it. This is what you want and why. The other part is to show how it benefits the clan to have you in the village. What's in it for him?"

The idea had merit, but other than offering their services as protectors of the community, the collective did not see how they could benefit the village.

"We need help with that," Yaaf reluctantly admitted. "You know him. You know what's important to him, so you could suggest what we can put on that list of benefits."

"Get Petrov and Dimitri to help you. If you're going to the village, they'll be going with you, so they need to come up with ways to benefit the clan as well."

Whatever the scientists could do, they didn't need to be in the village to do it, so that wasn't a convincing argument, especially since Petrov and Anita were human, and so was Mattie. Sullha had told Yaaf that quite a few humans lived in the village, but she didn't know the circumstances that had brought them there.

"We can talk it over at breakfast," Ravsoh said.

Petrov walked over with his writing pad and pulled out a stool. "Wait for Mattie and Anita to get here. They always have good ideas."

Once the ladies arrived and they were all seated around the counter, Bowen reached for the carafe and poured himself coffee. "Let's start with the reasons." He gestured at Petrov. "Write this down."

"Write what?" Petrov asked. "No one has said anything yet."

"Let's start with you. Why would you want to move into the village?"

"I heard there was a bar. That's reason enough for me."

"Konstantin," Anita said.

"Don't Konstantin me. My physical wound is healed, but my soul is dry without vodka. I need it. Besides, I want to be around people who know how to enjoy themselves in a bar. I heard there's nightly entertainment."

Yaaf looked at Bowen. "Is there?"

"Impromptu, but yes. It's a nice place." The Guardian waved his hand at Petrov. "Write it down."

"I want to walk to Sullha's house whenever we want to see each other," Yaaf said.

Petrov wrote that down as well.

"That's it?"

"I also want to play with Tomek. He said I need to come to the village because it's much nicer there than here."

Petrov nodded and wrote it on the pad.

"Our mothers are there," Camdor said. "We see them once or twice a week for a few hours. My mother gets car sick every time. She doesn't say anything because she wants to see me, but she really doesn't like car rides."

"I want to see the sky more than once a week," Voset said.

Armos pushed his food around his plate. "I would like something to do other than go to the gym and watch movies. I need a job."

Everyone looked at him.

"What?" He shrugged. "I would like a job. Any job. I would like to find out whether I am good at anything other than killing."

Petrov was documenting everything.

"Write down that I want to be where the others are," Bardov said. "My mother is on that island, but the other mothers are in the village, and so is Asira."

Asira? Camdor asked, a brother's edge in his voice.

"I like her," Bardov said. "She is nice to me."