Free Web NovelChapter 50: Chapter 50 – The Hall at Dusk
The hall was alive with clinking cutlery and the low murmur of voices that blended with the smell of broth and baked bread. Lamps along the walls glowed with a steady amber light, softening the edges of the long tables where students and workers gathered in clusters.
Iyisha lifted her hand and waved when she spotted Mary and Ester seated near the far end. Both women smiled back, their faces bright despite the tired slump in their shoulders after a long day.
At her side Malcolm lingered in silence, his presence heavy in the press of bodies moving around them. He did not sit until she lowered herself onto the bench, his hand brushing the table as if testing its strength before he eased down beside her.
She felt the weight of him even without his touch, the steadiness that drew her and the distance that unsettled her. For a moment she busied herself with straightening her sleeve, aware of how her pulse quickened simply because he was waiting on her.
"Hi," Michael called as he slid into the bench at the next table with his group.
Iyisha raised her hand in return, only a small gesture, and then glanced at Malcolm. He was already watching her. He didn’t smile, didn’t speak, just studied her with the quiet intensity that made her throat tighten.
"Uhmm," she began, fingers tugging at the hem of her sleeve. "Did you see the woman they took inside?"
Malcolm gave a single nod. His eyes never left her face.
She leaned closer, lowering her voice so only he could hear. "The wounds are too shallow but the blood is everywhere."
Malcolm’s eyes fixed on her, steady and unreadable. "Not from a fall," he said.
Her fingers tightened around the rim of her bowl. "Then what?"
"Staged," he answered.
Iyisha’s breath caught. She searched his face, waiting for more, but he only shifted his attention to the plate set in front of him.
"Staged by who?" she pressed.
He cut a piece of bread, the knife steady in his hand. "That’s the question."
The words chilled her more than any snowstorm outside.
"I was thinking of saying something, but we got in the same way," she muttered, her spoon dragging through the porridge before she lifted it to her lips. The taste was bland, but it gave her an excuse to look down.
Malcolm gave a short nod. "Better you didn’t."
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Why?"
"Too many ears." He kept eating, his tone flat, as if that closed the matter. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Iyisha pressed her lips together, the warmth of the porridge doing little to ease the cold coil in her stomach.
A heavy hand clapped against Malcolm’s back, the sound sharp above the hum of the hall. A bowl of steaming meat landed on the table in front of them, the rich scent of roasted venison spilling into the air. Iyisha’s mouth watered before she could stop herself.
She looked up and saw the man who had brought it. His hair was stark white, catching the lamplight, combed back from a weathered face that carried both age and strength. His skin was pale, the lines around his mouth carved deep, yet his eyes burned sharp and clear. Broad shoulders filled his worn jacket, and when he spoke, the cadence alone marked him as a man used to being followed. He did not need to raise his voice to command the room. This had to be Elmer.
"Two deer in one day," he said, his tone carrying over the tables with ease. "That’s a fine start."
Malcolm only nodded, his reply clipped, offering no more than acknowledgment.
Elmer’s eyes found her, pale and sharp under his white brows. "So this is the woman with you. I thought as much the moment you walked in." His hand gestured loosely toward Malcolm, as though claiming credit for noticing first. "You carry yourself different from the others. Not a wanderer’s aimless look, not a refugee clinging to luck. No, you’ve got spine."
Iyisha blinked, caught between answering and staying quiet. "I am Iyisha. We’re grateful you took us in."
Elmer chuckled, the sound deep in his chest. "Grateful, she says. You two brought us meat, that’s thanks enough. Beautiful girl, smart too, I can see it in the eyes. A man like him needs that." He tipped his head toward Malcolm, whose expression did not shift. "Though he’s about as talkative as stone, isn’t he?"
Malcolm only gave the smallest nod.
"You’re teaching in the hospital?" Elmer pressed, leaning a bit closer.
"Yes," Iyisha said. "I... I’m helping where I can."
"Helping," Elmer repeated with a grin. "That’s what we need. Not mouths waiting for handouts, but hands willing to build. Doctors, teachers, hunters, fighters. You two, you fit." His palm struck the table, not hard but decisive. "A good hunter and a doctor. That’s balance. That’s what keeps a place alive." frёewebηovel.cѳm
He rocked back on his heels, clearly pleased, his voice carrying enough for nearby tables to catch. "We’ll be happy to keep you here. Stay as long as you like. The Heart Community needs more of your kind."
His gaze swept across the hall, then returned to them, softer but no less commanding. "You’ll see. This place isn’t like the settlements you’ve passed through. We look after our own, but we expect our own to give back. And you—" he pointed a finger at her with an almost fatherly air—"you’ve already started. That’s worth more than you think."
Elmer lingered beside their table, clearly in no rush to move on. "If you need something, you come straight to me. My door is open. Day or night, it doesn’t matter." He leaned a little closer, his voice carrying the ease of someone used to being obeyed. "And if I’m busy, you ask my wife. She’ll see to it."
Iyisha followed the line of his finger as he pointed down the hall. A young woman stood near the far tables, pale hair catching the lamplight, her dress cleaner and finer than most. She was the same woman Iyisha had noticed brushing Malcolm’s arm the other day.
"Therese can give it to you if I’m tied up," Elmer added, a note of pride in his tone.
Therese glanced their way at the sound of her name. Her smile slid into place with practiced ease, sharp as a blade when her eyes touched Iyisha, then softening instantly when they settled on Malcolm.
Iyisha felt the change like a pinch under her ribs. Something about the sweetness in that smile made her skin crawl.
Malcolm, as always, only nodded.
Elmer finally moved on, his tall frame weaving through the rows of tables, his voice already booming in another direction. The hall seemed quieter without him, though the weight of his presence lingered.
Malcolm’s spoon scraped against the bowl. "Dangerous," he said flatly. "They’re looking for people to join. Not everyone’s like us."
Iyisha only nodded, her thoughts drifting back to their arrival. The man hadn’t seemed strict. What struck her more was that no one had taken Malcolm’s guns. If this community carried darker intentions, that single oversight could have ended badly.
"Be cautious," Malcolm said, breaking her train of thought.
Her gaze wandered toward the far tables. Therese was still there, her posture graceful, her smile faint as she whispered with another woman. Iyisha leaned closer to her bowl. "She’s looking at you," she muttered.
Malcolm didn’t lift his head. He kept eating, his voice even. "Want me to gouge her eyes?"
Iyisha narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you enjoying the attention?"
He set his spoon down, finally turning his head just enough for his eyes to meet hers. "I’ve got a lot in my plate." His tone was pointed, each word weighed. "I don’t need others."
His words hung between them, heavier than the noise in the hall. Iyisha stirred the porridge without tasting it, heat rising in her throat.
"If someone puts it in front of you," she muttered, her voice low, "will you take it?"
Malcolm’s eyes shifted to her, steady and hard. "That what you think of me?"
She pressed her lips together, not trusting herself to answer.
"You offered once," he said, his tone flat, cutting through her silence. "I stopped."
Her chest tightened. The memory of that night flashed sharp, the feel of him under her hand, the moment he had pulled away.
"Because you lost control," she whispered.
His jaw worked, the muscle in his cheek flexing. "Because I choose what I take." His stare held hers, cold and certain.
Iyisha’s fingers tightened around her spoon. Her pulse thudded in her ears, louder than the chatter around them.
"You don’t need to look further," she said, the words escaping softer than she meant. Her eyes stayed on the bowl, but her meaning was clear. "I’m here."
Malcolm stilled, his hand resting on the table. For a moment he didn’t answer, only watched her with that unreadable gaze that made her want to squirm.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low, each word clipped. "I know."
The cold certainty in his tone left her unsure whether to take comfort or feel the sting.
