The Mantis Continuum - Book Four - 25. Chapter 25 - Dozi, Ilya, & Tchama

“Tchama and I will search the streets while you search from the air,” Dozi said to Ilya. “Unadi has to be around here somewhere.”

“All of this is my fault,” Ilya whispered. She choked down a lump in her throat.

“Don’t blame yourself for trying to help someone,” Dozi retorted.

“But what I made Olona and Lahari do for Unadi has caused nothing but problems! We shouldn’t have messed with his mantis gland.”

Tchama extended her single arm toward Ilya with her palm up, and she took her hand. “For a while, half a year in fact, it was just the three of us,” Tchama said to them both, and she smiled, “but our family keeps growing. Ilya, I can’t even imagine you not doing exactly what you did. You had no idea what would happen, but you were trying to make Unadi’s life better.”

“And we don’t really know what’s wrong with him,” Dozi added. “This may have nothing to do with what you did for him. You told us how messed up his childhood was, coupled with his years of isolation, he’s certain to have issues. And he told us that he left his village, but maybe he was kicked out; maybe he did something horrible and they banished or exiled him.” Dozi brought her hand to Ilya’s arm. “What you did for him was pure compassion. We understand your intentions.”

Tears began to run down Ilya’s cheeks. “Thank you.”

Dozi squeezed her arm. “Now, let’s go find him and figure out what’s wrong,” she encouraged.

Ilya nodded, and without another word, she lifted off the ground and soared into the bright morning sky.

“Come on,” Dozi urged, “let’s go.” She and Tchama headed down one of the main streets of Gate Town. “I can’t believe he hit you with a chair.”

Tchama shrugged and smiled. “Good thing he couldn’t hurt me.” She laughed and added, “There’s obviously something very wrong with him, like you said, so I didn’t take it personal.”

Dozi and Tchama talked while they wandered the streets looking for Unadi, a man they barely knew and were not even certain they would recognize. Over an hour later, they found Ilya, and she had found him. She was in a state of shock.

Unadi was unconscious, slumped against a wall, and he was covered in blood★