The Mantis Variant - Book One - 32. Chapter 32 - Epilogue 2 - Breakfast

As the morning sun began to slide up the cloud-shrouded sky, many voices were shouting in anger.

"Oi! Shut it!"

"Will you please shut up?!"

"Stop yelling!"

"Do you know what time it is?!"

Dozi was standing outside the mystic's apothecary. It was early, but she was trying to rouse the sleeping men. She did her best to ignore the other groggy inhabitants of the neighborhood who were upset with her.

"What is that ruckus?!"

"Shut up!"

"Who's making all that noise?!"

"You woke me up!"

This was too serious; Dozi just needed to wake the men, and then everything would be fine. It seemed that she disturbed everyone in the vicinity, except for the two who she was trying to awaken.

"Shut up!!"

"Great, now my baby is screaming!"

"Keep it down!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" someone squawked, just as Theolan's head popped out of the window above Dozi.

"What is going on out here?" he mumbled.

"Let me in!" Dozi shrieked. "Let me inside!"

A moment later, she was in the shop and the mystic was making three cups of tea for breakfast.

"We don't have time for that!" Dozi barked at him. "They left! I didn't think they were serious last night, but they're gone! And they've got a major head start on us," Dozi seemed frantic; she was normally so easygoing.

"Slow down, what are you talking about?" Theolan asked.

Dozi grunted at the men in frustration. "They're gone!" she repeated. "Auntie Peg, Ilya, and Lahari got this crazy notion last night, to get revenge for Agrell or something, and they left at dawn. They are going to the cult!"

The mystic looked puzzled and said, "That doesn't make any sense. They can't have gone."

"What are you talking about?" Dozi snapped. "Why the fuck have I been out there waking up the whole neighborhood? Of course, they're gone; I didn't make it up!"

"Okay, okay," Theolan said, trying to appease her, "tell us what happened."

"I don't know if they are planning on attacking the cult of what, but there was mention of setting it on fire!"

"It's going to take them days to get there," Theolan commented. He looked apprehensive. "My grandparents were from Eckelton, and I visited there, but it was years ago." He looked into Dozi’s eyes. "The three of them are really going to walk all the way to the Lovegood cult, in order to kill people, all in remembrance of Agrell?"

"That’s what I said! Like our dashai meant nothing," Dozi grumbled.

"No, I'm sure it's not like that," the mystic cajoled. "The dashai we made for her last night was a very sweet moment for the five of us."

"And now, they plan murder in the name of Agrell," Dozi concluded in a dry voice✪