The worker appeared sideways through the opening, one shoulder scraping the wall as he tried to keep his injured arm close. He saw the receiving blanket first. Then his gaze moved to the armor behind it, and he stopped so abruptly that his heel slipped on the wet stone.
Tessa did not reach for him.
She lowered her medical bag to the floor and moved her hands away from its fastening. The worker braced himself against the wall with his good hand. His other sleeve was stiff with blood below the elbow. A rolled sheet lay against his ribs beneath the strap of a small worn pouch.
Lale gave a greeting in the first of the languages she had prepared. He stared at her. She waited, tried a second, then stopped before the sequence became a wall of unfamiliar sounds.
The worker looked past them for another exit.
Sera moved a hunter back from the open strip beside the wall. She pointed along it, showing a clear way to the side passage without stepping closer herself. The worker watched the space appear. He did not use it yet, but his good hand loosened slightly against the stone.
Eli stood where Tessa could see him and the worker could pass him. The man’s eyes caught on his equipment, then left it for the bag. Eli wanted to tell him that nobody would hurt him. In a room containing armed strangers who had damaged a door trying to enter, the promise would…
