"Maybe you're right, Gal," I murmured. "This town has certainly proved that humanity doesn't just have to be innately cruel. We've shown goodness here. We've shown compassion and kindness. But I can't trust just anyone. That would make a fool out of compassion."
I stood up, my fingertips on the table as I faced Myste.
"You may remain a knight so long as we can count on you to do what's right. That's all we should be able to ask of anyone."
Sadie grumbled beneath her breath and I cut her off with a skirted glance.
"We need more information. Dallas and his street rats can only get so far. I need someone who's willing to spread out into other townships and cities. We need to gather good men. Good women. Need to find out if it's possible to return to some sort of humanity. We need to assess their willingness to stand against Hunter. More than that, we need to find out what Hunter is planning. Where he is."
Chas stood on the other side of the table. "I'll go."
I nodded at him. He was young. Sincere. He was as trustworthy as anyone I could spare but he had a charisma about him that might make others willing to let him in.
"Rest for the night," I said. "It's been a long day and we have a lot to mull over with all the information that we have now."
I didn't mention Hunter's blood magic sorcerer or Myste's confession. I knew we'd all be thinking about it anyway, and I wasn't sure what the right thing would be to say or do. I just knew I was exhausted and exhaustion never made for good decision making.
I just hoped I'd do better at it in the morning.
I sank down into my chair and leaned forward on my elbows. We'd driven Hunter back, certainly, but he wasn't one to give up easily. His attack and arson of the fields was proof of that. He didn't care about the people within new Denver, he only cared about his sense of justice. They'd wronged him. It was time for us to pay.
But everyone here had fought hard. The people in the Township were frightened despite the victory they achieved. It was up to us to put some order back to the chaos.
"It's late," I said. "Everyone is exhausted and I have no doubt things are only starting and not ending. Right now we have orphans and widows and people afraid to return to their homes. People who have lost them."
Lance yawned and stood up.
"The estate has a few cabins and outbuildings. Extra rooms." He plucked his sword from the table by its grip and slid it over his back into its scabbard.
"If you're asking me to be some sort of butler or chamber maid, that's not in my skill set."
"Not you," he said. "But someone."
"Good enough," I said. "Find that someone and get them to settle everyone in, then."
I too stood, and stretched, arching backwards with my hands on my hips. "It's late and I need to get home."
"You are home," Myste said.
"My home is a horse ride away," I said and if I don't get there soon, I'm going to end up collapsing on the trail and attracting flies with my open mouth."
Lance laid his hand along my back and guided me from the room.
"I already told you. You are our leader now. You belong here. In town. With us."
"But—"
"But your doorstep still has a rotting bear on it. Do you really want to risk returning home in the dark with that thing trolling in God knows what?"
He did have a point. It was why I'd buried the pig. And the gopher. And if I was honest with myself, I didn't fancy waking to find another strange gift on my step, or worse, the bearer of those gifts.
"You're good at wrangling people," I said, stifling a yawn. "Maybe you should butler the good folks into their beds tonight.
"I could butler you into yours," he whispered against my ear so low I wasn't sure he'd really said it until his grip on my back tightened.
I wasn't sure what to say and I floundered for a moment as I struggled for an answer. Everyone else had filed out of the room to find a bed or to go home, and we were alone in the hallway as I sought a good response.
I was saved by Marlin's approach. His beanie had returned to his head and his earbuds were hanging loose, blasting some tinny sounding music.
"There you are," I said and picked up my pace, leaving Lance behind me.
"Would you look at that," Marlin said. "Here I am." His gaze flicked over my shoulder and a sly grin threaded onto his face.
"I wanted to say how impressed I was at what you did today. I can't believe you managed to find some magic makers to help with the storm."
He grinned sheepishly. "Not people I told you," he said. "Nymphs."
"I thought you were joking."
He shook his head as Lance caught up to us. His very posture felt like his whole body was scowling but I ignored it, mostly because I simply didn't know what to do with it.
"Nymphs," Lance said.
Marlin lifted his music player and turned the dial with the pad of his index finger. The music died down.
"They have a certain innate magic that can manipulate nature."
I spun on my heel and faced Lance. "They wouldn't help unless Marlin paid them in advance."
Marlin swallowed nervously. "Indeed," he said. Instead of looking at me, his glance skirted over to Lance. "They have certain appetites."
Lance laughed with a lift of one eyebrow. "You prostituted yourself out to help us."
Marlin flushed from the roots of his hair to his chest.
"It was a necessary evil."
Lance mumbled something about being a lucky dog before clapping him on the shoulder and ushering him down the hallway with the news that there was one more little necessary evil he needed to complete for the night.
I imagined he'd just been volunteered to settle the folks into beds and rooms.
I might have wanted to make sure everyone who needed a place to stay was settled and that everyone who was afraid to go home alone went with someone but I was already staggering on my feet.
It seemed like an eternity before the wee hours of the morning arrived and I could finally drop down into a chair.
The estate was larger than I thought. Lance had been right. There were a few outbuildings that could house people. The building itself had at least six rooms that could put people up. I could hear the snoring and general movement of people throughout the house. The soft lights of gas lamps and candles lit the hallways and a few rooms, leaking out from beneath doors.
Lance found me splayed out over an old leather sofa. He dropped down onto it next to me. The feeling of him next to me was warm and inviting. I almost melted against him.
"You look exhausted," he said.
"So do you."
He slapped his hand down on my knee.
"Do you think what we're doing is the right thing?" I mused out loud.
"Of course we are," he said. "These people need to get some rest."
"Not that," I said and twisted so I could see his face. "I mean going to war against Hunter. He has Ruby Skulls stationed all across the nation. If he sees a threat to his organization, he won't hold back a single punch."
"We'll be ready."
"But is it right? These people are not fighters. They're not soldiers."
"No one in a resistance ever is," Lance said. His arm crept over my shoulder and he pulled me closer. I did melt against him then, grateful for the feel of his body supporting mine.
He looked down at me, his eyes hooded and his expression peculiar.
"I once heard someone say that the worst thing a person can ever do is nothing."
I sighed. "I suppose she was right."
"I hope you remember that," he said then, without warning, he dipped his head, using his fingers to tilt my face upward. When his lips found mine, it was such a surprise, I didn't respond at first. I just let his mouth roam mine, at first gently, and then with a greedy abandon that made my throat ache.
"Where's your room?" he said.
That was the moment I realized I'd already let things go too far. I placed my palm on his chest.
; "I have no idea where my room is," I said. "But for now you can sleep here on the couch."
"Stay with me," he said.
I shook my head. "There's only a few hours until dawn," I said. "I'm going to curl up with a good book in a big chair and if I fall asleep there, I'll be content."
I did find myself a chair, and I did find myself a book. The Art of War.
I wasn't sure how it had got into Colton's home, but I imagined that Hunter had brought it with him and not had time to retrieve it. It was the book I'd seen in my visions as I fought him with Excalibur in the schoolhouse.
I tried to read it, tried to peer into the brain that could decide this was the book to define a lifetime but I fell asleep in the chair and only woke when I heard someone clearing his throat.
I wiped my eyes. It was Chas. I could just make out the bush of straw-colored hair through the blur of sleep grime.
There were no windows in this part of the house and I couldn't tell whether it was morning or still night time. The fire crackled lazily.
"What is it?" I said, and marveled at the thought that I hadn't immediately jumped out of my chair on the defense.
"News," he said.
"It better be good news," I said and closed the book that had fallen on my chest. I placed it on the table next to me and sat up.
Instead of answering me right away, he stooped to pick up a log and placed it strategically over the flames, waiting for them to lick up around the wood before he spoke again.
"What time is it?" I asked him.
"Just afternoon," he said. "Don't worry, everyone has been fed. There's some cook rustling up bacon and eggs and fried potatoes.
"I sniffed. I can't imagine how that didn't wake me up," I said.
"Not just you," he said. "Almost everyone. Anyone in this house is still comatose. I'm not sure what kind of stamina got the cook up out of bed."
"So if it's early afternoon, you must have information."
He nodded. "I took a few guys with me and we rode out past the fields. Hunter is gone, but he left a couple of Ruby Skulls behind. We acted like we were vagrants looking for food but they didn't buy it. They say he is building an army."
"And they let you come back here to tell me that?"
"They took great glee in telling me that," he said.
I sighed. That couldn't be good.
"One other thing," he said. "
"What's that?"
"He's left Colton Musk in charge of it all." His voice was tinged with fury as he continued. "Colton. Musk. The mayor of this town who betrayed us all. What makes Hunter think he has the balls to face us?"
I looked him in the face.
"Colton Musk was a Ruby Skull."
"Shit," he said.
I nodded. "You know what that means then, don't you?" I said.
"It means he knows the entire lie of this estate, he knows hiding places we don't."
Smart kid. I knew I'd picked well to send him off in search of intel.
Lance wandered in, rubbing at his back and stretching.
"Lord that sofa needs to be about two feet longer," he said and then froze in his tracks as he looked from me to Chas.
"What's wrong?"
"Hunter is raising an army," Chas said.
"Shit," Lance said.
"Then if Hunter is bringing an army, we need to prepare for war."
-8-
Planning a war has its advantages. For one, it takes a girl's mind off what she should do about her feelings for a man she barely knew. And in the second instance, it took a gal's mind off her feelings about a man she barely knew.
There are no other advantages. War isn't pretty. Even when it's necessary.
Gal worked at the smithy, knocking out a few quick but sturdy weapons.
It took several days, but together, the knights and I devised a plan to reinforce the city so that it could last a siege. Even the kids were involved, gathering whatever food they could and harvesting what was left in the grounds and in the trees. Hunters went out to take down prey and salt and dry it.
The estate had a root cellar that took up the good part of the house. On Marlin's suggestion, we stored everything in them so the stores could be rationed if need be.
The Musk estate was in a good location for the townsfolk to assemble if they needed to, and the town itself was backed by mountains with only the one road in or out.
I knew there were dire wolves in the woods, and God knew what other wildlife. Invaders would have to cut through an ever growing pack of wolves that I could hear howling at night.
We knew the mountains. We knew the caves and crevices.
But I'd learned not to underestimate Hunter. And I wouldn't. I didn't plan to take a single life for granted and I knew we needed more planning. It wasn't enough to ration or stockpile weapons or water.
We needed to make sure that if we had to run, we were protected.
Colton Musk knew the area and the town as intimately as the townsfolk. He too knew the caves and crevices and the estate.
We had to assume he would breech any defenses. We had to assume he would send men into every place he knew of that could hide people.
But he didn't know where Dallas and his streetrats hid out. Only Dallas and his gang and Marlin knew that.
One third of all the things collected, whether it was water, meat, or fruit, I sent to Dallas's strongholds via his streetrats. They returned for additional stores throughout the days, saying they had more places to store food. More room for blankets.
I obliged them. If we had to run or if we needed an outpost or two, if we needed to send children into the hills, we would need to make sure they could hold out for a long while.
Water, fruit, bedding and clothes everything I could think of that would be useful in that event was distributed to the rats and I trusted Dallas to ensure it was kept aside as provisions. He asked nothing in return, but I promised him a say at the table, a vote in the community, and the same protections as due every other citizen.
We kept busy readying the town for war. But I'd noticed that with the quiet that comes after an assault like we'd suffered, people try to return to routine. They want to believe they're safe. They need to feel as though the threat is over and that they've beaten it.
Despite the activity all around them, despite the bustling of my knights and the worker bees, most were going back to their normal routines.
I encouraged it. We had enough people working to get done what needed to, and the rest deserved a few days of relief to recover from the trauma of the fire.
But they also needed to know what was really going on all around them.
I owed them the honesty and I wouldn't shy away from it. They also needed to know who to follow, what to do, and how to prepare in case of an onslaught that meant possible retreat into the hills or wherever it was that Dallas had his burrow.
I packed a basket of boiled eggs and cheese, topping it off with nuts and skins of water. My grandmother always said that breaking bread with someone was the best way to bond with them. You trusted those who fed you. It was part of our primal instincts.
I stood on the front step, adjusting the basket and the bow so I wouldn't drop one or the other as I headed into the heart of town on foot. I couldn't take Gentry, since I'd be on and off his back too much to be practical.
When I looked out over the property, I couldn't help the warm feeling that suffused my chest. People all around me were working, gathering, laughing. The dead had been buried or burned as their family wished and now all that was left was an electric sense of tension and expectation, but it was also buoyed by a sense of hope.
It made me feel hopeful.
"Wait," Lance said from behind me and I turned to see him leaning, shoulder to wall with his ankle crossed over the other as he watched me.
He was chomping on a green apple, turning it over in his hand to check for more edible flesh and I hefted the basket higher onto my shoulder and crossed my arms as I waited for him to f
inish.
"And what am I waiting on, exactly?" I said.
He tossed the core over my shoulder onto the grass as he pushed off from the wall and grabbed a jacket from the coat tree. A beagle, used I supposed for hare hunting, scarfed up the remains of the apple and lay down on its belly in the grass to eat it.
"I'll come with you," Lance said.
I looked him up and down, relishing the set of his shoulders as he pulled on a leather jacket.
"You might prove useful," I said, trying out my new casual tone. I wasn't sure the light flirtation was successful until he prodded the corner of his mouth with his tongue.
"I have lots of uses," he said and his eyes trailed to my throat where I was pretty sure a blush was creeping up toward my face. "Some of them more pleasurable than others."
I remembered our kiss of a few nights earlier and my belly tingled. I felt awkward. I didn't know how to respond or what to do.
So I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Nice," he said, closing the distance between us. "I've wondered how long that thing is. Have you ever used it to—"
"Disgusting," I said.
"What?" he said, laughing. "I was just going to ask if you've licked a bowl of pudding clean. What did you think I was going to say?"
I got flustered. I stammered out something about the brothel.
"Oh that," he said with a wave. "I won't lie, a man enjoys a good tongue lashing every now and then, why one of those hookers can even—"
"Enough," I said. "If you want to come along, you need to behave."
He held up his hand.
"I vow it."
"And you'll need to look afraid," I told him.
He pouted in a way that made me want to run my tongue over his mouth. "I'm not sure I'm ready to go that far," he said. "A man my size doesn't look afraid."
"Exactly," I said as we ambled along the drive and onto the street. "If you look afraid, they'll take it seriously."
"I think they know how serious it is."
"Look afraid or stay home," I said, spicing the tone with what I hoped was a playful scolding. It sounded a bit callous to my ear but he grinned.
Queen of Skye and Shadow complete box set : Queen of Skye and Shadow Omnibus books 1-3 Page 19
