by C. R. Pugh
“He’s their captain,” Ravyn added. “You said there were two of them?”
Pierce nodded. “The other one was the first exile we took captive – the one who escaped.”
“The exile?” Gunter asked, frowning in confusion. “Why would he be with these soldiers?”
I gritted my teeth together to keep from swearing. When I glanced over at Ravyn she was staring at me with wide eyes. She’d made the connection as well. The exile that had escaped from our camp was the same man that was tracking her scent. He was travelling with these soldiers, and that meant one of the soldiers – Two most likely – had helped him escape. I gave my head a slight shake so she would not reveal anything to the others. She tightened her lips and continued her work.
Pierce shrugged and said, “They both disappeared shortly after Ravyn pulled that stunt back there. They watched the other soldiers for a minute or two from a distance; I guess to see how they would fare against us. The exile was hiding behind their captain like a whipped puppy. Once the tide turned, he took hold of the exile and high-tailed it out of there.”
I watched as Ravyn slid her belt out of her waistband and set it aside. It was made of dark, thick leather and there were deep teeth marks in several places. My stomach churned when I realized what that belt was for. How many times had Ravyn bitten down on that belt to dig bullets out of her own body? How had she withstood so much self-inflicted pain?
Ravyn took the bottle of clear liquid again, poured a small portion of it into her cupped hand, and set the bottle down beside her.
“Why are you soaking your hands in that stuff?” I asked curiously.
Ravyn rubbed her hands together, spreading the liquid over her fingers, palms, and wrists. I snatched up the bottle and took a sniff at the liquid inside. It was alcohol, the kind Kemena used for her healing practice. I had never seen Kemena wash her hands in the alcohol before.
“I’m disinfecting my hands,” she explained. “I’m sure your sister would use soap and water. I do my best to be clean, but I don’t have soap. This will have to do.”
Careful not to contaminate her hands again, Ravyn took her tweezers and marched a few paces away, where Archer and Max were tending the fire. She placed the tips of the tool into the flames for a few minutes. Kemena had done this before with knives she used to sear wounds. I looked down to find Brock watching me. His face was ghostly pale and damp with perspiration.
“It’s … not good … is it … Commander?” he groaned.
I wanted to lie to him, to tell him that he would be fine, but I could not get the words to leave my mouth.
“The commander’s lady seems to have a plan,” Gunter answered. “You just hang in there, kid.”
Ravyn marched back over with the tweezers, freshly sanitized, and knelt down again. “Now the belt,” she said quietly.
I swallowed back the bile that threatened to rise from my stomach. This was it.
“What … what is the belt for?” Brock glanced warily between Ravyn and me.
Ravyn leaned over him, careful not to touch him and contaminate her hands. “It’s for you to bite down on. This is going to hurt badly, but I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you live. Do you understand?”
Brock nodded and Gunter placed the belt firmly between his teeth. I moved around Ravyn so that I could hold Brock’s legs. Gunter took his arms and we prepared to hold him down. With any luck, Brock would pass out during the surgery.
And it began. Ravyn did her best to work quickly but finding the bullet inside him was tricky. Brock kicked and bucked, moaned and screamed through the pain. Max and Archer tried to remain for support, but they could not stomach what we were doing to their friend. I felt Pierce hovering over my shoulder.
Ravyn was as steady as I had ever seen her. She gave Brock words of comfort, encouragement, and apology throughout the gruesome ordeal. After what seemed like hours of torture, Ravyn finally pulled the bullet free of his body. She quickly doused Brock’s wound with alcohol, sending him into fresh waves of spasms and screaming. Then she used what little material we could find to bind up the wound. Sweat and tears covered Brock’s face.
“You did good, kid,” Gunter choked out. He looked like he was on the verge of tears as well.
“Don’t …” Brock moaned, breathing heavily. “… don’t tell … anyone … back home … that I cried. Okay?”
Ravyn gave him a regretful smile.
I simply said, “Brock, you were braver than any of us would have been.”
Gunter chuckled with us. “Yeah, Thorne and I would have both been bawling like babies.”
Brock tried to laugh, but it turned into a cough, mixed with groans of pain.
“I need to wash my hands,” Ravyn whispered to me. Her hands were covered with Brock’s blood.
“Gunter, stay with him?” I asked.
“You got it.” He gave me a quick salute, trying to keep things light for Brock’s sake. He knew as well as I did that Brock had very little time left. “Now, Brock, you seem to be stuck with me. Let me tell you about the time …”
Gunter went off into storytelling mode and I heard Brock groan and choke with laughter. Gunter’s stories were legendary in Peton. They were mostly of his childhood and the mischief he happened to get into as a boy, usually by my side. The stories would keep Brock’s mind off his pain.
I followed Ravyn to a small creek trickling through the trees. It could not be more than ankle deep, but it was enough to wash the blood away.
As Ravyn was cleansing her skin, she asked, “How long do you think he has?”
“Twenty-four hours, maybe,” I said bluntly. “Kemena always says that bullet-wounds are the worst. It is often a slow and painful way to die.”
Ravyn stood, grief etched on her face. “This is my fault,” she whispered. “This is why I left in the first place … to keep this from happening.”
“What happened to Brock could have happened to any one of us, anytime, anywhere. This was not your fault.”
“How can you say that? I bring trouble with me wherever I go!”
“And you never deserved any of that!” I shouted. “If you had not come back, the rest of them might be dead. We were sorely outnumbered.”
She stepped away when I reached for her, but I was not letting her back away from me again. I clutched her wrist and drew her into a fierce hug. Finally surrendering to my embrace, Ravyn rested her head on my chest.
“Thorne, he’s dying because of me.”
“He is dying because of General Wolfe. Do not forget who started all of this.”
Her body tensed against me. “What is it?” I asked uncertainly, hoping I had not said the wrong words again.
“I think I may know a way to save him.”
25
Ravyn
“I’m not sure what you think you can do for him,” said Thorne, shaking his head and shrugging. “He cannot heal the way you can.”
Thorne and I stood a distance from the carts talking quietly while Max and Gunter watched over Brock. Pierce and the red-headed Warrior – Archer I believe he was called – were nowhere to be seen.
“I think there may be a way that he could.”
“How?” Thorne asked, looking skeptical.
“It’s a … medicine,” I said, careful not to reveal too much. “The General’s scientists concocted it in their labs to imitate what I can do.”
“Ravyn, we do not have time to go all the way to that compound to retrieve this medicine. Brock does not have that much time.”
“No, but Two will have some with him. And he was here not too long ago. He can’t have gotten far.”
Thorne eyed me as if he were judging whether my plan was crazy or not.
“Do you want to save him or not?” I challenged. “I will not have him die because of me when I could’ve done something to save him. We don’t have much time, twenty-four hours, right?”
The warmth in Thorne’s eyes had disappeared again. “So, you woul
d just run off alone again?”
I gaped at his accusation. “What? No, I -” But he didn’t let me finish explaining.
“Do you think I enjoy watching you put yourself in danger?”
I put my hands firmly on my hips. “Thorne, I never -”
“After that last encounter with the soldier that nearly gutted you like a fish, I would have thought you had finally … why did you even come back? Because you needed to be a hero?”
“Because I care about you!” The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.
Thorne looked as if I’d just slapped him. Declaring my feelings was not my intention, but there it was. And he just stood there, staring at me. After all that had happened the last few days, I could not believe that he felt nothing. Had I been completely wrong? Was I just another captive to him? No, I could not believe that.
I shifted from one foot to the other. “Thorne, I wasn’t planning on going alone. I want … need you to help me,” I said slowly, silently cursing how vulnerable I sounded. Then I swallowed back the last of my reserve and told him the full truth. “I don’t want to face Two alone.”
I searched his face, waiting for the verdict. Thorne’s messy hair swayed with the breeze and his icy gaze had thawed again. The urge to run my fingers over his scruffy chin and up through his untidy hair was overwhelming, and then my eyes found his mouth. I instinctively licked my lips. That was all the invitation Thorne needed. He moved quickly, pressing his lips to mine in a hard kiss. His hands circled my waist, tugging me nearer. I was disappointed when the moment ended. Thorne evidently had more self-control than I did.
“You are not going to bloody my nose, are you?” he said, teasing me.
I laughed softly and shook my head.
“You’re coming with me?” I asked him.
He rested his forehead on mine. “I have your back, little warrior.”
***
I stared silently into the flames of the bonfire that was slowly burning the bodies of the dead soldiers and the two horses. Thorne stood beside me, his commanding presence a comfort.
When Pierce had said that he’d piled up the soldiers to be burned, I’d been elated, and Thorne hadn’t blinked an eye. Now there was no reason to for me to explain why it was imperative that they do so. Perhaps it was common practice for them. The bodies might attract Sabers or Howlers, like that exile I’d left overnight.
But still, I couldn’t keep the truth from Thorne anymore about these soldiers, especially if I was to join him in his homeland. But I couldn’t tell him here. Not in front of his men. If what I overheard was true, that there was an informant among them, then I could not trust the information with anyone but Thorne.
I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye, confirming without words that he was ready to go. Together we strode to the supply cart and stocked up on ammunition. I accepted some of their food and water and then checked the supplies in my own bag.
“What are your Warriors going to do while we hunt?”
Thorne took a quick look around. The frown on his face told me he had come to the same conclusion as me: it wasn’t safe here on the road.
“Why not send them back to the camp?” I suggested. “Your men can set up the tripwires again. There’s water close by, and we can find our way to them easily once we’re done.”
“I agree,” he said quietly. “I thought about sending them on toward Peton, but with Brock in his condition, it would be a difficult journey.”
“You tell your men, then. I’m going to find Pierce. He can show me where Two’s trail starts.”
Before walking away, Thorne stopped me and whispered, “I have not disclosed any information to my Warriors since you have made me aware of an informant among us.”
I nodded my head in complete understanding. “I’ll be discreet.”
“And watch yourself when you are with Pierce. He is the last person in this group that I would trust.”
I hesitated a moment but then nodded and turned away to locate Pierce. I was on the verge of asking Thorne how he knew he could trust me over one of his own men. He’d only known me a few days, but I was certain his response would either turn me to mush or make me fuming mad.
Pierce was standing at the edge of the trees with Archer, just off the road. I slowed, not wanting to interrupt what looked to be a very heated conversation, but another part of me wanted to eavesdrop. It could very well reveal what the two of them had been up to. According to Max, they’d disappeared after I’d removed the bullet from Brock’s body and then reappeared from the woods together. Could one of them be a traitor? Could both of them be working together? So many questions and no time to dig for the truth. Right now, Brock’s life depended on Thorne and me locating Two as quickly as possible.
I was still twenty feet from them when Pierce noticed me and stopped the discussion short. Archer peered over his shoulder at me and then quickly marched away. I watched Archer’s retreating form for a second and then turned to find Pierce glaring at me. He was handsome in his own way. His dark brown hair was lengthier than Thorne’s but tousled and hanging down over his blue eyes. He had an intimidating stance, much like Two, but his skin was fair instead of dark. I had to remind myself that it wasn’t Two that I was dealing with. I had nothing to fear. Unless Thorne was correct in his suspicions and Pierce actually was the traitor.
“You said you saw Two … uh, the dark soldier, this afternoon.” His fierce expression was making me nervous. “Can you show me where?”
“I can, indeed,” Pierce replied sarcastically. “Can you tell me why?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. He was derisive enough to be the traitor. “Because we’re hunting him down.”
“So now our commander is running off into the forest … again … because of you.”
Then I noticed something about his eyes, his face. It wasn’t anger or malice. Was it concern? Was he worried about getting caught, or could he actually be worried about Thorne? I was hoping for the latter for Thorne’s sake. He could use a strong ally in this fight.
“He may have some medicine that could help save Brock.” I revealed that much to him. It would be no secret once we were back and it might just motivate him to help me. “I can see you don’t think much of me, but at least for your fellow Warrior …”
Pierce looked toward the road at his sleeping friend and then nodded. I was alright with him hating me as long as he guided us in the right direction.
Pierce led me down the road in a westward direction. We veered off the road after about fifty feet and strode into the trees. I kept a watchful eye on him and a hand close to my pistol. I was skeptical about Pierce being the informant, but I wouldn’t be foolish either. There was something about that quick look he gave me. He may not be the betrayer in this game.
“Here is where I saw him last,” Pierce said.
He was right. Two had been just on the edge of the fight, merely watching, but close enough to see the road and the Warriors. His trail was easy to see retreating into the forest. Two sets of footprints moved in the direction of the General’s compound.
I was pulled from my thoughts when Pierce gripped my upper arm in a painful hold. My free hand instinctively reached for my pistol, but I hesitated, only to see what he would do.
Pierce drew me close until we were nose to nose. “Our commander is bewitched by you, but I am not.” He squeezed my arm in an obvious threat. “Do not do anything stupid.”
I didn’t have a chance to ask Pierce what he meant because Thorne finally caught up with us.
“Pierce!” Thorne bellowed, striding toward us furiously.
Pierce immediately released my arm. Giving me one last fierce scowl, he turned on his heel, bumped shoulders with Thorne, and strode back to the road and the other Warriors. I watched him until he joined Archer by the wagon.
Thorne rubbed my bare arm where there was now a red handprint. “Did he hurt you?” he asked. “I never thought he would harm you.”
“He
didn’t,” I said. Then I realized what Pierce’s message had truly meant and smiled.
“He threatened you,” Thorne said gruffly.
I chuckled and gazed back at Pierce. “Yes, he did.”
***
Thorne balked at the idea that Pierce could actually be his – well, not friend, but definitely an ally. I tried to explain that Pierce was merely threatening me out of concern for his commander, but Thorne wouldn’t listen.
We made good time following Two’s trail. Like the other soldiers, he left his tracks visible for anyone to find. I wouldn’t have needed Thorne’s help in tracking him. I let him lead though. Having him by my side gave me a confidence I hadn’t felt in a while. These last few days made me realize how lonely I had become. I was alone in Terran because I didn’t belong. Becoming one of the General’s soldiers only isolated me more and made me realize there were far worse things than being on my own. I felt at peace when I was around Thorne, like I was complete again.
Thorne held a steady pace for several hours. I stayed right on his heels as we silently meandered through the towering sequoias. The sun had disappeared long ago even though it was still a few hours until sunset. Dark storm clouds had rolled in and there was a damp chill in the air. Lightning occasionally flashed and the sound of thunder rumbled shortly after. It was not raining yet, but it soon would be. I could smell the moisture on the blustering wind.
Without warning, Thorne pulled me off the trail and into some large ferns.
“Is everything alright?” I whispered, crouching down beside him.
“I figured we should catch our breath before we go charging into his camp.”
He passed me his water container and I took a drink without protesting. After handing it back to him, I dug into my satchel for some bread and cheese and started stuffing large pieces of them into my mouth.
Thorne chuckled softly. “You look like a chipmunk with your cheeks so full.”
Nearly choking at his remark, I covered my mouth with my hand in embarrassment.
“Promise me, little warrior, that when you meet my family, you will not eat this way.” He gave me a boyish grin.
