Horde (Razorland #3)(33)

“Do you think they have their own language?” I whispered.

“I think so.” His voice was low and grave. “I’m pretty sure they spoke to one another while they held me. But I don’t care to stick around to ask.”

I shivered. “Me, either.”

There was no way to tell how many were lurking nearby without a scout. For the first time, I wished Stalker had come with us. If anyone could give us the lay of the land and warn us of dangers ahead without being spotted, it was him. But Fade and I would manage. We had before, though the stakes had never been this high.

“This way. The air smells clean.”

That was no longer a foolproof system, but we didn’t have a better option. My heart thudding like mad, I followed Fade. As he moved, he kept to the shadow of the trees, as the forest grew thick and uncut to the northwest of Soldier’s Pond with the river glimmering in the distance like a silver snake. The day warmed as it wore on, one of those perfect fall mornings with the sky so blue that it looked like a painting, yet the sun wasn’t so bright that it hurt my eyes. For that reason, I preferred this season to all others, even spring planting.

When the sun hit its zenith, Fade found a shaded spot beneath the red-tinged canopy. I broke out the bread, dried meat, and water, then we ate with efficient speed. There were so many things I wanted to say to him, but we had at least four more hours of running ahead of us. Town life had softened me; I noticed the burn as I wouldn’t have before. I’d put on weight, too, softening in ways that were occasionally inconvenient, though I hadn’t minded when Fade examined those curves.

By nightfall, we had dodged four Freak patrols and outrun the trees, leaving us only open ground upon which to make camp. We could do without a fire, but it would get colder as the night wore on. I ate only a little of our packed food, thinking we might need it before the trip ended; things seldom went according to plan. The water, I downed generously, as I heard the river burbling nearby. We weren’t encamped on its banks—that would be asking for trouble since Freaks had to stop to drink—but it was close enough to be reassuring. Clean water was always a concern in the wilderness.

“Can I see the map?”

I handed it to him. “How did we do?”

“We shaved some time off the estimate. If we maintain this pace, though, we’ll be burnt to nubs when we arrive in Winterville.”

“The alternative is stretching this out. Sooner we get there, find this Dr. Wilson, and get back with his data, the faster we can put Soldier’s Pond behind us.”


“Did you mean what you said?”

“About what?” I asked.

“Raising an army.”

I tilted my head. “One town won’t be enough to defeat the horde. With the Freaks organizing and banding together, we have to do the same. It can’t matter where somebody’s from or why they want to fight. It only matters if they’re committed.”

“The colonel laughed. You really think we can do this?” While it warmed my heart to hear that instinctive “we,” the question also showed me how much the Freaks had damaged his confidence. He’d had my back in the meeting, but now the doubts emerged.

“I think we’ve lost if we don’t try,” I said.

“Then I’m with you.” He pitched his voice low so it wouldn’t carry—and in that moment of everlasting sweetness, it felt like a secret pact, Fade and me against the world.

Too soon, dark fell and cradled us in night. We had come far enough from Soldier’s Pond that there were no lights apart from moon and stars. How odd that I could’ve so quickly forgotten that darkness like this existed, beyond banishing by candles or the crafty glow of old-world lights. I held my hand up to my face, marveling at the smudgy lines. To my annoyance, I was too keyed up to sleep.

“I’ll take the first watch,” I said.

Fade shook his head. “We both need to rest. I’ll put dry branches around the perimeter. If anything crosses, the noise will wake us.”

“Good idea.” I helped him gather them, then we created a box far enough from our bedrolls that it should give us time to draw our weapons.

My time at the outpost had left me sleeping even lighter. Though I had never mentioned my bad dreams to anyone, between memories of the enclave and Fade’s abduction, I didn’t sleep well most nights anyway. Between my nighttime troubles and Fade’s precautions, I doubted the Freaks could sneak up on us. Of course, before it happened, I would’ve said they couldn’t steal fire or take two men from an armed encampment, too. Those facts left me faintly unnerved.

“It’ll be cold tonight.” I nodded as I curled into my blankets, too preoccupied to wonder at the statement. The reason for it became clear when Fade added, “You could sleep next to me.”

“Would that be all right?”

“It was before. I rolled toward you … and I might as well save us that step.”

“I’d like that if it wouldn’t bother you.”

He exhaled slowly and with obvious trepidation. “I’ll let you know.”

Feeling like I was taming a wild creature, I eased my back up to his front by increments, and I stopped when I could just barely feel him. He came a little closer on his own, so the heat was immediately palpable. Delight cascaded through me when he dropped his arm over my waist. I braced for rejection, but instead he seemed to be settling in, and I felt the warm gust of his breath against the back of my head.