Horde (Razorland #3)(43)

One soldier said, “This is absurd. I can’t believe the colonel thought this was worth our time. That girl can’t even defend herself from a punch in the nose.”

Humiliation cascaded through me. My story meant nothing to them. They probably didn’t believe me, and that was a fresh pain. Nobody had mistaken me for a liar before.

Once the training yard cleared, a few people lingered. I eyed them with caution, wondering if they meant to pick a fight. But as I stepped closer, I recognized them: Morrow, Spence, Tully, and Thornton. Every army has a beginning, no matter how humble. Wary, I picked a path across to them.

“What can I do for you?” I asked.

“We’re in,” Tully said, speaking, I presumed, for all of them.

“Why?”

Thornton wore a grim look. “I’m an old man, and I have no family left. I’d rather go out fighting Muties than from some ailment nobody can figure out how to cure.”

“We like to live dangerously.” Spence exchanged a look with Tully that I didn’t know how to interpret. But it didn’t really matter why they were joining up, only that they could fight, and I’d seen them in action.

“And you?” I asked Morrow.

“At heart I’m a teller of tales,” he said. “And this looks like it might be a good one.”

That could be entertaining in the field, and I already knew he was good in tough situations. So I inclined my head. “I’m waiting on word from Winterville. We’ll give them time to make the journey, then head out. So you’ll want to rest up.”

“Yes, sir,” Tully said, and she didn’t seem to be sarcastic about it, either.

“I’ll send word the night before we march. That’s all.”

It seemed odd to be giving orders to people who were all older than I was, but I figured I’d get used to it. With Fade at my side, I went across the yard to talk to Edmund and Momma Oaks. I could see in her eyes that she was scared for me, but her mouth was smiling. That looked like love to me, when you put a brave face on your heart breaking because it was what the other person needed.

“There are other towns,” Edmund said bracingly.

Momma Oaks nodded. “These men just don’t have enough imagination to grasp what you’re trying to do. They’ve been following orders too long. It will be different elsewhere.”

In my heart I wasn’t too sure of that but I appreciated their support. “There might be some men coming from Winterville.”

“What was that like?” Edmund asked, fascinated.

He seemed almost as interested in my stories as I had been in his, early on. As we walked, Fade and I took turns explaining what we’d seen and learned. Both Edmund and Momma Oaks marveled over the electric lights and windmills and Freaks being kept in cages. Tegan and Stalker accompanied us, listening to the account.

Stalker stopped me outside the Oakses’ house. I hoped this was about repairing our friendship, but judging from his expression, it probably wasn’t. This square structure without a hearth for cooking made me sad. Momma Oaks would never be happy in Soldier’s Pond; they’d taken away her life’s work, much as Salvation had done to me, but at least she was safe.

“Go on inside,” I said to Fade and my folks.

They did, after Fade gave me a meaningful look.

“I hear recruitment didn’t go as well as you hoped. My opinion, you went too soft. You appealed to their better natures. You should’ve called them cowards lacking the spine to take the fight to the Freaks. That would’ve motivated more of them.”


I folded my arms. “If you just came to mock me, I’m not interested.”

He shook his head. “That’s not why I’m here. It’s only advice for next time.”

“Then what do you want?”

“There will be no gentle words between us. No more of me begging for a scrap of your affection.”

“I never asked you to,” I protested.

“Fair enough. This is what I propose—and you should be aware I have another offer on the table. You give me command of the scouts and accept that I’m not answerable to you. I lead my own men. I’ll fight with your group, but we’re free to come and go, pick our own battles.”

“If I don’t agree?”

“Then I’m staying in Soldier’s Pond. I don’t expect you care. But they appreciate my skills. I won’t be in charge of the scouts, but I can work my way up. And it’ll get me away from you.” He said it like distance was a necessary cure for a disease against which he’d been fighting a losing battle.

“Maybe it will be better if you do stay here. I don’t want to hurt you, Stalker. I never wanted that. Except when you first took us. Then I intended to kill you.”

A reluctant laugh escaped him. “And I intended for you to lead the Wolves alongside me. I figured you’d see the advantages soon enough.”

“No,” I said gently. “I’d have died fighting you. I don’t have it in me to bend. For me, it’s always been Fade. It always will be.”

He nodded, his eyes cold. “I understand that. And I can live with it. Do we have a deal?”

Part of me didn’t think it was a good idea to take him along, but he was an excellent scout. Only the fact that he wanted to lead his own men had driven him to offer this agreement. He had been in power in the Wolves, and he didn’t much like following orders, which he’d have to do if he stayed in Soldier’s Pond and formally joined their ranks. While the scouts might have more freedom, there was still a chain of command, and Stalker wanted to be at the top.