Clanless (Nameless #2)(10)
Joshua had endured so much. Zo needed to protect him from learning the truth about Gryphon. At least for a time.
Eva shook her head in disappointment, and crawled out from under the tree with the others, leaving Zo with only her deception for company.
Chapter 5
Gryphon should have killed Zander before making his escape. Revenge demanded it. But his vengeance wouldn’t end there. Zo was so innocent, and so much better than Zander, that the old adage of a life for a life didn’t apply.
Ajax. His brother. His best friend in this world. The man who’d helped him escape death. He needed to die as well for following Zander’s orders.
How quickly adoration turned to hatred.
As soon as he kept his promise to Zo and helped the Raven evacuate their hidden home, he’d track Zander and Ajax down. The hunter would become the hunted and justice would be served.
Gryphon kept pace with the rest of the men, barely aware of his surroundings. He followed, but his desire to save these savages who hated him didn’t seem to mean as much without Zo. With her death, he realized something disappointing about himself: he was selfish.
Zo’s mere existence made him challenge everything he believed about people outside Ram’s Gate. One look from her and he wanted to be better than he was. He wanted to prove that his people weren’t the monsters she believed them to be. Not all of them. Not him. Now he didn’t know what to believe.
They ran for the better part of three days. Gabe and the Raven didn’t seem to ever tire. By the time they stopped at the base of an enormous tree, Gryphon nearly collapsed at their feet.
“These Birds know how to travel,” Gryphon wheezed beside Gabe. They hadn’t spoken since Gryphon had learned about Zo. Neither wanted to discuss their loss. Or their future.
“They’re smaller than you. Lighter. Faster. You might beat them in a fight, but you have to catch them first,” Gabe said, panting
Gryphon nodded because it used less air to do so. He pointed at the line the Raven had formed to climb a tree using man-made pegs spiraling up its thick trunk.
“What’s up there?” Gryphon gestured to dense canopy above.
Gabe smiled. “You’ll see.”
Gryphon climbed the tree last. The pegs were made of sturdy wood and so natural looking he doubted he would have spotted them on one of his routine excursions with his mess unit. The curling climb went slowly. The higher he ascended the more the ground seemed to spin, jumping up and back with nauseating inconsistency. His legs shook by the time he broke through the thick canopy high above the ground and dropped to a platform made of wooden planks. Branches of the monstrous tree jutted through the floor. “I think I might be sick,” said Gryphon.
Around him, nearly fifty Raven smirked at his condition, and even Gabe nudged him with a stupid grin on his face. “You’re sort of pathetic,” he said. “I think it does everyone good to see you this way. The mighty Ram as green-faced as a tree nymph.”
“Remind me again why I’m doing this?” Gryphon groaned as he pushed up into a seated position. “Whoa.” Whatever smart remark he was about to make dissolved on his tongue as he stared out at the network of bridges connecting the thick forest of trees, bridges invisible from the ground below.
The leader of the Raven Flock offered Gryphon a hand to help him stand. His grip was almost too firm, as though he’d rather yank him over the side of the platform than anything else. “We travel above ground the rest of the way. It’s the only way to reach the Nest.” He pulled Gryphon closer, glaring. “This is your last chance to turn back. I promise you, once we reach the Nest you will never be permitted to leave alive.”
Gryphon considered climbing back down the tree. He’d warned the Raven. Why force his help upon people who’d likely kill him for trying? If he hurried, he might be able to track down Zander and Ajax. After exacting his revenge, he’d be free to seek out Joshua and the rest of the Nameless at the Allied Camp. He’d need to arm himself with more than a small dagger …
Gryphon dropped his head, thinking about Zo. About her panic at hearing the Ram’s plans to attack the Raven. Leaving now would be giving up on her desperate drive for peace. He was the only one with Ram experience. If the Raven Chief didn’t take Gabe’s warning seriously, a massacre would ensue.
Gryphon swore under his breath and met the Raven’s question with a firm nod of the head. “I came to help, Bird. I’ll finish the job.”
The Raven appraised him once more. A few of the lines around his mouth smoothed and his grip on Gryphon’s hand loosened a fraction. “You’re a strange man, Gryphon. “ He clapped his back and gave orders for his men to move.
Gryphon stepped out onto the first of many roped bridges. The planks shifted and groaned like ice beneath his feet. They weren’t built to carry someone his size. He closed his eyes and sighed. He’d do this for Zo, protect these people when he’d failed to protect her. Even in death, she made him a better man.
But afterwards, when the Raven were safe, he’d have his revenge.
The Nameless refugees had two full days’ head start on Zo and her small company of travelers. They gave the massive wall of the Ram a wide berth as they worked their way south to find the tracks of the Nameless.
“Shouldn’t we be concerned about running into Ram scouts?” asked Joshua. He hadn’t stopped asking questions since waking up that morning. “I mean, don’t you think Barnabas will send a mess unit after the Nameless?”