Clanless (Nameless #2)(34)
Gryphon shook his head and pushed his clenched fists into his forehead. Logic raged against the convictions of his heart. How could he go back and serve in Barnabas’s ranks? How could he sit by and let his people die? No matter what damage the Raven traps did today, the Ram were too strong to be defeated, even by the combined forces of the Kodiak, Raven, and Wolves. What use was there going against the winning player in the region’s power struggle? Why not preserve himself? It would be so much easier.
Gryphon recalled a training session he’d designed for Joshua when the boy was only ten years old. He’d set markers in the field in front of his family home for Joshua to run sprints. Joshua, always eager to learn, nodded his head vigorously as Gryphon explained the drill. Later, when he looked out the window to check on Joshua’s progress, he saw that the boy had moved the markers closer together to make for a shorter run.
Gryphon remembered the lecture he’d given Joshua as if it were only yesterday. The easy path is for cowards, he’d said.
Gryphon clamped his jaw shut and forced himself to watch what was in his power to prevent. His decision made.
His people walked blindly into the Lion’s Silk. They were so concerned with protecting themselves from an aerial assault they didn’t notice the trip wire. It all happened at once. The Lion’s Silk let off a metallic whine as it stretched. The trigger released fifty arrows shot at an upward angle from the ground—something the Ram hadn’t anticipated. Men cried out in pain. At least half of the first two mess units dropped to the ground. Any other group of men would have fled, but the Ram regrouped. The survivors of the two units merged into one and the marching continued with more vigor than before.
Gryphon’s whole frame shook with sorrow as his people stepped over the bodies of their clansmen to continue deeper into the island. Ram faces blurred in Gryphon’s vision as they filed past. A small hand touched his shoulder when the last of the Ram left the tree bridges for island soil.
“It’s time,” said Sani.
Gryphon nodded and pushed up to his feet a changed man. A Ram no more.
“They’re called Clanless,” Zo said a second time. A crowd had gathered around her and Stone, all wanting the same answers Stone demanded. It was still hard to believe that she was the only one, besides maybe Tess, who knew anything about the people wandering the mountain without the protection of a clan. She reminded herself that most Nameless live their whole lives inside the walls of Ram’s Gate as slaves. They were like children when it came to life outside the Gate.
“They’re nomads. People without a clan who wander the mountains.”
Stone ran a hand over his shaved head. “Why haven’t we seen them before?”
Zo shrugged. “They give Ram’s Gate a wide berth. No one wants to tangle with the Ram.”
A Nameless man broke through the circle. Blood ran down the side of his face. “They took my wife. How do we get her back?”
Zo scanned the group, looking for someone to take charge of this situation. Someone like Gryphon, who knew how to lead. But even Stone awaited her answer.
Zo stumbled over her words. She wasn’t a leader and had no desire to be responsible for these people. For some reason, she thought she’d be able to sink back into the crowd of Nameless and let Stone handle things from here. But no one else had traveled this terrain. Her opinion carried weight.
A terrifying thought.
“Th … they like to barter,” Zo said. “They like to kidnap and ransom the prisoners for food and supplies.”
“But we don’t have supplies,” Stone growled.
Zo looked around at the haggard bunch. Desperation stripped the joy of escape from their faces. They were captives again.
And Zo couldn’t stand it.
“We’ll get her back,” Zo blurted. “But nothing can be done until the morning.” She attempted to fill her lungs with slow, deep breaths, but still couldn’t manage to get enough air. “Where is the man Joshua helped capture?” she asked with a voice more shaky than the confident tone she’d intended.
Stone’s eyebrows lifted. “He’s over by the—”
“Double your night watch and take me to him,” she said. “The rest of you need to sleep. Tomorrow is a big day.” She knew the families of those taken by the Clanless wouldn’t find any rest tonight, but they had to try. Zo turned back to Tess and Joshua. “You two need to stay with me. Do you understand?” Tess chewed on her bottom lip, but nodded while Joshua stood behind her, resting his hands on Tess’s shoulders. “We will.” He looked down at Tess then back up at Zo and puffed out his chest. The gesture spoke volumes. He would look out for her. Be Tess’s protector if she needed one.
Zo nodded, choking down the emotion Joshua’s response elicited in her. They were a family, the three of them. Joshua and Tess were both too young to be required to be so brave, but still they looked at Zo as if she held all of the answers of the universe and would have no difficulty solving this and all other problems.
She knew they were wrong, but hoped what she had to offer might keep them alive.
Stone led them toward the center of the circular camp, where the smell of unwashed bodies reminded her of her time spent sleeping in the Nameless barracks inside Ram’s Gate. At the center, a man lay on his stomach with arms bound behind his back. His head lay in the dirt, his eyes closed as if he were asleep.