Clanless (Nameless #2)(74)

Behind him, Ikatou charged, his mighty long sword held high above his head to offer Ajax a killing blow.

“Look out!” said Zo, half a moment before the sword fell.

Ajax rolled to his side and sprinted out of the circle of fighting. “Retreat,” he called. Those of his brothers not hewn down by the Kodiak broke free of their fighting and fled the clearing.

Ikatou and the rest of the Kodiak dropped their weapons and tugged at the front of their shirts, roaring at the retreating Ram. Zo assumed it was Kodiak tradition. Their large lungs must have carried the victory call for miles. Joshua clamped his hands over his ears while Zo stripped the sleeve off Gryphon’s wounded arm and used it as a tourniquet to slow the bleeding.

“Zo?” Gryphon tried to sit up, but Zo pushed him back down.

“Be still. I can help you.” And she could! The swirl of movable energy coalescing inside her confirmed as much.

“I … can’t move my fingers.”

Zo winced at the implications and put more pressure on his arm. “Zander’s sword sliced through a muscle that runs along the top of the forearm. It’s the same muscle that controls your ability to make a fist. It’ll heal with time, but it’s a slow process. I’m more worried about your bone. If you’re not careful, the fracture could turn into a full break.”

“Ajax.” He moved his injured arm and sucked in a sharp breath of air, his teeth clenched together so tight she feared he’d accidently bite through his tongue if he didn’t stop trying to speak. She rested her fingers over his mouth. “He got away, and so did most of your brothers in retreat.” She couldn’t imagine how conflicted Gryphon must feel, fighting for an ideal he believed in against people he had devoted most of his life to protecting.

Gryphon shook his head and pulled her fingers from his lips with his good hand, but still clung to her. “Ram don’t retreat. Ajax saved us. He’ll be punished for it.”

The Kodiak shouting stopped. Celebrating a victory that wasn’t truly theirs. They embraced each other with burly hugs and sharp pats on the back.

When Ikatou turned to face Zo, a flurry of emotions crossed his face. Relief. Betrayal. Concern. Distrust.

“I need to make this right,” Zo whispered to Gryphon. “Will you be all right?”

He nodded. “Go. The kid and I will wait here.”

She walked over to the waiting giant, the man who gave her the hideous cuts on her hands.

“I didn’t run away,” she said.

“It was the Ram unit. I know.” He looked beyond Zo to Gryphon. “Is that one a friend?”

Zo paused. Did Ikatou really believe that Zander had kidnapped her from his camp? “Yes,” she said, swallowing. “He and the boy freed me from the Gate. I owe them my life.”

Ikatou, all muscle and business, rested a hand on Zo’s shoulder, startling her. “I’m glad you are safe.” She didn’t know if he was glad only for the sake of his family and their agreement or for hers as well. She wanted to believe it was both.

Ikatou whistled to one of his men. A man ducked behind a tree carrying her mother’s medical satchel.

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. “You brought it.” She had the strange desire to hug the Bear—this man who had cut open her hands for the sake of his family.

“You haven’t forgotten your promise?” asked Ikatou. “You will fulfill your blood oath?”

Zo chewed on her bottom lip and showed him the backs of her hands. “I haven’t forgotten.”

Ikatou’s whole body seemed to relax. He roughed up her hair. “For such a small person, you are capable of great things, Tumanoko.”

“Tu-man-o-ko?” Zo pronounced each syllable with care.

“My people’s word for ‘hope.’”

Zo hugged the medical kit to her chest and stepped away from Ikatou, but turned back to add, “Thank you.”

Zo walked back to Gryphon.

“Everything all right?” he asked as she settled to the ground next to him, still clutching the medical satchel to her chest.

“He thinks Zander kidnapped me. We’re going to make it to the Allies, Gryphon. This nightmare is almost over.” She still hadn’t told him about the full obligation of her blood oath to Ikatou and the others, but now wasn’t the time.

Joshua hovered over her as she cleaned Gryphon’s wound, applied the proper medicine, and dressed it. When she laid her hands over the bandage, she thought of her mother as she whispered the healing blessing.

At last, she was a healer again.





Chapter 30





Gryphon walked with his arm in a sling beside Ikatou as Joshua consumed all of Zo’s attention behind him. Joshua asked endless questions about the Allies and the new life ahead of him. Since Gryphon had spent the last two days holding Zo’s hand, sharing memories of their very different childhoods, and just being near her, he didn’t mind sharing her with the kid.

Looking over his shoulder to make sure Zo and Joshua were still close behind, he and Zo locked eyes. The side of her lip curled and they shared a moment as Joshua continued his litany of questions.

“What claim do you have over the girl?” Ikatou said, startling him out of his line of thought. Gryphon had nearly forgotten the large man beside him. “You’re too young to be considered her guardian.”