Fearless (Nameless #3)(58)

It had to be something else. But what?

The ground sloped upward. The men of the camp jogged ahead. Some carried torches while most relied only on the moon for guidance.

“Hunt them down!” someone yelled.

After five minutes of trying to keep pace with Joshua, a stitch knotted Zo’s side. The crowd of men thickened, but Joshua wouldn’t be deterred as he shoved his way to the front of the group, leaving a trail for Zo to follow.

“Clear a path!” a familiar voice called.

Gabe. It had to be.

“Transport the injured. Three to a man. Get them to the Healer’s Tent. Careful!”

Zo burst through an opening in the crowd of men to find three Allied soldiers lying lifeless on the ground at the mouth of the slot canyon. Others stirred in obvious pain.

She ran toward the wounded and something caught her arm. “You shouldn’t be up here,” said Gabe. “It’s not safe.”

Zo pushed his hand away. “They’re hurt,” was her only explanation as she ran past him to the first wounded man in her path.

Stab wound. Shoulder. “I need a shirt!” she yelled. The man nearest her pulled his shirt over his head and offered it. She bundled the fabric and pressed it against the wound, earning a sharp curse from the wounded. “Keep pressure on the wound and get him to the tent.”

She hurried over to the second man and stopped short. The left side of the man’s face was split completely open from hairline to chin. The torchlight cast harsh light over shadow and bone, flesh and fatty tissue in the cheek. Blood filled the eye socket, the eye itself splayed open in tatters.

Less blood. Non-fatal, as gruesome as it was.

Zo had seen many wounds, but they never ceased to cause her near physical pain. She knelt beside the man, forgetting the other soldiers looking down at her. She ran the tips of her fingers along the man’s good cheek. “You’re going to be all right,” she whispered near his ear. He looked so young. Sixteen or seventeen at most.

Eyes closed, she offered a quick blessing to help numb the pain then nodded to the men around her to carry him down the hill to the Healer’s Tent, where she could work on him properly.

Zo winced as a sharp pain shot across her own cheek.

Silence swept through the ranks in a wave that started at the mouth of the slot canyon and crashed over the men outside. Hair on the back of Zo’s neck stood on end as four Raven emerged from the slot canyon, each carrying the corner of a blanket. Other Raven solemnly joined them, bearing up the sides so as to not jostle the small, lifeless boy inside.

“No.” Zo took off at a run but Gabe leapt out and hooked her by the waist.

“He’s gone,” he whispered in her ear.

“You don’t know that!” Zo shouted.

Gabe clamped his hand over her mouth, and she shoved it away, furious.

“Listen to me.” He gave her a light shake. “The Raven see death differently than you and I. I’ll explain later, but please, for their sakes, don’t make a scene.”

Gabe supported most of her weight as she watched, helpless, as the Raven walked Sani’s body down the hill. She spotted Joshua standing alone, hugging his arms to his chest and shaking all over.

Zo collected herself enough to lean away from Gabe and close the few steps separating them. “I’m so sorry,” she said, wrapping him up in a hug he didn’t return. Tears collected in his eyes. He worked his lips from side to side, fighting emotion that begged to release.

Then Zo’s own heart plummeted with dread.

“Gryphon,” she said. She ran to the slot canyon and after taking only two or three steps in, halted.

Blood.

Sprayed on the walls. Soaking the ground.

Ram soldiers staring up at the sky with lifeless eyes, their shields discarded on the ground. Light finally peeked over the high canyon wall, casting the morbid scene in what should have been cheerful light.

“Zo?”

Zo startled, and said, “Go back, Joshua. You shouldn’t see this.”

“Where is he?”

Zo didn’t know how to answer him. She didn’t dare look into the faces of the men, too afraid that one of them would be Gryphon.

“I’ll find him. You go back.”

Joshua snorted his disgust at the idea and walked into the slot canyon ahead of Zo, stepping over the bodies of his clansmen as he tried to avoid touching the bloody rock walls. Voices up ahead had them doubling their time. They turned a corner to find Laden, covered in blood and dragging away the body of a Ram soldier from a narrow place in the slot canyon.

“Where’s Gryphon?” she ran toward Laden.

“You shouldn’t be in here,” the Commander growled. “Neither of you.”

Zo took a few steps back, nearly stumbling over a spear on the ground.

“I’m here, Zo.” Gryphon, covered in blood, slid through the narrow crevasse and fell to his knees when he cleared the gap.

Relief hit Zo like a bucket of cool water. She and Joshua both rushed him, each kneeling on either side of him. “What happened?” she demanded. A long, deep gash ran along his side. He wore no shirt, and his chest, arms, and shoulders were covered with scratches.

Gryphon didn’t have the chance to answer before Laden cut him off.

“Your boy just single-handedly stopped a full mess unit from taking our location back to Barnabas.” Laden reached a hand out to Gryphon to help him stand. “He’s a hero.”