Nameless (Nameless #1)(15)
When Tess finished her muddy masterpiece, Zo pulled her to her feet so they could head out for another day of work.
Tess kicked the same rock all the way from the Nameless’ barracks. Her light-blond ponytail bounced extra high with every stab. “Why are you staring at me?”
“Who’s staring?” said Zo.
The mud on Zo’s face stiffened with the dry heat of the morning sun. Baking ugly. They enjoyed a peaceful walk until Tess had to take the fork in the road that led to the farmlands. Her assignment.
Zo pulled her sister to her chest and squeezed. “Remember—”
“I know,” said Tess, counting off the details on her thin fingers. “Don’t talk to anyone about home. Drink lots of water. Don’t go into houses. Anything else?” she said, tapping her foot on the sticky road.
“I think that covers it. I’ll see you tonight.” Zo kissed her round cheek.
Tess’ ponytail bounced as she ran to catch up with the rest of the children. Zo picked at the raw nail bed surrounding her thumb and forced herself to walk in the other direction. Tess’ survival depended on Zo’s healing ability in the Medica and so far, things weren’t going so well.
The blunted sword grazed Gryphon’s calf, but he didn’t feel it. He swung his shield to deflect Ajax’s next blow. One by one, the men of his mess abandoned their training to watch the sparring.
Gryphon pushed through the attack. His sword vibrated with the power of swift lightning every time it connected with Ajax’s blade. Ajax took a step backward. Then another. His ever-present smile faltered. Sweat rolled into Gryphon’s eyes, stinging and burning until he blinked it away.
Gryphon purposefully let Ajax turn him to expose his weak side. Ajax lunged for the back of Gryphon’s legs. A favorite attack that Gryphon anticipated. Gryphon smacked the other man’s backside with the flat of his sword. Ajax fell forward. Gryphon jumped on his back, grabbed a fistful of hair, and held his blade to his friend’s neck.
“Damn it, Gryphon!” he growled. Gryphon laughed and hopped off his friend’s back. Ajax didn’t technically call “yield” but he never did. He just got really, really angry.
Zander was the one to keep protocol. “Gryphon takes Ajax … again.” Even Zander had the good humor to smile. Ajax had rarely lost a spar until Gryphon came along.
“What’s the tally up to now, twenty-three to nothing?” Ajax spat blood from his mouth.
“Does it matter?” It was twenty-four.
“Of course it matters. I think I dropped my manhood back there.”
Gryphon cleaned the grit off his sword. “It’s your pride you should worry about.”
“You little goat tit!” Ajax took Gryphon in a headlock and whirled him around until they both collapsed on the ground laughing.
“How is your wife?” Gryphon asked once they’d caught their breath.
“Big.” Ajax laughed again. “She’s a strong woman. I’m sure she’ll do fine. The healer said it could be any day now.”
The sound of deep horns silenced them both. The low-sounding horn was not the typical summons, but instead a call to war. Gryphon scrambled for his gear and sprinted toward Zander with the other members of the mess. Every man huffed with adrenaline.
The horns sounded again before Zander could speak. “To the front gate.” He pulled his shield to his chest and assumed his role at the head of the mess.
The training fields inside the great wall were less than a mile from the front gate. Gryphon’s mess filled the town square with almost fifty others. Metal clinked against metal as the small army looked to their leader. Barnabas, the clan chief, stood on a platform next to a bloody animal carcass. Shouts of outrage rang out. Every man looked wild, like they wanted to kill something.
“Soldiers of the Ram!”
“Hah!” the men all cried.
“Today we’ve been threatened inside our own territory!” With his massive arms, Barnabas held the dead ram above his head. The animal’s horns had been sawed off, leaving only bloody holes in their place. The great-horned ram were considered sacred, their horns a symbol of the clan’s power.
Ajax gasped next to Gryphon.
Barnabas launched the carcass into the crowd of soldiers. Blood sprayed armor. “Find who did this! Bring me back his head!”
Runners shot like daggers out to a few different mess leaders, bringing orders and ration satchels.
“I’m afraid we’re in for a long night, men,” said Zander, shouldering one of the packs. “Let’s go hunting.”
Zo stared at the intimidating crowd of Ram soldiers from the steps of the Medica. She’d asked Commander Laden for a sign, but it wasn’t until she saw the dead ram with her own eyes that she dared believe it. The bottles worked. The Wolves knew she had survived. They knew about Tess. She didn’t have to fight the Ram alone. Others were ready to help. Ready to act on whatever information she sent them.
For the first time since she’d entered the Gate, Zo felt powerful. Like she might actually make a difference.
Thinking to take advantage of the commotion, she decided it was time to do something she’d lacked the nerve to do until now. She raced back into the Medica and snatched a used blanket from a laundry pile before bolting out the door again. She wove through the buildings of town until she came upon the first of many training fields. As she’d hoped, the chief’s announcement left the fields empty and the practice weapons hastily dropped in the field to be gathered later.