Nameless (Nameless #1)(26)
“I need you to come with me, healer.” Gryphon looked down at the cowering girls and frowned. “I … I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Zo tried to remain calm for the child’s sake. “Should I finish with Iris before we go? I’m almost done.”
Gryphon moved to the corner of the room and leaned against the wall. “Of course.”
Zo reached for a strip of cloth but accidentally knocked the whole basket to the floor. Her stomach rolled as she hurried to pick up the mess.
“Re-remember what I told you, Iris. Keep this bandage on for two days. Don’t get it wet if you can avoid it. If it falls off before then, come back and I’ll refit one for you.” Zo glanced at Gryphon as she grabbed another strip of cloth. His bulky arms were folded across his broad chest, his chin down, his eye appraising under a hood of thick brows.
“Uh, if I’m not here,” Zo’s hands slipped as she tightened the wrap, “someone else will help you.”
Iris slid off the bed and gave Zo an easy hug before running out the door. Thankfully, it wasn’t too hard to care for these Ram children. Especially when they were as young as Iris. Zo couldn’t blame them for the pain the Ram had caused the other clans over the years. She looked over to Gryphon’s towering form and rose to her feet, hugging the basket of cloth to her chest. Gryphon and others like him were not so innocent.
“You’re coming with me.” He took a step toward her.
Zo looked at the ground and nodded. She carried the basket over to a table and, in a last-moment decision, tucked a thin scalpel up her sleeve before turning to face her enemy. She would end her own life before they had the chance to torture her, if it came to that.
Gryphon’s hands tightened at his sides. “The man we’re going to see will require medical attention. You’ll need more than the knife to help him.”
Zo froze, unable to hide the shock on her face. Her little stunt had likely squashed what trust he might have had for her. “I … I’m sorry—”
“Just get a kit together. We don’t have much time.”
They left the Medica, Zo walking three steps behind Gryphon on the cobbled road through town. “Will you let me speak?” she asked as they turned onto a dirt trail leading into the thick forest fringing the town.
Gryphon looked back and nodded. Zo absently put one hand to her cheek, wishing she’d had time to apply another layer of mud that morning. “I didn’t plan to hurt anyone with the scalpel. I thought you were handing me over to the guard.”
Gryphon fought a smile. “So you planned to fight your way to freedom without hurting anyone?”
“No.”
Gryphon’s calm demeanor was like a giant snake holding perfectly still until its prey became complacent. She knew he would strike eventually, and when he did the bite would kill.
“Why would you carry a knife, if not to fight?”
“To control how I die.” She blurted the words before she could help herself. A Nameless shouldn’t speak so freely. Especially not to the one soldier inside the Gate who had seen her for what she was. A Wolf.
Gryphon nodded. “We all want to control our lives, healer. Few of us get to.”
Zo wanted to hit him. She wanted to scratch out his honest-looking eyes and spit in his face. He knew nothing about losing control in life. Nothing.
They traveled deeper into the woods. The sun filtered through the trees, lighting up patches of earth with brilliant afternoon light. Zo longed to remove the wrap covering her head and neck and let the light breeze finger through her hair. The green season was nearly here. At home she would have been sowing tubers and peas on her family’s plot. Tess should have been out causing trouble with her two best friends. Her little sister’s greatest worry should be winning the relay race at Spring Festival.
Zo hitched up the medical kit on her hip.
“We’re almost there,” said Gryphon.
They reached the entrance to a cave guarded by two heavily armored men. Each wore a fur vest and boots. Like most Ram, they stood as tall as trees, with white battle scars marking their arms and chests. Zo took a half step behind Gryphon so he stood between her and the guards. Two snakes were always worse than one.
“We’ve come to see the prisoner,” said Gryphon.
The size of Zo’s eyes doubled. Gabe. They’d come to see Gabe!
Weeks ago she had kissed Gabe’s cheek and left him forever. He had been buried with the rest of her friends and family in the grave of her heart. She wasn’t supposed to ever see him again.
“Are you coming?” Gryphon’s voice pulled her out of her stupor. His lip pinched in on one side as he looked between Zo and the cave entrance.
“Yeah, sorry.” Zo hitched up her kit again. If Gryphon connected her to Gabe, he’d have no choice but to turn her in. “I guess I’m still a little shaken from my last cave experience,” she lied.
Accusation lifted from Gryphon’s face. “Joshua told me about the Waiting Room.” His brow wrinkled with concern. “Are you going to be all right?”
Gryphon glanced at the guards and quickly added, “Because if you can’t treat the prisoner, I have no use for you.”
Zo swallowed. “I’ll be fine.”
Gryphon held the torch to his side so the healer could share the light. “Be careful of the ledge. It’s a long way to the bottom if you fall.” His voice echoed off the moist rock walls.