Nameless (Nameless #1)(51)
Gryphon immediately thought of the shield hanging in his family home. His desire to restore his family’s honor. For so long it had been the most important thing in his life. The aspiration that eclipsed any other. Could he sacrifice that desire to save his friend?
The Historian patted him on the arm. “You’ve answered my question.” She took a pinch of the powder she’d been mixing and set it on a metal dish.
“Tell me what I need to do,” said Gryphon.
The Historian looked at him through the corner of her eye then poured a drop of liquid from the thin vial onto the small mound of powder. Light and heat exploded from the dish, causing Gryphon to yank the old woman away protectively. But the fire left as quickly as it came.
The Historian’s face was black with ash in places and her wispy hair was singed, but she couldn’t seem to stop the spread of a smile from lighting her face. “There are things happening inside the Gate, son of Troy. Great movements, or sparks, forming under your very nose, even in your very home. Imbalances will be restored. It will not be long before your own arm is set to the chopping block, Striker. When that time comes, you will have to decide if the people you love and the convictions of your heart are worthy of the sacrifice.”
Zo’s entire body ached as she slid out of bed the following night. A long, low creak sounded throughout the Nameless quarters as Zo opened the door. She didn’t worry about waking Markus and the other Nameless who shared her room. After a hard day’s work they dropped like stones into their straw beds.
She couldn’t handle another night away from Tess, not after holding that helpless Ram baby in her arms. Zo used the thick forest for cover as she paralleled the path that connected with the main road. Her ears strained for the sound of footsteps on gravel, but she heard nothing other than the occasional twig breaking under her own foot. With only a sliver of moonlight for guidance, she made it to the Nameless’ barracks in less than an hour.
As usual, no one watched the doors of the Nameless’ barracks. And it was no wonder. Who would dare defy the Ram? And where would a Nameless go if he left?
Zo was the exception.
She stepped inside and was assaulted by the smell. Body odor and rotting teeth mixed with boiled egg. Surely it hadn’t smelled so bad a few days ago. Zo covered her mouth and moved along the narrow aisle to find Tess’ bed.
“Tess?” Zo sat on the edge of the bed and gently shook her sleeping sister. “Tess, it’s me. Wake up.”
Tess moaned then sat bolt upright. “Zo!”
Zo clasped her hand over Tess’ mouth. “Outside,” she whispered, leading Tess to the door.
Away from the stench of the barracks, Zo pulled Tess into a hug and held her until the screaming cuts on her back couldn’t handle anymore. “I’m so sorry, mouse.”
Tess wept. Every little sob was a knife to Zo’s heart. “Gabe … stabbed … and then they took you.” She hiccupped into Zo’s chest. “I … don’t understand.”
Zo pulled Tess to sit in her lap on the ground, ignoring the tugging pain in her back. She rocked them back and forth, stroking Tess’ hair and humming a lullaby their mother used to sing. Tess wouldn’t remember it, but for Zo it was an important piece of her shattered life. One of the few things she got to take with her after the raid.
After a while, Tess interrupted. “Who is the bald man we met at the gate?”
Any comfort Zo had found in that moment evaporated. “The Gate Master?”
“He visited me in the fields today. Said you and he were friends and that I could come and live with him if I wanted.”
Zo swallowed her own tongue.
“I told him, ‘No, thank you.’”
Zo cleared her throat, forcing her voice to sound casual. “And wh … what did he say?”
“He just smiled and went to talk to the man at the big house.”
Zo shook her head. “You’re never going to see that man again, Tess. I’m taking you with me tonight. Then we’re going to find a way outside the Gate. I promise.”
Instead of looking comforted, Tess’ body went rigid in Zo’s arms, her eyes wide, her finger trembling as it pointed behind Zo. Then she screamed.
Chapter 26
Gryphon sat on his porch, digesting the riddled words of the Historian when the door to the Nameless quarters squeaked and a slight figure emerged. Instead of calling out to Zo, he pushed off from the porch and followed to see if she planned to drop more bottles.
The thought of her betrayal affected him more than it should have. She was only a spy doing what she’d been trained to do. So why did he take her actions personally? He’d been kind to her, hadn’t he? If he was honest with himself, he’d foolishly thought that she would resign herself to his home and abandon her mission. But now, seeing her deft movements through the brush, he realized just how naive he’d been.
When she turned from the path that led to the river, a flood of relief cleansed his anger. If she wasn’t dropping bottles then where was she going? He continued to follow her at a safe distance until she reached one of the Seer’s Nameless’ barracks for slaves not assigned to a Ram family.
Zo slipped inside the door and returned moments later with a young girl in tow. Even in the darkness, it only took one glance to realize the relation. Same pronounced cheekbones, same almond eyes. If their looks hadn’t proved their relation, their actions and words did.