Nameless (Nameless #1)(55)

“Zo’s little sister,” Joshua blurted. Gryphon glared his rebuke.

The Wolf washed in something of a daze, seeming barely to notice his two enemies. “You know I could solve all of your problems, right?” He stared past them at the wall. “I could take them with me. Get them back home.”

“Where is their family?” Gryphon asked. He knew there was some logic in the Wolf’s words, but he needed more time to think things through before making any rash decisions.

“Their mother and father were killed in a raid several years ago.” The Wolf stopped scrubbing and looked Gryphon directly in the eyes. “Your people, of course.”

Gryphon nodded, his mouth dry. “I see.”

The Wolf dressed in fresh clothes and settled back down into a small mound of hay. “I feel human again. Thank you.”

Gryphon waved his hand. He didn’t want this man’s gratitude. Soon this whole ordeal would be over, and he could get back to serving his people with a guilt-free conscience.

The Wolf offered his hands for Joshua to bind him. While the boy worked, the Wolf gave him a few pointers on the proper way to secure the knot. Gryphon shook his head and cast his eyes to the rafters of the barn. The world was backward and upside-down. Every black and white was now a muddy gray.

“You’re right, that is better,” said Joshua, nodding his head. He tightened the gag covering the Wolf’s mouth. “See you tomorrow.” The boy waved before shutting the door.

Gryphon locked the door behind them and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“What?” said Joshua, his hands outstretched in innocence.

“He’s not our friend, kid. You know that, right?”

“I’m not an idiot, Gryph. I know what he is.”

“Good.”

Joshua ran off toward the main road leading into town. “Why the hurry?” Gryphon called after him.

“I want to get home early. Zo’s healing a Nameless family this evening. She might need my help,” he hollered over his shoulder.

Gryphon’s stomach twisted. All he could see was gray.





On her way back from washing her and Tess’ clothes in the nearby stream, Zo spotted Stone in the forest. He held possessively to a girl’s hand as they navigated the trees ahead of her. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought they were headed right for Gryphon’s family land. They stopped just before the forest thinned to fields. The Ram girl knotted her fists into the front of Stone’s shirt while he stroked her butchered hair. There was something about this girl that seemed familiar, even though Zo knew she’d never seen her before.

The couple exchanged soft words, indecipherable to Zo. Stone interrupted the girl several times with a kiss on her cheek, her forehead, the tip of her nose. The girl began to cry and Stone dropped to his knees, burying his face into her stomach with his arms locked around her.

The impact of what she saw made Zo forget, just for a minute, the anger and fear that she’d carried around every moment since entering the Gate. Seeing these two completely different people so much in love was like seeing the impossible in action. She found herself aching for them—not just Stone, but the Ram girl as well.

Strange.

Zo took a step closer and Stone, with some crazy extra sense, turned his head and pushed the girl behind him in the same instant. His feral features transformed to relief at the sight of Zo.

He led the young woman to Zo’s side.

“Eva, this is the healer I was telling you about. She has Striker Gryphon’s protection. The Historian says she is the key to getting you out of the Gate.”

Zo blanched. She had promised to help, but didn’t want them to think she had any influence over Gryphon that wasn’t true. “Who is the Historian?”

Eva came forward. Zo didn’t remember offering her hand, but before she knew it, Eva had taken it in both of hers. “The Historian is a friend to the resistance. She also happens to be Chief Barnabas’ grandmother.”

Zo gently pulled her hand away. She flexed her fingers open and shut. “And you trust her?”

Eva shrugged. “We have to. She’s been our only hope until you’ve come along.” Eva took a step closer. “People of the rebellion say you are working with others outside the Gate. People who want to help the Nameless.”

It wasn’t exactly true. The Allies had never focused much on the Nameless slaves of the Ram. But the enemy of the enemy is your friend. Why not enlist the Nameless to help with the Allies? If they somehow managed to escape, they could be a great help to the Cause, maybe the difference between victory and defeat.

“I’ve been sending them messages, but I don’t know how much good has come from it.” Zo looked from Stone to Eva and sighed. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you. Only don’t expect a miracle. I’m stuck inside the Gate, just like you are.”

“But the Historian said—”

“She’s wrong. I am a slave in Gryphon’s household. He has shown me some mercy, but he is not my friend or ally.”

Eva’s expression faltered, and Zo found herself desperate to say something, anything to give the Ram girl some comfort. “I’ll do what I can, but I just can’t make you any promises.”

The girl rubbed her stomach as she bit into her bottom lip. “Thank you.”