Nameless (Nameless #1)(61)

“We followed your little red-headed apprentice last night. He was caught smuggling one of my Nameless, the sister of your healer, into the forest. He admitted to stealing her from the Nameless’ barracks and hiding her on your property for the last few nights to help your healer. I’m sorry he let you and his people down. ”

The muscles in Gryphon’s jaw tightened to the point where he couldn’t speak. Joshua had taken the blame for all of it.

“We can only assume he was poisoned by your Nameless girl. I trust you will see her properly punished.”

Gryphon could only nod.

The Seer smiled again. “I don’t think I need to tell you how disappointed the Ram Council is with young Joshua. It reflects poorly on you. We can only assume he spoke the truth when he said you had nothing to do with this.”

Gryphon held perfectly still. He thought of a hundred different scenarios, but the surest way to help Joshua and Tess was also the most disgusting. “Of course not.”

The Seer nodded approvingly. “Good. I told them you had more sense than that. We’d hate to see our famous Striker tangled in such a mess.”

“Where is the boy? He needs to be punished,” said Gryphon, the words were acid to his tongue.

The Seer laughed without humor. “Oh, don’t worry about that.”

“He’s my responsibility.” Gryphon couldn’t hide the tremor in his voice.

The Seer’s smile melted like a wax candle. “We will take care of his punishment and assign him a new mentor. Trust me, this type of violation will never happen again. Ever.”

Gryphon tried to swallow, but his dry throat made the effort impossible. “And the little Nameless girl?”

“She is where she belongs.”





Chapter 32





The last time Zo went to Sara and Ajax’s home had been in the middle of the night. Even then, she hadn’t paid a great deal of attention to where it was because of her recent whipping. She wandered through fields and forest in the general direction she remembered traveling. But the area inside the Gate was extremely vast. She could spend the entire day searching, and still not find the right Ram farmhouse.

Joshua and Tess would be somewhere along the western edge of the forest, close to the mountainous cliffs that dropped off into freezing ocean. She hoped Tess had been warm enough the previous night, and that Joshua didn’t feel over-burdened by the heavy responsibility entrusted him. The boy had become something of a little brother to Zo. She couldn’t imagine losing either of them in this dangerous game they played against the Seer.

After an hour of wandering without hope of finding Sara’s home, Zo collapsed on a log and buried her head in her hands. Why hadn’t she thought to ask Gryphon for directions?

Deciding that sitting wouldn’t help her sister or Joshua, Zo followed the familiar road she’d been avoiding through a blossoming apple orchard. Zo skirted the house, careful to avoid being seen by the violent pregnant woman she’d had the unfortunate opportunity to meet already. She hurriedly turned the corner to walk behind the house and ran directly into Stone.

Zo bounced off the Nameless revolutionary’s chest and landed ungracefully on her backside.

Stone reacted without pause, lifting her by the arm and hauling her back behind the Nameless’ shed near the border of forest. “What’s wrong? Why are you here?” He looked in every direction to make certain they weren’t followed. “You can’t be here. It isn’t safe for anyone.”

“I need to find Eva and Sara. Can you take me to them?”

“What’s going on?” His grip on her arm tightened with worry.

“It’s a long story. Gryphon has agreed to help Eva. We’re meeting this afternoon at his family home.” She didn’t bother mentioning her sister or the Seer. She couldn’t stomach saying the words out loud. As if that would make the situation less dire.

Stone blanched. “Does the Striker know anything about the rebellion? About me?”

Zo shook her head. “He only knows that Eva is carrying a Nameless’ child.” She touched Stone’s hand to remind him that he was still squeezing her arm. “Gryphon will help her.”

Tears sprang to Stone’s eyes and he quickly wiped them away. “I don’t know what sort of power you hold over this Ram, but … ” he cleared his throat, “this is a miracle. Thank you.”

“Nameless!” a shrill, familiar voice called from the front of the main house.

The muscles in Zo’s back flexed at the sound. She cast a sideways glance at the whipping post and felt her knees buckle.

“You can’t be seen here,” said Stone. He quickly went about explaining how to find Eva’s family home. “Thank you. Thank you.” He took Zo by the shoulders and kissed her full on the lips. “Thank you!”

He left her standing alone on the fringe of the wood, stunned.

Zo immediately set out to find Eva’s family home while Stone’s directions were still fresh in her mind. Thankfully, it wasn’t far. She wouldn’t be able to relax until she held Tess in her arms.

The house, like most other Ram homes, was likely constructed from the very pine trees chopped down to clear the land on which it sat. Goats roamed free on either side of the cobbled path leading to the house. They bleated a welcome as Zo passed, then returned to their loud grass chomping. The stone path led to a small porch where an elderly man and woman sat on a bench staring at her.