Nameless (Nameless #1)(65)
Ajax stopped on the road. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you spared the Wolf,” he hissed. “You, my shield brother and friend, deceived me and every other Ram inside the Gate.” He ground his teeth together and sneered. “Why did you do it, Gryph? How can you sleep knowing you’re a traitor?”
Gryphon felt like the ground beneath him gave way. “I’m just trying to do what I feel is right, brother.”
“Don’t call me ‘brother,’” Ajax spat. “And don’t expect me or my family to join you in your treason.”
“But the baby … and Eva.”
“I will take care of my family, just like you should have been man enough to take care of Joshua. Instead, you let these Wolves invade our home. You’ve betrayed the clan.” The fire went out of Ajax’s eyes and his head sunk so low his chin touched his chest. “You’ve betrayed me.”
He turned and walked ahead of Gryphon, even though they were headed to the same bonfire.
Chapter 34
Sharp laughter carried on the breeze as they approached the fire.
“Poor Joshua,” said a hushed voice. “Must have seen how much fun Gryph was having with his Nameless girl, and thought he’d get his own.”
Gryphon stepped into the light of the fire and the men of his mess quieted. Ajax frowned and found a seat not far from Gryphon at the back of the group.
As the last of the mess brothers arrived, no one else commented on Joshua’s alleged transgression. It was a stain on all of them. A foe best handled by looking forward to the next victory.
Gryphon settled in as Zander spoke, careful not to meet Ajax’s reproachful gaze. “Now that we’re all here, let’s begin. Our orders come from the chief himself. The information gathered from the Raven we captured during our last mission has led us to the Raven clan’s stronghold. A hidden location less than fifty miles north of here.”
“So close?” Ajax interjected. “Why haven’t we discovered it sooner?”
Gryphon wondered the very same thing. Countless mess units had scouted the lands surrounding the Gate for Raven settlements. On his excursions the most they ever found were empty campsites abandoned by enemy soldiers. Never any sign of women or children.
“The settlement is protected by a natural canyon on all sides. Its only access is a hidden bridge of some sort. They’ll have a defensive advantage, but we should have surprise on our side.”
“How many mess units are joining?” asked one of Gryphon’s brothers.
“Ten.”
Ajax gave Gryphon a significant look. Ten of the fifty mess units in the Gate were commissioned. One mess of fifteen to twenty Ram could easily wipe out a hundred trained soldiers under decent circumstances. Gryphon shuddered to think what a force of two hundred would do.
This wasn’t your everyday excursion. It was a full-scale attack on the Raven population. A genocide, if women and children were involved.
“Why not just take their food?” asked Gryphon, in spite of himself. “They aren’t strong enough to be considered a military threat.”
Zander narrowed his eyes at Gryphon. “The Great Move is happening. Last year our dead soils barely produced enough food to keep us alive. Wild game in this region has dwindled as well. After harvest, the Ram will move south to confront the Wolves. But first we have to destroy those who would get in our way. For the sake of our children.”
“When do we leave?” Gryphon said, clearing his gravelly throat.
“We will report at the platform tomorrow morning for a briefing with the chief then leave the Gate by afternoon. We’ll attack under the cover of night. We can’t risk alerting them. This might be our only chance.”
Gryphon looked around at his brothers. They seemed resigned to the chief’s decision to attack not the just the soldiers of the Raven but their families as well. Their elderly, their women, their children.
What is happening to my people?
All his life Gryphon had been taught to hate the other clans. That they were less than human. Enemies who didn’t have the right to harvest food in this region. But what he never thought to ask his own mentor was the simple question: why? Why couldn’t the people of the Kodiak, Raven, Wolves and other lesser clans come to a compromise? Couldn’t they work together to find food? Couldn’t they build relationships of trade?
Hate didn’t speak the language of compromise. Looking around at his brothers he saw nothing but a desire for power. Power for which the innocent would pay the ultimate price.
“This is wrong,” whispered Gryphon to Ajax. “Will you kill children?”
Ajax paled but didn’t respond. When Zander excused them for the night, Ajax pulled Gryphon aside. In the faint light of the fire Ajax looked older, with harsh shadows resting beneath his weary cheekbones. “I’m sorry I can’t stand with you on this, Gryph. But a man has to draw the line somewhere.”
Gryphon felt like bricks had been gradually piled on his back, pinning him down, making it harder and harder to breathe.
“Help the Wolf escape, if you must. We’ll find another way to save Joshua and Jaxson.”
“Jaxson?”
Ajax rubbed the back of his head and looked away. “We haven’t had an official naming ceremony, but that is the name Sara and I chose for the baby. You always call me Jax … ” Ajax swallowed hard, and looked away.