Warrior (Relentless #4)(142)

Jordan scoffed. “Still no excuse to betray everyone you know.”

“He’s messed up, Jordan,” Sara replied with a hint of sadness in her voice.

I stared at her. Was she actually defending the person who had betrayed her to her enemy?

Celine stepped forward. “Where is he now?”

“In the woods over by the menagerie, about fifty yards in,” Sara said.

“What were you doing in the woods at night?” I asked, trying not to be angry. After what had happened to Nate, why would she risk herself like that?

“Michael tricked us. He told me Hugo and Woolf got out again and that Sahir had sent him to get me.”

“And you believed him?” Celine asked.

“He’s Michael. Why wouldn’t I believe him?” Sara shot back defensively.

“What happened then?” Tristan asked.

“I was in my room with Roland, Peter, and Jordan when Michael came to me. They went with me to look for Hugo and Woolf. All of a sudden, we were surrounded by vampires.”

She swallowed. “Then Michael told them I was the one they wanted.”

I swore furiously and fought to keep my anger in check.

Sara let out a shuddering breath. “One of the vampires hit him pretty hard, and I’m not sure if he’s alive. We had to leave him.”

“We’ll find him if he’s still out there,” Tristan promised her. “You go to the healers. Nikolas, we could use your help if we have men down out there.”

Nodding, I passed Chris off to Jordan. Sara looked ready to fall down, and I was pretty sure it was sheer stubbornness keeping her on her feet.

My first instinct was to pick her up and carry her to the medical ward. But we never left a warrior down in the field. The need to take care of my mate warred with the sense of duty ingrained in me since birth.

She gave me a reassuring smile. I didn’t want to let her out of my sight, but she would not allow me to stay with her while people were suffering and needed my help.

It was the thought of our warriors lying in the snow, defenseless and in pain, that made me leave Sara. As Chris would say, I needed to think like a warrior now and not like a mate. She was safe and others needed me.

We ran into Erik as we neared the woods. He had a few cuts and bruises, but he looked fine otherwise. Tristan relayed what Sara had told us about Michael’s location, and Erik set off to find the boy.

“Who was out on patrol tonight?” I asked Tristan as we entered the woods.

“Seamus, Niall, Ben, and Kenneth.”

We walked for several minutes before Tristan stopped.

“We’ll cover more ground if we split up. Nikolas and Desmund, you two go toward the lake. Seamus and Niall should be in that area. Celine and I will head toward the road to look for Ben and Kenneth.”

The four of us broke into pairs and headed off in opposite directions. Neither Desmund nor I were inclined to speak, and the woods were quiet except for the crunch of our feet on the snow.

We were almost at the lake when we found one of the twins facedown in the snow. I rolled him over, afraid of what I’d find. It was Niall, and he was alive but catatonic.

Hoisting him on my shoulders in a fireman’s hold, I said, “Seamus has to be close by.”

Desmund didn’t respond, and I turned to find him looking at Niall with an unreadable expression. If anyone understood what Niall was going through, it was him. I only hoped he kept it together until we got our warriors home.

“Desmund?”

He shuddered and turned away to continue the search. Ten minutes later, we found Seamus on the lake shore in the same condition as his brother. Wordlessly, Desmund slung the warrior over his shoulder and we headed home.

Halfway there, we met up with Tristan and Celine, who were both carrying warriors. Ben moaned and thrashed, making it difficult for Tristan to keep a grip on him.

Kenneth was a dead weight on Celine shoulders, and she shook her head sadly when I looked at her.

We were a solemn group when we got back to the stronghold. Celine took Kenneth to the morgue, and the rest of us went directly to the medical ward.

The ward was full of injured people, and they cleared a path for us when we entered carrying the fallen warriors. A healer directed us to put them in one of the larger rooms where we laid each of them on an exam table.

The healers set to work on the warriors, although everyone knew there was little they could do for them. My heart was heavy as I looked at Seamus’s and Niall’s still forms. I’d been friends with the brothers for half a century, and it was hard seeing them like this. And Ben was so young, barely five years out of training. To die in battle was one thing, but to be felled in such a cowardly way…

A commotion at the door tore my gaze from the injured warriors, and I looked up as Sara pushed through the crowd, dragging the young Hale witch behind her, her face hard with purpose.

People drew back as they passed, fear and revulsion on their faces at the sight of the witch. Sara shoved her way into the room and pushed the witch toward Ben, whom the healers were trying to restrain before he hurt himself. The healers backed up when Sara and the witch reached the table.

“Fix them,” Sara commanded. Her voice cracked, but anger flashed in her eyes. One of her arms was bandaged, but otherwise she was uninjured.

Obediently, the witch stepped up and laid a hand on Ben’s forehead. Murmurs spread through the crowd as the warrior ceased his struggles and lay quietly on the table.