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“I didn’t think even a worm like you would betray his friends,” I spat. “Ellis needed you in that fight. Instead you chose to turn on me. ”
He wedged the barrel of his gun more firmly against me. “It was perfect. For once you weren’t even looking at me. My best chance to strike. ” His voice went dreamy. “I’m going to break you down, puss. I’ll spend days on it. And then when you start liking it, start liking me, I’ll cut out your pretty red heart. When I make it back to the outpost, I’m gonna be sad to report your loss … and that of your friends. But I’ll get credit for trying, a bona fide hero. ”
Ha, I thought. I’ll tear your throat out with my teeth. But it seemed best to feign fear, so I let a tremor run through my body and I didn’t offer a reply. Instead, I made plans. Sooner or later, he had to put down his weapon. He couldn’t rut on me with his rifle in one hand. At least, I didn’t think so.
Gary Miles was stupid. He took my submission for granted, as if he’d won. I let him take my weapons from my thighs. His fingers lingered, making want me want to vomit. I fought the urge, though doubtless if I did lose my food, he would take it as a further sign of weakness. I didn’t because I needed the energy. Once I killed him, I’d see if Stalker survived … and if so, then we’d go after Fade. If not, I would continue alone.
Silk’s voice whispered, You survived the Nassau run. You survived the long walk Topside. Gary Miles can’t conquer you, Huntress.
She was right. My love for Fade and my fierce anger would see me through. I might not be as strong as Gary Miles, but my brain was better. Quietly, I bowed my head, waiting for his instructions, and he liked it, from the scornful sound he made. Amused. Cocky. Oh, he’d regret it. He would.
“We might as well have some fun,” he murmured.
And then he dropped his rifle. Miles stepped closer, probably intending to do something horrible. There was no reason for him to be cautious. He’d never taken my training seriously because I didn’t drill with the men. I had fought Frank Wilson, but I didn’t remember Miles being there. So he didn’t know about my skill. He’d seen me fighting Freaks, of course, but they were nothing compared to the prowess of a human male.
To Miles, I was just a girl. Unarmed. Alone in the woods with a man who was bigger and more powerful. Right? Wrong. With a smile, I went for his eyes, gouging deep with my bare hands. Blinded, blood streaming, he roared and lashed out.
Too slow. I wasn’t there. Dancing around behind him, I kicked his leg, popping his knee out of socket. He screamed in anguish and dropped, unable to bear weight, but I wasn’t through. I took out his other leg at the ankle, aiming a blow with enough force to break the bone. The snap echoed, rousing a flutter of wings above us. With bleeding eyes, unable to run, he still punched the air, hoping to tell where I was by my movements. If he’d taken visual deprivation training, as I had, he might have a shot at connecting. I slammed a fist against his temple.
“How many girls have you hurt?” I demanded.
He gasped through the pain. “What’s it to you?”
“Because I want to tell them personally, after you’re dead. ”
“I’ll kill you. ”
“I don’t think so. ” There was no point in further conversation. Silk had taught me to end fights before they could turn on me.
With a twist of rage, I felt sure he’d never give up their names, though I was sure there had been others. The broken ones didn’t stop hurting people; they fed on pain. So Miles had done it silently, in secret, and left his victims too ashamed to whisper of it. I wished I could comfort them somehow, but maybe his end would do that for me. Heart cold, I snagged my dagger and sank it into his heart. A cleaner death than he deserved.
I gazed down on his corpse, finding satisfaction in my fallen enemy. For this moment, the Huntress owned me. There was no softness in me and no mercy either. This day’s work pleased me fiercely.
Then I wiped my blade clean on his filthy pant leg. No respect for you, Miles. I’ll treat you like a Freak. When my fury subsided, I gathered his supplies and added them to mine. His rifle, I slung across my back. Though I wasn’t as proficient with it as some, it offered reassuring weight where my club once rested. It wasn’t tough to follow the path he’d left, dragging me as I struggled, so it shouldn’t be long until I reached the battle site. Before I got there, however, Stalker staggered from between two trees, his hands red with blood.
I caught him with both arms. In top form, he could have taken all six of those Freaks without breaking a sweat, but we had been roughing it for months, and he hadn’t slept any better than I had with Ellis and Miles lurking nearby. His breath came in great, ragged gulps, but I didn’t hear the wet, sucking sound that presaged a chest wound. He leaned his scarred cheek against my hair.
“I was coming to save you,” he said, his voice muffled.
That surprised a laugh out of me. “From Miles?”
Stalker managed a grin. “I should have known better. ”
“How bad are you hurt?” Without waiting for the answer, I checked him, raising his shirt to look. He’d taken several slashes, and the one just below his ribs was deep enough to trouble me. “We need to clean that, or infection might set in and carry you off. ”
“I think I’m insulted. I’ve had worse. ”
“Don’t be a hero. ”
His mouth twisted. “I think we both know that’s not me. ”
“I have no complaints,” I said. “Let’s get somewhere I can patch you up. ”
“There’s a lake about ten minutes from forest’s edge. ”
“Can you make it?”
Stalker lifted one shoulder, though the careless motion clearly cost him. “I don’t see that I have a choice. We don’t have enough water to waste on cleaning. ”
Since that was true, I didn’t debate the matter with him. I merely offered my shoulder when it became clear he had other wounds he hadn’t shown me. His right leg didn’t straighten fully; I had no idea why.
I didn’t ask what became of Ellis. When we pushed out of the forest for the second time, I found the grotesque remnants of their pitched battle. Blood hung heavy in the air, and I stepped over the man’s corpse, leading Stalker toward the lake. This would delay our pursuit of Fade even more, but I couldn’t rationalize letting one boy die over one who might not still even number among the living.
It was the hardest decision I ever made in my life.
Legion
So much water always amazed me.
Down below, we lived on a thin trickle and rationed it in case we ran out. Here lay an endless expanse of shining green, bounded by a field of gold on the far shore. The sun sloped down beyond the horizon, setting the sky on fire. I turned away, unable to bear so much brightness when I hid winter in my heart.
On the shore of this lake whose name I didn’t know, I stripped Stalker half naked and examined his wounds. Blood crusted the worst of them, jagged tears from Freak claws. No bites, fortunately, which tended to fester. Not surprisingly, their mouths were filthy. I tore my spare shirt into strips, dipped half of them into the lake, and washed him. It would be better if we built a fire, so I could boil the water, but time was running out. Every moment we delayed, Fade and Frank got farther away. Makeshift medicine had to do.
Through my dubious care, he stood quiet, his eyes half closed, as if he found this pleasurable, even when I covered the injuries with salve. I knew firsthand how bad it stung. I didn’t have much left; it had been made by a friend of Fade’s, and soon it would be gone. Then I’d have only my daggers left from the enclave. Using the remaining rags, I treated the injuries as best I could, knowing we had to keep the slashes clean.
“Show me your leg. Is it broken?”
He shook his head. “Just wrenched, I think. I went running like a fool, after Miles dragged you off. It’ll be fine. ”
“You’d say that even if you had bone sticking through the skin. ”
Hi
s grin gained layers of attitude. “Probably. ”
Soon, I finished the rudimentary care our surroundings allowed, including a tight wrap around his knee. It felt odd to kneel before him, but he made no suggestive comments, or I might have hurt him. I made sure the bandage was secure and that he could bear some weight.
After rinsing my hands in the lake, I asked, “Can you go on?”
He tested by taking a step. Not quickly, but he could move. “It would help if you could find me a walking stick. ”
I wasn’t eager to return to the forest, but I avoided the battlefield and found a likely deadwood branch on the ground at the tree line, long and sturdy enough for our purposes. Though I hated the feeling, I ran back to Stalker because he represented my only tie to safety. How crazy that it had come to this. I didn’t like being alone, and silence could drive me crazy after the constant murmur down below.
“Will this do?”
He tested it. “Perfect, thanks. Time to see if I can pick up the trail. ”
If he couldn’t, then this had been for nothing. I couldn’t face that; I just couldn’t. The ball of anguish knotted tighter inside my chest, stealing my breath. No, I’d find Fade.
Oh, Fade.
Stalker ignored my tense silence. He retraced his steps, pain in every movement. I didn’t see how he could continue like this, but I said nothing as he scanned the forest’s edge. Finally he clenched a fist and slammed it against his palm.
“Nothing. There’s too much movement of other game in the grass. I could follow any one of six trails here, and I might find a herd of deer. ”
“What else can we do?”
He thought for a moment. “Let’s walk the shore. If they were traveling hard, as we have been, I’m sure they were thirsty. Freaks drink, right?”
I had never seen one crouched at a river, but if they lived—and the small Freaks hinted at natural reproduction—then, yes, they needed water to survive. “And the ground will be damp enough there to show you more specific signs, like it did in the forest?”
“I hope so. ” The alternative went unspoken.
We traveled halfway around the lake before he found their tracks. Even I could clearly make out the spot where one man-size burden and a smaller bundle had been placed on the ground, and then three sets of clawed feet moved closer to the water. I stood staring down at the dark earth. The prints were wider than a human foot’s, claws pricking the mud above the toes.
After we followed them a ways, Stalker said, “They’re heading around the lake out onto the plains. ”
Away from the village? Unexpected.
It changed nothing, however. No matter what, I’d continue until the trail went cold, or I found Fade. There could be no other outcome. He had taken countless beatings for me, proven his love when he thought I’d chosen someone else. I trudged behind Stalker and wondered how he could stand the pain. I suspected he had the same steel as me, and that his quiet inner voice whispered things like, You won’t quit. You’re a Wolf, just as I bolstered myself with reminders that I had been a Huntress.