Clanless (4 page)

He darted into the meadow to retrieve the satchel, his mouth already salivating with hope of finding a hard biscuit or water skin. Wind rolled over the grass, making it bend and sway in confused directions while stirring the sweet aroma of wildflowers. Gryphon slung the abandoned pack over his shoulder and scanned the trees again. Chills crawled up his arms and along his spine. He reached for his knife and tried to look in every direction at once as he moved away from the center of the meadow, back to the protection of the trees.

An arrow struck the ground, inches from his foot.

Gryphon raised his hands behind his head. “Don’t kill me. I have a message.”

The peace of the meadow evaporated as at least fifty men stepped out from behind the trunks of trees and dropped from branches. They wore black feathers on leather strings around their necks and animal hide on their bodies. They all had raven-black hair with eyes to match, and wore wood-slatted armor on their chests.

A man with long hair and red war paint around his eyes stepped forward. As he did, fifty bows stretched to guard him in case Gryphon attacked.

“A Ram without a flock.” The red-painted man had a full string of feathers around his neck, marking him as the high-ranking leader of the group. He carried a hatchet with a rope tied to the hilt. As he approached Gryphon, he swung the hatchet around his wrist by the rope and caught it. He walked a full circle around Gryphon, swinging the blade and catching it. Swing. Catch. Swing. Catch.

Gryphon stood tall, looking over the heads of the men surrounding him.

“You are a long way from your wall, Ram,” said the leader. All the clans in this region spoke different dialects of the same language. The Raven and other lesser clans of the north dragged their tongues when they spoke, pronouncing each word with precision.

Gryphon nodded, still touching the back of his head with his fingertips in surrender. “I’ve come to warn your people of an invasion.”

A smile cracked the corner of the leader’s careful mask. “Your lies will do nothing to spare your life, Ram.”

Gryphon felt the rage of the men surrounding him, their hatred as tangible as the arrows that would soon pierce his heart. With their bows drawn, his life depended on these men not extending two fingers.

“One of your men was recently taken prisoner by my mess,” said Gryphon. “Barnabas’ interrogators broke him, and now my chief knows the location of your settlement. He’s sending at least ten units for your grain stores and he’ll kill anyone he encounters in the process.”

The men in the circle broke into nervous conversation. Ten mess units equaled about two hundred of the most deadly warriors in the region. That many Ram could easily wipe out a thousand Raven in open combat.

The leader approached Gryphon, standing so close their toes touched. His smirk diminished to a thin line. His nostrils flared and color flooded his cheeks to match the red paint around his eyes. He spoke loud enough for his entire flock to hear, his tone not matching the jovial cadence of his voice. “Thank you for the entertaining story, Ram. But I can think of a better way for you to entertain us.” He gestured to two of his men, and they stepped forward. “Why don’t we let this Ram see how far he can get before we kill him?” He put a finger to his lips, as if pondering some great puzzle. “It won’t be fun unless the Sheep has a head start.” He threw up his hands and faced his men. “What do you say?”

Through their cheers, Gryphon wondered how long they had waited for the chance to kill a Ram. For decades his clan had ruthlessly hunted the Raven in search of their grain stores. How many brothers and sons had fallen to Ram spears over the years? The number had to be staggering.

Gryphon dropped his hands to his side. “I’m telling you the truth. You need to evacuate the Nest.” Gryphon knew at once that his words wouldn’t be enough.

“It’s time to run, little lamb.”

Raven bows stretch back into firing position. A smile plastered the leader’s face. His sneer hardened like a promise. “Your blood will not be enough to satisfy the crimes your clan has committed against my people. But it’s a start.” He smacked Gryphon on the back twice. “We’ll give you a five second lead. Ready, go.”

Gryphon stayed rooted in place.

“One. Two.”

He closed his eyes. The faces of the people he cared for most flashed through his mind. Joshua, Zo, Ajax, his mother, little Tess …

“Three. Four.”

He tensed every muscle in his body to prepare for death.

Then a man tore through the line of Raven and into the meadow, gasping for breath before shouting, “Stop!”

Gryphon turned to see Gabe and nearly collapsed in relief. How had he escaped the Ram? How had he found him? His shirt was ripped, a bloody bandage tied around his arm.

“Put down your weapons.” Gabe stripped his pack and pulled his shirt over his head to show the mark of the waxing moon on his upper back. “I represent Commander Laden and the Allies.” Gabe bent in half with palms resting on knees drawing air into his rasping lungs.

Bows stayed trained on Gryphon’s chest as men looked to their leader for orders.

“Is that you, Wolf?” The Raven leader walked up and attacked Gabe with a giant hug. “I thought you were captured.”

“I was.” He clapped Gryphon on the back. “But this Ram helped me and a host of Nameless escape the Gate. Did he tell you about the invasion?”

The energy in the air shifted as Gabe’s words registered on the faces of the Raven, melting their former reverie like wax from a dripping candle. Even though he’d just narrowly avoided execution, Gryphon felt bad for these men. “I’ve disabled the pulley system to the only exit of Ram’s Gate. It will buy us some time to evacuate your people, but we don’t have long.”

Gabe nodded. “You must take us to your chief and let us convince him to flee to the Allied Camp. It’s the only place your families will be safe.”

The Raven leader shook his head, pointing a finger at Gryphon. “If I take this man into the Nest, he will never be allowed to leave.”

“Your clan secrets are the least of your worries, my friend,” said Gabe.

The Raven leader turned to Gryphon. “No Ram has ever been welcome in the Nest. I cannot guarantee your safety.”

Gryphon swallowed, thinking of the promise he made to Zo to warn the Raven. If he left now, was that promise fulfilled? How could he ever face her again if he didn’t see this through?

He picked up the abandoned pack and hefted it onto his back. It likely belonged to one of the Raven, but he figured he’d earned it. “Lead on.”

The next day, Joshua still didn’t wake, even while the sound of marching Ram soldiers echoed in the distance. Zo had hoped the gate would have taken longer than a day and a half to repair. But it seemed Barnabas didn’t intend to let Gryphon’s heroics alter his plans.

When she lived as a spy and Nameless slave inside the Gate, she sent stoppered bottles filled with information about Ram numbers, supplies, and troop movements down a river that ran under the enormous city wall to a group of Allied men. Gryphon and his mess captured one of the Raven working with the Allies and interrogators broke him for information about the location of the Raven Nest—a secret that had been preserved for centuries, despite the Ram’s best efforts to find it.

Zo hoped Gabe managed to warn the Raven in time.

Eva sat with her back toward the others, hugging her legs to her chest. She refused to eat and only drank when Zo insisted she do so.

Zo knew the Ram girl was desperate to track the Nameless. Eva had lost everything: her family, her clan, even the father of her growing child. But what could they do other than wait? Overwhelmed by her own grief, Zo struggled to find compassion for the other girl. She put a hand to her aching head and fought another wave of nausea brought on by vertigo.

Tess frowned. “You still haven’t recovered from the healing? Have you tried—”

“I’ve never been any good at healing myself, bug. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure I’ll be fine by tomorrow morning.”

“Maybe I could try—”

“I said, don’t worry about it.” Zo didn’t mean to snap. This wasn’t Tess’ fault.

Eva didn’t turn around, but in an uncharacteristically small voice said, “Gryphon was a good man. I mourn his passing too.”

Zo pressed her hands into the sides of her head and tried to make the world stop spinning.

Please don’t talk about him!

How was she ever going to get Joshua, Eva, Tess, and a host of Nameless refugees to the Allies if she couldn’t even lean up against a tree without her vision spinning? She couldn’t save them
and
mourn for Gryphon
and
kick this illness all at once. Especially not while Gabe’s confusing kiss still lingered on her lips. How could she continue to be strong for others while she was becoming weaker all the time?

That night, when everyone else slept, Zo pulled the cold night air into her lungs and let the smell of pine and lemongrass sooth her aching head. She took in another breath, and as she released it, resolved to put the pain of losing Gryphon away. Eventually she would mourn his death and face the guilt she felt for getting him involved. Until then, she would cage her feelings in a dark corner of her mind. If they spilled over, she’d fight to push them back.

It took most of the night grappling with herself until she secured the vault of her heart and all thoughts of Gryphon were thoroughly laid to rest in the back of her mind for a time when she had the luxury to grieve.

The task before her was different from her mission inside Ram’s Gate. No one—not even she—had expected her to survive her time working as a spy for the Allies. The consequences of her failure then would have ultimately only affected herself. If she didn’t find a way to control her grief and kick this sickness soon, hundreds of innocent people, including her own sister, would pay the price.

She massaged her fingers into the muscles at the base of her skull with all her force, pushing Gryphon and the truth of his fate away.

Staring down an entire flock of Raven scared Gryphon less than learning what had become of Zo and the others. He was fairly certain that Ajax spared Zo’s life, but what if Zander sent someone to verify he’d done the job? What if she was really gone? He kept looking over to Gabe, waiting for the right opportunity to ask, terrified by what his new friend might tell him.

They kept a fast pace, trotting with the Raven surrounding them on all sides. It turned out that Gabe and several of the feathered warriors were old friends. Gabe asked after their families and exchanged light banter, although the tension on the faces of the men was thick as clay.

The Raven avoided Gryphon, almost pretending he wasn’t there. He couldn’t blame them. The Ram had targeted their people ever since the Kodiak clan had been raided. For years his people sent mess units, his included, on excursions to discover Raven food stores. Raven warriors were cunning and deadly. They swooped in like a birds of prey and attacked from the trees with their arrows only to disappear again. Despite their agility, many “birds” had fallen to Ram spears over the years, and men don’t easily forget a lost brother.

Gryphon, Gabe, and their Raven escort jogged up a steep climb along the edge of the cliffs that dropped into the frothy ocean below. Pine trees and rocks bore a carpet of lichen and the brine of the sea burned the inside of Gryphon’s nose as he pulled air into his lungs.

The trail narrowed, forcing him and Gabe to walk side by side. If he didn’t take this opportunity to ask Gabe about Zo and the others, he was a coward.

“Tell me.”

Gabe would know what he wanted. The two had come a long way from being enemies to find friendship. Their connection through it all had been their common interest—they both cared for Zo and would do anything to keep her safe.

Gabe frowned and met Gryphon’s gaze for a brief moment before looking ahead at the rocky trail. “Are you asking about Joshua, or about
her
?”

“Is there a difference?” snorted Gryphon, ready to punch Gabe in the face.

Gabe scowled. “Just because you went against your nature and spared her doesn’t mean she was ever yours to protect. She was my responsibility. Mine.”