Nameless (32 page)

“You’re in love with her.”

Gryphon snorted and pushed on.

“Don’t be ashamed. I don’t think I could respect you if you didn’t care for her. She is as mysterious as she is beautiful.”

Gryphon almost laughed at the understatement. She was unearthly and dangerous. She made him lose touch with all rational thinking. She was both wonderful and terrible in one delicate package. More intimidating than any man could ever be on a battlefield.

“It gets worse,” the Wolf continued to whisper. “Just wait until she’s gone. Wait until you have to go to sleep and wonder if she’s still alive. If she ever, even for a moment, felt for you the way you feel for her.”

Shut up, Wolf!

“I don’t envy you that,” Gabe said.

Gryphon sheathed his sword, whipped around, and with both hands shoved Gabe in the chest. The Wolf stumbled but didn’t fall.

“Be quiet or go back. I’m good with either.”

The Wolf showed his hands in surrender. “Sorry.”

Gryphon had the impression that Gabe was apologizing for more than his words. He didn’t want or need the Wolf’s pity. Zo was just a silly girl, and in a few hours she wouldn’t be his problem any longer.

All was quiet as they crept through the forest. Only the lonely song of a nightingale accompanied them. The bird trilled into a great crescendo then carried its song into a deeper, more somber tone. Melancholy prose flitted into Gryphon’s mind. A song of things that would never be.

They reached the road that led to the Gate Master’s land. Gryphon met Gabe’s stare as he pulled out his sword. In that moment both men lost themselves to the soldier within. Only their objective mattered now. Find and retrieve Tess without being seen.

Gryphon and Gabe kept to the shadows of the path until the large house came into view. The building was twice the size of Gryphon’s home. It divided into two distinct sections in the shape of an arrow with a large wooden door at the point. A small stable stood fifty yards away from the house attached to another building that he assumed was the Nameless’ quarters.

Gryphon pointed to the mud-walled stable. Gabe nodded and crept through the field to skirt the building from one direction while Gryphon approached from another. Under the cover of night, he could barely see the Wolf’s form as he moved.

There was only one door to the building. The Wolf nodded to Gryphon then slipped inside while Gryphon crouched at the corner outside, studying the property for any signs of life. But by this hour, even the crickets had abandoned their songs to sleep.

A minute later the door to the Nameless quarters clicked open as the Wolf slipped out. He shook his head. “She’s not in there.”

That meant only one thing. Tess was inside the main house.

When she was sure Gabe and Gryphon were gone, Zo slipped out of the door to the barn to warn Stone about Eva. The night was as still as it was dark. She silently crept through the fields of sprouting wheat to the edge of the forest. The walk took a lifetime. When she finally found the path leading to her destination, a man stepped out from behind a night-black apple tree.

His giant hand covered her mouth before she could scream. “It’s me,” said Stone. His massive Kodiak frame cut a terrifying figure in the dark. Zo sighed, grateful to know this cunning man was a friend and not an enemy.

“What is on your face?” Zo gestured to the black and brown smudges covering his face and hands.

“Extra cover. Tonight is an important night.”

Zo didn’t have time to get involved with Stone’s Nameless rebellion. “Listen. I’ve come to warn you about Eva.”

“What’s happened? You’re still planning to escape the Gate in the morning, right?”

The anxiety in his voice made it hard for Zo to continue. “Ajax has forbidden her to leave with us.”

Stone literally growled like the bear his likely-ancestors were named for. “The hell she isn’t.” He took both of Zo’s shoulders and shook her so hard her teeth rattled. “You listen to me. I will make sure Eva is near the gate in the morning. I’m going to try and help you all escape. Give the stinking Ram something else to worry about besides a few innocents leaving the Gate.” He shook her again, the whites of his eyes glistening wild in the blackness of his complexion. “You will take her with you. Do you understand me?”

Zo nodded, wincing under the pressure of his hands as his fingers dug into her skin.

“Take her and whichever Nameless leave with you to your friends, the Allies. I will find you both there.”

“But—”

“I’ll find you!” he nearly shouted then shook his head and sighed. “She is carrying my child, healer. My flesh and blood. Nothing can keep us apart. Nothing.”

Zo pulled away, her face flushed.

“Now go back to where you came from. You don’t want to be involved with my lot tonight.” He ran off in the direction of Eva’s family home without a backward glance. Zo didn’t have a chance to mention the Raven before he disappeared into the darkness. It was no wonder he’d been so successful with leading the Nameless. He never gave anyone a chance to speak against him.

What did he mean “whichever Nameless leave with you?” Were there more people planning to leave the Gate in the morning? When had she agreed to take responsibility for the fate of the Nameless’ rebellion?

It took most of the walk back to Gryphon’s home to regain her breath. She couldn’t stop thinking about Stone and the ferocity of his love for Eva. Love that the Ram girl reciprocated without question. She found herself desperate to help them even though Stone hadn’t given her the option. The desire was irrational. As if by preserving their love she was preserving any hope of goodness still left in this wretched region. Preserving the hope that two people, so obviously different, could look beyond their differences and find happiness.

If only there was some way to convince Ajax to let Sara and the baby leave as well.

Zo took her time walking back to Gryphon’s family home, knowing she wouldn’t be able to sleep when she got there. The barn door whined as she pulled it open. She sank into the hay and stared up at the black rafters trying not to think of Tess and Joshua. Of the danger Gryphon and Gabe had entered to save them. It was strange to think that she could be outside the wall in only a few hours.

The barn door whined again, and Zo sat up.

“Gryphon?” she called into the darkness.

Four black figures entered the room. A man she didn’t know grabbed her wrist and cupped her mouth before she could scream. Something struck the back of her head. As her vision faded, the familiar voice of the Seer carried over the haze. “That was easier than we could have hoped.”

Gryphon and Gabe sat hunched in the cover of the brush alongside the trail that led up to the Gate Master’s house. Their whispers seemed like shouts in the too-quiet night.

“How many entrances?” said the Wolf. His chest rose and fell with anger.

“Not sure. I see one door and two front windows. There are likely more in the back.”

Gryphon had heard rumors about the Gate Master and his unusual household. After his wife passed, he’d never remarried. The men from Gryphon’s mess used to joke around that no respectable Ram woman would share her husband with that many Nameless.

The thought made him ill.

“You go right. I’ll go left,” Gryphon ordered.

As he approached the house, Gryphon couldn’t stop thinking about Tess. Her wild blond hair and eyes that doubled in size whenever she was the least bit nervous. She was a bold little thing, but always looked to Zo with unwavering confidence.

He shuddered.

Gryphon saw nothing through the first window except the vague outline of a hearth and a few chairs. He crept along the side of the house, grateful for the rain that made the ground damp and quiet. He paused at the muffled sound of heavy snoring. Gryphon peeked through the window but a thick covering blocked his view.

He hurried around the back of the house where Gabe waited by a window on his side.

“I count five cots. One is empty,” said Gabe.

A giant wave of adrenaline pumped through Gryphon’s veins. He wanted to tear apart the log house with his bare hands. “Tess?”

The Wolf shook his head. “Too dark to tell.”

“Give me a leg up,” said Gryphon.

“No. I should go. If they see you—”

“Fine,” Gryphon snarled. He hoisted the Wolf up through the window then circled back to the side of the house where the Gate Master slept. To Gryphon’s relief, the Gate Master’s snoring continued. Gryphon matched his breathing to the awful sound. As long as he heard it, they were safe.

A shrill scream came from the other room followed by a great commotion. The Gate Master snorted awake. Gryphon ran around the other side of the house just as Tess’ head popped out of the window. When she saw Gryphon she reached for him but was pulled back in at the last second.

Gryphon didn’t hesitate. He jumped in after with sword in hand. Chaos reigned inside the house. Women screamed, pressing themselves to the outer walls, while Gabe and the Gate Master moved through a series of attacks. Tess cried, her big eyes wide with fear as the Gate Master clung to a section of her shirt to keep her from running.

“Release her!” ordered Gryphon. The room fell silent as Gryphon held the point of his sword an arm’s length from the Gate Master. Even the Wolf stopped fighting.

“Fool!” The Gate Master seethed. “Traitor!” His whole body shook with rage. He yanked Tess in front of him as a shield. “You’re no better than your pathetic father.”

“Drop your sword and step away. You can’t defeat us both,” said Gryphon.

The Gate Master curled his lips into a smile. “You’ve lost, boy.” He looked outside and laughed. There was maybe an hour until dawn. “The Seer loved my idea. The healer gets her justice and you learn your lesson. Everybody wins.”

Master Leon wasn’t making sense. “The girl!” Gryphon demanded. “Hand her over!”

The Gate Master held Tess by the neck. His eyes shifted back and forth between Gryphon and Gabe. It would only take one swift movement to snap her neck.

Time slowed. Gryphon could see the slight bulge in his leader’s arm, how his hand braced the girl’s shoulder for leverage.

Under his cloak, Gryphon inched the knife out of the sheath at his side.

There would be no turning back after this.

The dagger whipped through the air and sank to the hilt in the Gate Master’s arm, only inches from Tess’ head. The Gate Master released the girl and dropped to his knees before wrenching the dagger out of his arm. “You missed,” he said, breathing hard through the pain.

“I never miss,” said Gryphon. He dropped his sword and shield on the ground and charged the Gate Master, throwing him into the wall behind them. Gryphon punched him in the nose and felt a satisfying crunch beneath his fist. He struck him again and again, every hit stronger than the next. He would make the Gate Master pay for every time he’d beaten Zo. For the fear in Tess’ innocent face.

“Not as fun when someone hits back, is it!” Gryphon roared like a feral animal and delivered another blow to the man’s head. The Gate Master’s body slumped. But Gryphon wasn’t through with him yet. He grabbed him by the shirt and threw him across the room. The women screamed.

Gabe put a hand on Gryphon’s shoulder. “Enough.”

Gryphon’s chest heaved for want of breath. The Gate Master didn’t move. Gabe went to check his pulse and Tess ran for Gryphon. He pulled her into his arms, concealing her under a portion of his cloak.

“He’s dead. Let’s get out of here,” said the Wolf as he climbed out the window.

Gryphon handed Tess to Gabe then joined them behind the house. They ran most of the way to Gryphon’s home. The Wolf carried Tess on his back.

The sky was gray in anticipation of dawn. The men slowed to a brisk walk. Tess climbed down to carry herself. She had tears in her eyes. “I thought you were a ghost when you came into the house,” she explained to Gabe. “I watched you die on the platform!”

She turned to Gryphon. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Gabe spared him from answering. “Gryphon was trying to protect you, bug.”