Nameless (33 page)

“Well, that doesn’t make any sense.” She clung to Gabe’s side. “Please don’t die again.”

Gabe laughed. “I’ll do my best.”

She looked over to Gryphon and frowned. “I don’t want you to die either.”

A knot locked up Gryphon’s throat. He nodded and looked forward to watch the wooded trail leading to his family home. He’d just killed a high-ranking Ram officer. When the Seer discovered Tess and Zo missing, she would immediately suspect him. It would not take much to get the Nameless women in the Gate Master’s home to talk.

They had maybe another hour before the next shift change at the Gate. It would be their only chance to get out alive. “You grab Zo. I’ll gather my packs.”

“Your packs?” Gabe’s brow rose.

“Just go! Meet me out front in five minutes. We need to get Joshua before sunup.”

Gryphon bounded into the house. “Mother!” he called, as he ran around his room collecting his things. “Mother, get dressed!”

His mother rushed into the room in panic. “What is it?”

“We’re leaving.” He stuffed a bag with supplies.

“I thought your mess didn’t leave until this afternoon?”

“No, mother. We’re
leaving.
You and I.”

Gryphon would have said more, but his mother’s distant expression confirmed that she understood his full meaning. “I want you to come with me.”

She took a step back and shook her head.

“Please, mother. Pack a light bag. We have to leave at once.”

Her face twisted into rage. She took another step back. “Not. You. Too.”

She turned around to show him her back. “If you step out that door, you’re dead to me.” Gryphon put his arms around her but she would not turn to face him.

“Please, Mother!”

“Leave if you must, son. But I will not follow you.” She pushed his arms away. “Just like I would not follow your father.”

She went into her room and slammed the door behind her.

Gryphon couldn’t seem to command his body. He stared at the closed door and found his face wet with tears.

Gabe charged into the house just as deep Ram horns sounded in the distance.

“Gryphon!” he panted. Tess stood behind him, misery etched into her forehead. “I can’t find Zo.”

Zo couldn’t keep her body from shaking. She sat on her knees, folded into a tight ball on the floor of the cave. Her arms hung from the ice cold chains bolted into the rock wall above her. The metal dug into her wrists as she let it support her weight. The darkness was alive, filled with breath and movement. It was an evil shadow ready to envelop her forever. A tangible fiend meant to erase everything worth living for while exposing every reason why giving up was almost certainly the best option.

A light pierced the darkness. She’d only been in the cave for a few hours, but the brightness blinded her. “S’time to get you ready,” said a gravelly voice. “I just have one question.” The man walked closer. The contrast of light and shadow made his nose appear twice its size. “How are you with a sword?”

The man unleashed her wrists and led her to a vacant room filled with weapons.
A torture chamber?
Zo thought. But the old soldier didn’t bother tying her down. Instead he selected a sword from the wall and offered Zo the hilt.

“How’s that? Too heavy?”

When Zo didn’t say anything he handed her another. “What about that? Better?”

Zo nodded. “What’s going on?” she finally asked.

The old man smiled, revealing a mouth more gums than teeth. “The chief wants the Nameless to at least give the people a show. S’no fun if they only last five seconds.”

Understanding hit Zo like a wave to the chest. “A prizefight.”

The man lifted his bushy eyebrows and tilted his head forward. An expression that said,
Naturally.
As if this was something she should have assumed from the beginning.

“Now,” he picked up a sword and held it relaxed in his hands, “I want you to attack. Let’s see what you know.”

Zo just stood there, arms and sword hanging at her side. “What’s the point? I don’t have a chance of winning.”

The man smiled and lunged at her with the sword. Instinct won out, and she deflected the attack with both hands desperately gripping the hilt.

“Good. Now what if I do this?” He attacked again, only this time at an angle that forced her to change direction. He advanced again and again, and Zo was barely able to keep his blade away from her body.

The man looked impressed. “You’ve had some training.”

“Only a little,” said Zo, panting. Usually Wolf women didn’t fight, but when she joined the Allies, Commander Laden had insisted she receive training in basic combat. It seemed silly at the time. A healer with a sword.

The old man set down his weapon and took Zo’s from her. “Just be sure you protect your back. The faster you are, the longer you’ll last.” He led her out to a group of women who’d obviously been waiting for her. “Good luck!” He winked and walked away whistling.

The women were less cordial. They forced her to undress in the middle of an open room. Cold air swept over her bare skin. With buckets of water and pumice soap they scrubbed the dirt from her naked body. The women smacked her arms every time she attempted to cover up. By the time they finished, Zo’s skin burned raw, and her dark hair dripped down her back. They used wool blankets to dry her skin and sat her in front of a blazing hearth to help dry her hair.

Two women brushed and braided Zo’s hair while another sat before her with a tray of paints. The woman grabbed a thin brush and dipped it in a smoky, charcoal mixture before painting her eyelids. She added rose-colored chalk to her cheeks and finished with a burnt-red paste for her lips.

Last, they dressed her in a simple white tunic that barely reached her knees with a feather woven belt around her waist. Her arms and legs were bare. Zo didn’t bother asking these women questions. She’d figured it out on her own well enough. This prizefight was a production of sorts. A theatrical performance that would end the way every sort of Ram entertainment ended.

In bloodshed.

She only hoped that Gryphon and Gabe had been able to free Tess and Joshua. That Gabe had the good sense to leave her behind and get Tess and Joshua to safety.

Please keep them safe.

She thought of Gryphon and blinked hard against the memory of him. “Keep him safe, too.”

They had less than an hour before the sun would crest the great wall and their hopes of recovering Zo and Joshua and fleeing the Gate would be lost. Gryphon hid Tess behind a neatly stacked woodpile near the Medica. Already, Ram and Nameless were gathering in the square, for what purpose Gryphon could only guess. Gryphon handed the shaking child his packs, keeping his shield secured to his back, his spear in hand, and his short sword at his hip.

Gabe crouched down and whispered. “We will be back for you soon, bug. No matter what happens, don’t leave this spot until we come for you.”

“Will you find Zo?” The desperation in the little girl’s voice kindled Gryphon’s resolve. He
would
find her. And kill the man holding her, and anyone else who stood in his way. He felt like he could even lift up the wall if that is what it took to protect Zo.

They arranged the logs to cover Tess’ hiding place and set off at a run. “They must be holding Joshua in the prison,” Gryphon called over his shoulder.

They ran through the woods, skirting the village packed with Ram and Nameless. The prison wasn’t even a half-mile away, leaving little time to plot a way to free Joshua and Zo.
If they are even there.

They crossed the wild stretch of ground like bloodthirsty demons. Every moment wasted brought them closer to failure. Gabe dropped behind as Gryphon calmly approached the entrance to the mountain prison. One boy, barely older than Joshua, guarded the tall doors to the cave. His breastplate hung cockeyed and his teeth seemed too large for his mouth, but he stood at full attention as Gryphon drew near.

“Where is everyone?” Gryphon asked.

The boy brightened. “You’re Striker Gryphon, aren’t you, Sir?”

Gryphon grimaced, then nodded. “I’m looking for one of my Nameless. She was—”

“The healer? She’s here, sir! Or was, before they took her to the prizefight.” The boy scrunched his eyebrows together. “Why aren’t you there, Sir?”

“Where?”

“The prizefight. As Joshua’s mentor, I thought you’d be his greatest supporter.”

Gryphon iced over. “I was just heading there. Thank you, soldier.”

Gryphon trotted down toward the town center cursing under his breath. Joshua was too young for his prizefight! The Seer was known for finding the most effective punishments. This was her way of making Gryphon pay the price indirectly. Hurting him at his weakest point. He’d admire the strategy if it wasn’t his life being destroyed.

Gabe joined Gryphon on the vacant trail. When Gryphon didn’t slow his pace, Gabe asked, “What’s happened?”

Gryphon told him about Joshua and the prizefight with a bitter tone. “He’s just a boy! He shouldn’t be fighting in a life-or-death situation.”

“And from what you’ve told me, almost every Ram soldier will be there to watch. How will we get him out before the alarm is raised?”

The noise of the looming crowd pushed the men off the trail and back into the thick forest. They crept up to the tree line but couldn’t see anything over the heads of the boisterous congregation.

Gabe looked at him like a soldier awaiting a command. The simple gesture pressed heavily on Gryphon—the knowledge that if anyone could save them from almost certain death, it was he.

“Pull your hood lower, you’re about to enter a crowd of soldiers thirsty for a Wolf killing,” said Gryphon.

To the Wolf’s credit, he didn’t even look disturbed.

“Look for Zo in the crowd while I get a better view of the platform.” Gryphon would have his spear in case Joshua needed him in the fight. This was one attack as Striker in which he would not falter.

“Zo will be guarded.” The Wolf grimaced. “If I make a scene we’ll find twenty spears in our backs before we have time to run ten steps.

They needed some sort of diversion.

A crazy idea came to Gryphon, something he never would have even considered a year ago. But then, the image of Zo with a spear in her back inspired irrational thinking. “I’ll think of something. Wait for my signal. I’m going to see if I can get the gate open for us. Once you’ve got Zo, retrieve Tess and get outside the wall. If Joshua and I don’t make it out, go on to warn the Raven.”

“How will I know your signal?” said the Wolf, eyeing him skeptically.

“Trust me. You’ll know.”

The deep sound of a single horn called in the distance. The old man from the armory returned bearing Zo’s weapon. When he looked at her his eyes widened. “You might not last very long, Nameless. But at least the men will get a nice show.” He led her out of the rocky tunnel into the reluctant light of morning. A family of birds chirped from their lofty nest. The sound didn’t belong in Zo’s world. Not as she walked down the dirt road to her death.

Zo’s hands flexed into fists then released. Flexed then released. She used her forefinger to pick at the skin on the side of her thumb. Her face revealed nothing but the mask of calm she intended. She heard the gathering crowd of both Nameless and Ram long before they turned the final bend in the trail that led to the center of town. The deep horn sounded again, only this time the vibration rattled Zo’s chest.