Chapter 41
Forty-One
Ayla
I wasn't hungry, but Zasen made me eat anyway. As I tried to force back the dry bread and juicy meat it was wrapped around, Rymar slipped behind me, rubbing my shoulder on his way to get a drink. Surprisingly, he was wearing beige leather pants and a lightweight shirt of nearly the same color. Around his waist was a belt, but the crossbow hanging from it surprised me.
"You're armed?" I asked.
"I'll be leading the city defenses tonight," he admitted. "Believe it or not, I've picked up a thing or two living with these guys."
"Yeah, me too," I said jokingly.
Which was when Kanik made his way into the already crowded kitchen and made a point of looking me over. "Good, you're wearing the brown."
I looked down at my clothes, confused. "All my leathers are brown," I pointed out.
"The others are darker," Kanik explained. "Too close to black."
"Like the Moles," Zasen said from his spot in the corner.
"And we don't want you to get caught in the crossfire," Rymar said. "If some Dragon gets scared, they might not look well enough before releasing an arrow. The brown makes that less likely."
I nodded, showing I understood. How often had I been tempted to release an arrow on impulse? Never mind the number of times I'd had to walk through the forest to retrieve one afterwards. In the spur of the moment, the mind wanted to overreact. Zasen had done his best to remind me to slow down and think first, but it was the hardest thing about hunting - and our food wasn't trying to shoot back!
But standing in a room with these three, my solid-colored clothing stood out. Even Rymar had a pattern, but I was just brown. Brown and orin, if I considered my skin, although I wasn't sure that term still applied to me. Brown and white? That didn't sound right, but still. I wasn't camouflaged like the guys, and out there, under the trees? I was worried it might become a problem.
"I wish I had skin like a Dragon," I mumbled.
"Huh?" Kanik asked.
"You blend in!" I huffed. "Zasen shouldn't, but he still does."
"I don't," Rymar reminded me.
"But stripes and spots are harder to see than just brown," I said before swallowing the last bite of my meal.
"Brown and blonde also blend," Zasen said before looking over at Kanik. "Did you eat?"
Kanik nodded. "About an hour ago. I'm good."
Zasen pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against. "Then let's go."
There was some shuffling as we all gathered up our weapons. Kanik strung my bow for me. Zasen passed me three quivers of yellow-fletched arrows. He had another of blue for himself. My krael were dangling from my belt, and my hair was tied back. That meant I was as ready as I was going to get.
The guys had even more weapons. Zasen wore leather that strapped across his chest. Various knives were sheathed in it, turning his body into an arsenal. Kanik had his weapons on his waist and legs. Unlike Rymar, these two only wore loincloths, and while that exposed more of their skin, it would also make them much, much harder to see.
There was a lot of bumping and shuffling as we got the last of our things and piled out of the house. Belts were checked and double-checked. Weapons were counted. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one patting myself down to make sure I had everything.
"Okay," Zasen said once we were on the street and heading deeper into town. "Jeera is leaving Meri with Lessa. Brielle is going to be with the city emergency services. The hospitals have protection, and we have medical gear." He blew out a breath. "What am I forgetting?"
"The arrows are all poisoned, right?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, handled that last night so the venom could dry on them."
"Then sounds like it's just the pep talk," Rymar said with a little smirk. "The militia is going to need one, and they'll expect you to give it, Zasen, not me."
"I can do that," he agreed, but he still looked tense.
When we arrived at the gathering spot, I realized why. There were a lot of people. My eyes jumped from group to group, trying to count how many of us were here, but I couldn't. Men drifted from one group to the next. Women gathered and then separated.
"I didn't know there would be so many," I breathed.
Kanik grabbed my shoulders and turned me a bit, directing me to follow after Zasen. "The militia has gotten a lot of new recruits. Most of them are volunteers, but after last time?"
"Because we know they're coming?" I asked .
"Because they finally have hope of winning," he clarified. "Ayla, for the first time in over a decade, we're not being caught with our pants down."
"That's another saying," Zasen assured me before letting out a shrill whistle. "Okay, gather up!" he bellowed at the crowd.
Bodies moved towards him, all pushing to make a tight ring around Zasen. He glanced at me, then shifted over, closing the distance between us. When someone jostled my shoulder, I stumbled, but Zasen's tail wrapped around my hip, keeping me from going too far. Kanik immediately moved to block my open side, pinning me between them. Sadly, Rymar had vanished.
Once the crowd was as tight as it could get, Zasen raised his hand, silencing them all. "The Moles will be moving near or on the main road just before dark. They will probably stay off the path if they have any sense, but we can't be sure. Keep a healthy distance from that area. Stay in the trees. Use your coloration or clothing to keep hidden, because they can't see well in the sun. Do you all understand?"
There was a murmur of agreement from the group, but a woman asked, "How can Ayla see?"
"I got used to it," I replied. "The Mole compound is like a large cave. The lighting is about the same as moonlight, so dim and blue. They can read in that. I can read in that. It took me weeks to be able to tolerate the brightness of daylight."
"Like when someone lights a match in the middle of the night," a man said in understanding.
"Right," Zasen told them. "And the brighter the light, the harder it will be for them to pick us out. But what you need to know is the Moles will move in groups. From what Ayla could see in the last attack, they find a target, kill him or her, and a pair withdraws, leaving the rest to keep moving forward. Flank them. Stay out of sight. They will make coordinated sweeps through the area, and they are trained to attack, defend, and search in specific patterns. Move randomly, like deer and rabbits - jagged lines and never repeat the same path."
"How do we fight against their guns?" another man asked. He looked younger than the rest.
Zasen lifted his hands reassuringly. "The venom you should've coated your arrows with will even the odds more than you realize. However, do not approach the Moles head-on. Attack from the sides or back if you can. Most importantly? Kill them. Kill every Mole you can, but only if you won't give away your location. Work in groups of two or more. Just like hunting coyotes, you will need to stay silent and keep moving."
"And pick up the guns," I added. They all looked at me like I'd lost my mind, so I went on. "In the compound, they have rooms filled with bullets and rifles. Casings can be made, and bullets can be filled, so those aren't their limiting resources. It's the guns . They grow old, parts wear out, and they only have a set number. Take the weapons, and eventually we will render them powerless."
"This is an arms race, people," Zasen declared. "They have them; we want them. Our goal is to take out as many Moles as we can, but when they run, we let them go. The only reason they could hurt us before was because they had the element of surprise. This time, we do!"
Then he began splitting the people into two groups. Kanik took one half. Drozel was in charge of the other. Jeera had a squad of four medics who Zasen said would respond to a triplet of sharp whistles. From there, the militia broke into even smaller groups, and Zasen organized them by location. Kanik's party would be responsible for the western side of the road. Drozel's the east.
Then he ordered everyone to make one last check of our weapons, because we'd be heading out in half an hour. That gave them time to say what they needed and wish each other luck, but mostly they focused on preparing.
Extra arrows and bolts were offered to those who were short. I saw someone pass over a knife in a sheath. The group leaders checked in with the squad leaders. They were supposed to let their team leader - either Kanik or Drozel - know when everyone was good to go.
The plan was for small groups of fighters to make their way into the forest, staying well away from the others. We had two hours until the sun set, but none of us would want to be late. The Moles would gain the advantage once the sun went down. But I hadn't been assigned to a group. Instead, Zasen pressed my back, angling me away from the mob scrambling to get ready.
"What am I supposed to do?" I asked.
"Watch my back," he said. "We'll move where we're needed most. Ayla, I want you to keep your distance, picking off the men who come to attack me."
"But what if I miss?"
He tossed a grin at me. "Don't miss." Then he jerked his chin at someone as if greeting them.
"I found you two extras," Rymar called to us.
Standing beside him were Irrik and Lansin, the Reapers, but Lansin also had his two dogs. "I think that's four, Rymar," I said.
"Might as well be," Irrik agreed. "How do we help, Zasen?"
"Stick with Jeera," he decided. "She's going to be getting first aid to people, and that could leave her exposed. The dogs will help cover the medics."
"Can do," Lansin said. "But I wanted to do something first." He held up a small bag.
"What's that?" I asked.
"A way to make sure these two learn a few more commands before we go." His eyes shifted to Zasen. "I thought I'd teach them all of your scents."
"Kanik!" Zasen roared. Then he flicked a finger at the bag. "Ayla first."
"Okay." Lansin passed me the bag. "In there are small pieces of dried meat. I want you to pull out two, hold them in your fist, then stick your hand straight out, level with their heads, okay?"
"Okay?" I agreed, doing what he asked.
"Shadow? Ayla. Holly? Ayla," Lansin said, pointing at me.
Both dogs leaned in to sniff my hand. There were lots of small, short breaths around my fingers and the treat, but they also sniffed up my arm. The feel of their whiskers made me want to smile.
"And give them each a treat," Lansin said. "Just open your hand and they'll take it nicely. After that, we'll do it again."
In the end, I did that three times in a row, then Lansin walked away with the dogs. Facing the other direction, he had them sit, then told them to seek me. There was only a moment of hesitation before the dogs rushed over to lie down before me.
"Now tell them they're good and pet them," Lansin said. "Oh, give the bag to Rymar first."
I shoved the bag of treats at Rymar, then bent to get a few more pets of these wonderful animals while I could. Oddly, rubbing on them made a little of the fear inside me fade. Not vanish, but it pushed the feeling back just enough that I felt in control again.
"Who all are you doing?" Rymar asked. "Because I'm not going out there."
"But if we need to send a message back to town," Lansin said, "they will find you, and I have a feeling you'll be easier to get to than Brielle. They know Jeera, so I want to do Kanik and Zasen at least."
"And Drozel," I suggested.
Lansin nodded. "Makes sense. He's the other team leader, right?"
"My second-in-command. Kanik's actually the third."
"Then Drozel as well," Lansin said. "And if we need to, I can send notes to change the plan." He lifted a pocket on his shirt to show a small pad of paper. "We may not have guns, but we Reapers have never needed them to kick some Mole ass."