Chapter 82
Eighty-Two
Ayla
D appled sunlight lit our steps as we followed a straight line toward the compound. As we walked, the militia spread out in a wide line, all of us keeping our eyes open for any sign the Moles had passed through here - or that we'd missed them. That was the risk of trying to catch them during the day.
For all we knew, they could've camped close to Lorsa, somewhere we wouldn't know to look. They could follow the road, cut across the forest, or weave along one of the many streams, creeks, and brooks in the area. The world was now a wild place, which made it easy to hide. Thankfully, there were enough stories of people seeing them here in the woods that Zasen and Drozel were confident they would come this way.
But if we chose wrong and ended up behind them, they'd be able to hit town with no resistance. That was the risk of heading into the forest to fight them head-on. Yes, it protected the innocent people in town, but we were making plans based on what they'd done before. Needless to say, it made everyone a little tense.
Around me, Dragons communicated with whistles made to sound like out of season birds. The piercing noises carried easily and the Moles wouldn't know the sounds weren't natural at this time of year. We'd all been trained in the various calls, though. Each one meant different things, so as they rang out, I knew we still hadn't found anything except wildlife.
But as I looked down the line, I had to strain to see the men and women I'd be fighting with. While the tailless all wore leathers like me, the tailed used the advantage of their own skin. Some blended with grass, some with trees, others with rocks. The Moles would probably walk right past them without a clue they were there. I hoped the same would be true for me.
Three hours outside Lorsa, we took a break. The sun was starting to sink, and we still hadn't found their camp. No one was willing to talk loudly, but friends shifted closer, whispering - likely talking about their fear that we'd missed them. Zasen told me to sit and relax, then headed to Kanik. From the other side, Drozel, Jeera, and Omden were doing the same.
So I rolled onto my rump and called Holly over. She flopped down beside me, but kept lifting her head to look into the forest before us. Maybe she was just sensing how nervous we all were about missing our enemy out here?
Then Demon barked. Holly's head snapped over, and my dog stood, a low rumbling sounding in her chest. When her lips curled, I knew she'd seen, heard, or smelled something. Hoping I wasn't wrong, I let out an owl's hoot.
Immediately, Zasen and Kanik turned to look right at me. It took Drozel and Omden a moment longer, but Jeera was leaning to see into the trees ahead of us. Trying to explain, I gestured to Holly, then where she was staring, that growl still softly rumbling from her.
So Zasen lifted his hands and made the sound of a whippoorwill. Heads snapped around, people grabbed weapons, and within seconds, we were all standing again, waiting for orders. Drozel slashed his arm forward, gesturing in the direction both Holly and Xav's dog were still staring.
"Move around to the east," Zasen said when he was close enough to keep his voice down. "Keep her from barking if you can?"
"Holy, silent," I ordered. "Stealth."
She glanced up at me, but the growling stopped. As the militia all moved forward, Zasen and I shifted around the back of the line, cutting over to the right side. We were all moving slowly, more like creeping, but there was nothing in sight.
We came over one hill, and I could smell smoke on the breeze. From the reactions around me, I wasn't alone. Arrows were pulled. Steps lightened. Groups drifted further apart, with the ones at the edges moving further out so we could flank. Like a wave across our forces, everyone crouched, limiting their visibility.
"I smell smoke," I whispered to Zasen.
He nodded, then gestured for me to follow. Carefully, we avoided as much of the detritus on the ground as we could, minimizing the sound of our steps as we jogged faster, trying to get over to the far eastern side.
Then a Mole called out, "Something moved! I saw it!"
A few more steps got us over a rise, and I could see the entire Mole camp spreading out before us. Some type of blankets had been stretched over string to make triangle-like shelters. Men were standing near them, looking around wildly, but others were rushing to gather their things. No, their weapons. The Moles were preparing.
"Their camp," I breathed.
Zasen nodded. "We need Holly to keep them clustered," he said. "Send her in, and let's see if they go to her or away."
I nodded to show I heard, but my eyes were scanning the group. Finally, I saw him. On the edge closest to us, but further to the south, Tobias was with a shorter, younger man I didn't recognize. Still, he would remember Holly, and keeping her at the edge would keep her safe .
"Holly," I breathed, pointing to Tobias. "Disarm!"
Never before had I seen her run so fast. My dog sped across the rolling ground like a blur, running exactly where I'd pointed her. But moving so fast drew attention, and within seconds, people were screaming and turning to engage.
Holly didn't even look at them. Instead, she slammed into Tobias, grabbing his rifle in her teeth and then shoved off. The man staggered, the dog spun, but I saw men aiming their guns at her.
"Away by!" I screamed desperately, directing her retreat as she freed the gun strap from Tobias's body.
And she turned into the woods, vanishing almost instantly in the undergrowth, but the first shots rang out. Pops, many of them, all in the direction of my dog. I felt my heart hang with fear and worry, but below me, the Moles were grouping up together, whipping their heads around, and trying to figure out what was going on.
All but one.
Tobias was staring into the trees. The smile on his face was visible even from here. He'd recognized her! Yet before I could figure out how to tell him to follow her, a rustle of leaves announced Holly's return. She raced right up to me, dropped the gun, then wagged enthusiastically, waiting for her reward.
"That's a good girl!" I whispered, petting her as much as I could. "Oh, you're such a good dog!"
"And now they're all together," Zasen said before cupping his hands before his mouth and making another bird call.
Halfway across the forest, it was repeated, then again further on. That was the sign to attack, but for a long moment, nothing happened. Then a dozen arrows slammed into the group of Moles, many hitting their mark.
Men screamed. Tobias turned, clearly intending to head for the woods, but chaos had just taken over. The guns began to pop as men fired without knowing what they were shooting at. In the bright light of late afternoon, they were finally at the disadvantage, and the arrows weren't stopping.
"Grenades!" someone yelled.
I'd just pulled my bow, intending to take out a few when I saw men hurl things towards the forest. One hit a tree, bouncing back. I watched it, planning to shoot the man that went to retrieve it, but the Moles didn't. Instead, they yelled, hurrying away from it.
The first one exploded. Then the next, and more, the devastation rippling across the trees around us. Men screamed - Dragons this time - and I'd ducked back, shielding myself from the volume of that weapon. When I lifted my head again, Zasen had moved behind a tree, firing as quickly as he could.
"Where's your Mole?" he demanded, no longer trying to keep his voice down since everyone was screaming.
I looked again. The thing that had bounced back? It had two Moles lying near it, their bodies ravaged and bleeding. A little further away, I saw men wearing black, but covered in dirt. Trees had shattered around them, leaving sticks and leaves still wafting down, but where was Tobias?
I found him as he pushed to his feet, getting off a smaller man. The other guy tried to follow, but Tobias pushed him to the south before running into the woods the same direction Holly had gone.
"Found him!" I said, and took off.
Holly ran beside me, keeping pace. Doing my best to stay behind hills, brush, and out of sight, I arced around, scanning the forest around me, hoping to see Tobias before anyone else saw me.
Then Holly turned, rushing ahead. Her ears locked back and she moved faster, clearly aiming for something. One more step and I saw what she was after.
"Holly, no!" I called. "Come!"
My dog skidded to a halt and pivoted on her back end, returning like an arrow seeking its mark. Behind her, Tobias followed. I waved for him, and kept going, racing further from the fighting, looking for someplace we'd be safe enough to talk. If anyone saw him now, they'd be sure he was chasing me.
Finally, I found it. A creek had dried, leaving a sharp depression in the ground with a lot of growth around it. I slid down in there, pulled my krael, and waited. A moment later, Tobias skidded, slipped, and tumbled into the ravine with me.
"Is anyone following you?" I demanded.
"No," he panted. "I'm pretty sure I got away. I said I needed my gun."
I nodded, then waved for Holly to lie down. "I have a package for Callah. What's the code?"
He was already reaching into his own pocket. "Ayla, I couldn't get it. Gideon let us back in and he doesn't trust me. Well, anyone." Then he thrust a thick letter at me. "She sent this."
I traded him for the mass of mine. "That's a book about the world as it is now. I also gave her a list of all the missing Dragon women. Your mom is in there, and mine, and hopefully Callah's too."
"Whoa," he breathed. "How many?"
"More than thirty," I said. "We don't know how many made it down there, but we know they went missing in raids. There could also be Reaper - er, wild women, too."
He nodded, then looked down at my weapons. "Can you put those away for a second?"
So I put my krael back on my belt. "Why?"
Tobias glanced back, the sound of gunfire and screaming still much too close but far enough away for us to be safe. When he turned back, I watched him swallow, look at my dog, then back at me.
"Ayla, she explains everything in that letter, but she's staying. Callah said she's staying because none of this is right, and she thinks she's the only one who can stop it."
" I am stopping it!" I snapped.
He lifted his hands. "Yes, I know, but she's helping the women. They reduced the age of marriage, Ayla. We've lost too many hunters. There aren't enough babies. Children are now graduating at eighteen and entering their professions or marriage. Her wedding will be on the Day of the Seven Trumpets."
"But that's too soon!"
"I know," he agreed while I was quickly doing mental calculations.
"Ten days," I said, because that was the next holiday. The one they were here hunting for.
He nodded. "So I'm going to marry her."
I tensed, shifting my hand toward my krael, but he backed up.
"She'll be safe with me!" he hurried to say. "I will be responsible for her punishment, and no one needs to know if I don't do it. No other man will be allowed to hit her, Ayla. She can keep healing - because it helps me, as a hunter. She'll be able to mingle with the wives, and they're frantic. She can help !"
"And I know what happens in marriage," I growled.
He shook his head. "As friends. Just as friends. I don't want to hurt her, and this is all to stop this. A ruse, Ayla, not a real marriage. Just a way to stop this forever and keep women from getting hurt."
My body relaxed and I stepped back. He had a point, and one I'd made myself. If the women worked together, the men wouldn't have a chance. They didn't know how to care for themselves. They made us think we were worthless, but we were what kept them alive.
"Then you tell her -" I tried, but Holly's head snapped up.
My dog growled just as a bush rustled. Something metallic clicked, and Tobias's eyes went wide. That was all I needed.
"Disarm!" I breathed.
Holly lunged. I grabbed my krael and spun, slicing hard just as the man put his arms up. The blade sliced through his arm, parting cloth and flesh - but not enough.
The Mole jumped back, and between one breath and the next, Zasen was there. When the man bumped into his chest, Zasen calmly clasped the unarmed Mole's shoulders, lifting his tail between us so the man could see.
"One drop," Zasen said, expelling a bit of fluid from his stinger, "and you are dead."
"Don't!" Tobias begged. "That's Sylis. He's my friend!"