Chapter Seventeen
Taio followed behind me, keeping his back against the wall of the cabin.
We scanned the clearing. He gestured silently that he would take the right and I should take the left.
We separated and I darted around the edge of the cabin, checking for any stragglers.
All that remained was the stench of the Hollows, that rotten scent of decay that made the bile burn the back of my throat.
We met at the other side of the cabin, and Taio motioned that all was clear.
I gave him the same signal, and he pointed toward the forest, toward the way we’d run when we’d been escaping the pack.
I nodded, and he started out, crossing the clearing with me right behind him, looking over my shoulder frequently.
I breathed a sigh of relief as we stepped into the cover of the trees.
The rank odor of death wasn’t as strong here, and we were no longer in the open.
Taio crept quickly and quietly through the trampled undergrowth, and I tried to step where he did.
The further the distance from the refuge of the cabin, the faster my heart beat.
My eyes darted from side to side, half afraid I would see a Hollow and half afraid I would see the mangled remains of Yung or Kintle or—gods, no—Omira.
Even though I knew the cabin gave us only the illusion of safety, the shadows and darkness of the forest made me feel so vulnerable.
I had to clench my hands to keep my feet stepping forward and resist the urge to turn and run back to the shelter.
What was the matter with me? How many times had I been on patrol?
How many times had I faced danger? I heard no Hollows, smelled no Hollows. Why was I so on edge?
Because we weren’t out of danger. We were heading right into it.
I reached for Taio’s shoulder, thinking to pull him back and tell him I feared...I didn’t know what I feared...when pine needles drifted down from above and then a shape crashed onto Taio, sending him to the ground, even as his weapon was knocked from his hand.
Ambush! That was what I’d feared. And now here it was. I choked off my scream and raised my skullcrusher, but as I lowered it over Taio’s attacker, he turned to look at me with pure mahogany eyes. My hand stilled, the skullcrusher held aloft.
Gaz.
Not a Hollow, not a stranger. It was Gaz!
He took advantage of my surprise and jumped up then kicked out, landing a blow in my belly. I doubled over, and he wrenched the skullcrusher from my hand. A hard blow landed on the back of my head, and my vision dimmed, blackness threatening me as I went to my knees and then over onto my side.
I heard sounds of a scuffle, quiet grunts and thuds.
At one point, I forced my eyes open and spotted Gaz and Taio standing, arms gripped together, wrestling for control.
The scent of damp leaves and pine rose to meet me as I rolled to my knees, my head scraping against the floor of the forest. Nausea threatened to overtake me, but I forced it down and grabbed hold of a tree trunk, clawing my way up.
The world seemed to lurch, and the forms of Taio and Gaz went in and out of focus.
I clung to the tree and shook my head, trying to clear it.
When I next lifted my eyes, Gaz had Taio pinned to a tree.
His hand fisted in Taio’s hair, and he drove Taio’s head against the bark.
I stumbled forward, the thud of Taio’s head meeting the tree trunk vibrating inside me.
I crashed into Gaz and pulled at his shoulder.
He cursed and turned to shove me away. But my interference had given Taio the opportunity he needed. He jerked forward, slamming Gaz to the ground. I stumbled out of the way as the two men wrestled, Taio on top then Gaz then Taio again.
Taio pinned Gaz to the ground and looked up at me. “Mara, are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” At least that was what I tried to say.
I don’t know if I managed to say anything.
I was too intent on Gaz because I knew exactly what he was about to do.
I’d seen him do it dozens of times in training.
I tried to warn Taio, but my mouth wouldn’t work and then Gaz was pulling Taio down and slamming his head into Taio’s forehead.
Taio reared back, and Gaz, now bleeding from the gash in his own forehead, punched Taio and jumped on top.
He punched again, and I saw blood on his fist. Taio’s blood.
With a silent scream, I lunged forward and caught Gaz around the throat.
Clutching his back, I pulled his body free of Taio, even as he grabbed at my arms to throw me aside.
I dug for purchase, my hands slipping through his short, sweaty hair.
I tried again, and this time my fingers jabbed into something soft.
Gaz screamed, and alarms sounded in my mind.
The Hollows would hear us. They would be back.
And yet, I burrowed my fingers in deeper, feeling the softness give way to a viscous liquid.
Gaz clawed at my hand, but I wouldn’t release him.
My fingers closed on the orb I now realized was his eye, and I yanked it free, releasing it with disgust almost as soon as I held it.
Gaz screeched and rolled away, and I stumbled to my feet.
Taio was up, his face covered in blood, his blue-green eyes wide with horror.
He spoke but I couldn’t understand a single word.
And then he lifted me, slung me over his back, and began to run.
***
I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG Taio carried me over his shoulder. It felt like hours or seconds before I tapped on his shoulder blade. “Let me down.”
He paused, panting hard. I reared up and slid down his chest, his arms catching me to hold me steady.
My head was still hammering, but I was steady on my feet.
I paused and listened for sounds of pursuit, not that I thought Gaz was in any condition to pursue us.
I pushed the last image I had of Gaz, bloody hands clutched to the cavity where his eye had been, out of my mind.
Gaz might not be after us, but there had been a pack of Hollows not so far from where he’d ambushed us.
I listened for the telltale grunts and hisses but heard none.
Yet.
I reached for my belt, wanting my skullcrusher in my hands and ready, but my belt was empty. I looked down, grasping the empty weapon loop as panic raced through me. “My weapon!”
Taio nodded. “Mine as well. We left them at the ambush.”
My first instinct was to insist we go back for them, but that was madness and suicide. We had to move forward, away from the pack of monsters.
“I’m sorry,” Taio said.
“It’s my fault.” I paced back and forth. “I should have known this was an ambush. It’s so clear now. Gaz sent Nize in one direction to lure the Hollows from the cabin. We did exactly what he wanted and emerged into the open. All he had to do was lie in wait for us.”
“This is not your fault, Mara.” Taio put his hands on my shoulders. “We had no good choice.”
He was right. Staying at the cabin was as much a risk as leaving.
“I should not have left the weapons.”
I shook my head. “No time to look for them. You were right to run. Let’s not waste any more time standing here talking.
The Hollows can move surprisingly fast when they sense prey.
” Was Gaz still bleeding in the spot where we’d left him?
Were the Hollows feasting on him even now?
The blood oozing from his wound would attract them.
Taio’s bleeding had stopped, but our clothes were splattered with blood.
We’d have to change as soon as we had a chance.
“Can you walk?”
“Yes. You lead. I want to look for suitable sticks.”
Taio’s eyes narrowed, but he shrugged and started away.
He probably thought it was another strange thing people in my land said.
But I meant what I said. I felt naked without any sort of weapon.
If I could find a long, thick stick, I could sharpen the end and use it as a weapon.
It wasn’t as effective as my skullcrusher, but it was better than nothing.
Taio pushed through the thick brush, holding branches and limbs back so they did not hit me in the face.
We were moving west again, toward Zulen, and we kept our eyes open for any signs of the other Zulenii.
I didn’t have much hope we’d find them. The forest was enormous, and they could be miles from us or already across the border by now.
Or they could be dead.
At least once an hour, the sound of the wind through the trees was rent by a loud growl that could only be a Hollow.
They weren’t close enough to smell yet, but they weren’t far enough away for comfort.
All day we’d walked in silence. The birds didn’t sing.
The insects didn’t chirp. The Hollows were coming for us, else the forest would have been alive with the noise of life.
Taio stopped to drink, and I examined the stick I had plucked from the ground a quarter hour ago. He handed me the flask. “You found your stick.”
I nodded. “I’ll find you one. When we rest again, I’ll sharpen the points, and we’ll use them as weapons.”
He raised his brows. “Clever,” he said.
I didn’t feel clever. I felt desperate. A cold sweat ran down my back, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking over my shoulder.
We walked on, changing places every hour so neither of us became used to leading or following.
I found several sticks for Taio, but when I handed them to him, they weren’t long enough.
Finally, as dusk was falling, I lifted a thick tree limb with dead leaves still attached.
The limb was far too heavy for me, but when I handed it to him, he lifted it easily. “This one for you,” I said.
He looked at it, turning it this way and that. “We may need it soon,” he said, listening for sounds of pursuit.