Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
Kanik
The Moles retreated sooner than I'd expected.
Myself and a few teenagers had been watching the fields, making sure they didn't try to come across those and slip in from the back.
And while I was the only person in the group with experience in battle, half these kids had a dog with them, which meant they were the bigger threats right now.
Because while I was healed, I still felt weakness when I'd tested my bow. I knew I could use it if I had to, but also that I'd pay for it later. Thankfully, it hadn't come to that.
Standing had been all I'd really needed to do, but even that reminded me how weak my abs were now.
At least the moon was bright enough to let me see all the way across the flat and open fields.
A few grasses and weeds were trying to grow in the recently harvested soil, but before me were acres of empty open land.
This would be a death trap for anyone who tried to cross it. I knew that, but Moles didn't understand those things. All they cared about was an easy attack. Time after time, we'd killed dozens of them, but it hadn't slowed them at all.
Ayla said friendships weren't allowed down there, and I couldn't help but wonder if part of the reason was so no one cared if the man beside them was killed.
They were all treated as parts in a machine, able to be replaced if they broke, and not something to care about for more than their effectiveness.
While the pops of gunshots echoed in the night air, all I could think was that I was responsible for these kids beside me.
None of them could be older than eighteen, but all of them were here for one reason or another.
Likely because they'd lost someone in the first attack, and that was a rage they weren't used to.
Reapers hadn't spent decades adjusting to the constant threat of Moles.
They paid them off in a tithe from their harvest - and usually the worst part of it.
Food the Reapers wouldn't touch themselves bought their safety, so it worked out for everyone in the end.
I had a feeling, though, that the Moles had burned through more of it than they'd expected.
Now, they had to be desperate. We'd finally found a way to push them back and make them hurt.
Naturally, the Moles had changed their tactics.
Ayla said the numbers down there were limited, and they had to be short on men by now, weren't they?
So while I hated to admit it, attacking the Reapers actually made sense.
But tonight, the kids had been annoyed because they hadn't gotten to kill any Moles.
I assured them they'd have a chance all too soon.
What I didn't point out was that the Moles shouldn't be back yet.
Days ago, the Reapers had been hit for the first time.
Now, they were being targeted again, and I didn't like what that implied.
Either the Moles thought this was a new and easier way of supplying their meat, or they'd shifted from survival to annihilation.
So, once we were all released, I made it a point to find Rymar, because he needed to know how bad this could be.
I wasn't sure if the chief had considered it yet, and he needed to make sure she did.
Reapers were farmers. They lived a mostly peaceful life.
That didn't mean they couldn't protect themselves, but they weren't used to needing to.
"Rymar!" I called, spotting his bright yellow skin.
"Kanik!" he called back, waving me over. Then, when I was close enough, he said, "So, Ayla found Tobias in all of that. Granted, he was on the edge he's usually on, so he could've been hoping to find her. I didn't get that much."
"But she's okay?" I asked, needing to have it confirmed.
"Yeah, casualties were low," he assured me. "We're still trying to get a count, though."
"And Zasen?" I asked.
"Fine too," he promised. "Yes, I saw them. Both are just fine, and Holly too."
I chuckled because he knew me too well. "Yeah, I was going to ask about her next."
He grinned and clasped my shoulder. "Figured."
Which was when Zasen bellowed, "Rymar!" from across the open communal area.
"What?!" Rymar yelled back, turning to find him in the sea of people milling around us.
Over by the medical pavilion, I saw Zasen's dark arm stretched into the air. Tapping Rymar's shoulder, I pointed at it, making sure he looked the right way. Then, together, we headed that way to see what Zasen needed.
"Kanik!" Ayla squealed when I was close enough. Even better, she rushed in to hug me hard. "I wasn't sure where you went."
"I watched the fields," I explained. "Big open expanses of land with no trees to hide behind. A perfect place for the younger Reapers to guard, and it meant I wasn't doing much but was still helping."
"Good," she said, giving me a smile that made me feel good about being careful instead of weak.
"But we have a bit of a complication," Zasen said.
"You mean besides the Mole?" Rymar asked.
But I didn't know anything about that. "What Mole?"
"Sylis," Ayla explained. "He's Tobias's friend, has been helping, and a Reaper stabbed him in the gut."
I murmured, realizing the complications that could cause, but then Zasen decided to make it even worse. "He can't go back or he'd die from an infection. We can't keep him here because the Reapers would rather kill him. Tobias listed descriptions for the seven women they took."
"I thought more than that were missing," I said, looking at Rymar.
"And that's the problem," Rymar agreed. "Fuck. So what are we going to do with him?"
"But Tobias said something else," Ayla told us.
"He didn't know he was coming until last night.
Well, his night, but it's easier that way than trying to remember when their times are.
" She waved that off. "But he was told with only enough time to prepare to leave in what would be their version of 'before dawn.
'" And she looked between the three of us.
"That means they don't have a set plan!"
"And?" Zasen asked.
"They could go to Lorsa next," she said, sounding as if that should be obvious. "In those books I read, there were plenty that talked about battle tactics and strategy. One of the most common is to lure the enemy away, then hit their weak side."
"Same reason I was watching the fields tonight," I told Zasen.
Rymar murmured, weighing that. "But would Moles know about those books, Ayla?"
"Men have plenty of books," she said. "Women are only supposed to read the Bible, but that doesn't mean there aren't more books in the compound. Most men - like my father - have a few on their shelves. I'm sure some of them are about battles."
"So we can't rule it out," Zasen admitted.
"On the upside, Lansin gave Tobias a dog whistle.
Reapers all train their dogs to them so they can keep them from flushing game, dragging a bear back, or anything else.
Works for hiding too. Even if the dog isn't close, they can be commanded from a distance. "
"Oh..." Ayla said. "That does make sense. I think I want one."
"I'll get you one," Rymar quickly promised.
I had to struggle not to chuckle, but Ayla didn't even slow down. "So Tobias can warn us if they're coming here, but what if they're going to Lorsa and we can't catch them? Isn't most of the militia here?"
"Too much of it," Zasen agreed.
"So," I said, "we need to send some back."
"You?" Rymar asked me.
"No."
"But he's right," Zasen said. "Look, I'd like to send Drozel back, since he's just as capable of running defense as I am. He can take half the militia members here with him."
"And Sylis," Ayla said. "Then he'll be away..." Her words trailed off as her eyes lost focus.
"What?" I asked.
She sucked in a little breath, realizing she'd fallen silent. "Meri knows Sylis. She speaks English as well as I do. That means she can help him learn Vestrian, right?"
"She can," Rymar agreed, "but will she want to? Ayla, he's a man."
"A man who wants to kiss men," Ayla told us.
"Tobias said Sylis tried to kiss him. Or did kiss him?
I'm not sure and it was a little hectic.
But it sounds like Sylis isn't interested in marriage either.
If Meri knows that, I bet she'd be okay with it.
" Then she wobbled her head from side to side as if debating that.
"She might be okay either way. I mean, Sylis is only a few years older than us, and I remember him from sermon - barely.
He wasn't one of the impressive boys. He was small, and shy. Maybe she won't be worried about him?"
"If Drozel's there, she won't need to," I assured her.
"And Lessa," Zasen added. "She's learned English well enough to count as fluent."
"Just make sure she doesn't stab him," I teased.
But Rymar made a noise that proved my joke might be a little too accurate. "It's Lessa," he reminded me.
Ayla patted the air, making us focus again. "Sylis was given something that made his mind wander. I told Tobias it was for the pain, but Naomi did something similar to me when I arrived."
"It's a sedative," Zasen explained. "Keeps the patient from fighting against healing. And would keep a Mole from hurting someone, so makes sense."
"Well, that means we can't ask him what he knows right now," she said. "In truth, he might not even realize what's important. I didn't!"
"True," I agreed, "but I have a thought. Where's Drozel?"
"Why?" Rymar asked.
"Because all of this adds up one way," I explained.
"This Mole - Sylis?" When Ayla nodded, confirming his name, I continued, "He might be either gay or polysexual.
He's been repressed down there, and likely ashamed of his desires.
He knows Meri, even if barely. She can speak to him and understands the world he's coming from, so she can translate the implications the way Ayla does for us. "
"And?" Rymar asked, proving he hadn't put it together yet.
"And Meri's living with Drozel and Omden," I said.
"Which means, you have everything you need in one place.
Make the guy a refugee as a reward for being an informant.
If he fucks up, Drozel will kill him. Hell, Omden is just as likely, but the man's wounded, lost, confused, and being offered everything he didn't realize was possible, plus a potential friend in Meri? "
"Flip him," Zasen said.
Ayla huffed. "He's already on our side."
"No," I told her. "Right now, he's on his side.
He doesn't know us, and he has no reason to trust us.
You didn't either, at first. You ran, Ayla.
That's the same place Sylis is at right now.
Everything will be new, confusing, and a bit too much.
The sky will burn and blind him. The culture will be crazy.
What he'll need is someone to help him realize those things aren't inherently bad.
Different, yes, but they could be good."
"And seeing Drozel and Omden in a relationship they don't have to hide?" Rymar added. "Yeah, that might be enough to make him fight for us instead of against us."
"Which means," Ayla said, "we need to make sure Drozel and Omden know all of this."
"And Drozel's not going to like it," Zasen said. "He'd rather be on the front line than guarding the back."
Rymar huffed. "Too bad. But I'll send Irrik back with him to help out."
"What? Why?" I asked.
"Because," Zasen said, speaking as if I was an idiot, "he's just become a father. He might want to meet his son."
"Too bad he doesn't have a dog," Ayla mumbled.
"Why?" Zasen asked.
"Because Tobias has a whistle," she pointed out. "If he did, then he'd know if they were close, right?"
"Dammit," Zasen grumbled. "That would be useful, and Xav's dog isn't from here."
"Which means," Rymar said, "we're going to need a few other ideas. I'd like to have Drozel's input on that before he leaves. Considering Sylis is probably loopy still, I think we have time."
"Then let's do this," I agreed.