Chapter 67
Sixty-Seven
Kanik
The Moles had been a mess out there this time.
I was pretty sure the dogs had a lot to do with that, and wasn't going to complain.
But when the Moles began to retreat, I started looking for Ayla.
Rymar was with her, and while I knew he could hold his own, the man was a walking target here in the forest.
Slowly, the Reapers and Dragons pulled back and closer together. A few Moles were still fighting here and there, but when the mass of us turned on them, they ran. That was not normal, but I certainly wasn't going to complain. Then there was what had been left behind on the forest floor.
Wounded were everywhere. Most were walking, some limping, but bodies? There weren't many. I saw a Mole over there, and I knew he wasn't the only one, but all the Dragons and Reapers were being attended to.
"Kanik, you need to sit," Zasen said, clasping my shoulder to drag me further away from the combat area.
"I'm fine!" I insisted, pulling away. "Shit, Zasen. It's been months! I'm healed, okay?"
He leaned in and growled, "You told Ayla you're still weak."
Instead of being intimidated by him, I simply sighed. "Look, I'm being careful. I've been careful. I'm healed, but I'm aware my abs got cut in half and aren't as strong as they used to be. What's the opposite of strong, Zasen? That's weak. Not hurting, not incapable, not incapacitated. Weak."
Before me, he visibly relaxed. "Okay, good. We can't do that again. Fuck, I bawled my eyes out when I thought you were dead."
It was wrong, but that felt nice to hear. "I'm fine," I said again. "I'm more worried about Rymar being out here. And with Ayla?"
"She'll keep him alive," Zasen promised.
"And he'll do plenty of that too," I agreed. "But he's a walking flag."
"It's fall," Zasen reminded me. "You know, yellows, oranges, and reds? He doesn't stand out as bad right now. I think that's why he came." Then he pointed. "And it looks like the Reapers are headed this way. Let's see how bad the losses were."
Slowly, all the Reapers and Dragons moved together.
When we stopped, I realized the rendezvous point was the carts that had carried us here.
Wounded were being helped into the backs.
Gear was piled up in others, but it didn't look like anyone was moving fast. More like we were taking a break to catch our breath and lick our wounds.
"Gather close!" Eriska called.
I shifted that way just as something rushed to my side. Looking down, I saw brindle fur first - and then recognized the face.
"Holly?" I asked.
Beside me, Zasen spun, then exhaled hard in relief. "Ayla! Rymar!" Lifting a hand, he waved them closer.
I couldn't see them over the people around us, but I knew they had to be who he was waving to. A moment later, Ayla's other dog joined Holly. Rymar and my partner were right behind Pepper.
"Did you find him?" Zasen asked.
Rymar nodded first. "We did, and it's a mess."
"Eriska's calling everyone in," I told them, catching Ayla's eye and tilting my head at Zasen.
She gave me a little smile, then moved to him and wrapped her arm around his waist. When Zasen dropped his arm around her shoulders easily, I had to fight a smile.
This was their thing. Those two were both out for revenge, and they understood that urge in each other.
Right now, they needed each other, and seeing them embrace so easily?
Watching Ayla's body soften against Zasen's side?
I would never understand the rage they were fueled by, but I could see it.
For those two, it was a tie that bound them together, but I didn't think it was the revenge part.
From what I could tell, it seemed to be the recovery.
Those two had both felt pain few could understand.
They'd both found a way to push through it by embracing their anger.
They'd also both decided they would be the sacrifice if necessary.
And that? I now understood what it felt like. I'd faced it alone, and there had been so many things I'd regretted. Ayla had given me a second chance, and Holly too, but I wasn't ready yet. Them? I had a feeling they were - and together they were figuring out they didn't have to be.
"All right!" Eriska yelled now that everyone was close enough. "I need two scouts to keep an eye on the Moles. They should head home now, from what the Dragons say, but I don't want to risk it. Volunteers?"
A dozen hands shot into the air. Eriska picked two with dogs, and sent them to handle that. They were given more arrows and anything else they needed, then headed out. The pause had everyone talking again, so Eriska lifted her hands.
"Hey, hey!" she called. "Let's make some decisions so we can all head home. Where's Rymar?"
"Here!" he called, moving toward her. People shifted, letting him in, but halfway there, he looked back and crooked a finger at Ayla. "We're going to need you too."
"Girls, stay," Ayla said before following him.
Holly did. Pepper? Not at all. That dog looked at me, then Zasen, and immediately trotted after her person. Beside me, Zasen shook his head and chuckled. I knew I was smiling, but I wasn't upset either. I actually liked that she had a dog that loyal. It made me worry about her a little less.
"Can Lorsa take our wounded again?" Eriska asked.
"Gladly," Rymar assured her. "We also found our informant."
That made the Reapers grumble. The Dragons didn't, surprisingly. Then again, we knew a lot more about the ties between us and the people down there.
"Tobias said they weren't looking for meat," Ayla said. "They have what we gave them, and enough to freeze."
"Freeze?" Eriska asked.
"Moles have electricity," Rymar explained. "That means refrigeration too. They freeze food to store it when they have enough, and it sounds like it's been a long time since that has happened."
"I can't remember it in my lifetime," Ayla explained. "But, the elders still sent out the hunters, and they were headed to Lorsa. They were told to capture women who look like them. I can only guess they mean pale skin like mine, since they've taken women with hair that isn't blonde."
I looked around the crowd, seeing far too many women who fit that description. Light skin was just as common as all the other colors, and few Reapers had tails. Just from where I was standing, I could spot at least ten women who fit the criteria.
"He also said," Rymar called out, "that they don't know where they'll hit next.
Here, there, or somewhere in the middle.
They were told to retreat instead of die.
Many of the hunters are young, and this was their first time out.
Recently, they've reduced the age of maturity from twenty to eighteen, so a lot of kids - and those kids are new.
Inexperienced. For all we know, this could've been a training mission. "
"What?" Ayla asked, looking at him. "Tobias didn't say that."
"Nope," Rymar agreed, "but he said he didn't know, and that's what we do.
Experience is the best weapon all of us have, and as much as I hate to admit it, Moles aren't stupid.
" Then he raised his voice a little more.
"But what he was sure of is that we can't predict where they'll go, and we Dragons have to protect Lorsa first."
"Wait!" Ayla begged. "If we do that, they'll attack the Reapers."
"Yeah," Rymar said.
Which was when Lansin pushed forward. The man's arm was wrapped, proving he'd been injured, but there were three dogs following behind him. That anyone had been able to touch him was a little surprising.
"We know where they come from, right?" he asked.
So Zasen moved closer. I followed, reaching down to make sure Holly was with me. If we were going to start acting like experts, then I might have a few things to add as well.
"They always leave from the place where we left the meat," Ayla explained. "It's the only exit from the compound."
"The problem," Lansin said, using his hands to explain, "is that we don't know if they'll go toward us.
" One hand veered to the right. "Or to the Dragons.
" The other went up and left. "The further out we are, the harder it will be to stop them, so we need to get up close and take them out as soon as they leave. "
"No," I said. "They have guns, Lansin. We know they leave at night. Tobias calls it morning, but their schedule is inverted because they can see in the dark. That gives them the advantage. If they're well-rested, excited, and braced? That turns their entrance into a chokepoint."
"A kill zone," Zasen said, hammering my point home. "Kanik's right. Lansin is too. If we all go home, Dragons will lose the benefit of all your dogs. If the Reapers head home, they'll lose our venom and experience."
"And experience is a weapon," Rymar mumbled, reiterating his point from before.
But that gave me an idea. "Why can't we make a wall in the middle?"
"What?" Eriska asked, looking at me like that made no sense. "We can't build a wall that fast!"
"Not a literal one," I assured her. "Look, the one thing Reapers are good at? Moving around. Your supplies are all portable and meant to be moved. We Dragons build in bulk because we're stable. Combined?"
"What are you thinking?" Zasen asked.
"Lorsa donates tents," I said. "We get fletchers working to restock our arrows.
Now, I don't know how you Reapers want to handle this, but either we leave a core group at your camp to hold it, or we empty it and set camps up in an arc between Lorsa and your camp.
Halfway between. A barrier where the Moles will not expect us, and one with dogs to alert us all before they're on top of us. "
"And so they can't slip between," Lansin said, nodding to show he agreed. "We still have plenty back at the camp, though."
"We can move all of it to the winter camp," Eriska said.
"I have puppies," Lansin mumbled, sounding like he didn't want to admit it, but they were his real concern.
"I do too," someone else said. "Not as many as him, but two litters."
"Can you move them to your other home or Lorsa?" Ayla asked. "Put the dogs somewhere safe, just like the children?"
"I don't have a place," Lansin admitted. "I'd need someone to care for them, and I really don't want to be kicked out of this."
"Irrik's in Lorsa," Rymar suggested. "We'll find your dogs a place. And anyone else who needs it. I have a feeling the stables by the dock can make room, and Irrik can make sure the animals are getting the proper care."
Then Eriska looked at Zasen. "Are you good with this?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked.
"Because it means keeping the militia from Lorsa longer." She shrugged. "I know you people don't like to be away from home too long."
"No, I think Kanik's right on this. We can divide the groups up into half Reapers and half Dragons.
That gives all of us the benefits of the other.
I'll take half toward Lorsa. You, Eriska, take the other half toward your camp.
Then we can divide them out into smaller groups.
Campsites. If the distance between each camp isn't enough to let Moles slip between, we've effectively made a wall. "
"All of us will have to keep watch," I said. "And we'll need a minimum of two dogs per camp."
"Four," Lansin corrected. "Three shifts and an extra. If a dog is lost, we don't want to be left defenseless."
"Let's go with an hour walk between each," Rymar suggested. "How many camps will we need?"
"If we pull in," Eriska said, "we can do that in twelve groups. Six for me, six for Zasen. No offense, Rymar, but my men will answer to him for this."
"I wouldn't expect anything else," Rymar said. "So, let's start dividing up the groups. We need twelve, and everyone should be with those they know and can work with. If you don't care, go stand over there and we'll put you where you're needed."
And just like that, a plan was made. Now we just had to sort out all the annoying details - like picking up the things we'd left back at the Reaper camp and how to respond fast enough if there was an attack.
But this? The Moles had been adapting too fast. This time, it was going to be our turn to surprise them.