Chapter 78
Seventy-Eight
Tobias
We headed out two days later. Gideon was with us, but this was his second trip out. My squad was down to the five of us. Abiel hadn't been replaced, which made me think we didn't have enough young men to fill the ranks anymore.
The sky was a vivid pink when the compound doors closed behind us, and this group was small. There were only three squads, which was less than a full team. One of those was Gideon's. One was mine. The last was led by a man named Harald. He'd been on my squad back when Sylis had led it.
I didn't know the man well, but that didn't matter. What did was the milling about the men did as we got our bearings. We'd been given no orders or directions, only a time to be ready.
Gideon stepped forward. "Listen up!" he barked, looking at a circular device in his hands.
"Yesterday, we checked the wild men's farm.
It is now empty! Today, we're moving left.
Our goal is to find the boundary these demons are guarding.
If we meet resistance, your job is to get an idea of the numbers and pull back.
Once we regroup, we will either continue moving left, or return to rearm. Any questions?"
No one spoke up, so Gideon led us out, checking that device frequently. I couldn't see what it was, but it seemed to be giving him some means of direction the rest of us didn't have.
That made me touch my chest, making sure the whistle still hung there. The thing was light enough I couldn't feel it, but I would need it. Not yet, though. I didn't want to start blowing it too early and call attention to it.
For the first hour, everyone walked, trudging along in silence. Somewhere in the second hour, a few men began to mumble, holding a soft conversation among themselves. Gideon hissed or snapped, trying to silence them, but why?
By the time three hours had passed, our units had lost any semblance of structure and were now little more than men clustering up to talk as they trudged through the frigid air. I saw them, and tried to keep track of which men acted friendly to each other.
Then Elijah moved to my side. "How do you like winter, squad leader?"
"I don't think this is winter."
He hummed. "Close."
"Winter is white," I told him. "I was a gatherer long enough to experience it before."
"Ah, yes." And he chuckled. "Timon doesn't understand how Hell could be cold."
I was not going to offer anything. "What did you tell him?"
Elijah shrugged. "I asked him why he thought this was Hell. It's Earth. We're taught that in sermon."
"The fires of Hell only peek through during the day," I said, not caring how he took that.
But from up ahead, another man called out, "That's a deer!"
"A what?" someone else asked.
"The ones with the trees on their..." The first guy sighed. "And it ran away. I bet we could follow it."
"We," Gideon snapped, "are not here for deer!"
"Then why are we here?" yet another man asked. I was pretty sure that was Jeshiah. "Deer have meat. We're hunters."
"Right now," Gideon said, "we're protecting the compound."
Elijah huffed under his breath. "Yeah. Sure we are. We're protecting his aspirations. Did you see that man at the meeting?"
I looked, confused about why he'd ask me that. "We were all there, Elijah."
"You are truly a grump, aren't you?" he taunted.
Which was when Uriah fell in on my other side. "Tobias is a man of few words," he told Elijah. "I think it's why he got promoted."
"I got promoted because I kill Dragons," I told them.
"Okay, that's a good way to do it," Elijah said.
But the other men weren't done with their questions either. To my right, someone called out, "How will we know if we find the end of the demon's defenses, Gideon? Or are we supposed to walk for a week and simply turn back?"
"The Dragons are this way," another said.
"No," Elijah said, raising his voice, "they aren't."
"Quiet!" Gideon snapped.
Which made me chuckle.
On my left, Uriah flashed a smile. "Please tell me you despise that man as much as the rest of us?"
"I don't trust him," I agreed. "I think he's more interested in a promotion than the safety of the men he leads or the security of the compound's food stores."
"Well said," Elijah taunted. "Funny, because I always heard you're too big to be smart."
I sighed heavily. "Yes, I'm big. Yes, I really am that strong. No, that doesn't make me stupid."
"So why does everyone say that?" Uriah asked.
And this was my chance to deal with that one "little" problem I had. Years of pretending to be slow and stupid did me no good if I wanted a promotion. It was the thing I'd been known for, and I'd used that trick as long as I could, but now I had to dig myself out of the hole I'd created with it.
"People tend to assume the worst of others," I told them. "I also don't care about what is said in gossip. I prefer to choose my words instead of act the fool because I lack patience. And I promise, silent is not the same as stupid either."
"There's that," Uriah agreed. "You are grumpy, though."
"He's not that grumpy," Timon said, jogging up from behind me to join us. "Tobias is actually one of the better leaders. I mean, we made it back alive last time."
"Harald was on my squad for a while too," I told them. "Well, it wasn't mine at the time. We were just in a squad together."
"Which means," Elijah said, "we should all stick close to this guy."
"If nothing else," Uriah joked, "they'll aim for him first. I mean, he's hard to miss."
"And harder to kill," I promised. "But sure. If you want to help me tear the Wyvern apart, then fine." And I turned to look at Elijah. "I'll kill your sister too."
He simply shrugged. "I'm not sure she's as easy to kill as you seem to think."
"Just remember," I told him, "I'm the man who'll be ordering you to chase her down."
"She has a dog," Timon said. "I heard it keeps her safe."
"A lot of them have dogs," I reminded these boys. "Have any of you been bit by one?"
"Have you?" Uriah asked.
I nodded. "The Phoenix's dog, actually. My very first partner was killed by the Wyvern right next to me.
The Phoenix sent her dog at me, and the pair ran.
" At me, but still. "The dog knocked me off my feet, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Then, between one breath and the next, it was just gone. "
"Jeshiah!" Timon called, reaching up to summon the last member of our squad over.
I saw the young man clasp another guy's arm, then head our way. The whole time, the entire team was still marching forward. Leaves rustled under our feet, hiding the roots and branches that would trip us at the worst times, but Jeshiah waded through them to join us.
"Tobias was attacked by a dog!" Timon told him.
"He said he killed one with his bare hands last time," Jeshiah said, acting like he wasn't surprised.
"But those guys?" He pointed back the way he'd just come.
"They said only five died yesterday. If they do the same as they did last time, Gideon's squad will hang back, letting us handle the Dragons and wild men, then hold the rally point. "
"You mean they won't fight," I clarified for them.
"No, that's..." But Jeshiah let his words trail off. "Why wouldn't they fight?"
"Because," I said, "fighting Dragons is a good way to die. Fighting wild men is a good way to end up attacked by a dog."
"And dead men don't get promoted to elder," Elijah said just a little too calmly.
"Yeah, and Gideon?" Timon asked. "How did he convince Saunders to pick him?"
"Saunders isn't all there anymore," Uriah said.
"They are still our elders," I reminded these boys.
"God did not ask us to die for lies," Elijah said.
"What lies?" Uriah asked, picking up on that.
But this was my chance to feel these guys out. They were talking, and while Gideon kept hissing and gesturing for people to be quiet, my squad wasn't the only one talking. Everyone was, and Uriah had just given me the opening I needed.
"I'm more worried about the new tasks we're getting," I said.
"Which tasks?" Uriah asked, right on cue.
"The women." And I grunted, twisting my head to show I hadn't decided my opinion yet.
"You mean the ones who are possessed?" Jeshiah asked.
"Are they?" Elijah wanted to know. "I mean, it's clear something happened, but I haven't heard about it."
"With the meat that was left for us, the women have decided they deserve equal portions again.
" And I rocked my head. "Mr. Becker punished a wife or widow for being served the same as a man would be.
She didn't ask for it. She was given it, and he split her chin open. The women around her were upset."
"Women get upset for just about anything," Elijah countered.
"But they refused to back down this time," I explained. "They are starving. Many are pregnant, growing a child without the necessary food, so they demanded to eat the share they've earned."
"Earned?" Uriah scoffed. "What do women do?"
"Grow children," I repeated. "They cook for us. They clean for us. They heal us and care for us. Then, while handling all of that, they also create children, and it is taxing on their bodies. I am not looking forward to the changes my wife will have from it."
"Changes?" Jeshiah asked. "How do they change?"
"They sag," Elijah said. "Their breasts fall down, their bellies grow scars, and they are no longer the beautiful things we were attracted to."
"Which is why," Timon said, "I don't want a wife."
"We all must have a wife," I told them. "The Righteous need their children. Without the next generation, God will lose this war."
"God is already losing the war," Timon shot back.
"No." And I stopped, turning to face him. "That is a line we do not cross. That? That will get you shot so such blasphemy will not spread in the compound."
"I was being trite," Timon tried to explain. "Just making light of things, Tobias."
"Don't," I told him, looking at the rest of my squad. "I can ignore a lot from skilled hunters, but that? I want a promotion, and ignoring the heresy you all throw out?"
Elijah clasped Timon's arm and dragged the young man forward, convincing the rest of us to start walking again.
"Relax, Tobias," he taunted, making it sound light-hearted. "It's not like anyone's watching you or anything."
"We are always being watched," I countered. "We watch each other. We watch the other squads. Gideon watches all of us. Inside, there's even more, but if you think we're not being judged for everything we say, you're fooling yourself."
"But we're allowed to joke," Uriah insisted.
"I'm not."
"Why not?" Jeshiah wanted to know.
But it was Elijah who answered. "Because his wife was in the wrong room as a girl. The elders are probably convinced she's possessed, and waiting to see if that corruption extends to you, huh?"
"Something like that."
"But," Elijah said, "it's entirely possible the corruption that took my sister and Gideon's wife has a name."
"What's that?" I asked, unsure where he was going with this.
"It's called 'not being stupid,'" he said. "And from what I can see, Tobias, you're not a stupid man. Here's the thing. We aren't either."
"And I don't trust anyone," I told him. "I've already seen what betrayal can do. I am here to hunt like I'm told. Nothing more, nothing less."
"One day, you'll have to trust someone," he pointed out.
I scoffed at that. "We'll see. For all you know, I'll die before making it back. That is what happens to hunters who open their mouths. At least in my experience."
"And yet I'm still alive," Elijah reminded me. "Saved by the Wyvern himself, and still very much alive."
"How about we just let Tobias be grumpy on his own," Jeshiah suggested. "He can sulk. We'll be over here when he wants to give us orders."
And yet, when they wandered off, those four men didn't go very far. It was almost like they weren't scared of me. Or maybe they also had nothing else to lose.
Which meant we all might have something to gain.