Chapter 81
Eighty-One
Tobias
Our third trip out and my men were still alive.
As we dragged ourselves back to the compound doors, I checked over them again.
Jeshiah was fine. Uriah had a gash across his cheek.
Timon was covered in cold mud from falling in a stream.
Elijah's shirt was ripped, and a dog had bitten his hand.
As for me, I'd been cut on my leg. Bruised too, but my only real wound was a shallow, clean gash.
Every step made it bleed a little more, but that only decreased the chances of infection. Callah had told me that.
This was the third time we'd come against small groups of Dragons and Reapers.
The third time I'd blown that whistle, alternating between two blasts and three, hoping they'd realize what it meant.
For nearly two weeks now, we'd been heading straight into the enemy, scuffling long enough to get some idea of their numbers, then retreating.
If we were whole at the end of it, the man in charge - Gideon or one of the team leaders - would send us to another location. Each time, the destination was picked with one of those round devices. Every time, we lost someone in the firefight that followed. Usually more than one.
I'd lost count of the number of fights we'd had so far.
I only knew we'd gone out three times. The first had been led by Gideon, but these last two?
Damisen had picked the next target. Skirmish after skirmish, fight after fight, we accomplished absolutely nothing but risking our lives.
There was no meat, no progress, just carnage.
And the last fight had been bad. Dogs had been everywhere. Dragons had lashed out with poisonous tails. I'd pulled my men back, trying hard to keep from killing anyone - on either side - but we hunters had our orders. Then the worst had happened.
Damisen had fallen.
With no one in command, the four squads here today had fallen apart. Some had run. Others had rushed in. Men had died, but I'd expected something like this to happen. Hoping that device might hold the information Ayla needed, I'd scooped it up, pocketed it, and called for a full retreat.
Out of twenty-five men, eighteen of us were left. Not bad, all things considered, but still such a waste of life. And worse? That device was little more than half a sphere with a single arm that rotated on the flat face of it. Damisen had bragged that it would show us the way, but it didn't.
The stupid thing always pointed in the same direction, no matter which way I turned - and not to the compound. Still, I'd checked the thing a few times before I'd simply ignored it. And then somehow, I managed to lead the surviving members of this team back to the compound doors.
"Does anyone have the code to get in?" I asked as we paused before the heavy steel doors.
Silence.
These men were exhausted, hungry, and hurting. They were alive, though, and far more of them than I'd expected. So, with no other option, I did exactly what Gideon had told me to do so long ago. I pounded my fist against the steel as hard as I could. Then we waited.
When nothing happened after a few minutes, I banged again, and this time I didn't stop. Repeatedly, I pounded my fist against the cold, rusted steel until something had clanked loudly. With relief, I stepped back, only for six men to rush out with their weapons aimed and ready.
"What the..." someone gasped behind me.
I simply lifted my hands. "Our team lead is dead. We're out of bullets, half these men don't have guns, and wounds need to be treated."
The door cracked a little wider, and Mr. Peterson stepped out. "Tobias Warren?"
"Yes, sir."
"He got us back," Elijah said, moving to my side. "Damisen is dead. As the veteran squad leader, he took command."
"Let them in," Mr. Peterson ordered, gesturing for the door to be opened wider.
"If you're wounded, head to the infirmary," I told the hunters, watching as the weary men shuffled their way into the warmth of the compound. "If not, shower, change, and then head to the hunter's lounge."
Then, when the last man made it through the door, I followed.
The lights here were sparse, proving we'd made it back just after they'd gone out for the compound.
That explained why I was so tired. It was late, almost dawn up there, and we'd been on the move since we'd left before the lights came on.
"Mr. Warren," Mr. Peterson said when I turned to head to the infirmary myself. "I'd like a moment, if you're well enough."
"Hm?" I noticed he was looking at my leg. "Oh. Yeah, I'm better than most of them."
Mr. Peterson nodded like he was pondering that for some reason. "Well, what did your team learn?"
"The enemy is working together. Dragons and wild men have teamed up.
Each cluster of them is a mixed group, which means they have not only the animals, but the poison.
Damisen had us going to the lights, but those appear to be simple campfires.
Some clusters have one, others have a few, but it's always the heart of their defense. "
Mr. Peterson murmured at that. "Can you get between them?"
"No."
He pulled back as if surprised. "No?"
"Sir, the dogs - "
"Dogs?"
I sighed. "The animals. Gideon called them hellhounds. All I know is they are not the beasts with trees on their heads. They are not the ones that fly. There are many beasts out there, and those fit what are called dogs, so we call them dogs."
"Ah, okay. What about them?"
"They know when we're coming."
"That's impossible!" he hissed.
I shrugged. "The Devil has powers we can't begin to understand, Mr. Peterson. Those dogs are faster than any man, they weigh almost as much as I do, and they have teeth that pierce through cloth and padding. They also seem to be controlled by the wild men and women."
"And women?" he asked, catching that part.
I nodded. "Yes, sir. There are women fighting us as well." And I remembered the device. "Oh! I pulled this from Damisen's body. I wasn't sure if it was important, but he said it would show the way."
"The compass?" Mr. Peterson asked, but instead of taking it, he closed my fingers around it.
"Keep it, Tobias. It points north. The red end of that arm shows the magnetic north of the world.
It will keep you from getting turned around out there, and since you manage to keep coming back, I think it'd be good for you to have it. "
"Thank you, sir."
"Now go get your leg attended to. When you're done, meet me in the council room."
"The..." I had to replay that in my head to make sure I hadn't misheard him. "The council room, Mr. Peterson, not the hunter's lounge?"
"Correct." And he gestured for me to carry on.
But there was one problem with finally warming up. It made my leg hurt even more. The injury was starting to throb, and moving that muscle hurt more now than it had before, so I limped my way to the infirmary. When I entered the room, the place was abuzz with activity, and yet one thing stood out.
Pouring ethanol over Elijah's hand was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Callah's pink-gold hair was pulled back into a sensible bun, and there was a smear of blood on her cheek, but the intensity on her face made her even more beautiful than I'd remembered.
"Hunter!" a girl called, gesturing for me.
I just pointed at Callah. "I'll wait until my wife is available. Thank you."
And Callah heard me. Her head snapped up, her eyes met mine, and even across the distance, I could see the relief on her face. Then she smiled.
"Are you wounded, Mr. Warren?" she asked.
"It's minor," I promised. "It's also late, and the girls still need sleep if they are to memorize their sermons. I can wait."
"I'll be done in a moment," Callah said. "Come sit, Tobias."
I made my way over with Elijah grinning at me. "So this is the Mrs. Warren we've heard about, hm?"
"One should not gossip," Callah scolded, giving me a scathing glance.
I couldn't help but smile. "I said I was married. Mr. Ross recognized your name."
"Ayla was your sister?" she asked.
"She is," Elijah agreed, not even trying to pretend she was dead. "You knew her well, I assume?"
"I shared a space with her for ten years," Callah said. "Mr. Ross, your sister was always a brazen and headstrong girl. I can't say I'm surprised by her actions."
"Runs in the family, I think," Elijah said. "Our mother was just as willful. Our sister might be as well, but my little brother seems to be a very obedient boy. Father's side at work, I'm sure."
Callah just murmured, then finished tying off the bandage. "Mr. Ross, you will need to keep that clean. I'd recommend healing before returning to work, but it seems that isn't an option."
"No, it is not, Mrs. Warren. Thank you." And he slid off the bed. "All yours, Tobias. Just make sure you get some sleep too, mm?"
I chuckled once. "I will. Seems Mr. Peterson wants to talk to me after this is sewn."
Callah glanced around, checking the room. That made me turn to find most of the men were already heading out. Then again, many of the wounds had been minor. The serious ones had been killed too fast to save.
"I will need to cut your pants," she warned. "Just an opening, not off."
"And here I thought you were being forward, wife," I teased.
She rolled her eyes. "Tobias!" Then she lowered her voice. "Are you in trouble?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "The team lead died. I got these men back. I'm not sure what else I could've done, or how I could've done it better."
"Was it the Wyvern?"
I shook my head. "No. Wild men, mostly."
She bent and cut my pants in an X so she could reach the gash. "Should I bandage this or sew it? Either will work."
"What do you recommend? Callah, you're the healer."
That made her lift her eyes to mine again. The look in them? It made my heart stop. I didn't know what I'd done, but she was looking at me like I'd just performed some kind of miracle.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," she muttered. "I think we'll leave it open. If you move too much with the stitches, they could tear."
"And I'll likely be using it for a while longer."
"Then hold something, because this is going to hurt." And she reached for the alcohol.
The splash was cold, the pain was hot, but it was only intense for a second.
While the gash was still aching, she scrubbed the surface, removing the blood around it, then worked a bandage around my thigh.
Her hands dove into my pants, around my leg, then repeated the process until she secured the whole thing.
"Will I see you tonight?" she asked.
"I don't know," I admitted, sliding off the bed. "If they let me return to my room, you'll be sleeping."
"Wake me," she said.
I clasped her arm. "Promise. Now get your own rest."
Because I had one more thing to do. Leaving the infirmary, I made the long walk through the dining hall, past the quarters for married couples, and up a long hall. I saw the hunter's lounge, but kept going, surprised to see a bright light shining through an open door at the far end.
And someone was standing in that doorway. When I got closer, I recognized the man. I'd seen him enough to know even his silhouette. That was Gideon, and his presence did not bode well for this meeting.
"Mr. Kobrick," I said when I reached the door.
"Come in, Tobias." He stepped back to reveal Mr. Saunders, Mr. Peterson, and Mr. Morgan. "Took you long enough."
"There were a few injured hunters who needed care more urgently," I explained.
Which made Mr. Peterson thrust a hand at me. "Like I said, gentleman. Mr. Warren not only got most of the team back, but he's also had an excellent record with his own squad."
"I'm fine with this," Mr. Morgan said.
But Mr. Saunders was clearly judging me. His eyes raked across me as if hoping to find something on me to answer an unspoken question. I stood there, as straight as my aching body would allow.
Then, "Mr. Warren, I thought you were a stupid man."
"I'm a large man," I replied. "I'm a strong man. I don't know that many would call me a smart man, but I do well enough."
"And your wife?"
I smiled, unable to stop it, so I just went with it. "She's a very good wife. Doesn't complain."
"But you let her continue to heal?" he asked. "I heard she's been healing the women too."
"Well, that makes sense, doesn't it?" I asked, looking at Gideon, then Mr. Peterson. "If she practices her stitches on the wives, then she'll be more experienced when she uses a needle on me." I looked at Mr. Morgan next, then finally at Mr. Saunders. "Is that a stupid thing?"
"Actually," Mr. Saunders said, "it's rather smart."
"Oh." I hummed as if pleased. "Good."
"And because you have been so intelligent lately, Mr. Warren," Mr. Saunders told me, "I'm promoting you to team lead.
It seems we're in need of one. I'll have Mr. Kobrick assign your squads, and you can have the night to celebrate.
Hopefully, we can get a son from your wife. Ideally, one as large as you."
I didn't know why he was talking about my future children, and I wasn't dumb enough to ask so simply said, "That's the hope, sir."
Then Gideon held his hand out toward the door, making it clear it was time for me to leave. I nodded at the men before me and turned, but when I left the room, Gideon came with me. For the first few steps, he said nothing. Not until we were far enough from that still-open door.
Then, "You'll be heading back out tomorrow."
"In mere hours?"
"Not today," he clarified. "Tomorrow. You get a whole day with your wife, so make the most of it.
" And then he chuckled. "Seems you got your wish, Tobias.
The code for the door is 2-0-6-3. Do not share that with anyone.
Mr. Peterson will brief you on your mission when your team leaves.
And congratulations on your promotion. Enjoy it while it lasts.
" Then he spun, marching right back the way we'd just come.
But that, even more than what he'd said, made me feel like this promotion was some kind of threat.