Chapter 87
Eighty-Seven
Meri
The gunshots got closer, and quickly. We couldn't leave, but staying here felt like the worst idea ever. Lessa had the idea to arm ourselves with knives from the kitchen, but they were nothing compared to the gun Sylis held much too easily.
I had a feeling that didn't help Lessa at all.
The knife probably did. I knew it did for me, at least. If nothing else, I wasn't completely helpless now.
Then, once we had the best protection we could find in the house, Sylis herded us into the hall, away from the exterior rooms. Lessa didn't try to resist.
When the hunters had come before, back when I'd been new to Lorsa, she hadn't acted like this. We'd stayed in her house, focused on clothing, and she'd been fine. This? This was different. Then, we hadn't heard the guns. Now they were much too close.
I could feel her hand trembling in mine. She wasn't cracking jokes or acting like she had complete control. She also wasn't cowering. Instead, she was simply quiet. Too quiet.
"It's going to be okay," I whispered.
"Meri..." She pulled me around to face her. "I'm not supposed to care about people. When I do, they die. They always die - and Drozel's out there. You're in here with me."
"We have Sylis," I reminded her.
"And if I let either one of you die, that man won't kiss me again," he said, refusing to take his eyes off the windows he could see from the edge of the hall. "We're fine, Lessa. And trust me, those two? They're terrifying to the enemy. I know. I've run from them before."
That made her laugh weakly. It wasn't true amusement, but more like she could finally let go of a little fear.
"Okay," she mumbled, sounding like she was talking to herself. "We've got this. I'm a real bitch, he's a Mole with a gun, and she's the bravest woman I know. We've got this. We're going to be - "
A thumping sounded at the door. "Drozel!" The voice was a woman's.
"That's not a Mole," I realized, pushing past Sylis.
Whoever she was, she had to be desperate to come here now. To even be outside right now was crazy, and here she was banging on the door and yelling? I had to let her in. She could hide with us.
"No!" Sylis snapped, trying to grab my arm and stop me, but I pulled away.
And when I reached the door, I was smart enough to look out before opening it. There, a woman was looking back as if terrified, but she was the only one I could see, so I yanked the door open.
"Where's Drozel?" she demanded.
"Out there!"
The woman reached beside the door and pushed a child toward me. "He's looking for Lessa."
"Meri!" the child whimpered, pushing his shoulder into me like he wanted a hug, but he was holding a blanket so his arms couldn't grab me.
"Tamin?" I asked, recognizing Ayla's sister's child. Ayla's nephew? Whatever he was called.
The boy was young, like six years old, and his teal skin was a color I'd had to learn the name of. It also wasn't common, so I was pretty sure this was him.
"Tamin?" Lessa gasped, rushing into the living room.
But Tamin saw Sylis. "Mole!" the boy screamed, spinning on his heels and rushing back outside, clutching that blanket like it meant the world to him.
"Tamin, wait!" I begged, chasing after him.
There was a loud pop. I flinched, feeling my ears ring at the volume - which meant it was close! Tamin darted between Drozel's house and Lessa's. Behind me, that woman screamed. I heard someone moving, but I didn't care. There was a scared child, and he was Ayla's family!
"No, Meri, wait!" Lessa begged, sounding like she was right behind me.
More pops came. Something slammed into the wood in front of me, so I ducked, but I didn't slow. I couldn't. Standing still was the best way to get shot. Hitting moving targets was hard, or so Gideon had always said.
Then I heard something else. It wasn't a pop. It was a dozen of them, one right after the other. A man screamed, but I made it around the house and froze with my back against the wall. Lessa rounded the corner a second later, so I pulled her up next to me.
"Tamin's out here," I hissed, struggling to keep my voice down when I wanted to yell.
"He probably went to my sewing room," she said. "He knows it. I used to babysit him there."
"Okay," I breathed, leaning forward, ready to run.
A dark shape came around the same corner we had, right at us.
A yelp slipped out - a loud one - and I jumped back, but Lessa rushed forward with her knife out like a shield.
Catching the man, she slung him against the house, and her tail was already stabbing.
I couldn't even count the number of times she hit him, and I wasn't sure she was going to stop.
"Lessa!" I snapped.
"Get Tamin," she said. "We're not letting anyone die, Meri."
"I'm not a fighter!"
She let go of the hunter. I stared as he slid down the side of Drozel's house, but Lessa no longer looked like she was afraid. "I'm a Dragon. Go find that boy. I need to get Sylis."
"Okay," I breathed - and then ran.
The gap between the houses was sheltered. It felt safe. I knew there was a gap and then the sewing room. I just had to make it there and I'd be safe. If Tamin was there, I could hide him in a pile of fabric. I could -
Something caught my hair, pulling me back so hard my feet went out from under me. Crashing down on my back, I grunted as the air was forced from my lungs. The knife flew from my hand, and over me, I saw my greatest nightmare.
He wore black. His jaw was no longer clean-shaven, but it was still much too familiar. Those blue eyes haunted my nightmares, but I couldn't catch my breath. Couldn't scream. I couldn't even get up to run away as Gideon glared down at me.
"Merienne?" he asked.
Finally, I could suck in a breath. Twisting as I did so, I hoped I'd be able to get my feet under me and run before he realized what I was doing. Or at least reach that knife! Sadly, Gideon was no fool.
"You're supposed to be dead, wife," he snarled, grabbing my hair again so he could pull me to my feet. Then he turned me to face him, still holding my hair, forcing my face within inches of his.
"Where is my child?"
I lifted my chin, sucked at my mouth, and then spit all the fluid I could collect right into his face. "Not your child," I told him.
"I talked to your brother. I believe him."
"Men lie," I pointed out. "You should know that. You're good at it, Gideon."
He pulled his arm back and swung, cracking me across the mouth with his knuckles. "I do not lie!"
I tilted with the blow. The pain was white hot, but that cut through the fear. As a moment of calm washed over me, I pulled myself straight and faced him down again.
"The Dragons attack when you least expect it," I said, reminding him of his lies. "They want the meat you hunt." And I scoffed. "Then there's the big one. You swore to protect me, Gideon. Instead, you became the thing I feared the most. Even Hell sounded better than you."
"And now you can go there," he said, grabbing my throat.
His grip was tight. I couldn't breathe around it, so I pushed. When that didn't work, I kicked, hit, and did anything I could to get him to let go of me. That knife was right there. It was mere feet away. If I could just reach it...
Then Gideon was yanked back. I staggered to my knees, sucking at the air I needed badly as another pair of shots rang out. Sadly, Gideon didn't fall silent. Instead, he grunted, huffed, and struggled, forcing me to scramble for the blade before he came back for me.
Once it was in my hand I turned just as Lessa wrapped her hand in his hair, yanked his head back, and pressed her own knife to his neck. Her stinger was aimed at his chest, right where he could see it, and there was no question he was subdued.
"Meri?!" she begged.
I pushed myself to my feet. "That," I said in English as I forced myself toward them. "Is Gideon."
Her stinger pressed hard, denting his shirt. "What do you want me to do, Meri?" She used the same language.
She had him mostly on his knees. His eyes were wide, watching me. Finally, this man was scared. Clearly, he didn't like being on the losing side. He wasn't enjoying this since he wasn't the one hurting someone else.
So I leaned down into his face. "The woman holding you? Her name is Lessa, and she's my lover. But don't worry, she's not going to kill you." Then I looked up at her. "Can you move your tail?"
Slowly, she lifted it away, but kept it close enough to sting him if she had to. "Meri?"
I clenched my fingers around the knife and shoved just as hard as I could. His chest, his belly, and everywhere in between. The first time the blade didn't go deep enough. The next time, I thrust harder. The third time I buried the blade to the handle, and I didn't stop until my arm was burning.
Gideon screamed. He thrashed. He tried to break free, but a Mole man was not stronger than a Dragon woman, and I was a Dragon now. I was not his. I'd never been his, and I never would be again.
When I couldn't manage to stab anymore, I let the blade fall from my fingers. Somehow, Gideon was still alive. Gasping, and clearly dying, but definitely alive.
"I will make sure they know a woman killed you," I told him. "And I hope God makes you pay for all eternity for what you've done. You are not Righteous. You're the demon, you fool."
And Lessa let go. He flopped over, too weak to even catch himself, but I knew he was far past saving. I also didn't want to give him the satisfaction of dying in my company.
"We need to find Tamin, Less."
She grabbed my bloody hand in hers and towed me toward the sewing room. "Tamin!"
"Lessa?" The reply was a squeak. "Lessa, the Moles took mama. Ayla's not here."
And when we came around the corner, the boy rushed out of a plant, all but throwing himself at Lessa without letting go of the blanket.
"Is that Taris?" Lessa asked, crouching down to cradle the bundle.
"Mama told me to take her and hide," he said. "Then they grabbed her. We were almost there. She said to find you, and that one lady tried to help..." The little boy's lip quivered when he paused. "I want my mama!"
"Oh, baby," I breathed, opening my arms.
The boy left Lessa holding the blanket and threw himself at me, clutching me so hard. The moment his face pressed against my shoulder, the sobs started, and they sounded like the kind that wouldn't be easy to stop.
"We need to get inside," Lessa said. "But Meri... Sylis went to help that woman. A Mole grabbed her too."
"We have to..." I looked between the shelter of the sewing room and back to where I'd last seen Sylis. "They'll kill him."
So she passed the blanket-covered infant to me and jerked her head at the door. "Take the kids in there and hide, Meri. Go back into the cloth. I'll find Sylis."
"Be careful?" I begged.
She palmed the side of my face and leaned in for a quick kiss. "I am not going to lose anyone else. Never again." Then she laughed once. "And I just realized why Ayla fights. It's easier than waiting." And she pressed her knife into my blood-covered hand. "Protect the kids."
"Save Sylis."
"I have to," she said, taking a step back. "He's family now. We're a family now, and one I'm willing to fight for."