And in Mattox’s book, he’d gladly dole out that justice in the form of a sword across the shoulders, taking the head with it.
28
Proof
Fortune slid out of his saddle, dropping to the ground. With only a couple of hours of rest under his belt, he had to make sure he wasn’t imagining things.
“Fortune? What is it?” Atty called out.
Touching it, he knew he was right. “Blood.”
“Edge’s blood?” Lucien asked.
The Mutah hunter sniffed his fingers. Everything in him screamed one name. It pounded into his brain with every heartbeat. “Atty. Come here.”
The battle lady slid off her horse and walked over to where he squatted. Fortune pointed to the spot of disturbed dirt. “Touch it.”
She placed her palm to the patch. Her eyes flew open, and for the first time since they left Alta Novis, a spark of hope blazed in them.
“No!”
He nodded. “Your reaction is proof.”
“No!” She sat back on her heels. In the pale morning light, he saw the tears glistening on her cheeks. Her face went pale, and he knew she was on the verge of wilting. “H-how, Fortune? How can he… Why can’t I feel him?”
He was aware of Lucien and Mistelle getting off their horses and coming over to join them. Mistelle touched the smear of blood, then jerked her hand back.
“Matt! It’s Matt’s blood!” She turned to her mother. “He’salive!”
Lucien also wiped his fingers across the patch. Lifting them to his nose, he sniffed it, then tentatively tasted it. He blinked and looked over at his mother. “I can tell it’s Matt’s, too. How is that possible? It smells like blood, and tastes like blood, but…how am I able to know it’s Matt’s? Why can’t I feel him?”
Atty hiccupped and smiled through her tears. “I don’t know. Just accept the gift.” Inhaling a shaky breath, she stood. “Now we know he’s alive.”
“Or at least he was when this blood was spilled,” Paxton softly stated.
“And the Edge woman is with him,” Fortune added. He pointed to the smears. “I estimate they’re no more than a few hours ahead of us.”
“Hey! You might want to see this!”
They went over to where Renken was standing behind a row of bushes. On the ground was a portion of a roof. A trail of rectangular impressions lined up in the dirt. Nearby, two sets of tracks were evident. Fortune eyed them disappearing into the distance. Westward.
“They went west.”
“Why?” Mistelle questioned.
“It’s just as good a direction as another, I guess,” Paxton remarked. “Remember, they have no idea where they are, or where the next road or compound lies.”
Atty smiled. “No, but Mattox knows most Mutah compounds lie to the west. He’s probably hoping to come across one if they stick to going in that direction.”
“And when were you going to tell me and Mistelle about that bit of information?” Lucien demanded with a grin.
A similar little smile lifted the corners of her lips. “I just did.”
Fortune waved an arm at them. “Come on. That bear is between us and them. We need to keep moving if we hope to get to it before it reaches them.”
Lucien walked over to where his mother remained standing and looking off into the distance, until Fortune realized she was staring at the spot where they’d found Mattox’s blood. The young man said something to her he wasn’t able to hear, despite his Mutah senses. Atty nodded in reply, then turned and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hard hug which he returned. After another moment or two, she let him go and went to climb back on her horse.
A little over two hours later, they came across a fire pit and a depression dug at the base of a tarvid tree. They all knew before they dismounted who had been there.
