But I had a better idea. "Holly, find Tobias!"
She looked at me, wagged her tail once, then started sniffing around. Not at the ground, but at the air. She turned one way, then the other, seeking a sign for where she should go. While I watched her, Zasen turned, making sure we weren't being encircled.
Around us, the forest was so loud, but none of it was close. Gunshots were heavier to the south. Dogs could be heard in every direction, and I saw many of them darting through the darkness, but that was when Holly finally found something.
She barked once, then took off. "Show!" I called after her, not wanting her to get out of sight.
She slowed, but not by much. I still had to run to have a chance of keeping up, and Zasen was following me. When I glanced back, I saw he'd shifted to his bow, ready for anything, but the line of battle had moved on. We were now behind them, or beside them - I wasn't sure which.
Then Holly barked, letting me know her goal was close. "Find him!" I told her. "Find Tobias!"
Up ahead, I heard, "You! You killed them!" And the words were in Vestrian, not English.
"Ayla! I know Ayla!" Tobias yelled just as I saw him, but he wasn't yelling that at me.
It was as if he hoped it would work to stop the man before him. Tobias's hands were in the air, but the man rushing him?That was a Reaper, and not one I knew. He'd probably never heard my name before - and looked ready to kill.
"Holly, guard Tobias!" I screamed.
Just as Zasen yelled, "No! Stop!"
But Tobias wasn't trying to defend himself. His gun was resting against his chest, his hands were up, his arms bent at the elbows, and a pair of yellow-fletched arrow ends hung from his belt. Time slowed as I realized the Reaper didn't care ifthisMole was fighting back. He was already committed.
Holly flew across the ground trying to get there fast enough, but she wouldn't make it. I could already see that. Behind me, Zasen was moving, but my feet had stalled, knowing I couldn't stop this. Tobias was already dead. He'd pay for the deaths I hoped he hadn't been a part of. He was a Mole, and here, that meant he was the enemy.
Then, "No!" And this time, the word was in English.
I saw a smaller man lunge to help Tobias, but I couldn't see his face. I did see his arms shove Tobias out of the way, but the Reaper was already stabbing. The blade hit this new man, sinking into his gut just as Holly reached them.
My dog hit the Reaper with her feet, bouncing off him the way she once had with Kanik, then spun to obey her command. Zasen rushed in behind her, and I did my best to catch up.
"Sylis!" Tobias screamed, ignoring the threat to catch his friend, lowering the other Mole to the ground.
"Not these," Zasen was saying. "They're informants!"
"They're fucking Moles!" the Reaper insisted.
That was when I reached Tobias's side. "Let me see?" I begged.
"Ayla, can you save him?" Tobias begged. "Please? He's my friend. He's beenhelping!"
"I know," I assured him even as Zasen shoved the Reaper further back.
On the ground, Sylis was clutching at his belly. I could see blood staining his hands, but the dark clothing he wore hid how much he was bleeding. I couldn't gauge the injury that way, I needed to see it, but that was when the Reaper tried to push around Zasen.
"You took my partner!" he roared, and his eyes were locked on Tobias, looking like he was going to kill the one man I needed to survive this mess.
Thirty-Five
Tobias
The wild man screamed and rushed me. I stood my ground, ready to hold him back, but Ayla moved before I could. Shoving to her feet, she put herself between the man and me. A curved blade appeared in her hand as if by magic - or I simply hadn't noticed it before. That dog of hers shifted to her side, showing all of its very sharp teeth.
And she screamed words I couldn't understand. The man yelled back. The Wyvern shoved the man away from Ayla, so I dropped down to check on Sylis. He was curled around his gut, clutching the wound as if it hurt more than he'd expected.
"Hey," I breathed, making him look at me. "It's going to be okay now."
But he shook his head. "Tobias, it's a gut wound."
