He nodded.I ran to fetch my pack and my skullcrusher, but when I turned back to him, he hadn’t moved from the window.“What is it?”I asked.
“I have a bad feeling.”
“So do I.Someone is in trouble.I’m sorry for them, but if we don’t go now, we might never get another chance.”
He lowered the curtain slowly, though the Hollows had vacated the clearing and would not see.Then he swept up his pack and hoisted it onto his shoulders.He slid the table away from the door, and I strode forward, cracking the door open to check for danger.
Silence and an empty clearing greeted me.I gestured to Taio to follow me as I opened the door and stepped into the clearing.
Chapter Seventeen
Taio followed behindme, keeping his back against the wall of the cabin.We scanned the clearing.He gestured silently that he would take the right and I should take the left.We separated and I darted around the edge of the cabin, checking for any stragglers.All that remained was the stench of the Hollows, that rotten scent of decay that made the bile burn the back of my throat.We met at the other side of the cabin, and Taio motioned that all was clear.I gave him the same signal, and he pointed toward the forest, toward the way we’d run when we’d been escaping the pack.I nodded, and he started out, crossing the clearing with me right behind him, looking over my shoulder frequently.
I breathed a sigh of relief as we stepped into the cover of the trees.The rank odor of death wasn’t as strong here, and we were no longer in the open.Taio crept quickly and quietly through the trampled undergrowth, and I tried to step where he did.The further the distance from the refuge of the cabin, the faster my heart beat.My eyes darted from side to side, half afraid I would see a Hollow and half afraid I would see the mangled remains of Yung or Kintle or—gods, no—Omira.
Even though I knew the cabin gave us only the illusion of safety, the shadows and darkness of the forest made me feel so vulnerable.I had to clench my hands to keep my feet stepping forward and resist the urge to turn and run back to the shelter.What was the matter with me?How many times had I been on patrol?How many times had I faced danger?I heard no Hollows, smelled no Hollows.Why was I so on edge?
Because we weren’t out of danger.We were heading right into it.
I reached for Taio’s shoulder, thinking to pull him back and tell him I feared...I didn’t know what I feared...when pine needles drifted down from above and then a shape crashed onto Taio, sending him to the ground, even as his weapon was knocked from his hand.
Ambush!That was what I’d feared.And now here it was.I choked off my scream and raised my skullcrusher, but as I lowered it over Taio’s attacker, he turned to look at me with pure mahogany eyes.My hand stilled, the skullcrusher held aloft.
Gaz.
Not a Hollow, not a stranger.It was Gaz!
He took advantage of my surprise and jumped up then kicked out, landing a blow in my belly.I doubled over, and he wrenched the skullcrusher from my hand.A hard blow landed on the back of my head, and my vision dimmed, blackness threatening me as I went to my knees and then over onto my side.
I heard sounds of a scuffle, quiet grunts and thuds.At one point, I forced my eyes open and spotted Gaz and Taio standing, arms gripped together, wrestling for control.The scent of damp leaves and pine rose to meet me as I rolled to my knees, my head scraping against the floor of the forest.Nausea threatened to overtake me, but I forced it down and grabbed hold of a tree trunk, clawing my way up.The world seemed to lurch, and the forms of Taio and Gaz went in and out of focus.I clung to the tree and shook my head, trying to clear it.When I next lifted my eyes, Gaz had Taio pinned to a tree.His hand fisted in Taio’s hair, and he drove Taio’s head against the bark.I stumbled forward, the thud of Taio’s head meeting the tree trunk vibrating inside me.I crashed into Gaz and pulled at his shoulder.
He cursed and turned to shove me away.But my interference had given Taio the opportunity he needed.He jerked forward, slamming Gaz to the ground.I stumbled out of the way as the two men wrestled, Taio on top then Gaz then Taio again.
Taio pinned Gaz to the ground and looked up at me.“Mara, are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”At least that was what I tried to say.I don’t know if I managed to say anything.I was too intent on Gaz because I knew exactly what he was about to do.I’d seen him do it dozens of times in training.I tried to warn Taio, but my mouth wouldn’t work and then Gaz was pulling Taio down and slamming his head into Taio’s forehead.Taio reared back, and Gaz, now bleeding from the gash in his own forehead, punched Taio and jumped on top.He punched again, and I saw blood on his fist.Taio’s blood.
