“I don’t understand,” Lucien whispered.
“All living beings, people and creatures, put out some kind of body heat. Even reptiles, although theirs are much less evident. But it’s there. When something dies, it grows cold. After a while, it takes on the same temperature as the air around it.”
“How can they be doing guard duty when they’re dead?”
“They’re not,” Atty remarked.
“Not what?”
“Let me clarify that,” his mother went on to say. “If they’re dead, they’re not doing guard duty. At least, not in the way we would expect them to.”
“Their bodies are being used to make it appear as if the compound is fortified,” Yulen finished for her.
Lucien put a hand on her back and tried to see what she was viewing, but the compound appeared to be totally dark and silent. “They must be propped up some way.”
Atty turned to her husband. “Do we take the chance that the compound is empty?”
“Empty, or filled with bodies. Can you smell any decomposition?”
“No, but we’re upwind from it.”
“Johna, is there anything you can see that’s living? Anything at all?”
She took a few seconds to do some more observation, finally giving a shake of her head. “No. Nothing.”
“What if we got closer? Could you detect if there are any warm bodies behind the wall?”
“Yes.”
“How?” Lucien challenged. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe her. He was curious as to whether or not she could see through solid matter.
Johna gave him a crooked grin. “The same way you can see glints of lights from lanterns through the cracks in the wall and doors.”
“We’re going around,” the battle lord suddenly announced. “We’ve spent too much time here. I think this place is abandoned, or a trap. Either way, it’s preventing us from getting to Green River.” He gave the signal for them to retreat and mount up.
Slowly, they returned to the forest to retrieve their horses. Once they reassembled, Yulen explained. “Rather than risk crossing the road again and possibly be spotted, in the event there are people still there, we’ll keep to the trees and go around the compound’s southern side.”
Renken spoke up. “To be honest, I was going to suggest we do that. Anyone familiar with this area would probably try to circumvent the barrier on the north end, since that’s the side where the road cuts through.”
“That, and the forest is not as dense on that side, from the looks of it,” Echo contributed.
“Is it wise for us to disregard checking out this compound, in case there are people here who might need our help?” Paxton queried. “What if a small contingency of us went in?”
Atty addressed her second. “And if something should happen to you, what then? Do we turn around and come back to find out why you didn’t rejoin us?”
“We’ll do a more thorough investigation on our way back,” Yulen informed them. “We’ll also approach during the daylight hours. Make our presence known long before we reach their walls.”
Lucien mulled over the idea. By showing themselves in broad daylight, their army would seem less of a threat than if they’d shown up after dark.
“Johna.” Atty turned to her as they prepared to get on their horses. “Keep an eye on the compound as we go around it. The moment you notice anything strange or unusual, any kind of movement, anything at all, let us know.” Lucien noticed how his mother made it sound more like a request than an order.
“I will,” the woman promised.
Atty gave her a satisfied smile and left. Lucien hoisted himself into his saddle, then reached down to grab her hand to help hoist her up behind him. He noticed how she wrapped her arms around his waist, burrowing her hands underneath his armor for both warmth and a better grip, since the rope was no longer needed.
They remained just beyond the tree line, close enough to where they could still view the barricade and compound beyond it. While, at the same time, the woods provided enough cover for them to more or less pass without detection. Whiterock was a Normal compound, but that didn’t mean there couldn’t be any Mutah inside who might be able to hear their passing. The horses had been trained to move silently when instructed, but there were a multitude of other sounds which could give the soldiers away—the creak of heavily-laden wagons, metal armor rubbing against metal, and the snap of twigs and branches as they trod past and over them being a few. However, unless the barricade was manned, it would also help mask their passing.
They took their time, even though they could see a definite lightening in the sky. The false dawn gave them perhaps another hour before sunrise. Every so often there was gentle pressure as she leaned against his back. At those times he could feel her hair tickling his neck, and he smiled. It was during one of those times when he caught his mother giving him a curious look, and also smiling. That’s when he knew, and realized she knew, too. There was something happening between him and the huntress. Something that promised more to come. Something that was edged with a gilded light.
Judging by the compound, Lucien guessed they were nearly halfway around it when Yulen threw up his arm, this time with his hand open. The signal for absolute silence. Behind him, he heard Johna gasp. Or maybe it was his own intake of breath at the incredulous sight.
Seeing his parents dismount, he slid out of his saddle but patted Johna’s knee when she started to follow him. Giving her a direct shake of his head, he motioned for her to remain where she was, and went to join them.
For several long seconds, they stood there and stared in mute shock at the bodies piled perpendicular to the breach in the barrier. At first guess, he figured there had to be at least ten or fifteen cadavers stacked up to where they were nearly even with the top of the barricade, and twenty to thirty bodies running horizontally. All in all, a minimum of two hundred dead filled the opening that would normally accommodate a wagon or caravan.
Several others joined them at the horrific scene, including Johna, who stopped by his side. He wasn’t surprised by her disobedience. In a way, he’d half-expected her to.
Atty sniffed and glanced around. “They haven’t been here long. A few days at the most.”
“What killed them?” Mastin whispered. He bent to examine the wall of human debris more closely. “Dear God, there’s women and children here.”
“It looks like sword wounds,” Paas mentioned, lifting a head. “Sword or knife, or both. Something that could slit a throat.”
“I don’t see a single beheaded corpse,” Renken noted. “They look like they were marched out and executed, then piled here.”
“Why?” Lucien asked. “Why pile them up? Why not burn them or bury them?”