“I know for certain Pechard and his two men came in. I had them placed back into custody. To be honest, I think they’re happier to be in our company than risk being taken by the Bloods.”
It was evident the moment they entered the main meeting room that the place had been abandoned for quite some time. The wood floors were covered with so much dirt and debris that their footsteps left deep prints. Every table and chair worth salvaging had been carried out into the main yard to be used to help fill the holes in the walls.
A movement to his left caught his attention. Lucien glanced at where the upstairs bedrooms were located over the lower kitchen area. Soldiers were removing what they could from those rooms and taking it outside to be used for barricading material. Thankfully the stairs leading up there were made of stone and not wood. Scorch marks evidenced where there had been doors, and the rooms appeared empty.
A blanket of dread wrapped around him, filling him with apprehension. This was new to him, this uncomfortable sense that set his teeth on edge. He briefly wondered where his mother and Johna had been taken. But if the clinic was situated in the same place as it was in Alta Novis and New Bearinger, he knew where they were isolated.
Yulen took in the dilapidated building. “I need to see what’s behind us.” Without explaining further, he exited out the side entrance. Everyone went outside to examine the rear of the dining hall, where the market places and homes should be located. The battle lord pointed to the wall. “We can’t defend this whole compound. The walls aren’t supportive. We need to set up a new defense perimeter. Bring the troops in to circle the main hall. We need to keep it tight. Let’s get this done ASAP, before the Bloods get here.”
“I’ll notify Cole,” Paxton informed him, and left. The two captains ran off to reassemble their men, leaving Yulen and Lucien alone.
The battle lord narrowed his eyes at his son. “I noticed earlier you were starting to twitch. Why?”
“This place gives me the creeps.”
“Most abandoned places will do that to you.”
“No. I mean, I get this feeling…”
“Something dangerous is about to happen?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe it’s the Bloods. Maybe you’re reacting to them.”
“No,” Lucien firmly denied. “It’s not the Bloods. It’s this compound. There’s something here that isn’t right. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific.”
Yulen stared at him for a long moment. “You don’t have to be specific, son. Your mother got those kinds of reactions, too. When she did, she told me about them. The majority of the time her warnings saved our lives. Let me know if it gets any stronger. Listen, it’s going to be a long night. Let’s check on the women before all hell breaks loose. How are you feeling?”
Lucien knew what he was asking about. The sun was starting to set. More than enough time had passed for the virus to take effect if he’d been contaminated. “I’m not sick.”
“That’s what I figured, but how could that be, when you’d been exposed to your mother’s germs the same as Johna?” Sighing loudly, Yulen looked around again at the tumbled ruins that once had been a working compound. “Come on. We’ll discuss it later with Iain. Right now I need to see how your mother’s—”
Shouts of alarm erupted from the direction of the front gate. Lucien and his father raced toward the entrance, both of them fearful of what they’d discover.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Reminisce
Lucien stood on the parapet and stared out across the vast, empty landscape in front of the compound. Except it wasn’t empty of life. Around sundown there had been maybe two dozen or so Bloods standing out there, perfectly still like statues. Watching the soldiers who stared back. Not making any sort of threatening move or even advancing toward the compound.
As darkness enveloped them, the numbers increased. And when the broken moon finally managed to shine its partial light across the barren scenery, there was no way to count how many figures were out there.
Eerily silent, as if patiently waiting for a sign or signal.
“What are they doing?”
Renken moved up next to him. The ex-mercenary grunted. “Hell if anyone knows.” He held out a piece of jerky to him. “Want some?”
Lucien sensed the man was checking him out, and knew why. “No, thanks. And I’m not sick,” he told the man. “And, no, I don’t know why I haven’t come down with the virus. I thought at first that maybe being a half-breed might have something to do with maybe me having a slight edge against contracting it. But when Johna got sick…”
“How’s she doing?”
“They tell me she’s getting worse. That she’s exhibiting more Mutah symptoms than Normal symptoms. Mom’s full-on ill. Iain’s doing all he can to keep their lungs emptied out, but he says it’s an uphill battle.”
Renken leaned over to gaze down at the ground more than a dozen yards below. It was difficult to pierce the shadows down there. They had no fires or lit torches to see by, as everything made of wood had been burned months before. What tumbleweeds and other combustible stuff that had been blown into the compound over the years had been scavenged and taken to the main dining hall to use as tinder.
“You and Johna, it’s gotten serious between you two.”
“Yeah.” It was all he would admit. He couldn’t tell the man how terrified he was of possibly losing her, either from the virus or the maddening if she managed to survive.
Straightening, the warrior crossed his arms over his chest. “You know, thirty years ago I wandered from compound to compound. I used to hire out my sword to any battle lord who’d pay me. Made a decent wage out of it. Saw a lot of strange and scary shit. But I wasn’t happy. Oh, I thought I was, but a little voice inside me kept insisting there was something else out there, someplace else I needed to be. A place I could finally call home.
“Then I got wind of this battle lord who’d had the audacity to take a Mutah to wife. But she wasn’t just any so-called filthy Mutah. She was a huntress with this incredible ability with a bow and arrow. Some of the stories I heard about what she could do, and what she’d done—I started to wonder how much of it was true, if any of it was true. That’s when I decided I needed to go to this compound and see for myself.”
“You were a doubter.”
“Damn right, I was.”
“Is that when Mom shot an arrow through the handle of your mug as you were drinking from it?”
Renken chuckled. “Yeah. And no one batted an eye when she did it. Right then and there I knew I belonged at Alta Novis. Of course, it took some time before your dad and his men learned to trust me.”
“They thought you were there on a temporary basis?”
“At first, they did. Even though I never asked for any kind of pay, other than room and board, they suspected I’d eventually leave.”