Page 267 of Phoenix's Fire

"To get the women out," Tobias explained. "Not just Callah. She says there are more. Widows who are terrified to be married. Girls who know they will be abused by old men and likely die in childbirth. That's why Meri was cast out. She lied to be banished, and now she's with Ayla."

"Why?" Sylis asked.

Which made me smile. "Because we have medicine up here. Ways to make it stop hurting when an arrow is removed. Things that are a lot more effective than having Tobias hold you down and rinsing your wounds with alcohol that burns like the fires of Hell."

"It really did," he agreed, "but my arm healed the way you said it would. But they won't give me the door code. Ayla, I know it's four digits, but Gideon blocked it."

"Um...." Sylis looked between us. "I have a feeling I'm about to be moved up from squad lead to team lead."

"And?" I pressed.

"Team leaders get the code," Tobias explained.

"And you'll be a squad lead," Sylis said.

"No!" Tobias snapped. "I can’t sneak off if I'm leading asquad!"

Sylis furrowed his brow and glanced down at the leaves he was sitting on. "I can complain that you're too stupid."

"Do it," Tobias said. "I need to be able to get that code to Ayla."

So I reached into my pocket and pulled out a handful of my dog's treats. They'd been broken and crumbled, but I passed them over to Tobias.

"I need to teach her your name and scent," I said. "If she knows that, she'll be able to find you without hitting you or biting you."

"And I follow the beast," he said. "Got it."

"What about me?" Sylis asked. "How do I help?"

"You make sure no one suspects Tobias," I said. "And if this man..." I pointed at Tobias. "...ever hits his wife or makes her cry? You tell me, because I will kill him." I looked at Tobias. "Is that clear enough for you? I might not be able to make Callah leave, but I will protect her. And if I have any reason to think you're part of the problem, I willfinda way in there. I will burn the entire place down to take care of her, do you both understand?"

"Friendship," Tobias said. "I understand that very well. It's nice not to be alone, and better not to leave your friends behind."

Sylis looked over at Tobias and nodded, but I finally saw what Zasen was talking about. That was the way Irrik looked at Brielle and Jeera. It was how Rymar sometimes smiled at Kanik. It was the gentleness that made me feel safe around the men I lived with, because that look was filled with more than just concern. More than friendship.

Which meant women weren't the only ones who suffered in marriage. Down there in the compound, everyone was being punished. Many had embraced it, but the lines weren't the ones I'd expected. It wasn't men against women. It was the powerful against the weak. It was privilege against servitude. It was a system meant to make sure the ones at the top never, ever slipped down to the ranks of the common people who had lifted them up.

And somehow, I needed to destroy it.

"Now tell me what I need to know, Tobias," I said. "Tell me everything, because when you stop?" I pointed at the forest where things were still booming, but further away now. "We go out there."

"Soon, the vegetables won't be available," Tobias said. "We never have anything to pick up in December. The farm is empty then. That means we need food, and I have a feeling we won't be bringing any back today. We need to get out before we all starve."

But my lips were curling into a smile at the thought of Reynold Saunders feeling the pangs of hunger. "Good. What else?"

And the men started talking, needing no more encouragement.

Eighty-Four

Zasen

Ileft Ayla with the Mole men. She had that under control, and with her dog beside her, I wasn't worried. In truth, I felt better knowing she wouldn't be in this mess, because Ayla had run the moment everything had started exploding. That meant she hadn't seen what the Moles were doing to us.

At first, I'd thought she'd been afraid, but when I'd gone to catch her, I saw Tobias - and another man trying to slip around them. Well, they hadn't seen me. I'd gotten there just in time to get a very nice view of how capable my little Phoenix had become.

But while she was talking to them, sorting out everything underground, I made my way back towards the explosions. Grenades! I'd heard about them, but only in history books. The fact that the Moles had such things chilled me more than I wanted to admit. Weapons of war! Most of them had been banned long before technology was lost. To know they'd survived down there in the compound?

As I retraced my steps, I found carnage. Over there was an arm in black cloth. Mole, I hoped. Up ahead, a tree had fallen. There were holes in the ground from the explosions, but the battle had moved on, so I hurried to catch up. Nocking an arrow to my compound bow, I kept my ears open and listened for anything that could cause me a problem.

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