Page 83 of Lucie
Chapter Forty
Weller
There was nothing worth recovering when they arrived back at their campground the next morning. The tents had been shredded and pulverized. All their extra weapons were missing. And what supplies had been on one of the wagons had either been opened and eaten, or left in such a condition that no one dared to touch them, much less gather them up totake with them.
Neither did they do anything about the blood and odd body parts that were scattered across the roadway and into the forest. They left that for the animals to feast upon.
“Do we continue on toWhiterock?”Mastinquestioned as they surveyed the damage.
Yulenglanced behind and to the north of them, and Lucien knew what he was thinking. “Isn’tthere supposed to be aMutahcompound not too far from here?” he asked his father. He scoured his brain to remember the name of it. “Los Traces, wasn’t it?”
“Lost Traces, but Weller is closer, if I remember correctly. Plus it should be a straight shot and maybe a day and a half’s ride to NewBearinger.”
“Those compounds are not under your banner,” Paxton remarked. “Wouldthey even take us in?”
“If they don’t, we can still camp outside their walls. It would give us some protection.” He pointed east. “I’d rather do that than risk trying to bypassWhiterockagain.”
“You don’t think the Bloods that were at that compound have moved on?”Renkenqueried.
“I thought the group that attacked us at Schutz Ridge came from there,”Lucien added.
Yulenglanced behind them. “We can’t be certain all the Bloods have leftWhiterock. More could have replaced them. Either way, I won’t take the chance. We’re going to cut through.” Without waiting for them to respond, he raised his arm to signal for them to follow, and urged his horse into the trees.
Going was tough through the thick foliage. They wereconfined to traveling in single file, and even then the brush scraped across their legs and horses’ sides. Lucien constantly checked their surroundings, including the overhead branches. There was something nearby that made the hairs rise up on his head, but he couldn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary. He had no idea how far away or how long it would take them to reach theMutahhub. Hedoubted his father knew. If anyone could make an educated guess, it would beAtty, and neither she norJohnahad regained consciousness since that one brief moment yesterday.
AtYulen’srequest, the archers were able to bring down several birds, small animals, and lizards. Their kill was cooked in a small clearing, where the battle lord allowed them an hour’s rest.
As their meal was searing over the fire, Lucien went to check onJohnaand his mother.Yulenwas also there, kneeling beside Atty. Iain was absent, using the opportunity to check on the other wounded soldiers.
“Any news?”
“They haven’t awakened again, but Iain says they’re doing better.”
“Has he said anything about me giving them another transfusion?”
“I asked him about that before the Bloods tried to swarm us at Schutz Ridge. He said it would depend on how they reacted to the first one. That if there was no change, or if it appeared they were getting worse, he would strongly consider it. But he hoped it wouldn’t be necessary. He feared taking more blood from you could seriously harm you.” He peered closely at his youngest son. “Youseem to be on edge. Are you sensing danger?”
“I don’t know what I sense, but, yeah, it’s starting to scare the crap out of me. Maybe I’m just spooked after what’s happened these past few days.”
“Perhaps.butit wouldn’t hurt to keep your eyes and ears peeled.”
The battle lord got to his feet and turned as if to leave, when Lucien stopped him. “How long do you planto keep them tied up? Until we can determine their mental status?”
“You already know the answer to that. Were you hoping for a different one?”
“Are you going to be open and let theMutahcompound know they were sick, but they’re recovering?”
“I must. I can’t keep something as serious as this hidden.”
“But they’re getting better. Do you thinkthey’re carriers?”
“I don’t know. But I can’t blame the compound if they don’t want to allow us entry.” He came around and dropped an arm around his son’s shoulders. “Let’s go eat before we both collapse from hunger.”
His father was right. Between the stress and worry aboutAttyandJohna, the Blood army, and the plot designed by the fake battle lord, they were nearingthe end of their rope physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Lucien sighed. “Well, at least no one can complain you don’t earn your paycheck.”
Yulencut him a side-eye, then chuckled.
