Page 52 of Mattox
“But I thought Bloods used primitive weapons, like sticks and rocks and such.”
“Most still do,” he confirmed. “But, like I said, we’ve noticed a shifting. Some Bloods are now using swords, and bows and arrows, and lances. If a Mutah hunter can outmatch a Normal with a bow and arrow, then it’s very possible a Blood has the same ability.”
“What makes you believe a Blood is the archer?”
He felt her lift the remainder of the dressing away. “How’s it look?” Getting up on one elbow, he glanced back to watch her dunk the tunic she’d used as a bandage into the water and try to scrub away the blood. The air became permeated in the scent.
“Hard to tell. Gimme a sec.”
She washed as much away as possible, then wrung out the tunic and came back to clean around the wound. “Hmm. It looks like the edges of your skin are already coming together.” She looked at him. “Does it still hurt to walk?”
“Yeah, but not as much. If there’s any nerve damage, that’ll take a bit longer to heal than a regular puncture or cut.”
“Here. Let me check your head.”
He laid his cheek back on his arms as she wiped away the grit and dried blood there.
“Same thing. It looks good. No sign of infection, as far as I can tell.” She leaned forward and sniffed, then did the same at the back of his thigh. “I don’t smell any infection, either.”
“That’s good.”
She finished rinsing out the tunic. “Want me to rewrap it, even though it’s damp?”
“Yeah. Give it another day, then I’ll remove it for good and let it breathe.”
He caught her looking around them, as if she’d detected something in the distance. “What’s wrong? Did you hear something?”
“No. I was wondering. Why don’t we do our walking at night, and find a place to shelter during the day to sleep? That way we’d avoid the most of the heat.”
“It sounds like a valid idea, but in practicality, it’s not.”
Caralas frowned. “Why not?”
“Because the animals are already doing that. They’re finding shelter out of the sun during the daylight hours, when it’s the hottest, and doing their hunting and scavenging at night when it’s cooler. At least during the daytime we can see ‘em coming, if they choose to attack. But we might want to think about starting out right before dawn, find shelter in the middle of the day, when the animals are retreating to their dens, and then continuing on in the late afternoon, and not stopping until the sun’s gone down.”
This time, something snapped a few yards away. Startled, Caralas flinched.
“Don’t worry,” Mattox quickly assured her. “It’s just a lone badger.”
“A badger?”
“A young one. Not very big.” He pointed at the location where it was hurrying away. “They usually leave people alone unless they’re cornered.”
He saw her trying to spot the animal herself, without success, and knew what she was going to ask next.
“I can’t see it. How are you?” She looked at him. “Is it because of your eyes?”
“Yeah. Cara, a Mutah’s strangeness, his uniqueness, is also his strength. Something he can do better than a Normal can. Did you know that?”
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. Are you saying your eyes are better than a Normal’s?”
“It’s not just my eyes. It’s my strength, my endurance…”
“Your ability to heal faster,” she pointed out.
“Exactly. The strength and other stuff, the healing and all, is the same for every Mutah. It’s our mark that shows our specialness.”
“That explains why your parents are on this mission, if you want to call it that. They not only want to bring peace between Mutah and Normals, but they also want Normals to see what Mutah can offer us. And how they can help us.”
