The Wind's Call

by T. A. White

  Eva followed, heading for the gate, the mist thinning further with every step. Then they were out, crossing into the city, its perimeter walls looming high on either side.

  Eva led the wagon in a circle as she chanced a glance out the gates. The mist still lingered, a seething wall ten feet beyond the stone walls marking the city.

  Didn’t it usually dissipate when you left its depths? How unusual.

  Ajari watched the furor that followed their reappearance among the Tratori with bored eyes, not even reacting when the fox plopped down on top of his feet and yawned.

  "Get the general," someone cried. "The commander and the herd mistress are back."

  Laurell and the other warrior who'd elected to watch the wagon's sides looked around them with stunned disbelief. Ollie reclined, exhausted on the seat, the reins trailing from his hands.

  Caden moved around the back, already snapping orders to those who approached.

  Jason appeared out of nowhere, taking the reins from her. "I've got this."

  Eva murmured a thank you, too happy they’d made it back to refuse.

  Caden crossed to her, his expression once again a remote mask. Drake and Jane dogged his steps, relief on their faces.

  He'd just reached her when Darius came pounding out of a building.

  He headed straight for Caden. "We thought you lost."

  "So did I," Caden admitted as the two clasped hands.

  Darius's attention swung toward Eva. "That was a reckless move."

  Eva couldn't argue with that, so she didn't even try.

  "Don't do it again," he ordered.

  Eva couldn't promise that. Life happened and you either rolled with it or you were crushed. Sometimes that meant leaping and hoping for the best.

  "How many did we lose?" Caden asked.

  "Very few. The pathfinder made it back a few hours before you with several he'd rounded up before they were engulfed," Darius responded.

  Eva looked around, examining the city they'd sought refuge in. It was quiet, except for the Trateri who had come out at their reappearance. The inhabitants’ absence was curiously loud amid the tall buildings surrounding the courtyard, their windows dark and ominous.

  "Where is everyone?" Eva finally asked, interrupting the two men.

  Darius broke off, his expression grim. "Gone. We found the city abandoned."

  How was that possible? It wasn't a huge city, but there had had to be several hundred living here prior to their arrival. Perhaps even a thousand.

  The buildings were well-maintained, and there was no sign of violence or beast activity. It was like the inhabitants simply got up and walked away.

  "What does the pathfinder have to say about that?" Caden asked.

  Darius shook his head. "He's as flummoxed as the rest of us."

  "A city of ghosts," Eva whispered. The feel of the place held an eerie chill, unwelcoming, but then most of the Highlands was unwelcoming, much like its inhabitants.

  "The mist seems content to stay outside its borders so for now we've set up camp in a few of the buildings," Darius said.

  "How long have we been gone?" Caden asked.

  The mist was known to cause jumps in time, twisting and turning in on itself. What felt like minutes for them might have been hours or days for the rest.

  "You came out pretty close to when you left, only a few hours off at most," Darius said.

  Eva slid a glance toward the mythologicals. She wondered if they might have had something to do with that.

  She left the two men to their discussion, moving toward Ajari. "Have you seen Sebastian?"

  "I haven't, but I have many things to discuss with my old friend," Ajari said unhappily.

  Curiosity moved through Eva at the dark undercurrent in his voice. He seemed angry, but Eva couldn't figure out why.

  "What's wrong?" Eva asked.

  Ajari hesitated. For a moment she thought he wasn't going to answer as his lips pressed together in an unhappy frown.

  "We're not where we're supposed to be," he said.

  Eva looked around. No, she supposed they weren't, but Sebastian couldn't have known about the mist or any of the other obstacles that had thrown them so far off course.

  "This place is nowhere near the herd lands," Ajari continued. "Either the pathfinder is way off in his calculations or Sebastian misled us."

  Eva frowned. There was conviction in his words even if she didn't understand why. "Wouldn't you have known we were going the wrong way before now?"

  If Ajari had realized they were off-course, why wouldn't he have said anything? Why allow them to be led all the way out here?

  Ajari sighed, the sound long, as his expression made it clear he found her question foolish. She gave him a humorless look. If he wanted to be an ass, she'd treat him like one.

  "You assume we know every little thing about each other. Think. How well do you know the Trateri? The mythologicals are like humans—each with our own culture and society. My people may have an alliance with the Kyren, but we’re not Kyren." His eyes were dark chips of granite. With the mist rising behind him, he looked like a creature from the murky beginnings of time. Ethereal and primal. "The Kyren protect the location of their herd lands because it houses their most vulnerable. While we might have known where it was once upon a time, the awakening has forced all of us from our former territories."

  "What makes you think he would intentionally lead us astray?" It didn't make sense. Why would he drag all of them out here if his herd lands weren't in this direction?

  "That is a very good question," Ajari said, appearing deep in thought. "One I plan find the answer to."

  He strode out of the gate and into the mist before Eva could ask how.

  She glanced down at the fox. "Did any of that make sense to you?"

  The fox yipped.

  She took that as a no.

  Fiona stepped out of the buildings, happiness in her face when she caught sight of Laurell. "Hanna, they made it out!"

  Hanna appeared behind her, relief filling her expression. The two women rushed across the small courtyard. When they reached Laurell, they clasped forearms.

  "I thought you were a goner for sure this time," Fiona said.

  "She even got emotional about it," Hanna volunteered.

  Fiona rolled her eyes.

  "We only got out because of her," Laurell said, tilting her head at where Eva waited on the edge, watching the Trateri take care of their own. "We would have been goners otherwise."

  Hanna crossed over to Eva, drawing her into a hug and whispering into her ear, "Thank you for saving my friend. I don't have many of them."

  A smug look crossed Fiona’s face. "Now who's being emotional."

  "Come on, we'll show you your quarters," Hanna said, drawing back and ignoring the other woman.

  Eva hesitated, casting a glance in Caden's direction. He was consumed with his duties, paying no attention to her. And why should he? That kiss was a moment, a stolen one at that, during a time of extreme stress. It was unlikely to be repeated.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Caden watched Eva walk away, fighting back the urge to order her to stay. The protector within was still riled by the close call they'd had. That part of him wanted to stash her somewhere he could safeguard, or shake her until her teeth rattled. What she'd done was dangerous. Unbelievably so.

  He didn’t allow himself to give into any of those urges. Because as risky as it'd been, as foolhardy as it was to place her trust in creatures that weren’t guaranteed to be trustworthy, her actions had saved many.

  The memory of her lips under his made the male in him territorial. He wanted a repeat—and soon. He didn't know when his suspicion of her had turned to respect or when the attraction he had fought to squash became too great and all-encompassing for him to deny. Continuing to ignore it would be tantamount to ignoring the killer in him. Impossible and would only lead to strife in the end.

  He wanted her. Pure and simple. The Trateri tended to ge
t what they wanted.

  He'd have to move slowly. Pick his way carefully. From what she’d shared, he knew her history was dark. She didn’t trust many, only begrudgingly bestowing her regard on a rare few.

  He needed to be that person she turned to. It was a desire he didn't question, knowing he'd accept nothing less.

  He'd thought the attraction would fade as it had with so many before. He was slow to give his loyalty. Once given it was impossible to take back. Somehow, with her personality by turns shy and forceful, she'd managed to slip through his guard, lodging under his skin in a way he knew that no amount of digging would force her out.

  "The rest wish to move on as soon as possible," Darius was saying.

  "I don't blame them. There’s something wrong with this place."

  The wrongness permeated the air. It crawled across the skin as if seeking a way inside.

  Caden wasn't often given to fanciful thoughts, but when his instincts told him something, he listened. In his experience, warriors who ignored their gut rarely lasted long.

  "You think? Perhaps the fact this place could house thousands and yet we can't find a single living creature within its walls is making you paranoid," Darius said sarcastically.

  Caden's attention sharpened on him, his plans for Eva momentarily put on hold. "Not one?"

  Darius shook his head. "The humans aren't the only ones missing. There’s no trace of pets or livestock, not even a rat that I've seen."

  That was truly unusual. Where humans congregated, rats and other pests tended to follow.

  "We're not going anywhere with the mist crouched outside our door," Caden said grimly.

  Darius grunted in agreement. "The pathfinder keeps telling me the mist can't be controlled by anyone."

  Caden slanted him a look. "Do you really think that’s true? We both know what happens when humans get their hands on things they shouldn’t."

  Griffin had used a beast call to lure beasts to the Lowlands. He'd used it again to summon his army during the battle for the Keep.

  "Shea said that was destroyed, and it never called the mist," Darius pointed out.

  "Yet, here we are, trapped like mice in a maze," Caden observed.

  Darius's gaze went back to the mist. Both men were quiet as they considered if another tool like the beast call—one that might be able to summon the mist—might be out there. If there was, they'd need to find it. The mist was too dangerous a foe to have it be influenced by another.

  "What did you see out there?" Darius asked.

  "The throwaways are gone."

  "All of them?"

  "Were any in your party?" Caden cocked an eyebrow.

  Darius's lips twisted. It was all the answer Caden needed.

  "They're making their move then," Darius said with a heavy exhale.

  Caden grunted.

  "I don't have to tell you the repercussions if the throwaways are responsible for this rebellion." Darius stared into the mist again, careful not to look at Caden.

  Caden's jaw tightened. No, he didn't. It would have consequences for anyone who was a throwaway. The prickly herd mistress included.

  "I told Fallon they would eventually try to bite the hand that fed them," Darius said, shaking his head regretfully.

  "It's our job to make sure that doesn't happen and to put down any who step out of line as an example to others," Caden said grimly.

  They shared a look.

  "Even if your little herd mistress is at the center of this?" Darius said.

  Caden felt an instinctive denial.

  "You're perilously close to questioning my honor," Caden said, his words a whip.

  They might have been friends, part of each other's life for longer than they'd existed apart, but that didn't mean Caden would allow Darius to get away with something he'd have killed another man for even suggesting.

  "Emotions have a way of clouding the judgment in even the best of us," Darius observed.

  What hovered in the air was Fallon's name. Shea had changed him, put him on a different path than he'd originally intended. A less bloody but more difficult one that they had yet to determine the full consequences of.

  "We've never been ones for tradition." It was a subtle jab at Darius who had gone against everyone’s expectations for him, to his own benefit. He was second only to Fallon. Had he followed the normal course of things he would likely have never become the power he was.

  Neither would Caden. They made the rules work for them rather than live their lives bound by them.

  "And if she does become a problem?" Darius asked.

  Caden hesitated, knowing if he said the wrong thing, Darius would take matters into his own hands and eliminate Eva before she could ever become a threat.

  "I'll do what I've always done and protect those I consider mine," Caden said.

  *

  Eva trailed the three women to a small house a few streets from the gate. The city was eerily quiet except for the Trateri securing the area for the night.

  Fiona paused on the threshold. "Find a bed without a pack on it and its yours. My squad is in this building as well, so you can room with us. Laurell's squad is here, too."

  Laurell and Fiona were commanders of their own teams. Hanna was the only one who didn't have a team of her own, but as one of Darius's top advisor's she seamlessly fit with the other two.

  "What about Ollie and Jason?" Eva asked.

  "Your apprentice is rooming here. Ollie will likely be with the rest of the wounded so the healer can attend him," Hanna said.

  Eva couldn't help the glance she slid in Laurell's direction. The lines around the woman's mouth had grown deeper the longer they walked.

  "Don't bother saying anything," Hanna said in a low voice. "Laurell is as stubborn as any warrior. Getting her to stay with the healer would be impossible."

  Eva didn't understand that mindset. If you were injured, you should seek care before the wound worsened. If Laurell had been one of her charges, she wouldn't have had a choice over whether Eva tended her wounds.

  But Laurell was human, and while friendly, she wasn't yet a friend. Eva wasn't sure how forced care would be received if she interfered.

  For one thing, Laurell knew a lot of interesting ways to kill a person. Eva didn't want her head separated from her body simply because she'd stuck her nose into business that wasn't hers.

  Fiona scratched her neck. "I'd like to say I'm a little smarter."

  Hanna snorted at that.

  Fiona ignored her to give Eva an awkward smile. "But I'm probably not."

  There was an easiness about Fiona as she admitted to her own weaknesses that Eva admired. So often people ignored their faults while deriding others for the same things they were guilty of.

  Fiona tilted her head toward the stairs. "Come on, let's get you settled before the commander comes looking for you."

  Seeing the disbelief on Eva's face, Fiona snorted. "Please, I know that look on a man's face. I've seen it directed my way a time or two. I also noticed that new dagger you’re sporting."

  Eva touched the dagger, her expression questioning. "It was a gift—I think. I found it on my bedroll the night of the attack."

  Fiona reached for it, withdrawing it partway before sheathing it again. "I'd know that workmanship anywhere. It's definitely his. That's practically a declaration of intent."

  Hanna nodded, cool amusement on her face. "Have you found any other little gifts?"

  Eva thought over all the odd items she'd found in her pack, things she knew she hadn’t put there.

  Hanna's smile widened, turning sly. "I see you have. I wouldn't have thought the commander would be so indirect."

  "Maybe he had to be, considering her past," Fiona suggested.

  "What past?" Eva asked narrowing her eyes.

  "Don't get all prickly. Anyone with eyes can see you have scars. Deserved ones, from what you’ve told us, but it means someone interested in your affections will have to be a very patient hunter," Fiona said.
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  "Those gifts—that dagger especially—could be considered a courting dance," Hanna explained. "He's wooing you—in his own roundabout manner. He's spent a lifetime protecting someone who, when all is said and done, can really protect himself. There won't be any way he can keep himself from coming here given your vulnerabilities."

  "I'm not helpless," Eva said sharply.

  Hanna's face softened as she inclined her chin in a small nod. "No, you're not. You have many skills that are commendable, but you're also not a warrior versed in killing. That will prick at a man of Caden's background."

  A head popped out of one of the doors to the side. Ghost had a leg of chicken he was bringing up to his mouth as he stared at them. "Are we really expected to sleep in these stone coffins?"

  Fiona scowled. "Where did you get that?"

  Ghost shrugged. "Around."

  "He took it from the kitchen," Roscoe called from inside.

  Fiona gaped. "You're eating food from this cursed place?"

  "Food is food. I'm not letting it go to waste. That'd be ridiculous," Ghost said in a pragmatic voice.

  "If you turn into something weird because of that chicken leg, just know I'll be happy to do my duty and put you down," Roscoe remarked cheerfully.

  "Thanks, Roscoe. You're all heart."

  Jason appeared, his eyes widening as he caught sight of the food in Ghost's hands. "You're eating food from this cursed place?"

  Ghost shrugged. "It's no worse than some of what I've eaten in the past.”

  "Warriors really are different than the rest of us," Jason observed.

  Ghost pointed the chicken leg at him. "And don't you forget it."

  Jason focused on Eva. "Sebastian hasn't come back yet. Also, this is yours."

  He reached down, scooped up the fox and then deposited him into Eva's arms.

  She blinked down at the innocent-looking face. He must have wandered off. She'd lost track of him shortly after her discussion with Ajari.

  "I found him scrounging through my bags looking for food," Jason said.

  "Sorry about that," Eva said with an internal wince. Just what she needed, to upset Jason more.

  He shrugged. "Unless you told it to come find me, I'm not worried about it. It's cute. Kind of reminds me of the wichahoos we had in our homeland."