We Walk As Wolves

Chapter 26

Redd

It had taken Redd over two hours to get to the Lost Ones' village.

She'd had to walk slow, to ensure her limp wouldn't grow too noticeable. The dark of the night helped, but even with the mermaid's kiss, the skin was tight, and the bone felt like it might split with every step.

She still held her head high, refrained from listing to one side, but the quiet shuffle of her wounded foot dragging through the dirt was enough of a sign for a wolf hidden behind silent leaves to notice.

At the base of the Lost Ones' tree, she tilted her head back, searching for an indication that the children were there, that they were alive and safe. A small fire flickered from a hut at the very top, flames dancing out of the window as the wind drew by. The world around the village was too quiet, the usual laughter and wild howls just a vague memory that spun in her head.

She tossed her bow over her shoulder, gave the small rabbit foot hanging from her wrist a tight squeeze, then silently slipped her fingers into the divots in the tree. The pulleys and contraptions that helped the children into the tree were too loud, and Redd didn't want them to notice her. She wanted to check in, count the tops of their heads, and get back to Wilder.

Her fingers curled around the railing of the wooden deck, and she swung her legs beneath her to give herself an extra push as she rolled onto it. She was on her feet before her bow could bend beneath her weight, crouching down beside the wall of the hut. The shadows from the moon clung to her skin, keeping her hidden like a prowling wraith.

She balanced on the edges of her feet, avoiding the boards that squeaked and a direct hit from the moon's light. Following the trail of silent smoke, she crept around to the window of the hut, tilting her head until she could hear inside. The only sound was a fire crackling, and the soft murmur of one voice. Days ago, she wouldn't have recognized it. But she'd come to know the unusual pattern of his speech, the gentle way words fell from his mouth.

Cass.

She rolled on the balls of her feet until she could peer into the window, but she kept her face hidden in the shadows. It only took one peek to know something was wrong.

All of the boys were gathered in the same room. A few of them were stretched out on old cots that hung from the ceiling. The others had their backs against the walls, sad eyes and silent mouths beating at her heart like knuckles. Cass sat in the middle of them all, holding the hand of one of the boys lying in the cot. His other hand rested on Fig's head, who sat on the floor in from of him, and Redd watched with a tightening brow as Cass ran his fingers through the child's short hair.

Then her eyes snagged on the cot a few feet beside him, a head full of tousled red hair sprouting up from inside it. Finch's face was turned in her direction, but he wasn't seeing her. His eyes were shut tight, and sweat beaded down both sides of his temple. His chest rose and fell in a pained cycle. Poe sat halfway in the cot beside Finch's legs, rocking it slowly with the heel of his own foot.

"Tell us the one again about the City Witches," Sparrow said to Cass, resting his chin in his palm.

"Again?" Cass smiled at him, but there was something unsettling about it.

Ziggy waved a hand at him, face scrunched. "Nah, that one's too spooky."

"Funny, he managed to get through it the first five times without soiling his diapers."

Redd nearly fell through the window. The deep voice behind her turned into a high chuckle as she caught herself on the ledge. She whirled, pressing her back to the wall of the hut and aiming an arrow at the blond boy leaning against the railing.