Shouts of greeting rang out ahead. The soldiers we were following stopped to converse with four others standing guard before a small outbuilding.
Tyrin and I ducked behind a copse of evergreens and waited as the newcomers concluded their conversation before continuing on to a second outbuilding. They disappeared inside, and the door closed behind them.
Tyrin looked to me, and I acknowledged his question with a slight shake of my head. The second chance Clymene spoke of would likely be in the guarded outbuilding, but with nothing more to go on than a vague guess, I would not risk a closer look. We had tarried here long enough.
I turned to my húskarl.We should go.
Where?
It occurred to me then that I had yet to inform him of my dream, so I took a moment to share what I had learned from Ziara.
Al Mukalla, Yemen?he asked.What are they doing there?
She refused to say.But his response had given me more information than I had before.Yemen is in the Middle East, correct?It had been a while since I had studied geography.
Yes.Tyrin continued to eye me.I was led to believe the dream walk was a one-time spell.
Clymene knew of a permanent option.
The shock in his eyes was loaded with questions about the wisdom of my decision, but he said nothing. The outcome would not change.
The door the soldiers had disappeared behind swung open, releasing a hulk of a man who had to duck to clear the frame. A guard shuddered when the brute passed, issuing a command. Two others peeled off and followed him into the secured outbuilding.
You trust the thief’s word?Tyrin asked.
I was… convincing. They are in Yemen.
Well done, m’lord.
Was I proud of the extreme I had gone to in order to convince her to reveal their location? Yes. My methods had been efficient, yielding the desired results. Still, I could not deny the way my chest had tightened at the look she had given me when she realized I would not hesitate to eliminate her pack.
Were the lives of her people more important than mine? Absolutely not.
I would spare the children, though. I was no monster, and it was not their fault, and they would not be held accountable for the imbecilic warmongering of the adults.
The wolves are planning to restart the war. They want to eliminate the Mondeine.
Morons.He shook his head.Are they all children? Have they no memory of how abysmally that plan went the first time?
I believe she meant to recruit me.
A smile ghosted across Tyrin’s lips.A gross miscalculation on her part. Did you learn anything else of interest?
She will do anything for her people.It was a trait I admired, and one I would continue to exploit.
I took another look at the guarded outbuilding before turning.Come.
We had made it only a handful of steps before a scream brokethe stillness of the morning, snapping my attention back to the outbuildings. The two remaining guards appeared unconcerned by the disturbance, holding their positions by the entrance. Another scream dissolved into sobs and broken pleas for mercy.
That sounds like a child,I noted as a thread of anger ignited in my core.
Tyrin’s grim expression mirrored my concern.It could be a trap.
Then we shall proceed with an abundance of caution.
One thing was certain. We could not abandon a child to abuse that it was in our power to end. Utilizing the frozen foliage and discarded construction equipment, we crept closer, hiding behind a tractor bearing a radioactive warning label.
“Please. Not again. I can’t?—”
