Page 94 of Sun Warrior

Claudia sighed sadly. “His Shepherd died with him. They were found together.”

“Where are they? I want to see them.”

Claudia’s hand tightened on his shoulder. “No, my friend. You do not. Ethan and Ginger were placed with the Council, their canines, and those who died on the way to the Channel. Some of the Hunters are building a pyre for them. It should be done around sunset.”

Wilkes wiped tears from his face with the back of his hand as Odin whined and pressed against his leg. “Did you see him?”

Claudia nodded wearily. “I did.”

“Do you think he suffered?”

“It happened fast and he wasn’t alone. Ginger was wrapped in his arms, and there were several other people beside them as well. Let that be a comfort to you,” she said.

Wilkes nodded sadly and dropped his hand to rest on his Shepherd’s head, finding comfort in his Companion’s nearness.I can’t think about Ethan and Ginger right now. I can’t mourn yet. There is toomuch to do—too many lives that might still be saved.He cleared his throat again and lifted his head.

“Were any Healers found alive?”

“No. Emma and Liam are the two apprenticed Healers Kathleen sent from the infirmary before the blaze destroyed it and everyone in it. A third trainee, Olivia, did find her way to the meditation platform late last night, but she almost didn’t make it through the fire and said the other three apprentices who were following her weren’t as lucky.”

“So, we have three half-trained Healers. Okay. Well, that’s better than none, but we’re going to have to get them some help.” He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted up into the boughs of the nearest trees, “Warriors! To me!” Instantly the tree limbs began to sway with the weight of humans and canines awakening from much-needed sleep. “Wait here for the Warriors to get themselves awake, and then bring them to the meditation platform. Have you seen Latrell? I need him to gather his Hunters, too.”

“Latrell is dead. Thaddeus has taken on the role of Lead Hunter.” Claudia’s frown clearly said what she thought of the change of Hunter leadership.

Wilkes ran a hand through his matted hair. “That news could be better.”

“Yeah, well, none of the Hunters challenged him. Not that I blame them. He’s mean. Almost as mean as that Terrier of his.”

“I thought after Odysseus was wounded Thaddeus might focus on his Companion,” Wilkes said.

“That’s a nice thought, but the wound seems to only have slowed Odysseus down—not Thaddeus,” Claudia said.

“Hopefully, when we ordain a new Council they’ll appoint someone more appropriate as Lead Hunter.” Wilkes shook his head, muttering, “I blame Thaddeus for this mess.”

“That bastard! Just the thought of him pisses me off. I don’t understand why he’s still free, let alone Lead Hunter. I can’t stand that he’s walking around like he didn’t cause—”

Wilkes made an abrupt motion. “Never mind. That was self-indulgent of me. There’s no time for blame or what-ifs right now. I’m heading to the platform.”

Claudia shook herself. “You’re right. Thaddeus can wait. I’ll follow you with the Warriors.”

Wilkes tried to smile his thanks, but his face felt cracked and broken. At that moment he wondered if he would ever smile again. So he simply nodded and began picking his way through the underbrush that peppered the forest floor around the old pines that were too ancient to hold the Tribe’s nests but still sturdy enough not to have been culled for wood and reseeded.

This was the part of the forest closest to Port City, and it had always seemed haunted to Wilkes. When their ancestors first found that they could survive with the help of the Mother Plant by living in the trees, it must have seemed logical to built their new city just outside the old one, but as generation after generation passed, the Tribe had chosen to expand away from the ruined city, moving farther to the north and west. The meditation platform had been the last of the usable relics, and the Tribe rarely went past that old sentinel. Wilkes looked uneasily around him, feeling as if the ghost of those first Tribesmen were watching him… judging him.

As the Tribe grew and the trees aged, they shifted the heart of the city into stronger trees that were just reaching their maturity, so the enormous old pines around him stood silent, abandoned, with remnants of nests and lift systems that had been cannibalized for anything of value to the ever-expanding Tribe.

Well, we used to be ever expanding,Wilkes thought morosely.Now we’re just trying to survive.

His feet felt heavy and he made himself finish the strong tea, hoping the honey it was laced with would give him a boost of energy. His stomach growled, surprising him. He’d been too busy to think about food before he and the Warriors who had taken the late shift with him had finally wrapped themselves in their cloaks and managed to steal a few hours of sleep. Odin whined and Wilkes patted his head.

“Okay, I hear you. We’ll eat soon.” Which reminded Wilkes to check and see if any of the rabbit warrens had survived.Damn, I hope so. Don’t know how we’re going to feed hungry canines with no rabbits.Wilkes’s shoulders slumped. There was just so much to deal with in the aftermath of the blaze.Sunfire!How he wished Sol were alive—or, at the very least, he wished Nik and his Healer had stayed. Nik’s presence would have given the Tribe a sense of safety, especially as Laru had chosen him. And Mari? Wilkes didn’t give a damn what idiots like Thaddeus thought—the girl was a gifted Healer who could wield sunfire. She belonged with the Tribe!

“He’ll be back,” Wilkes told Odin. “And this time I’ll do a better job about convincing him to stay.”

Wilkes trudged his way through the forest to the temporary infirmary they’d established on the meditation platform that served as border between the old, uninhabited section of the forest and the outskirts of what was left of their City in the Trees. He heard the sounds of the wounded before he got to the clearing that surrounded the old tree. He tried to prepare himself, but as he stepped from the forest and he took in the sight of the wounded lying in a wheel-like arrangement around the tree, spreading into the clearing and beyond, Wilkes knew nothing could have prepared him for the reality of the losses his Tribe had suffered.

Warriors and Hunters who were finishing their early shifts were staggering from the direction of their still-smoldering city. Wilkes knew they’d been combing the wreckage of the huge, blackened pines and the rubble of graceful nests and platforms that had, for generations, sheltered the Tribe of the Trees, looking for survivors and putting out any hot spots that might begin the blaze anew. One glance at them and he knew they had not found survivors.

“Here. Eat this. You look awful.” Wilkes blinked and refocused as Ralina, the Tribe’s Storyteller who seemed to have taken up permanent residence with the wounded, pressed into his hand a wooden bowl filled with porridge, almond milk, and more honey.