A ball of cloth was shoved into my mouth.
Outside, something roared.
Behind the gag, I grinned.
Not something. Someone.
Thallirin.
Everyone in the room went still. My eyes swiveled to the window, and I laughed. I wouldn’t be going anywhere with Van. I could see that same realization, first in Oscar’s eyes then Van’s, only moments before wood splintered and something crashed in the other room.
In the next few seconds, chaos exploded around me.
I was shoved onto the bed, face first. There was a lot of swearing and sounds of movement. A gun went off. There were dull thumping sounds, a few grunts, then silence.
I lifted my head and looked at Thallirin, who stood in the bedroom doorway. The rage in his eyes should have made me quake in fear rather than wilt with relief.
“Brenna?” His low, deep voice shook with emotion.
I tried telling him I was fine, but the gag muffled the sound.
He lifted me gently onto his lap and pulled the cloth from my mouth.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you,” I said. “I’m guessing I just saw your angry face.”
He set his forehead against mine. He didn’t say anything, just stayed like that, holding me and shaking.
“My arms are getting sore. Can you untie me?”
He grunted and gently removed the rope. I rubbed my wrists and rolled my shoulders before sliding off his lap.
“Her too,” I said, nodding toward Tasha.
The girl was watching us with wide, fearful eyes and shook her head.
“This is Thallirin,” I said. “He looks different, but he’s the nicest person I’ve met. He’s not like these guys. He won’t hurt us. He’s here to make sure we stay free. Can he untie you?”
“My grandpa said they were bad,” she said, speaking for the first time.
“I don’t think your grandpa had a chance to meet Thallirin, then.”
Thallirin waited until she nodded to free her. I went to Hannah, and tapped her cheek. She was still out cold.
“You’re going to need to carry her,” I said, looking up at Thallirin.
“No,” Merdon said, appearing in the doorway. “Hannah is mine.”
Chapter Eighteen
I stayed near Tasha as we safely walked within a cluster of fey. They’d all volunteered to carry her, but I knew that would have scared her more than she already was. So, we shambled along like a pair of undead because of whatever pills Van had given us.
Van, Oscar, and Grady, a third guy I recognized from the bunker, remained passively trussed up, and each was slung over the shoulder of a fey. Hannah rested like a princess in Merdon’s arms. I wasn’t so sure that’s how he thought of her, based on the angry looks he was giving her, but I knew looks could be deceiving.
Tasha stumbled beside me, and I caught her, almost sending myself to the ground as well.
“I should carry you,” Thallirin said, yet again.
“I’m fine,” I said. “So is Tasha. Walking will help us shake whatever they gave us.”
A low rumbling growl was echoed by several members of our group.
“Guys, the growling is scaring Tasha. You have to stop doing that around her.”
“Sorry, Tasha,” rang out around us, making Tasha giggle then sniffle.
Seeing fey carrying the three gagged humans through town drew attention. By the time we reached the wall just before dusk, there was a crowd following us.
If Matt Davis was worried about seeing the trussed-up humans or the large group following us, he hid it well.
“What happened?” he asked.
The rest of the fey finishing up on the gate, along with Richard, Ryan, Garrett, and the remaining humans from Tolerance, came over to listen.
“These humans tied up Tasha, Hannah, and Brenna,” Thallirin said. “They wanted to take the females.”
Van made a few muffled noises before managing to spit out his gag.
“He’s making it sound like kidnapping,” Van said, arching to lift his head and look at Matt. “We were saving them.”
Zach, recognizing Van, swore and started forward. Garrett locked an arm around him.
“That son of a bitch is a killer,” Zach yelled.
Matt looked at me.
“These men are from the bunker,” I said. His gaze lit with understanding. “They planned to take the three of us out of Tenacity. This is the group who murdered my father and took Zach and me prisoner.”
Uan, who was near Zach, growled menacingly.
“Why would humans want to take women?” someone behind me asked.
“Because they believe they have the right to take what they want,” Matt said. “Including women to bear children. Only those women aren’t given a choice. They’re taken at gunpoint and forced to do whatever this group wants.”
“That’s worse than stealing food!” someone yelled. “Kick them out.” More voices were added to the first.
Thallirin stepped forward, and the crowd’s cries reduced to angry murmurs.
“Banishment is not enough. These humans came here even when they knew they shouldn’t. If they leave, they will return again. We kill infected and hounds because they are a threat to the safety of the survivors. These humans have proven they are also a threat.”
Oscar started making noise behind his gag, and Matt ordered it removed so he could speak. None of the fey looked happy about it.
“You can’t kill us,” Oscar said as soon as the gag was removed. “Every life has value. We were only trying to help humanity. We need to start having kids. And not with these abominations. Humans are close to extinction. We’re doing what we need to do to ensure its survival.”
His words made me sick. A few nods from the crowd, and the dark looks those nodders gave to the fey, made me sicker.
Matt studied Oscar, his expression impassive.
“Humanity as a whole has long struggled with the premise of betterment for mankind because everyone’s idea of betterment is different. Through the zealous need to improve, there are always ripples of discord. If these conflicting ideals of betterment are not kept in check, they often result in war, each side fervently believing their cause more just than the other’s.
“And in their heated defense, they forget the cornerstones that gave us the foundation for our beliefs. It’s as simple as ‘live and let live.’”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about what Matt had just said. Yet, wasn’t the morality of letting Van go the same thing I’d been struggling with?
“Wise words,” Oscar said.
“Are they? Because you and your group killed to take Brenna once before, only preserving life when you thought it would benefit your ideals. While I will not order your deaths, I will not protect you within these walls.” He looked at the men behind him. “Open our new gates.”
“It’s almost dark,” Van said. “We’ll never make it somewhere safe now.”
“You were willing to leave before,” I said.
“We had guns.”
Oscar elbowed his son.
“Where are the guns?” Matt asked.
No one spoke.
“Chuck, another man from the bunker, was helping them get supplies over the wall,” I said. “They planned on coming back for a cow and more women.”