On the Edge (6 page)

Chapter Eleven

“The priest said she’s able to come outside the hut today, for a little while at least.”

Addison sat in the doorway of the hut, Daphne sitting on the ground beside her. Griffin had brought her a bowl of fruit and she was working her way through it. She should have asked for more; it seemed she couldn’t eat enough these days. Daphne’s easy laugh made her look down at the girl.

“Are you a bottomless pit these days too? I swear all I do is ask Ramos for more melons. I could eat a lorry full.”

She wiped her mouth on her hand. “I think we’re past the morning sickness stage and into the gluttony phase.” Dropping the melon rind into the bowl, she picked up another piece of fruit, a strange lumpy looking little thing. Griffin had shown her how to peel it and she tore off the skin.

“Do you ever wonder why they’re vegetarians?” Addison offered a section of fruit to Daphne. The girl’s eyes lit up and she eagerly bit into the yellow flesh.

“I think they did hunt, back before civilization started cutting into their territory. There are villages all around them now, and the wildlife that’s left is hunted by villagers.” She chewed for a moment, looking off into the jungle. “It’s sort of sad, but I think by adapting, they’ve managed to survive.”

“Not to change the subject, but have you given any thought to what’s going to happen when we go into labor?”

Daphne turned to her, eyes wide. “Oh, god. Do you suppose the priest is also a midwife?”

For a moment they stared at each other, then burst into laughter. They were still laughing when Griffin and Ramos, followed by Daniel, entered the clearing. It was clear something had happened. Griffin wore the look she’d come to recognize as his leadership scowl. Ramos’s expression was equally dark, and even Daniel looked concerned. Daphne stood, wiping her hands on her pants.

“What is it?” Addison set aside the empty bowl and rose. Others had come from their huts, or from the edge of the jungle, gathering in a loose circle around the men.

“Raiders.”

Addison’s heart thudded in a sickening way in her chest, her hands going cold. She wanted to sit back down, but she set a hand against the doorframe of the hut. The clan’s voices rose around them, panic among some of them.

“Where?”

“At the ruins. They’ve been digging again, looking for things to steal. There’s nothing left, except for the sacred bones.” He glanced at Daniel. “Your digging will eventually show them where those are.”

Daniel ran his hand through his hair, his face darkening, but he remained silent. Addison briefly caught his eye before he looked away. It was rare that Daniel looked guilty, and she felt sorry for him. But Griffin had a point.

“What do we do?” Daphne stood beside Ramos, not touching him, but looking up into his face. “Do we leave?” Ramos nodded his head.

“We do not.” But it was Griffin who spoke. “We stay. We fight. We do not run and hide.”

“We leave.” Ramos stood, hands on hips. Griffin turned, fixing him with an imperious glare.

“You are not the leader of the clans, Ramos. Do not challenge me.”

“I am the leader of my clan, and that clan will not fight, will not lose any more members.”

Addison noticed Ramos’ clan members stood behind him. There was a strange rebellious look among all of them, something she’d never seen before. The clans always stuck together, no matter what. She looked at Griffin, wondering what was going through his mind, what he would do. He’d risen to leader of all the clans by challenging Xavier, by killing him. Would this turn into the same sort of challenge and battle?

Griffin drew himself up, tall and imposing, his steely gaze sweeping across the group. “I am your leader. We stay.”

The group moved close together, members watching Ramos, not Griffin. Ramos took a step toward Griffin. “I do not want to challenge you for leadership. I want our clans, all of them, to survive this. We can’t stay and be slaughtered.”

“Then when do we stop running? There is only so much jungle. They will continue to find us, no matter where we go.”

Ramos remained silent, but he radiated anger. Griffin continued to glare at him, and the group. Not only were the men divided, but the clans were clearly physically divided, half on one side of the clearing, half on the other. She didn’t see how they’d make this decision.

“I have an idea.”

All heads turned to the back of the clearing. Daniel stepped forward. Griffin’s face darkened even more. “You are not part of this. It does not concern you.”

“But it concerns Grace, and Addison…and they’re my responsibility.”

Addison winced. Two alpha males fighting for control was one thing; three was too much. Both Griffin and Ramos turned their fierce stares toward Daniel. And unsurprisingly, Daniel met their looks with just as fierce a look.

“You will not speak. This is not your world.” Griffin’s voice was ice.

“I will speak…” Daniel’s voice rose.

“Enough.”

Addison stepped between the men. “Listen to me. This isn’t the time for all this male posturing. The raiders could just walk in here and kill you all, right now.” She turned to Griffin and Ramos.

“Daniel’s not part of the clan, but this might be the time to listen to what he has to say. Neither of you…” She waved her hand between him and Ramos. “…are actually doing anything, but arguing.”

Griffin’s eyes narrowed, pinning her with a look she’s never seen. She’d overstepped her bounds, challenged not only her mate, but the clan leader, in front of everyone. The horribly tense moment went on. Then something in Griffin’s posture relaxed, just a fraction, his expression softening in a way only she could see.

“Let him speak.” He spoke to Daniel, but his eyes never left hers.

There was a collective gasp from the clan, but they parted and Daniel walked to the center of the clearing.

“I think you need to send a message. You need to take the offensive, instead of always being on the defensive.” He gestured toward Griffin. “Waiting for them to attack is passive. You need to attack them, send a message. And to really send a message…” He smiled, that cocky smile that had irritated Addison when they were together, the one that said he knew better than she did.

“You need to take a hostage.”

“Hostage?”

Addison looked at Griffin. Daniel had his attention, but not his buy in to whatever he was proposing.

“You take one of the raiders. You bring him here, scare the hell out of him. Leave him alive.” Daniel laughed, a dark sound that chilled Addison. “Barely. And you send him back. Let them know if they come back, you’ll do what you did to him, to everyone. You’ll be waiting for them.”

Griffin stood watching Daniel for a long moment. Then he turned to Ramos. “What do you think?”

Addison gasped. She’d never heard him ask anyone for advice, especially on something that involved his leadership of the clans.

“I think it’s madness.” He stood, arms folded, brows furrowed. “But I think it might work.”

“You’d attack with us, your clan with the rest?”

Ramos hesitated, then nodded. “We will.”

Griffin managed a grim smile. “Then we attack.” He turned to the men assembled in the clearing, raising his voice. “Ready yourselves. We will go to the ruins, wait for them, and attack. You.” He pointed to Daniel. “You take your hostage, bring him here.”

Daniel nodded, his hand moving to the handle of his machete. His expression matched the fierceness of the men around him. She’d noticed he’d stopped wearing a shirt, and she’d teased him he was going native. But now, standing among the clans, she was startled to realize he fit in, as if he’d been born to the clan.

“The raiders show up at dawn. We go now, hide in the ruins, and attack when they arrive.”

The men broke into excited talk. Addison noticed the women, standing at the edges, arms folded. She wondered how many were thinking they’d have handled this in the same way. Addison wasn’t sure taking a hostage was the right idea, but at least they’d come to a decision.

She cut through the activity in the clearing, heading toward Daniel, catching him by the arm.

“Addison.” He turned at her touch.

“You be careful, Daniel. No heroics.” He grinned and she shook her head. “This isn’t some adventure novel. This is real life. Those raiders carry guns.”

He leaned forward, planting a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be fine.” He looked over her head at the men in the clearing. “In the middle of these shifters, I’ll be fine.”

“Just make sure you come back. No heroics.”

“No heroics.” He kissed her again and she watched him walk away, disappearing into the jungle with the first of the shifters.

“Are you as concerned about me as you are about Daniel?”

She turned at the sound of Griffin’s voice. “I am. You know that.”

He stood beside her, shoulders back, head held high. The urge to throw her arms around him was almost overwhelming, but the look on his face made her hesitate. Instead she reached out, touching his arm. He looked down at her, his expression troubled. Then he pulled her toward their hut.

“You and Daphne stay here, with Grace. The priest and Joseph will stay with her, and I will leave a guard with you. Do not leave the hut, no matter what. Do you understand?”

She nodded. “I do. Leave me a weapon.”

He snorted. “I’m leaving you a guard.”

“And I appreciate it. But I want a knife.” She set her hands on her hips. “Knife, please?”

He sighed, exasperation clear on his face. “You are almost intolerably stubborn sometimes. Do you know that?”

“I do. And you are equally stubborn. Do you know that?”

His sudden smile made her laugh. “I do. There is a knife beneath the pallet. It was my father’s; don’t lose it. I found it in my ruined hut. It’s blackened, but still sharp.”

“You mean I’ve been sleeping on a knife all this time?”

“You have.” He pulled her into a fierce hug. “I need to go. I can’t let Daniel think he’s the new leader.”

He kissed her quickly, then turned away, waving at one of his guards. The man nodded, walking quickly toward Addison. She knew the drill and ducked quickly into her hut, lifting the pelts and searching beneath the pallet, fingers touching cold iron. She pulled out a massive knife, dark with the effects of the fire. But the edge was still sharp, and she hefted it. It weighed more than she anticipated and she wondered if she could actually wield it. Hopefully she wouldn’t need to.

Daphne was already inside the hut, arranging another pallet on the floor. There was a pile of pelts nearby. Grace stood, swaying slightly, a pelt in her hand. She was still painfully thin, but her color was better. She was still very weak, but shouldn’t be, and Addison propped the knife in the corner, taking the pelt away from Grace.

“Let me help.” Addison helped Daphne spread the pelts over the pallet.

“I can do it, Addison.” She reached for another pelt.

“You can help by getting back into bed.”

“Grace!” Addison straightened, turning to Grace. “We’re not kids. Stop arguing with everything I say. This isn’t home, and we’re not arguing over bedtime on the weekend.”

“Fine.” She sat down on her bed with something like relief. “I’m in bed. I don’t need to lie down.”

Grace glared up at Addison. She’d like to strangle the girl, but the feisty outburst meant that she was feeling better, and she turned back to shaking out pelts, struggling to suppress a smile. Daphne looked up, grinning, and winked at Addison.

“Okay. So we’re alone here tonight with a guard outside.” She glanced around the hut. “The priest and Joseph…someone should be bringing them.” She poked her head through the doorway, just as a guard deposited the priest and an apprehensive-looking Joseph at the hut. Addison held the pelt, catching the priest’s eye as he passed. His look was clear; do not touch, and do not speak. Whatever had passed between them was to remain private. She nodded slightly and he moved deeper into the tent. Joseph entered, carrying a pile of blankets.

“Where on earth did you find blankets?”

Joseph struggled through the door. “They were brought from the village. Long ago.”

Daphne looked over Addison’s shoulder. “One of the raiding runs, most likely. Some village wife is missing her best woolen blanket.”

Joseph arranged the blankets in the furthest corner, pulling out one thin blanket for himself. Addison watched as the priest seated himself, setting out a small bundle of dried plants. To her surprise they smoldered, a thin smoke rising.

“He’s not going to drug us again, is he?” She shot a look at Joseph. “I got tricked the last time with his herbal medicine.”

Joseph straightened, sweating lightly. The hut had grown warm and Addison hoped with the coming night, it would cool off. “It’s a protection bundle. The smoke makes us invisible to evil.”

The priest began chanting, his voice rising and falling, waving the bundle in circles. The smoke was pungent, but not unpleasant. Addison sat beside Daphne, listening as the priest continued his ritual.

There was fruit and she made Grace eat. After she’d tossed the rinds and pits out into the jungle, it had grown dark. The priest had put away his herbs, and curled into a compact ball in his blankets. Joseph lay nearby, wrapped in his blanket.