Tip of the Spear (20 page)

The
vore snorted.

Thais
would have loved to see her sisters’ faces, watching Thais talk with a wild
creature. Luiza would be ecstatic. Isadora, not so much. Yara…

She
sighed, missing them so much. Yara could have healed Hinto with little effort. For
all her talk of the
nucca
plant, her best friend had a healing touch. Thais
had been the recipient of Yara’s hot hands a time or two and came away the
better for it.

The
nucca plant.

Glancing
at the mare—at Ainippe—Thais breathed a sigh of relief. Her saddle bags
remained, and in them, the jar of salve Yara had insisted each of her Amazon
sisters carry. While the seeds Thais had given Hinto would help his father once
planted and mature, the paste could help Hinto now.

He
woke on and off as they moved, but she wanted to put more distance between them
and their followers before they settled. They pressed forward for another hour
before Beast found a massive cave and entered without pause.

Though
it was pitch black, Thais trusted in the vore’s ability to sense trouble. Even
the mare remained docile, a good sign. They moved along twists and turns before
dead ending at a stone wall. Beast ambled near a thin trickle of water that
pooled upon the ground. A gap in the rocks above allowed patches of soft
moonlight to illuminate the ground. A ring of stones, where a fire might burn,
indicated the cave had been used before.

“Hinto?
We’re here,” she said before jumping to the ground. He mumbled under his breath,
still weary and in pain. After taking a blanket from her mare, she spread it on
the ground and turned back to Hinto. It took some doing, but she managed to
help him off Beast without too much bruising on her part. She laid him down on
her blanket by the stone ring, took off the saddles from Ainippe and Beast, and
made Hinto as comfortable as possible by propping his head over a folded shirt,
to pillow him from the hard, cold ground.

While
the animals drank from the small pool of water by the wall, Thais removed Hinto’s
clothing. Though bruised and bloodied, his injuries couldn’t hide his masculine
beauty. She’d been raised to look at men with bias, as less than worthy in the
Goddess’s own eyes. Yet staring at Hinto, she couldn’t see what made him physically
inferior to a woman.

Sure,
he had differences. But the sheer power in his taut frame spoke of a man used
to hard work. Muscles didn’t form in one with an idle cause, nor did his
bravery diminish because of his gender. No woman could have defended Thais any
better than he had. Her gaze drifted to his thigh, reddened and swollen over
the bullet encased in his flesh.

Unable
to stop herself, she studied the rest of his body, taken with his muscular
chest, so smooth, in contrast to his legs and the thatch of dark hair that cushioned
his sex. Now it lay soft and unthreatening. But she couldn’t forget how
powerful he’d felt when ridden by lust. How large and thick he’d been when rubbing
against her, seeking warmth.

Hinto
shivered and moaned, and she flushed with embarrassment. Thank the Goddess Yara
wasn’t here to see her ogling a man when he clearly needed care. She’d blister
Thais’s ears for certain.

Thais
covered Hinto with his blanket when he shivered again. Though it felt cooler in
the cave, she didn’t feel a chill. That Hinto did worried her. She placed a
hand on his forehead, as she’d often seen their healer do.

His
temperature warned of infection. The bullet in his thigh needed to come out,
and she noticed another gouge, where a bullet or knife had grazed his calf. She
stroked his chest, thanking him without words.

Finding
a clean, soft cloth, she wet it in the pool and gently cleaned the dirt and
blood from his wounds. With his face cleared, she saw much less damage than
she’d feared. A huge weight seemed to lift from her chest.

After
applying a thin layer of the
nucca
salve, she removed his blanket and
cleaned the rest of him. He didn’t stir as she dried him. She only hoped he’d
sleep through the next part.

Using
her knife, she made a small cut over the bullet’s entry. He cringed but
otherwise didn’t make a sound. Thais felt sick as she probed his torn tissue.
But she couldn’t find the bullet. She opened the wound wider, alarmed at the
wash of blood flowing from it once more.

No
matter what she did, she couldn’t find it, yet there was no exit wound. Wishing
once more for Yara’s calm presence, she set aside her knife and used her
fingers to poke and prod. The sensation of warm, bloody flesh made her
lightheaded but didn’t deter her. After what felt like an eternity, she felt the
edge of metal and managed to pull it out.

He
groaned and swore. “Good.” Hinto sounded as weak as he looked, his lips
bloodless, his face waxy, as he looked from her to the round. “Throw it…away.”

 After
she nodded, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Thais
tossed the iron to the ground with distaste, alarmed to feel tears gathering. She
blinked to disperse the weakness and attributed her fragile emotions to the
strain of the day. She’d been attacked and kidnapped, nearly run to ground, and
chased for half the night. Even her mother would have needed a break after so
much turmoil. And Thais wasn’t done yet.

With
trembling hands, she tied a band of cloth around Hinto’s leg to staunch the
bleeding, cleaned him once more, and covered him with the blanket.

She
would have liked a fire but didn’t want to give away their position should
Butch or his men have followed. The Nolan brothers were short on brains but not
on brawn. And she wasn’t up to another confrontation before she’d had some much
needed rest.

Resolving
to sleep as lightly as possible, she clutched her dagger and a rifle she’d
taken from Hinto’s pack, and settled down next to him. But the weather made
sleep impossible. Her teeth chattered as a cold wind tore through the cave.

Swearing
at her own stupidity—
he’s injured, how much of a threat is he, really?
—Thais
made sure not to press too close to him as she joined him under the blanket. Immediately,
his warmth bled into hers. She fell into a state of hazy rest, on her side, one
hand on her knife, the other on his gun.

Thais
woke to the muttered groans of a man gripped by fever. He felt hot, but from
what she knew, that might be a good thing.

The
sunlight streaming through the window in the ceiling showed the dawning of a
new day. The cave seemed brighter and bigger, and more defensible.

She
left Hinto to see to her needs well away from their position in the caves. When
she returned, she washed in the cave water. Refreshed and feeling more like
herself after a decent rest, she checked on him again.

He
opened his eyes, raised a hand to catch her braid, and smiled at her.

“Thank
the Mother.” She exhaled with relief. “Good morning.”

“You’re
damned right, it is.”

“So
how are you feeling? You look much better.” The swelling on his face had lessened
considerably.

“But
not as good as you. Make sure Wolf knows you’re mine.”

Wolf?
She looked around her. “Who’s Wolf?”

He
closed his eyes, still smiling. “That’s right, little brother. No way my Amazon
would ever fall for your ugly face.”

Hell.
“Hinto?”
She gently shook him, but his mumbling turned to laughter and then into a deep
sleep once more. So much for his incredibly fast recovery.

The
joy of the day sucked right out of her, she asked Beast to accompany her while
she familiarized herself with the deep cavern. Following the vore, she trekked
through the dark maze back to the entrance and left tiny markings along the
bottom of the rock walls with her knife. Once outside, gathering storm clouds
convinced her to spend the day in the cave. Gathering black berries off a tree,
she held out her hand.

“These
any good?”

Beast
sniffed and ate one, then another. Before she knew it, he’d eaten them all.

“Right.
Let’s go grab Ainippe then. You two can eat while I gather some food for
Hinto.”

Once
all three of them were back outside, the horse and the vore munched on berries
and dried grasses while she foraged. Thais gathered berries and a few flowers
she knew to be edible. They had a bit of jerky left and a source of water they
would make good use of. Enough food to hole up in the caves for a few days, at
least.

Returning
inside, the odd threesome made small talk. Thais muttered to herself about
stubborn males as she watched Hinto fight his fever. Ainippe flirted with
Beast, and Beast snorted and huffed as vores do, probably flirting right back
with her mare.

Hinto
remained asleep. For hours she cared for him, using a damp rag to cool him off
when needed, and replacing his blanket every time he shrugged it off. She ate a
few berries but saved the majority for him. The
nucca
paste she
reapplied did wonders for his face. The swelling had all but disappeared,
leaving him with mottled shades of blue, green and purple around his eyes,
cheeks and mouth.

The
bullet wound bled bright red when pressed. It smelled fresh, not of disease. No
sign of infection.

Hinto,
it seemed, was a fast healer…and an interesting companion.

The
first few times he’d murmured nonsense she’d turned a deaf ear, resting while
giving him a measure of privacy he would have wanted. She ignored him for the
first few hours. But later in the day, he called her name. Several times.

Finally,
she answered. “I’m here, Hinto.”

Glassy
blue eyes blinked at her. “Thais, how are we doing?”

“Better,
if you’re finally aware of me.”

“Honey,
I’ve been aware of you from the moment you killed Bob.”

“Who’s
Bob?” The name sounded familiar.

“What?”
He looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Well, hell. Mahpee, Wolf, meet Thais.”

She
glanced behind her and saw no one there.
Perfect. Now I’m part of his
delusion.

“Hi,
Wolf,” she said dryly. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“How
long?” Hinto murmured something.

“What?”

“How
long have we been married? I can’t remember the date.”

She
stared at him in shock.
Married?

He
glared at his imaginary friends. “You know better than that, Wolf. Hell, I
don’t give a shit what Mahpee did with Dana. I’m not sharing.”

Sharing?
Dana?

Married?

“Well,
I guess you can watch. She won’t mind, will you honey?”

“Mind
what?” she rasped, completely off balance. Hinto thought of her in terms of
marriage? A permanent joining between mates? The Amazons didn’t take a male for
more time than it took to get with child.

“Come
here.” His lazy grin should have warned her he was up to something. But as sick
as he was, she vowed to help him no matter what he needed.

She
leaned closer when he startled her. His arms locked around her and pinned her
to him, surprisingly strong.

“Easy,
Hinto!  You’ll tear your wound. And watch your mouth, mmph—”

She
didn’t struggle except to shift over his body, mindful of his many injuries. How
could the man want to do anything sexual when he was obviously in pain—which
their brief kiss quickly reminded him?

He
moaned. “Shit, I ache. And not in a good way.”

She
sat up and straddled his waist. His hair stood up in sections, bruises darkened
his face, and disappointment clouded his gaze. He looked so put out she had to
grin.

 “Easy,
Hinto.” Thais leaned down and placed a whisper-light kiss on his lips. He
sighed into her mouth, and she did it again.

The
small pecks that soothed him aroused her to a level of frustration she could
have done without. Once again, Hinto made her want. And he didn’t even know it.

The
idiot male had fallen back to sleep with a goofy smile on his face.

She
ran a hand over his cheek and slowly eased off him. Crouching to his side, she
looked at him but saw so much more than a man.

Why
couldn’t she wrap her mind around anything but Hinto lately?

Their
plan to take care of Gregor had failed. Now they had to find him while avoiding
his maniacal brother and more men with guns. Just one more hurdle to cross in
Thais’s never-ending journey toward redemption.

She
didn’t believe in coincidence. Why now, after so much time away from her
people, would Thais find affection for a forbidden male, right when she’d had
her first lead on Pilar and Bartel? This strange lust for Hinto distracted her
from her purpose and crossed the very conventions she’d been raised to believe.
Thais faced the truth of her gradual slide into failure’s familiar path. She
had a chance to make things right, to leave Hinto behind and forge her own way
to victory.

Yet
honor demanded she not abandon him. Hinto deserved her respect; he’d earned it.
If a sister warrior had saved her, she’d owe her the same care, nursing her
back to health. A quandary, to be sure, because honesty compelled Thais to
admit she liked having to help him.