Two-Thirds Blue

Chapter Eleven: Professional Relationship

Laden with everything they could carry, Dusk and Onyx left the empty Resistance headquarters and headed into the forest. Dusk inhaled deeply. It felt good to breathe normally again without the stench of blood clogging his nostrils. Though they were a good half hour behind the rozkod, they had no trouble picking up the trail. The wheels of the carts, stacked high with bodies, had carved deep channels into the ground.

"I was telling Rade and Syk about my amazing tracking skills the other day," Dusk said. "They didn't believe me, but now I can prove it to you."

"Oh, can you?" Onyx grinned. She was moving a little faster now that she had a proper crutch under her arm.

"I can. For instance, look closely at the ground right here. I can tell from the pattern of displaced leaves that a large cart came this way."

"Really? Where?"

"Right between those two lines in the dirt."

"I see it now. Very clever."

Dusk noticed that she'd been tugging at the straps of her bag. "Do you want me to carry some of that stuff for you? There's still room in mine."

"What, you think I can't handle it?"

"No. I think both of my legs work."

"Dusk. Look." She raised an arm and flexed. Dusk was more than a little intimidated. "I can handle it."

"Point taken," he said somberly. And then, "Didn't you have a giant cut on that arm?"

"Yes. I did. It hurts terribly now and I wish I hadn't done that."

They continued for close to two hours but never caught up to the rozkod that had taken the bodies. But the tracks eventually led to a wide dirt road that cut through the trees. As they passed through a bend, they could see structures in the distance, outlined by the sinking sun.

Onyx squinted. "What's that, a town?"

"I think so. But no one lives around here as far as I know. Must be deserted. There's a lot of empty towns near the Mallekhan border. Everyone started fleeing west when Delrox made his move."

"Let's hope it's empty," Onyx responded. "If the rozkod were headed there, then they might be using it for shelter."

"You're probably right. Let's get off the road."

They edged back into the trees. After several minutes they could see that the village was overgrown and forgotten, but the sounds coming from within were all too familiar.

"There's rozkod in there, alright," Onyx observed quietly. "Could be what we're after."

"Not too many, I hope," Dusk grimaced. "How many do you think we could take right now?"

"Oh, at least one. Maybe even one and a half."

It was a small village– more of a hamlet, really. Just a handful of squat wooden buildings arranged in a haphazard circle around what may have once been a garden, but was now a bonfire. At least ten rozkod were camped inside, pacing around the fire and hacking bits off some kind of dead animal suspended above it. Dusk and Onyx stayed well past the treeline, doing their best to stay out of sight.

"Can you see inside any of the houses?" Onyx whispered.

"No. It's too dark. What are you thinking?"

"If I were holding anyone captive, I'd probably keep them in one of the smaller buildings with a couple of guards." She pointed to the opposite side of the town. "That one, over there. Sort of a shed. There's a rozkod standing outside of it. And if Eclipse and the others are in there, I'm guessing there's at least one more rozkod inside."