Tribe: The Red Hand (Tribe Series Book 1) by Kaelyn Ross Read Free Book Online

Even if the poultices Aiden had placed over the wounds stopped the flesh-rot before it began, the lion’s claws had done a nasty job, and the injuries would remain tender for a long time. Kestrel knew, as well as Aiden did, that she owed her life to him. She was grateful, but also suspicious. Even if others never seemed to notice, she was well aware that Aiden never gave something unless he stood to gain more in return. She wondered if this side journey might be leading her to his price.
    Around midday, they came to an area where a long ago wildfire had cleared out the forest, providing a view of a wide valley, and beyond that, the scrubby foothills marched off to the east until they joined a dusty, summer-yellow plain.
    The valley below them held another of the desolate cities that had not seen human inhabitants since the Red Fever crushed the world.
    From their vantage point the leaning, cone-shaped buildings of the city resembled tired old men gathered around their own graves. Sadness touched her heart, but she promptly buried it before Aiden could see her feelings written across her face.
    “What are we doing here?” Kestrel asked.
    Aiden gave her a strange look. What she saw in his raised eyebrows, too-wide eyes, and slightly parted lips, was a startled uncertainty. She would not have been more surprised if he had fallen over dead at her feet. He spoke quietly, as if imparting a secret. “Have you ever wanted to explore the old cities?”
    “No,” Kestrel said, aghast. “Everyone knows they are cursed with poisoned luck and dark spirits. More than that, the Elders have forbidden us to enter them. Who in their right mind would want to explore…?”
    She trailed off, suddenly understanding his earlier expression. To Aiden, rules were not meant to be broken, and he viewed anyone who so much as bent the rules to be weak and unworthy. And yet, here he was, unable to resist the allure of breaking one such rule.
    Maybe the fever was influencing her, but all at once she felt closer to him than she ever had before. For the first time, she saw him as a real person, instead of a piece of walking iron. Seeing him that way, not necessarily fragile, but vulnerable, gave her an idea that never would have crossed her mind before—she had meant every word about the dangers that lurked in the old cities.
    “I’ll go with you,” she said slowly, hoping she was not condemning herself to some gruesome end, “but only if you stop saying I’m not worthy to be a Red Hand.”
    His brow furrowed in thought. Whatever was going on inside his head seemed disagreeable, but after a few seconds he nodded. “All right, I agree.”
    His assurance did not sound very convincing, but she decided to take what she could get. “Let’s go.”
    He studied her for a few moments, as if suspecting some trick, then began walking toward the city.
    Kestrel went after him, but the closer they came to the outskirts, the less certain she was of the bargain she had made. Thinking again of how he always managed to come out ahead, she could not help but wonder if he had planned this all along.

CHAPTER TEN
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Shaped like a huge teardrop, the narrowest point of the ancient city began high up the valley and swelled as it fell into the lower end a few miles away. Gray ribbons, edged with pale lines that magnified the sunlight, formed a gridwork throughout the city. Kestrel knew they were not ribbons at all, but ancient roadways that remained untouched by countless deep snowfalls and spring thaws.
    Most such thoroughfares did not extend past the old cities, but when hunting two summers ago, Kestrel had ventured far south of her village. After climbing a high plateau, she had found a similar grid nestled amongst the sage flats. To her, it looked as if someone had thought to build a city on that spot, but had only managed to build the roads.
    She had approached the outermost road with superstitious dread. After spending several minutes