immediate concern?â
âYou,â Mikil said. âYouâre dead in France. And Monique.â
âYouâre suggesting we write them back to life?â
âWhy not?â Mikil asked.
âIsnât that a bit complicated? It seems a bit much. Absurd maybe.â
âAbsurd?â Ronin said. âAs opposed to the rest of this, which is supposed to make perfect sense?â
âWrite it,â Thomas said.
Mikilâs hand hovered above the blank page. âOnce upon a time, Thomas came back to life?â
âMore detail.â
âI donât think I can do this. What detail? I donât even know what you were wearing.â
âWrite this,â Thomas said. He glanced at her hand, which hadnât moved. âReady?â
âOkay.â She lowered her hand.
âThomas Hunter, the man who first learned of the Raison Strainâs threat, the same man who was shot in the headââ
âHold on.â Mikil touched the charcoal stick to the page. If she wasnât mistaken, a slight heat rode up her fingers. Then again, her nerves were firing hot. She wrote his words verbatim.
âOkay.â
Thomas continued. âThe same man who was shot in the head, was killed in France by a bullet to the head. Period. But on the third day he came back to life . . . No, forget that. This instead: But at a time when his body was unattended by any of his enemies, he came back to life. The end.â
She lifted the stick. âThe end? What about Monique?â
âNew paragraph. At about the same time that Thomas Hunter came back to life, Monique de Raison found herself in good health and fully able to continue her search for an antivirus in the United States of America. The end.â
Johan sighed. âHonestly, these donât sound like stories to me.â He looked in the direction William had gone. âThis whole thing seems a bit ridiculous in the face of our predicament. Can I suggest we reach . . .â
Johan stopped. His face lightened a shade. Mikil looked at the others who had honed in on Johanâs reaction. He was listening.
Then she heard it. The faint thunder of hooves. On the cliffs.
The Horde!
âMove!â Thomas snapped. âInto the tunnel!â
5
T homas snatched up the Book and shoved it into his belt as he ran for the tents. Justin had shown his face to him. Then Kara through Mikil. And now the Horde was attacking.
Now I will show you my heart.
In moments they had caught up to William. âMikil, Johan, get Samuel and Marie into the tunnel with the others! William, the east canyon with me. Five men.â
Theyâd selected this particular wash five days earlier not only for its proximity to the red pool, but because of a hidden passage under two huge boulders in the eastern canyon. The route was almost impossible to see without standing directly in front of it. With any luck the Horde would expect them to take one of the two more obvious escape routes.
How had the Scabs managed to pass their sentries on the cliffs undetected?
The first arrow clipped the rock face on Thomasâs left before he reached the tents. He glanced over his shoulder. Mounted archers. Fifty at least.
âAhead,â Mikil shouted. âTheyâve cut off the eastern canyon!â
Cries of alarm sounded throughout the camp. Women ran for their children. The men were already running toward the corral. There was no time to collect dishes or food or clothing. They would do well enough to escape with their lives.
âWilliam?â
âYou want only five?â his lieutenant demanded. âThe Scabs might not follow us.â
They would be the diversion. Under other circumstances he would take at least ten, enough to raise enough dust to draw a pursuit while the others slipped away through the hidden escape route. But Thomas knew that, today, whoever was part of the diversion might not escape.
âOnly five,â he