The Wild Dead (The Bannerless Saga 2)

She could only keep saying that. Nothing else she could do. Was like sitting in a cellar, waiting for a storm to pass while wind beat at the doors.

Enid had felt so much anger at the unfairness of it. Olive had wanted the baby so badly. And now here was Neeve, who’d given up the Coast Road for a child. And that was fine, that was fair. But then she’d changed her mind. Like you could just change your mind about something like a baby. By Coast Road rules, Ella was bannerless. And now she was dead, which was the greater tragedy.

At least Olive had gotten a second chance. Just six months later, she was pregnant again, though they spoke in whispers about it and walked softly until the first trimester was done, then the second, and finally when she couldn’t hide her belly anymore, they announced it officially—Serenity’s baby was on the way.

They’d have their baby, very much wanted. And part of Enid knew she would be desperately afraid for that child’s safety her whole life. She’d seen firsthand how brutally, terribly wrong things could turn out. The four of them at Serenity might not be enough to stop it. But they would try, with every drop of their blood and every spark of their souls.

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Enid had collapsed in mud only a few dozen yards from the bridge near Bonavista household. As two sets of hands worked to haul her upright, she came back to awareness, battling her queasy stomach. A dog was barking. Bear, dancing toward her, then bounding in place, as if he couldn’t figure out whether she was friendly or dangerous.

“I’m fine, just a little tired.” Her voice came out a whisper. She couldn’t make herself heard, which was frustrating.

“No, you’re not.” That was Jess, she thought, surprised. What was he doing here?

She blinked, squinted to focus. Both Erik and Jess were here. The two were helping her walk toward the buildings at Bonavista. Well, at least she’d made it back. Barely. Jess, on her left, tried to pull her arm over his shoulder, and she gasped. Her whole arm ached, but his grasp made it scream with pain. She’d really need to get a look at that bruise.

“It’s okay,” she managed to say. “Just got hit a little.” She tried to walk with more vigor, so they wouldn’t hold her so tightly.

“Get something to drink, then talk,” Erik said. Apparently, she’d been trying to speak. She wanted to shake her head, but it hurt too much.

Next thing she knew, she was on the front porch of the main house at Bonavista, with a whole swarm of folk fussing around her. Jess folded her hands around a mug of water. The kid, Tom, lurked nearby. Enid looked around for Mart, for anyone from Last House. Didn’t see them.

Another face she expected to see was missing.

“Slow,” Jess ordered. “Not all at once.”

Enid sipped. The wetness filled her mouth and woke her up. Steadied her.

She’d survive.

Faces surrounded her, but not the one she was looking for. “Where’s Teeg?”

“Drink some more, Enid. Then we can talk.”

“No, where is he?” She set the mug aside, tried to stand. Erik and Jess urged her back down.

“Well . . . he left,” Erik said.

A fury growing in her, Enid tried to swear, and the heat pressed down on her again.

Just then, Juni came around the corner, a bundle of reeds slung over her shoulder like the ones she’d carried the day Enid and Teeg first arrived. In her hand, her machete, her grip on the handle sure. Enid focused on that blade until she couldn’t see anything else.

Enid had so much to do. She had to talk to Teeg. And Neeve, where was Neeve? She’d meant to stop at Last House first, so she could talk to the woman.

But then Enid fainted again.

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Jess put her to bed, and Enid agreed to stay there only because lying down felt so blissful. She could think better when horizontal, propped on pillows. At least for the moment. Her injured shoulder felt better when she kept it still, and she wondered if it was more damaged than she first thought. But she decided to keep quiet about it until she could get back to Everlast, to have a medic look at it. After a couple of hours lying down and sipping water, she felt her dehydrated mind slowly becoming alert. After taking in soup as well as water, she was able to read her notebook. She wanted to be very sure she remembered everything that had happened to her in the hills. That the connections she’d made hadn’t vanished.

But Enid had a more pressing issue. “When did Teeg leave?”

“Just this morning,” Juni explained, taking away the cool cloth that had been pressed to Enid’s forehead.

Enid watched the woman closely, wondering how much she knew and when she had found out. She was being so helpful.

“Someone has to go after him,” Enid said.