Mist's Edge (The Broken Lands #2) - T.A. White Page 0,140

the loop on the other door. Caden repeated that with the bolt above him. There was a third bolt below that Fallon shoved forward.

The doors secured, they stepped back, prepared to jump forward should the locks fail. The wood bulged inward once, dust cascading down, before settling.

There was a whoop as his men realized the battle was over and they’d come out victorious.

Zeph stood beside Fallon and gave the doors a cautious look. “This is a very odd land. I have never seen creatures acting in such a manner. I counted at least five winged species out there.”

Fallon grunted. He had seen the same.

“Since when do these beasts attack in a coordinated fashion? If your Telroi hadn’t opened this place when she did, we would have been slaughtered,” Zeph said.

The Ember clan leader made a very good point.

“Bring me the pathfinder,” Fallon ordered one of his Anateri. He needed to locate Shea. Every moment that passed without seeing her safe while giving him her grumpiest expression tied the knot in his chest tighter.

Van and Chirron approached, the two men giving each other a wide berth. Fallon fought the oath that he wanted to spit out at the sight. The two had never gotten along. Chirron, a man who spent his time healing and saving people, was the exact opposite of Van, a man who used his skills to keep Chirron busy.

Fallon had need of both in his army. Though he preferred to deal with each separately and not when he had more pressing matters on his mind then their ongoing feud.

“We need to get moving,” Van said without any preliminary conversation. He gave the doors Fallon stood by a look of distaste. “There’s no telling how long these will hold, given how old they probably are. The beasts could break through at any moment. It would be best if we were far from this place when that happens.”

“We can’t leave,” Chirron said, giving the other man a scathing look. “There were many wounded. I need time to stabilize them, or you risk them perishing on the move.”

Van turned to fix Chirron with an exasperated glare. “Chi, we can’t risk these doors breaking. You’ll have way more patients than you can handle at that point. Sometimes you have to make hard choices; this is one of those times.”

Chirron scoffed. “Don’t give me that load of horse dung. There’s been no sign of the doors weakening. There’s no reason not to take the extra time to ensure these men get the care they need.”

“If you and your healers haven’t been able to stabilize them by now, the chances of them surviving this journey are slim,” Van returned, his face drawn into grim lines. “We can’t leave them here nor can we accommodate their pace going into the Highlands.”

“You want me to give them mercy,” Chirron accused.

Van’s expression didn’t lighten or offer quarter. “You do them no favors by prolonging their deaths.”

“I’m not going to do that just so your life can be a little easier,” Chirron hissed.

It was easy to forget that the smaller man had gone through the same training as the rest of the Trateri. The same training that produced some of the best warriors in the Broken Lands. His interests might have turned to healing instead of killing, but in many ways Chirron was just as deadly as any other man in Fallon’s army.

“Enough,” Fallon said, breaking up the brewing fight. He couldn’t afford to have two of his highest officers break into fisticuffs over a disagreement. The blow to morale would be crippling. Not to mention, he had more important things to turn his attention to, like finding Shea, and then finding a way out of here. “How many are beyond even your skills?”

Chirron expression turned stubborn, his mouth turning down and his body tightening as if in preparation for battle.

Fallon gave him a warning look, in no mood to humor his principles.

Chirron relaxed, his expression smoothing out, though some of his unhappiness showed. “Three are in a bad way. I am not sure they will survive until sunset.”

“And the rest?”

“Two might pull through, if given adequate rest and care. The rest have minor injuries that, if treated immediately, shouldn’t pose a risk to their health as long as they keep the wounds from getting infected.”

“Offer mercy to the three. If they choose not to take it, we’ll give them a week’s worth of rations and water and find them a place with decent cover to remain. Stabilize