Blood surged in Badgertail's ears. He slung his quiver over his shoulder and grabbed up his bow. Rolling onto his back, he nocked an arrow while he scanned every possible entry. To his left, Parsnip and Groundsel scaled the rocks to shoot down on their attackers.
A thin cry wavered into oblivion. On its heels, one enemy warrior materialized, vaulting a maze of wounded and dying to leap into the camp.
When the man threw back his head to shrill a war cry, Badgertail aimed and let loose. His victim wheeled, yelling as he stumbled backward and wilted atop the rocks, clawing at the shaft that had buried itself in his belly.
"They're coming!" Southwind howled. He and his people had wedged themselves between stone slabs to guard the south side. "There must be a hundred!"
Badgertail hit the ground on his stomach, slithering until he reached the tumbled stone on the western side of camp. Slinging his bow over his shoulder, he scrambled up the rocks until he could look down over the creek.
Coming up the drainage bottom, in the same way that his own people had ambushed Redweed Village, twenty warriors were splashing through the thin film of water. How had they gotten through? They must have killed the guards he'd posted as lookouts.
The enemy war party charged Badgertail's camp in a screaming horde, shooting into the midst of fleeing warriors and swinging their war clubs for close combat. They came in wave after wave, ten at a time, throwing themselves against the stone fortress.
A glint of black caught Badgertail's eye, and he whirled in time to see a man moving through the rocks behind Locust. "Locust, get down!" he shouted. She dove for cover as Badgertail fired. The arrow took the man squarely through the ribs. He jerked backward and lost his balance on the uneven rocks. Spinning sideways, he fell.
"There are too many!" Badgertail shouted. "Run! Break into groups of five and get out of here! Let's make them split their forces if they're going to hunt us! Hute, go first. We'll try to cover you."
Flute tapped four people as he sprinted by, and they followed him through a break in the rocks, then raced down into the creek bottom. Other parties of five began escaping. Badgertail fired three arrows to hold off pursuers, but only one hit its mark, slashing across a woman's face, blinding her.
Jagged shrieks mixed with the wails of the wounded, and Badgertail's warriors fell back beneath the onslaught.
"Everybody! Go! Go on, get out of here!"
Badgertail climbed higher into the rocks to peer out across the floodplain. The sight that met his eyes made the muscles knot in the pit of his stomach. His warriors retreated in a choking cloud of dust, stumbling through the charred remains of Redweed Village while they fired at the irregular lines of people who followed. But the wounded near the camp kept fighting, drenched in sweat and covered with blood.
"Badgertail?" Locust yelled. She crouched alone in the eastern rocks. Blood soaked her shoulder and sleeve. Hit? Had she been hit? Or was the blood someone else's? "Hailcloud has split his people to chase ours. There's an opening to the southwest. Take itr
"Not without you! Come on!" Badgertail jumped down to the ground and ran for her.
Locust fired a final arrow and sprinted to meet him halfway. They dashed past the place where Wanderer and Vole had sat earlier, leaped over the scattered contents of two packs, and burst out onto the open plain. If they could just get across the creek and into the tall stands of sunflowers and giant ragweed, they might be able to crawl their way to freedom.
"Badgertail? Help . . . help me."
He spun to see Southwind half-staggering, half-running, behind them. Blood drenched the warrior's side around the hand he pressed tightly to his side. Dark, crimson blood, gut blood.
Badgertail slapped Locust on the shoulder. "Get across the creek. I'll join you as soon as I can."
He started back, but Locust caught him by the arm and swung him around. "Don't be a fool. Southwind is dead on his feet! His body just doesn't know it yet. Look at the color of that blood. I won't let you sacrifice yourself to—"
"Maybe it's not as bad as it looks."
"Stop lying to yourself! You've seen too many wounds not to realize—"
"I can't leave him! They'll mutilate any of us they catch alive."
"Mutilation is nothing! Do you know what they'll do if they catch you? The great Badgertail! The man who murdered their families and destroyed their homes. They'll make the torture last for days. They won't let you die until you've told them every detail of our battle plan. You'll betray the entire—"
"Go!" Badgertail jerked free of her grip. "I'll meet you!"
Then he was running back, winding around clumps of wild roses, to reach Southwind. The stocky warrior tottered into Badgertail's arms; putting his right arm around Southwind's waist, Badgertail hauled him over the edge of the creek.