The same fat-burning candles as well as several torches illuminated the terrace and workstations.
“Pretty good, right?” Dani asked.
Lynn slowly dragged her gaze over to her dark-haired companion and nodded, awestruck. “Brilliant,” she said. “Absolutely brilliant.”
It was. It was secure from predators and the very few people who would ever wander into the area, provided an excellent lookout, and, above all, made the group largely self-sufficient.
As if Dani could read her mind, she pointed to the garden. “What we can’t eat or store, we trade for wool or food we don’t produce ourselves. To the south is another small settlement with sheep and goats, for example.” Dani stepped out onto the roof and the door fell shut.
The sound brought Lynn back to reality. This was still enemy territory. She took it all in. “What do you make yourselves?”
“Cody is a metalworker; Flint works mostly with bone and ivory, and Eduardo and Dean are our resident woodworkers. Ren and Eduardo tend the garden.” Dani pushed forward, straight across the roof.
Lynn followed and listened, soaking up the information like a sponge. Information was power: the more she knew about the group, the better she could protect herself against them. “How about Kate?”
“Kate is in charge, pretty much; she’s our spokesperson and is in charge of inventory and trade. Richard was our scout.”
“And you?”
Dani stood a little straighter. “I hunt, help where I can, and do the leatherworking. Ren tried to teach me to knit once, but I almost stabbed her with a needle out of frustration, so we gave up on that.” She grinned.
Lynn smiled despite her tumbling thoughts. It was all so… well organized. Everyone had defined roles and skills to contribute, and they seemed to get along. The group was large enough to cover all bases but small enough to depend on each other for survival, which must help keep the peace between them. Lynn had been in groups too small to function properly, which led to famine and infighting, and groups too large, which made people complacent and greedy. Both had splintered. This group actually had a shot of making it—if they managed to survive the loss of one of their own. She decided not to put focus on that. “You guys have one of the best setups of any group I’ve encountered so far.”
“Thanks.” Dani took in the rooftop again. “Kate and Richard started it all, including the garden. Kate’s decent at gardening too, but with the one arm, she tends to get frustrated with it.”
“What’s up with that, anyway?”
“Huh? Oh, the arm? Born that way. No story.” Dani turned to her, walking backward a few paces. “Trust me, in a few days, you won’t even notice it anymore.”
“I guess.” She wasn’t planning on being around long enough to get used to anything.
Without another word, Dani guided her to a workbench in the shed she had previously pointed to when she had spoken of her own activities. She dumped the slab of meat on a heavily stained workbench. Wood cuttings and dried grass covered the floor, probably to absorb the blood that came off her kills. It was a small workstation that they barely fitted into together, but it was well stocked with knives of various sizes and other tools of the trade.
Lynn disposed of her share of the meat and straightened with a groan. Her wet shirt stuck to her skin. Lynn hoped she would soon be able to wash properly. After the work was done.
“We’ll smoke most of the meat so we can store it longer and trade it with other settlements. Ren and the others will poke up the fire and set up the smokehouse. Do you know how to butcher?”
“Not formally or anything, but I can cut meat into strips. Just tell me what size, and I’ll be good.”
“Where’s your axe?” Dani’s tone was casual, but it was a clear reminder that she knew Lynn was still armed.
“It’s a tomahawk. And it’s in my pack.” Lynn met her eyes defiantly.
Dani examined her a few moments longer and then pulled a knife off a rack: a long blade with a wicked edge. She turned over the jagged slab in front of her, cut off a thin but long strip, and held it up for Lynn to see.
“No problem.”
Dani hesitated, then tossed the blade in the air in a display of showmanship and caught it by the sharp end by pinching it between her fingers before the cutting edge could cut into the palm. It was a well-practiced and impressive trick, a way to show she knew how to handle a blade without coming right out and saying it.
Lynn caught the warning that underlay the gesture loud and clear.
Dani offered the handle to Lynn, leveling the tip of the blade with her own belly in the process. “Then I guess you get to borrow a knife of mine.”
Their gazes met and held.
A test? Lynn inhaled slowly, then took the knife. She tried to emote that she wouldn’t run Dani through the second she let go. She might have if it would have given her an advantage, but without knowing where Skeever was, she couldn’t make her escape.
After a few moments, Dani released her grip and did not look down at the blade.
Lynn lowered it.
Dani swallowed heavily, and Lynn’s attention was drawn to her throat. She pulled her gaze away instantly as she realized staring at the neck of someone who was worried you’d kill them with their own blade was a bad idea. As casually as she could, she took Dani’s place. She silently pulled the slab of meat over, cut along the sinew, pulled it out, and set it aside.
Dani watched her—not just her hands but her face. “You seem to have it handled, Wilder. I need to go help Ren, but I’ll get you a few new chunks soon, okay?” Dani’s tone was casual, but there was a touch of tension underneath. Maybe she was reconsidering leaving a stranger alone with a wall of knives.
“See you soon.” Lynn forced a little smile, which she hoped would steady Dani’s nerves.
After a few moments of inspection, Dani turned and walked away without another word.
Lynn watched her go, and the knots in her stomach loosened more with every step Dani took. Being left alone gave her a chance to take stock of her situation and make a plan. It was fairly simple: she needed to find Skeever and then make a break for it. For now, she would cooperate and learn all she could. If they wanted her to do chores, then that was what she would do—right until she made her move.
The chunk of meat fell heavily on the cutting block. Lynn had seen Dani coming so she wasn’t caught by surprise, but she still had to keep herself from jumping at the suddenness of it all. That first day when she’d had Skeever, she had jumped skittishly at everything he had done as well. In her world, sudden movement usually meant sudden death.
“More to cut up. I’m going to help Ren and Eduardo set up the smokehouse.” Dani left without waiting for an answer.
Lynn watched her go again, then let her gaze veer out over the rooftop for Dean, but he wasn’t there. She’d spent most of her time at the cutting block assessing the group and its dynamic. Lynn observed them the way she would a herd of animals or stalking predators: with the razor-sharp focus of one trying to stay alive. If she understood the mechanics of their hierarchy, she would be able to use it against them—at least that’s what she hoped.
Of those whose physical strength and power over the group she respected the most, only Cody was within sight. He worked the main fire into a frenzy before allowing it to dim down to blazing coals that warped the sky above them with their heat. He and Kate seemed to be the group’s alphas.