Hangman forced himself to cower in the bushes and stifle his breathing while he peered out through the undergrowth toward the Renegade camp.

  He had no idea what his father and cousins were doing out in the jungle, but Hangman’s plan worked.

  That big man who questioned the captive Godless must be the Renegade’s leader—or at least the man in charge of this patrol.

  He strode back and forth through the camp giving orders to everyone. He paced with his back to the prisoners.

  He kept pointing to different areas of the jungle and sending out different groups of Renegades in different directions. Did he even realize this was exactly what the Godless wanted him to do?

  How many Renegades could this man call on to come after the Godless? Hangman couldn’t tell from here and he really didn’t care.

  The camp emptied out—at least as far as Hangman could tell. The big man kept five Renegades behind to guard the prisoners. He sent everyone else out to find Shadow’s party.

  The big man knew that more Godless were in the area. He wouldn’t rest until he hunted them all down. That would be his fatal error—but not before Hangman rescued his people.

  Cross sat between Feather and Magnet and stared at the ground in stoic silence. Hangman couldn’t have felt prouder of his younger brother. Cross really belonged in the company of men after this ordeal.

  Hangman couldn’t wait for his pulse to slow down or his lungs to stop burning. He saw his opening—and he was alone. He didn’t have to consult with anyone about what he was going to do.

  He skirted the camp and made sure to avoid any other skirmishes between Godless and Renegades. He had more important things to do.

  The noise in the jungle told him all he needed to know. His father and cousins were still locked in mortal combat against the Renegades out there. Hangman wouldn’t find a more perfect time than now to free the prisoners.

  He worked his way all the way around to the south side of the camp, darted out of the trees, and hid behind one of the huts.

  That was one disadvantage of these huts. They were too solid. They did more than block fresh air from blowing through the interior. They stopped anyone from seeing a person sneaking up on the patrol.

  He peeked out from behind the wall, made sure the Renegades were all facing the other way, and sprinted to another hut.

  He didn’t head straight for the captive Godless. That would have been too obvious.

  He circled the group to the western side—the opposite side from where the Godless first approached this camp.

  He hid behind another hut and then crept forward three more huts to position himself behind the prisoners. They didn’t see him and neither did the Renegades.

  Cross sat right in front of Hangman. Cross didn’t look up when Hangman peeked out a second and third time. Hangman had to get his brother’s attention somehow.

  Hangman crouched in his hiding place and had to hide when one of the Renegades happened to cross the camp going in another direction.

  Hangman slid one of his kukris back into his waistband and pulled out the knife from the horizontal sheath across his back. He didn’t like parting with any weapon, but he would get it back as soon as he freed his relatives.

  He waited for the Renegades to leave for the other side of the camp. The noise of combat escalated out there. Practically the whole surviving Renegade force must be out there now.

  He hunkered down behind the same wall, put his knife on the ground, and slid it out across the ground so it came to rest right next to Cross’s thigh.

  He stared at it—and his eyes snapped up to meet Hangman’s. Hangman showed himself just enough to let Cross know what was going on.

  Cross’s eyes went hard, but right then, a different Renegade came back. He would have seen the knife, but Cross moved his legs just enough to cover the weapon with his thigh.

  His movements attracted Magnet’s attention. He was a sturdy, methodical, intelligent man who somehow missed his older brother Boxer’s sloppy tendencies.

  Magnet wore his hair long, straight, loose, and simple. He always did his work reliably and well.

  He never distinguished himself by any great feats of heroism or leadership. He didn’t have to because he always did what was necessary for his Clan, his band, his Kral, and his family.

  Hangman had to continually remind himself practically every day that he had no reason to hold it against Magnet that he was Butcher’s son and Boxer’s brother. None of that reflected badly on Magnet, but Hangman still had to stop himself from thinking that way.

  Magnet’s head snapped around. He scowled at Cross for squirming around.

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  Cross looked up, caught Magnet’s eye, and moved his leg just enough to show Magnet the knife.

  Magnet froze—and then his eyes snapped up to meet Cross’s. Cross sliced his eyes toward the hut where Hangman was hiding. Magnet pretended to go back to facing front—and he saw Hangman, too.

  Hangman showed himself just enough to motion Magnet toward himself. Magnet acknowledged the message by looking away. His face closed up in a scowl of determination. He didn’t pay any attention when Cross started squirming around again.

  He maneuvered his legs in a different direction, adjusted his weight on his seat, and used his new position to push the knife behind him.

  He had to keep hitching himself up on one side or the other until he worked the knife all the way back behind himself and into his own bound hands.

  Butcher barked at Cross to keep still. Cross stopped squirming. He didn’t need to anymore. He had the knife.

  Hangman’s nerves threatened to snap while he waited for Cross to cut the ropes. Hangman had no idea how this was going to work with the Renegades standing guard.

  In the worst scenario, Hangman could give Magnet or Feather one of his kukris—at least until he rearmed the rest of the captive Godless.

  The party could attack the Renegades and fight them right here in the middle of the camp. The numbers would match up. It would have been a fair fight if the Godless had been armed.

  Cross could use Hangman’s knife—but it didn’t work out that way in the end.

  Cross’s shoulders strained from the effort of cutting the ropes while he still had his hands bound behind him. Hangman didn’t see what Cross did.

  It all made sense when Magnet sat up and pulled his arms free. Cross must have been sitting in a position where he could cut Magnet’s bonds before his own.

  Magnet glanced up at the Renegades, but right then, another five Renegades came back into the camp from the east—where the Godless were out there killing everyone.

  These five gathered around their leader and held a quick conference. The other Renegades who should have been guarding the prisoners also gathered around to listen.

  The five patrollers pointed behind them up the hill toward the jungle.

  The noise up there sounded like a lot more than combat. It sounded like a bunch of men locked in battle against a Krakelow—or maybe more than one Krakelow.

  Hangman could only hope the Krakelows were fighting Renegades instead of Godless.

  He knew what he had to do either way. The big Renegade leader directed another five of his men to stay behind and guard the prisoners he still thought were bound and helpless.

  Then the leader and all the rest of his men went up there to check out the situation.

  Hangman saw his chance, skirted the hut, and came out on its other side. The five men standing guard barely looked at the prisoners.

  The Renegades all faced eastward and stared up the hill listening. They followed the battle with their ears.

  Hangman didn’t hear any men yelling out there—which they would have been if Godless warriors had been fighting Krakelows.

  He heard a lot of crashing around, but he didn’t hear any voices. The Renegades must be up there.

  Shadow and the others should stay out of it and let the Krakelows do their work for them if they were smart.

  Hangman didn’t wait for a better opportunity. He charged out from behind the hut and rushed the Renegades from that side.

  They turned to face him just fast enough for him to attack without completely losing his honor as a warrior.

  The first man raised his weapon, but not fast enough. Hangman struck his kukri across the guy’s face, shattered his skull, and engaged the second man before any of the others realized what was happening.

  Magnet launched to his feet in a split second. He was still unarmed, but he must have connected the dots while he was sitting there with his arms tied behind his back.

  He shot upright so fast that he distracted the other Renegades who had been about to overwhelm Hangman.

  Hangman raised his kukris to block the second attacker’s blade. Magnet charged, collided with two of the remaining Renegades, and barreled them into their third companion.

  The whole cluster went down in a ball of tangled limbs. Hangman was too busy fighting that one guy to help Magnet or anyone else.

  Hangman caught a glimpse out of his peripheral vision of Cross pivoting onto his knees, turning around, and working fast to cut his fellow prisoners free.

  He knew exactly which order to free them. He started with Feather, then Boxer, and then Butcher. Cross freed Fang last.

  Magnet rolled onto his feet holding one of the Renegade’s weapons. He spun around to attack his enemies, but there were too many of them. They overwhelmed him in seconds.

  They would have cut him down, but Feather showed up first and snatched the weapon from the fallen Renegade that Hangman first killed.

  Feather charged over to Magnet and chopped one of the Renegades down while the man still grappled with Magnet.

  That left three. Hangman used one of his kukris to hold his enemy’s weapon overhead, pulled back, and stabbed his other kukri under the guy’s ribs.

  His enemy folded and the rest of the Godless overcame the final two Renegades easily.

  “This way!” Hangman waved his people toward the south—back in the direction he came to get here.

  The others raced after him and the party dove into the trees where any returning Renegades couldn’t see them.

  “Stay here!” Hangman whispered. “The Renegades will expect you to head back toward the east to rejoin the others.”

  “We should rejoin them,” Butcher pointed out. “We should help them annihilate these Renegades the way we said we would.”

  “There’s a better way,” Hangman breathed. “The Renegades won’t rejoin before they return to the camp. They won’t combine into one fighting force. We can hit them as they return—but we have to be stealthy.”

  “What about the others?” Boxer asked. “Your father is out there. Would you abandon him to the Renegades?”

  “I’m not abandoning anyone. Father and the others won’t be able to kill all the Renegades. Any that survive will retreat to the camp. Then we can finish the job.”

  “Tell us what to do,” Magnet replied. “We need more weapons.”

  “We can go out there, take the dead Renegades’ remaining weapons, and take positions behind the huts the way I did.” Hangman turned to Butcher. “If you agree, of course, Uncle.”

  Butcher nodded. He learned a long time ago to let others do his thinking for him. “It’s a good plan.”

  Cross held out the knife. “Here. Take this.”

  “The Renegades put our weapons in that hut over there.” Feather pointed across the camp to one of the huts on the far western edge.

  “Good,” Butcher decided. “We’ll take those first and then find our positions. Let’s go.”

  Hangman stood back and let his uncle take charge. The others followed his instructions to the letter, retrieved their weapons from that hut, and spread through the camp to take sheltered hiding places behind the huts.

  They barely got into place before fifteen Renegades came running back with all the other Godless in pursuit.

  It took Hangman and his party a minute to realize what was happening. The Renegades all fled westward. Pieces of Krakelows still clung to the Renegades’ limbs.

  Hangman sprang out of hiding and planted himself in the Renegades’ path. Butcher and the others joined him a minute later.

  They closed the Renegades between themselves and pursuers. The Renegades tried to flee to either side, but the Godless turned the tables and slaughtered all the remaining Renegades in a few minutes.

  End of Chapter 10.

  ? 2024 by Theo Mann

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