Forged in Fire Read Online Free

mother,” he said.
    Katie whirled. “We know, Jim. Believe me. You know what she said to us, as she was bleeding her heart blood out onto the packed snow? She begged Sarah for mercy. Not for herself, but for her babies.”
    Jimmy looked down at the floor. Deidre held Frack tighter against her chest and blinked back tears.
    “Let me take them,” Trisha said quietly. “Please?”
    Jimmy looked up at her and Katie turned, dropping to her knees at Trisha’s feet. “Are you sure, Trisha?”
    “I’ve got nobody,” Trisha started, her voice cracking. “Since Bob and Chloe died.” She took a deep breath, the tears streaming down her face. “Chloe was my best friend … and Bob.” She sighed. “Bob and I had gone out a couple of times, ya know? We’d talked about kids, if we’d be good parents. Now I’ve got nobody.”
    Jimmy turned away, a sour look on his face.
    “We’ll take ’em out in the barracks,” Trisha said. “Me and my squad can look after ’em. It takes a village and all that.” She looked around, hopeful.
    “Seems reasonable,” Deidre said, looking over at Jimmy. “What do you think, Jim?”
    “What happens when they get big? You took more than a few down, Sarah. How big do they get?”
    I glanced at the babies. “Pretty big. Would be nice to have that kind of power on our side the next time we get in a tussle.”
    Jimmy barked out a laugh. “You think they’d be on our side?”
    “I’d say they could make a choice when they’re older,” Deidre said. “But we should give them a chance to make that decision.”
    Most of the heads in the room nodded. Gary seemed hesitant. He was waiting for Jimmy to make up his mind. Nancy was with Trisha, though, as was Benny.
    “They killed our friends,” he argued.
    “Not these babies,” Trisha said. “No more than all us poor humans are responsible when one of our own goes off and starts a war. We can teach ’em. Show them how to be good, decent.”
    “Your mother would not allow these babies to be killed,” Deidre said, her voice as low and menacing as I’ve ever heard it.
    “What happens when they go out on patrol?” Jimmy asked, throwing his hands into the air.
    Deidre looked up at him. The battle was won, I could see it in her face. “I can babysit them, and the others will chip in, especially if you ask.”
    Jimmy harrumphed and crossed his arms, building a wall between him and the rest of the room.
    “I take that as a yes,” Katie said, smiling.
    “Awesome,” Trisha said, standing and handing Frick back to Katie. “We’ll need all kinds of supplies. Diapers, wipes, food. Oh, god. What do they eat?”
    Katie laughed. “Slow down, Trisha. They eat meat, raw is preferable, apparently. We didn’t try any fruits or vegetables, since we didn’t have any with us.”
    “And they like to be sung to,” I piped up. “Especially when they’re going to sleep.”
    Katie smiled at me and I let the warmth flood through me. I loved the connection we had, the looks and knowing glances. She was something special.

Three
     
    W hile everyone said their good-byes, I hobbled into the kitchen and took out my cell phone. All the stuff about the babies and their mother begging me for mercy had me missing my own mother. I punched in the house number, well aware that Da may be home, but I had to take the chance. It rang a few times, then went to the machine. I clicked the phone off before it got to the beep.
    “One of these days, someone is going to answer,” Katie said from the doorway. “Then what are you going to do?”
    I slid the phone in my pocket and shrugged. She walked over, wrapped her arms around me, and pulled me tight to her. “Might be easier to reach out to them than to carry around all this guilt.”
    “Probably,” I said, kissing her on the cheek. “But not something I’ll deal with today.”
    My parents would freak if they could see me now. Not the haircut, or the way I dressed. Not even the fact that I was a blacksmith.