by Erin Johnson
I blinked, struggling to see through my blurry, wet eyes and the thick curtain of my bangs. Something closed around my other wrist, and I looked down, blinking at the strong, freckled hand that held me. I gasped as the person who'd saved me hauled me to my feet. They slipped on the sharp, wet rocks of the riverbed and the stranger righted me again.
"Hold tight."
I did as the deep voice commanded and gripped his arms as hard as I could with my cold, tired hands. In a stomach-turning lurch, he dragged me through the water, flying fast. He came to an abrupt stop on the riverbank and I slammed into his chest, knocking him onto his back.
"Ow."
The man groaned and I rolled off him, onto the rocks of the steep slope. I pushed to my hands and knees, my chest heaving, then roughly brushed my hair out of my eyes. I blinked the water away as I stared at the man who'd saved me. He lay on his back, chest heaving. His wet red hair was slicked back, his brows the same flaming red. He was handsome, with a sharp, clean-shaven jaw. His army green tank revealed his pale, freckled skin.
As he pushed to sitting, I scrambled to my feet and backed away. The sharp rocks rolled under my bare feet. My trembling muscles fought for balance. "Who are you?"
He coughed, then swiveled his gaze to me and gave me a lazy once-over. "You're so welcome."
I let out a shaky breath and backed another step away. I was trapped, essentially. The river rushed to my left, and to my right, the bank rose steeply up to the forest. I had no idea where I was, but the river had carried me a ways away from my friends. Exhausted and barefoot, I couldn't outrun this guy if I needed to. I sniffed and found the power of the river in my mind. I'd use magic to defend myself if I had to.
The guy fixed his deep green eyes on me, his heavy-lidded gaze penetrating.
I held my breath.
He sighed and pushed to his feet, grunting as he did so. "Oh, Imogen, you really are a magnet for disaster."
Ice flooded my veins and the hairs on my neck rose. My voice came out quiet, barely audible over the rush of the river. "How do you know my name?"
He gave me a slow blink, then took a step forward.
I edged back and raised my palms toward him. "Stay away from me." My legs trembled and rivulets of water ran down my forehead.
The man let out a heavy sigh. And suddenly it registered with me—the red hair, the freckled skin—this guy wasn't from the island. Which meant—
"My name is Leo." He licked his lips. "I work for your brother."
4
Leo
I straightened and my arms fell slack at my sides. "My… brother?"
Leo lifted a red brow. "Horace. You do know who your brother is, don't you?"
I folded my arms across my chest, my tank dripping wet. "Psh. Of course I know who my brother is… as of several months ago." I finished the last part quietly, but Leo shot me a look and sniffed.
"What?" I planted my hands on my hips. "You have something you want to say?" I'd just met this guy, but something about him really got under my skin.
He took a step closer, his feet bare. "What would you have done if I hadn't been watching you and here to save you?" He threw a hand in my direction. "You seem determined to do yourself in."
My mouth dropped. "Excuse me? I slipped." I narrowed my eyes. "And you were watching me? Why? For how long?" I widened my stance and raised my palms toward him. "If you do actually work for my brother, then you know I'm a powerful swallow and—and I won't hesitate to zap you."
His scowl broke and he smirked. "Zap me?"
I kept my eyes narrowed and tried to look tough, but I probably looked like a wet cat, and even I had to admit that zap sounded lame. "You know what I mean."
He raised his palms. "Horace asked me to keep an eye on you."
I straightened. "He did?" I shook myself—be smart, Imogen. I raised my palms again and scowled at him. "I mean—how do I know I can trust you?"
"Your brother trusts me. I'm his right-hand man." Leo lifted his strong chin. "Do you trust your brother?"
I scoffed. "Yeah, well, he's never mentioned you." I hoped that would deflate him a bit, but he didn't seem bothered. "And as for trusting Horace…." I narrowed my eyes at Leo. My brother had left me in harm's way almost as many times as he'd rescued me from it. "That depends. Tell me something only Horace could have told you."
Leo shifted on his feet and lifted his green eyes to the sky, the sunlight catching his pale lashes. He looked back down at me and grinned. "Alright. Horace first taught you to transform into an animal in a back alley of Calloon."
I tried not to show my surprise. I lifted a brow. "And what did I transform into?"
He grinned wider. " A moth."
My face fell slack. "No one else was around. Only Horace could have told you that."
Leo crossed his freckled arms. "You believe me now?"
I gulped. Did I? I let out the breath I'd been holding and relaxed my shoulders. He'd already known that Horace and I were siblings—not too many people, in or outside the kingdoms, knew that. And he had saved me from drowning. And he knew about Horace teaching me to turn into a moth. I felt a pang in my stomach. It felt like a small betrayal that Horace had told someone else about that special moment between us. Or was I feeling jealousy that he had people in his life closer to him than I was, his own family. I mean, it made sense—he'd probably spent years out here in the wilderness with Leo and his Badlands Army. Whereas he and I had barely spent any time together.
I gulped. Was that how he felt about me and my friends? Horace had accused me before of choosing them over him.
Leo cleared his throat and jolted me from my thoughts.
I looked up and nodded at him. "Yeah. I believe you." I bit my lip. "But why isn't Horace here? Why did he send you?"
"Why don't we sit." He gestured toward a large, flat rock. "You must have a lot of questions."
I clapped my hands together, which startled him. "Sorry! But yeah—so many questions!" I practically skipped over to the rock and plopped down. "Where to start…."
Steam rose from Leo's shoulders, and within seconds he was dry—from his hair down to the ankles of his pants. He walked over more slowly and lowered himself down beside me. "You're soaking wet. Aren't you going to dry yourself off?" He lifted a brow.
I looked down at my pants and tank. They clung to me, cold and sopping wet. "I uh—I don't know a drying spell."
He shook his head. "You're capable of so much more than you know. Can't even come up with a way to dry yourself?"
I frowned. "Yeah. Horace says that a lot, too."
He looked away. "Just think dry thoughts."
I rolled my eyes, but focused on the heat from the sun, the warmth on the top of my head and shoulders, and imagined it spreading, all over me. Steam poured from me, clearing my sinuses, and moments later, I grinned. "Huh!" I patted my thighs, then squeezed the hem of my shirt. They were totally dry—not even damp. "Thanks."
"That was all you." Leo's hair no longer dripped down his face, but sat in a wavy red cloud atop his head. "So. What do you want to know?"
I shook my head and watched the river rush by. "Where to start…. Where is Horace right now?"
He pressed his lips together, his eyes focused on the water below us. "He's busy."
I frowned slightly. "Is he here—on the island?"
Leo blinked. "I'm not authorized to say."
My brows lowered. "Well—has he gone back to the kingdoms since we got here? Does he know what's going on with King Roch?"
Leo's throat bobbed. "I can't say that, either."
Was this guy joking? I shook my head and threw up my hands. "Okay, well, do you know and you're just not telling me, or is Horace supersecretive with you too?"
Leo stared at the water.
I let out a heavy sigh. "For salt's sake! Let me guess, you can't tell me that, either?"
He kept his eyes forward, but the corner of his mouth pulled into a grin.
I threw my hands up. "This
is ridiculous! I've been searching for Horace and his army for weeks—weeks! And now I finally find you, his number two, and you can't tell me anything?"
5
Curiosity
Leo turned to me and gave me a long, half-lidded stare. "You've been searching for your brother? Why?"
I threw my hands up. "I want to talk to him, why else?"
"Because you're upset with him?"
I shook my head. "No. Well, kind of, I mean he did abandon us to the guards and left us stranded in Carclaustra." I sighed. "But, knowing him, he probably knew we'd make it out and that Misaki and Jun and the rest wouldn't hurt us, so…." I sniffed. "Really, I just want to see him. We've been through a lot together recently, and he's always so mysterious and distant—I just want to get to know him better."
Leo watched the rushing river, his green eyes thoughtful. "I think Horace wants to tell you those things himself."
The frustration dropped from me and my shoulders relaxed. "Horace wants to see me?" I started to push to my feet. "Let's go—"
Leo grabbed my wrist and gently tugged me back down to the rock beside him. "You say you've been searching for Horace for weeks. He was looking for you for years, you know."
I nodded. "Yeah. I know." I shook my head. "And I didn't even know he existed. Growing up, all I ever wanted was to find my birth parents—it never occurred to me I might be lucky enough to have a brother too."
Leo looked down. "Lucky, huh?"
"Yeah. I mean, he is an international criminal with a penchant for killing—"
Leo shrugged.
"But he's my international criminal brother, and… well, after everything that happened back in Bijou Mer, the way he exposed the king's horrible crimes—which he probably told you all about—"
He smirked.
"I understand him better and—and am actually really proud of him for fighting to expose the truth like that. I'm still not sure the end justifies the means, but—" I swallowed. "But he's someone I want to get to know better." I looked at Leo till he turned to me and met my gaze. "Please take me to see him. There's so much we have to talk about." I lifted my palms. "Or not talk about, if he doesn't want to. I just—I just want to see my brother."
Leo looked down at his hands and nodded. "I'll pass this along to Horace for his consideration."
My spirits sank. That sounded like a no.
He looked at me and grinned. "But I know him fairly well, and I think once he has time to mull this over he'll want to speak to you, too."
I clasped my hands together. "Really? You think so?" I sighed. "Oh, that'd be so great." We sat for a time in silence, listening to the birds chirping and the river rushing over the rocks. It was a surprisingly comfortable silence—especially with someone I'd just met. It felt like I'd known him for longer than just a few minutes, though. Maybe it was him saving me from drowning, or his closeness to Horace. They definitely shared a broodiness and penchant for lecturing me. I let out a sigh, almost reluctant to leave, and pushed to my feet. "Well, I really should be heading back. I'm sure my friends are worried about me."
Leo stood and looked down at me. "Can you manage your way back without drowning or falling off a cliff?"
I rolled my eyes. "Har har." I gulped. "If I just follow the river back, I should find them, right?"
He nodded.
I cocked my head. "You'll be watching me, won't you?"
His lips quirked to the side. "Probably."
I nodded, grinning. I'd actually appreciate it this time. I didn't really want to be completely alone in the forest, even if the sun was shining and the birds were singing—there were monsters roaming about. I looked up at Leo and raised a hand to shield my eyes. "You know—I'm glad I met you." I held out my other hand.
He looked down at it, hesitated, then shook it. "Me too, Imogen."
I chuckled. "And not just because you saved me—by the way, thanks for that."
He gave a slight bow of his head.
"But also because I was beginning to think the Badlands Army might not really exist."
He stilled, his eyes hard.
I tried for a light tone. "Like that time in high school I made up a boyfriend to make Michael Castanetti jealous." I laughed. "I'll cut to the end—it didn't work, mostly because Michael Castanetti didn't know I, or my fake boyfriend, existed." I chuckled. "It's just, after all these weeks, I hadn't even seen a glimpse of you guys."
I couldn't read Leo's expression as he said, "You thought Horace had made it up?"
I shrugged. "Maybe."
His lips quirked toward a grin. "That would be clever of him, wouldn't it? Just one man, all these years, single-handedly terrorizing tyrants."
"Clever?" I lowered my brows. "More like sad." I couldn't imagine anything more lonely.
Leo's expression darkened and his voice came out a low growl. "Sad? Because you think no one would want to fight alongside Horace?"
I waved a hand. "No! It's just—"
"He has a huge, loyal army of thousands."
I stepped back. Whoa. I raised my palms. "Look, I didn't mean to offend—"
He interrupted me. "Not that he even needs us—he could do everything himself, he's so powerful and driven!"
I lifted my brows and muttered to myself, "He said once he had a whole army of yes-men. I see what he meant…."
Leo took a long breath through his nose and scowled down at me. Guess he’d heard.
He huffed. "Fine! I'll show you."
I gasped. "You're going to take me to Horace?"
He didn't answer, but spun his back to me and climbed up the bank. I hefted myself onto another big rock, then climbed up a few more steps behind him.
"Imogen! Imogen!"
I froze and spun around. My name echoed through the ravine—it was Misaki's voice!
I cupped my hands to my mouth and called, "I'm here!" My voice bounced off the rock walls.
"Stay put! We're coming!"
I glanced up. Leo hadn't stopped climbing and now neared the top of the bank. I bit my lip and looked back and forth, from him to the other side of the river where my friends had to be. I should wait and go back with them. It was the smart thing to do, and I'd often gotten in trouble when I let my curiosity get the best of me. But…. I gulped. I had never been more curious.
I turned to the river and cupped my hands. "I'm okay! I'm going to see Horace!"
"You've lost your mind!"
I grinned at the sound of Iggy's voice.
I shook my head and shouted again. "Go back to town! I'll meet you there!"
"This is a bad idea!" Iggy screamed back.
I still couldn't see where they were, but their voices had grown louder. They had to be close by and some part of me knew that if I saw them and listened to their rational, sensible advice, I'd lose my nerve.
"I'll see you soon!"
"Imogen!"
I turned my back to my friends across the water and scrambled up the bank after Leo.
6
The Camp
I fast-walked behind Leo, struggling to keep up. "Ahem? Some of us have short legs."
He glanced back and a muscle in his jaw jumped, but he slowed his pace enough for me to jog up beside him. We'd been walking for over an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest.
"Are we almost there?"
He lifted a red brow. "It's been twenty minutes—you're already tired?"
My jaw dropped, and so did my spirits. It felt like it'd been an hour. I swiveled my gaze back to the path. At least the soft dirt cushioned my steps as we walked barefoot between the tall trees. They grew denser in this part of the forest, their shadows mottling the ground. I let out a heavy breath. "Is it much further?"
Leo sighed through his nose. "No."
Okay, then. I glanced around at the moss-covered trunks and rocks. "Is it a city? Or more like a camp?"
He kept his eyes ahead as he took long strides forward. "A camp."
I nodded, thinking it over. "Do you stay in one
spot, or move around?"
"We mostly stay in one spot, but after I show you, we'll have to move to protect our secret location."
I lifted my brows and jogged a few paces before falling in beside him again. "Really? Wow, I feel kind of bad, are you—"
He chuckled. "I'm kidding. I know you'd never be able to find your way back."
I lifted my chin and stared at him. "It doesn't hurt less because it's true."
"Ha!" He let out a breath and shook his head, smiling.
"So glad you're amused." I turned from him and focused on the gently winding path. "How long have you been in the BA? How many people are there, total?"
Leo sighed. "I've been in the BA… as long as Horace has."
I nodded. "Ah, so you were in the BA before it was cool. Very OG of you."
He ignored my comment. "I couldn't give you an exact count, but you'll see soon enough how many people are willing to fight for your brother and his cause."
"Neat. How long have you lived on the island? Where are you originally from?" I lifted my brows. "Do you have a girlfriend? Or boyfriend?" I sucked in a breath. "Has Horace ever asked you to kill anyone? Wait." I held up my hands. "Don't answer that, I don't want to know."
He pressed his eyes shut and sighed through his nose. "No more questions till we get to the camp."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Guess we'll just walk on in silence then." Ugh. I'd been dying to speak with Horace for weeks, and now I had his right-hand man walking beside me and he wouldn't tell me anything. I was bursting with questions and it was almost painful not to be able to ask them. "Just one more question?" I didn't wait for permission. "What's your favorite thing about being in the Badlands Army?"
He didn't look at me as he answered, flatly, "The retirement package."
"Ha!" I smacked his arm with the back of my hand. "You made a joke."
