by Jaymin Eve
A heavy pounding reverberating through my head was the first indication of a return to consciousness. I drifted through the haziness for an unknown period of time before disjointed memories intruded.
Oh, right – dreamland.
Gasping, I sat upright and forced my heavy eyelids to open. Biting back panic, I looked left and right.
What the eff?
Not even a sliver of light broke the endlessness. I’d either recently gone blind or I was somewhere in complete darkness. I fumbled around with my hands. I was tucked into what felt like a soft bed. I clutched at the edge of the fluffy covers, pulling them up to my chest.
I was clearly no longer in the forest.
This place was cool, with none of the damp heat from outside.
I tried to remain calm, but without being able to see Lucy it was difficult to fight back the rising panic.
Reaching to my left, I choked on a scream. Jerking my hand back, I sucked in a few deep breaths. Someone was lying next to me. Reaching out again, I felt a small relief as familiar fluffy hair grazed my fingers.
That hair belonged to Lucy. Not some weirdo in bed next to me. Lucy.
Grasping her shoulder, I shook. “Luce ... Lucy ... wake up. We have to get out of here.” My voice echoed.
But she was still, only her deep and rhythmic breathing indicating life.
I had no idea where we’d ended up – in the camouflaged house – or somewhere else. The man probably had my backpack and the stone, which, something told me, was not going to look good as I pleaded our innocence. And besides that, I hadn’t even been its keeper for a day and I’d already lost it. Good job, Abby.
A groan distracted me. Hair brushed my arm as Lucy shifted.
“Luce – get your butt up, sister.” I reached out in the general direction of her shoulder again.
Lights flared in the room.
The brightness forced my eyes closed.
Taking a moment, I re-opened them slower this time. The disorientating black dots disappeared quickly as the room came into focus. I could finally analyze our surroundings. Lucy and I were on a huge bed, covered in a fluffy white throw. A bedroom – furnished simply. A large wooden dresser stood against the wall and a dark brown, high-backed armchair was squashed in the corner.
The reason for the sudden light show was standing in the doorway: the large blond man with a crowded tray perched precariously on his left hand.
We stared in silence.
He broke the moment by stepping into the room and placing the tray on the foot of the bed. He then sat in the armchair.
I jumped as a hand landed on my arm. I looked down to find Lucy staring at me. She was paler than normal and her blue eyes were huge and questioning. I shook my head: stay quiet.
“I suppose neither of you will speak first. So let me begin – why were you attempting to plow through the iso field? You’re lucky you weren’t killed.”
His voice filled the small room and, despite the situation, the accent was still soothing.
I examined his features. They seemed kind, fine laugh lines softening his hard planes, but there was no way I would trust him. Despite a few questionable decisions, I wasn’t a complete idiot.
His calm expression was soon replaced by a stern frown. His brow wrinkled, and the very dark nature of his eyes deepened as he again attempted to question us.
“I need to know what you are doing here. This is a restricted area for all except Royal Guardians, which I assume you’re not.” He looked at us pointedly.
With an annoyed sigh, Lucy pulled herself to a sitting position. She’d actually been quiet longer than I’d expected.
“You’re doing an awful lot of assuming, buddy. You know what they say about people who assume.” She drawled her words.
He looked completely blank-faced while he waited for her to continue.
Lucy looked at me, eyebrows raised. “Apparently he doesn’t know.”
He spluttered a little. “Well, I know you didn’t enter through the screening gates, because you’re without displayed papers. Give me a reason not to throw you straight to the Guardians.”
Something about what he said stirred a memory. Right, the papers thing. Brace had mentioned that too. Glancing down at my hands, I found I was unconsciously twisting them over and over. We were in trouble. Lucy had already spoken, so he knew we weren’t native to this land and we had nothing with which to defend ourselves.
“Say something, Abbs,” Lucy hissed at me.
“What do you recommend that won’t have us thrown to these Guardian people?” I whispered back hotly.
“They’re taking these matters very seriously at the moment. The recent attempt from insurgent groups to infiltrate the palace has everyone on high alert.”
Since I doubted he was just going to open the door and let us leave, we had no choice but to attempt to talk our way out. Before I could follow through with that, a loud rumble from my stomach echoed.
Shhh, I mentally berated my tummy. It appeared to be ready to eat my spleen, judging by the battle noises.
Lucy snorted with laughter, shaking her head.
I threw a haughty glance in her direction. “The food is a huge distraction and it’s sitting right there.” I pointed to the tray, from which tantalizing aromas wafted in my direction.
The man interrupted us again. “I apologize. My questions can wait a few moments. Please eat. You must be starving. You’ve been unconscious for many hours.” He looked thoughtful. “Perhaps you’ll be more inclined to converse once you’re more comfortable.”
Comfortable. Yeah, okay.
I love food, but not even the smell of warm freshly baked bread was enticing enough to forget we were being held prisoner.
Lucy had a different opinion. She dived over me toward the tray. “Out of my way, Abigail,” she muttered on her way past.
I shrugged. “Sorry about that. Love of food wins out over manners.”
Lucy stuck out her tongue but didn’t break stride in her mission to uncover every dish.
“I wouldn’t throw stones, Abigail. Often when I sit next to you at dinner I worry about the safety of my limbs.”
Lucy had a point, and that was with the crap they liked to call food in the compound.
She distracted my retaliation by handing me a bowl. It was filled to the brim with a dark, thick stew that sloshed a little over the edges. I picked up the utensil, which Lucy had dumped to the side, and my mouth watered in anticipation. I sank the rough spoon-shaped device into the bowl and lifted the first steaming scoop to my mouth. A variety of colored vegetables and a dark meat filled my mouth. I couldn’t savor that first bite long enough.
“Holy mother...” My eyes closed in pure love. “I want to marry this food.”
There was no reply and, looking over, I did a double take. I couldn’t see Lucy’s face. It was half submerged in the huge bowl as she slurped down the stew.
I watched fascinated for a few moments. It was like an animal documentary, where the lions hacked into a zebra.
Shaking my head, I went back to my delicious stew, letting the freshness tantalize my tongue. The flavors were strong, full-bodied. I had no idea food could be seasoned with anything other than salt, but there was so much more going on here. There were small floating green pieces which, had we been back in the compound, would have been greatly concerning, but here might actually be–
“Luce, I think these green floaters are herbs.” A sense of reverence coated my words.
Lucy pulled her face from the bowl to examine the contents. She nudged the surface of the bowl.
“I’ve heard of these so called ‘herbs’ from the older rebels’ fairy tales. You know the ones that start with ‘Back in the good old days.’” She shrugged. “I think they may have been right, though. This is a whole other level of tastiness.”
I shoveled repeated spoonfuls until my initial hunger subsided. At that stage I had no choice but to slow and catch my breath. Lucy hand
ed me a chunk of roughly textured grain bread, the source of the delicious scent. Using this, I soaked up the last of the liquid. I took the first bite. It was gritty, but delicious.
Chewing, I looked around. I was fascinated to see Bady padding silently into the room. Against the white walls, he appeared even larger and more bizarre than he had outside. Stretching out on the blue woolen rug, he went straight to sleep.
Blondie shifted in the chair. We locked eyes. It was time to speak up.
“Sorry, I’m a little disoriented from face-planting into your ... force-field.” Can’t beat the brain-injury excuse. “We’re trying to make it to town ... I’m guessing we didn’t quite reach our destination.”
There had to be a town nearby. How else would he get supplies?
He raised his eyebrows. “No, you didn’t make it to ... which town were you heading to?”
I shrugged my answer.
He continued anyways. “You’re at the eastern castle outpost. I’m Deralick, custodian.” He glanced between us. “Where are you from? I don’t recognize your accent.”
Lucy dropped her now empty bowl back onto the tray. I’d just shoved the last of my soaked bread into my mouth, so she answered for me.
“We live really far in the north, but we aren’t welcome back there. Nothing too crazy, just problems with our parentals.”
Her words were awkward. I don’t know why we hadn’t practiced a cover story before we found ourselves in this position.
Deralick looked dubious. “You don’t look much like sisters.”
I swallowed my bread. My throat felt irritated, scraped by the rough texture. “Different fathers,” I rasped out.
He looked confused.
Come on, what planet was so perfect that there was no divorce or death? That was a family staple on Earth.
“I’m sorry to hear of this break in your family unit.” His mouth lifted in a half-smile. “But that doesn’t explain why you’ve ended up here. Since the emperor’s illness, the three sides of the surrounding forest have guarded fields. It was announced via satellite uplink that anyone guilty of unauthorized trespassing could face the maximum penalty.”
I guessed we didn’t want to know what the maximum penalty was. Thanks, Quarn – straight into the fiery pit. Although, having been on Earth for seventeen years, he probably didn’t know about these new ‘laws’.
I looked at Lucy. She shrugged. She’s always so helpful.
Well, we needed information. Time to play dumb.
“Honestly, we had no idea we were even in the royal forest. I don’t know where we went wrong.”
I should have left the dumb-blonde routine to Lucy. She played it perfectly. Hair curling and everything. Although, in its current disarray...
Sighing, I continued. “We, uh, like, don’t even know where we are right now.”
He raised his eyebrows, expression suspicious. Pushing the feeling of dread away, I wondered how much more trouble we could get into. We were already facing this unknown ‘maximum penalty’.
“You’re in the land of the emperor, the Isle of Itowa, which is part of the Jana province.”
I remembered Quarn’s words. Lucas was the emperor.
Deralick continued, adding to my confusion. “The council’s in session at the moment. Hence the extra patrols. Grandier’s security is top rate.”
“Grandier?” Lucy questioned.
His face was expressionless as he stared at her. “The name of the planet.” He shook his head, muttering quickly, “Field addled their brains.” He smiled without much emotion and spoke. “I’m sure you just use ‘First World’. I know most, under the age of a hundred and fifty, prefers Grandier’s decidedly unoriginal nickname.”
I looked at Lucy. She had the same ‘oh shit’ expression as I had. Longevity of inhabitants – unknown. But one thing confirmed. We were most definitely no longer on Earth. Dreamland was Grandier, with the apparent nickname of First World.
Deralick straightened, his features creased in worry.
Not liking his expression I distracted him with a subject change. “I’m Abby and this is Lucy.”
Lucy waved, her blond hair sticking out in all directions, some type of dirt caked along her forehead, along with a light scrape on her right cheek. But she still had that sweet trusting face. Her deceptive looks were handy.
I shoved the tray back to the end of the bed. As I rubbed the bridge of my nose to release some sinus pressure, I realized the pounding head pain was back again.
Attempting to gather my woolly thoughts, I spoke without thinking. “I’m here to find dreamland. And my mother.”
Did I just say dreamland? I shook my head in an attempt to clear it.
Deralick stood and retrieved the tray from where it was haphazardly flung at the end of the bed.
I sank back into the pillows.
“Something is happening...” Lucy’s words were slightly slurred. Then, without warning she collapsed into the pillow.
He stopped in the doorway. “I hope you can understand. I have a job and I take it seriously. Whether I believe you or not, I have no choice but to report all intruders for assessment.”
I waited for panic – or any emotion – but nothing.
“You’ll be interrogated by the royal council. If they find you innocent, you’ll be free to go.”
I was slipping further into unconsciousness.
With my last functioning neurons came the thought: the stew was drugged. Well, that was rude – if you can’t trust strangers bearing food, who can you trust?
“It’s only laven juice. It won’t harm you. In fact, you’ll have a restful, healing sleep,” he said as he exited the room.
Well, at least we weren’t dying – a faint shimmer of relief before I drifted off.
The dreams hit me fast. I was standing in the throne room of a castle. People were collapsing all around me, crying, begging and clinging to one another. I walked through the white marble hall unnoticed, seeing nothing to cause such chaos. I made my way up to the large chairs and stopped at the center pedestal. Resting on top was a purple pillow cushioning a pair of intertwined stones. One was my blue stone with a smaller red one sitting perfectly in its large side indent.
The royal pair.
The room disappeared. I found myself standing at the base of a black mountain. It took me a few moments to figure out why everything looked so dark. It was all dead. Withered black plant tendrils curled around my boots. I shuddered. Even in the dream an oily darkness coated the air. My instincts were telling me to run, to leave, and never return. The world started to move in fast-forward, swirling before me. Backing up, I tried to escape, moving and falling...
I regained control of my consciousness.
As I sat up, my eyes flew open. A low light threaded the room. Lucy was still asleep, or passed out. I knew, instinctively, we needed to escape from here now.
Reaching over, I shook Lucy a few times, with the same result as the night before: no movement, just deep breathing. I had no time to delay.
Looking left and right I spotted a large opaque jug on top of the nightstand. I grabbed the vessel. Water splashed over the side, onto my hand. Feeling a little desperate, I flicked some drops at Lucy. She didn’t stir. Looking down at the jug, I sighed, she was going to kill me. I dumped the lot over her head.
“What ... where ... what the hell?” she muttered, sitting up quickly.
Her eyes were wide, but still held the haze of sleep. She wrinkled her nose before sneezing loudly, and then she fell straight back into the pillows.
Oh, for the love of...
“Get up, Lucy. We need to get out of here before Deralick ‘drug-pimp’ hands us over to the guards.”
One eye squinted as she shook her head a few times, water droplets flying off in all directions. Pulling herself up to sit, she eventually opened both eyes. It took a moment before she turned to me calmly.
“Abby ... there’d better be an outrageously
good reason for why I’m wet.”
I shrugged, attempting to unobtrusively nudge the jug off the bed. “I have no idea why. You were like that when I woke.”
Lucy closed her eyes. “Do not kill Abby ... she’s your only friend.”
I laughed in a loud rasp, almost choking. She opened her eyes and her answering smile was not nice. I jumped in before she could tear strips of me. “So, speaking of killing ... Deralick ... I’m going to kill him when he comes back to the room.” Reminding her of our common enemy had to be a good distraction.
“I’ll help you hide the body.” Lucy attempted to run her hands through her wet, ragged curls.
I laughed again. One of her hands was completely entangled. It took numerous attempts and a few torn chunks of blond strands before it was freed.
I snorted at her second attempt to tame the mane. “My recommendation – shave your head.” Her hair was so tousled now it stuck completely out on the right side
“I probably wouldn’t give ‘recommendations’ until you check your own reflection,” she said, sticking her tongue out at me. She then hit me with a quick subject change.
“So, did you have some whacked-out dreams last night?” Her eyes widened. “I was locked in this freaky old-fashioned cell. There were people everywhere – some dead – dying. It was grisly.”
I bit my lip and attempted to keep my expression neutral. “That’s comforting. Bet you can’t wait to sleep tonight.” Jumping off the bed, I stretched my limbs. Despite the drugging, I felt great. I had no aches or pains from yesterday. “I did have some pretty vivid dreams, but nothing like that.”
I pushed the black mountains from my thoughts. They were wrong and it would take many therapy sessions to delve into that one.
Lucy shuddered. “It barely felt like dreaming. I was there; the emotions were real and raw. I could smell the sweat and that salty tang of blood.”
I gagged at the thought. She shook it off, her pixie features relaxing back into their usual cheeky grin. “Never mind, it was just a dream.” She hopped off the bed. “So what’s the plan? I’m not waiting around to be handed over like common criminals. Firstly, I’m anything but common. And, secondly, I need to brush my teeth. Urgently.”
I ran my tongue around my mouth. Deralick’s drug had left a powdery residue like a skin over my teeth.
I nodded my agreement. “Let’s get out of here. We’ll just have to forget our packs. If we can make a break for it, just go.”
The only important thing I had was the stone, and either it had already been confiscated or Deralick, with all his rules, would send it back to the castle.
I moved toward the space where I remembered the doorway had been. There was just a blank wall.
“Where the hell is the door?” Lucy was next to me, running her hands along the wall.
“It was open last night.” I squinted, but there wasn’t even a join to indicate a doorway ever existed.
I hesitated at a low whirring sound. A split second later, the wall disappeared, like a panel sliding out of the way.
An automatic door that vanished somewhere into the wall cavity.
Expecting to see Deralick, I gasped at the person filling the space.
Lucy stepped close to whisper in my ear. “Oh. My. Hotness.”
I spun around, stunned at the burst of rage flooding me.
He is not yours, Abby. Step back, Miss Bitch.
Someone needed to slap me.
Brace, his expression serious, stood with his arms crossed across his broad chest. Even in my astonishment, I still found a moment to revel in his fallen-angel beauty. What was he doing here?
From the corner of my mouth, I mumbled, “Brace.”
Lucy’s mouth dropped open and, stepping back, she craned her head for a better look. She was incorrigible.
“I figured that one of the two ‘unusually’ accented females my father found wandering the forest was probably you.” His features softened slightly as he smiled.
“Deralick’s your father?” There was absolutely no family resemblance.
He gave a sort of half-nod.
Lucy smiled. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you.” She looked at me. “Abby told me about colliding with you in the forest.”
“Did Abby also tell you that she disappeared? Into nothing.”
He was glaring at me – locking me in the intense stare of his amazing eyes. It was always like this, whether in dreams or weird alley teleportations. The chemistry between us just about brought me to my knees. And always took my breath away.
Lucy interrupted our intense stare-off, allowing me a few ragged breaths.
“Been there, done that. Abby will give you gray hair. Trust me.” She flicked her blond hair, as if to prove her point.
Striving for a pretense of normality, I kept my eyes off his gorgeous face, and away from his stupidly captivating eyes. That way I could speak and breathe.
I waved my arms a few times in their direction. “Alright, if you two can resist the Abby-bashing, maybe we should get out of here.”
“Why are you here, Brace?” Lucy asked before I could step around her.
He turned to answer Lucy, and once again I was drawn in. Despite Quarn’s warning, it was hard to defy the magnetic pull.
I ran my eyes over him. He was dressed for the outdoors: a short-sleeved, fitted shirt and army-style pants. In shades of black and dark green, the material looked expensive.
I shook my head. You don’t know him. Brace could be as stupid and shallow as he was breathtaking.
He was still speaking, so with effort I stopped devouring him with my eyes and focused on the conversation.
“... from patrolling last night, and talked to Father,” Brace explained to Lucy.
His eyes flicked in my direction as he ran them over my features. The slightest smile drifting across his face.
I rolled my eyes. No way could he know I hadn’t been paying attention.
“He does believe your story of being lost, but he’s responsible. He’ll hand you over to the royal guards.” He ran his hand through his dark hair.
It looked slightly longer than he generally wore it. As if he was due for a cut but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. I liked it much better than the military style he sometimes sported during our dreams.
He turned a bothered gaze toward me. “I’m not confident of the royal guard at this time. So I’m about to cause some real trouble.”
“Forgive us if we don’t exactly trust you or your father.” I shrugged, reminding my traitorous heart that he was a stranger. “Probably something to do with being drugged last night.”
Lucy nodded. “Exactly! Just because you’re standing there stupidly tall and unnaturally gorgeous, flashing those dimples and muscles, doesn’t mean we’re going to fall at your–”
I put my hand over Lucy’s mouth, muffling the last few words.
“Sorry, Lucy’s missing an essential filter between brain and mouth. I try to stand within arm’s reach, because there’s no ‘off’ switch.”
He smiled. “Reminds me of Lucas. Someone should look into an off switch for them both.”
He peered out the door. His voice was slightly muffled. “We need to leave. Father was out on patrol but he’ll be back soon.” He shrugged, facing us. “I’ll accompany you to town. I might be breaking you out, but I better make sure you don’t cause any trouble.”
I exhaled loudly. Someone save me from bossy control freaks.
I looked at Lucy. “I say we trust him for now. We can ditch him later.”
“You know I’m standing right here.” His brow furrowed over the velvety brown of his eyes.
Lucy ignored him. “Tell me you’re using your brain for this decision, Abbs. Remember what Quarn said.”
Brace reacted minutely at the mention of this. Or I may have imagined it. Either way, it felt like it was time to remind him who he was dealing with.
I stood to my full height, hands firmly on
my hips. “Don’t mess with us, Brace. Lucy is super talented with a razor and glue gun.”
Lucy nodded. “That’s right. Your eyebrows will never be the same again.” She smiled. “And with that threat hanging over your head, let’s go, gorgeous.” She sauntered past him out the door.
As I watched him follow her I realized something. Which, if asked, I’d deny until the ends of time – I was feeling some very strong emotions; I wanted him around.
Also, I was determined to figure out his secret. And why he, of all people, ended up in my dreams.
Brace paused in the hall and nodded toward two familiar packs on the floor.
“I retrieved your bags. Deralick said he didn’t go through them, so everything should be there.”
Dropping beside my pack, I furtively checked for the stone. Everything was in its place.
“Thank God he didn’t touch my shoes.” Lucy had a pair in each hand, her favorite vintage pink Chucks in the right, and purple wedges in the left, which I personally found too ugly to exist.
“That would have not ended well for anyone,” she finished, shoving them back into the bag.
“Were you actually worried that Deralick would have a use for your size five pink and purple shoes?” I pursed my lips as she rained glares on me. Guess she had.
“Let’s go.” Brace paused. “Do you need any help with your packs? It’s quite a walk to town.”
We both shook our heads; this was my second attempt at protecting the stone. And apparently Lucy trusted no one with her clothes.
Shouldering her pack, Lucy had a new distraction as she hopped on the spot. “Tell me the bathroom is close?”
Confusion crossed his features, but he answered. “It’s just down the hall.”
We followed him along the plain white hallway. He paused at an intersection; frosted glass doors were the only break in the endless white. Once again there were no latches, handles, hinges or any indication an openable door existed. The panel just slid into the wall.
With his right hand, Brace gestured for us to enter.
“Five minutes,” were the last words he said as we stepped inside and the door slid closed.
I moved quickly into the small room. It was stark and clean, with zero character. Large white tiles lined the floor and walls. A glass-walled cube sat in the corner – beside it was the toilet.
Lucy sprinted in that direction, dropping her pack on the ground. My own discomfort growing, I distracted myself by walking to the large mirror running along the wall.
“What. The. Hell.” I gasped at my reflection.
Half of my hair was still braided, the other half was teased into curly tendrils all around my head. Damn, I let Brace see me like this? I smirked at my reflection. There goes any chance of him returning my attraction.
Lucy snorted behind me. “I told you. Good luck fixing that.”
Dropping my pack, I scrabbled around until I found my hairbrush. It was tied together with gel paste and toothbrush. Under the mirror rested a small clear bench. A glass bowl perched on top. As I reached into the bowl, cool water flowed from under the glass.
No faucet. Apparently we were lucky enough to have magic doors and magic water. I shrugged, plunged my toothbrush in and coated it high with paste. I hated an unclean mouth. I had a slight obsession with minty freshness.
Finishing quickly, I spat before rinsing clean. Then I attempted to tame my red mane. Untangling my braid, I attacked with my brush. It stuck at first stroke. Struggling to free it, I groaned as strands tore free.
A flush sounded. Lucy moved to wash her hands next to me.
I moaned my frustration at her. “I’d say two days from dreadlocks.”
“Word.” She again attempted to run her hands through her own snarled curls, which again ended in failure.
“It’s not really fair, Abbs. I have bruises everywhere, and this awesome scrape.” She gestured to the pink graze on her cheek. “But besides messy hair you look perfect, and too gorgeous as usual.” She glared in mock annoyance. “What’s your secret? Do you have a hidden fountain of hotness?”
I stuck my tongue out at her in the reflection. “You’re insane, Lucy.” I would kill for her curves and blonde beauty.
She shrugged, but didn’t comment further. It was a circular argument we’d been having for years.
I worked hard and eventually my thick hair caved to the vigorous attack. Braiding the shiny curls off my face, I smiled. It was stupid, but my braid gave me a sense of normalcy. Lucy grabbed my arm as I moved to the toilet.
“There’s no tissue. You’ll have to use a few from my stash.”
I looked down at the two small pieces she was waving at me.
“Your generosity knows no bounds,” I said drily.
She smiled sweetly. “It’s that or your hand. We’re on rations – I will not be using leaves, thank you very much.”
Shaking my head, I moved to the toilet. It looked ultra high-tech, buttons and gadgets running along the right-hand side. The exact type of thing I would have broken in minutes. Ignoring the buttons, I was going with the hope it worked on the same basic principles as back home. Finishing quickly, I stood. Without any assistance from me, a loud flush sounded. Well, that was a nice change from the drop pits which had replaced flushable toilets in New York. Not enough running water for that little luxury.
Moving back to the sink, I washed my hands. Lucy was finished, dressed in fresh clothes, her two layers of mascara applied and everything. Grabbing my pack, I unearthed a new shirt and underwear before dressing quickly. This was one of my favorite black vintage band tees, last year’s birthday present from Lucy.
Shouldering my pack, I followed her over to the door.
“How do they open? It’s not a sensor. We’re standing right here.” Lucy jumped up and down, waving her hands.
Her bag just about toppled her backwards. She grabbed my arm to rebalance.
“No idea. I can’t figure how anything works on First World.”
Lucy leaned closer. “Oh, and by the way, you totally understated Brace: hot, hot, hotttt.” She drew out the last, fanning herself.
I shook my head at her dramatics. “I told you he was gorgeous. It’s a waste. I wouldn’t know what to do with him.”
Lucy opened her mouth. I interrupted before I could hear her sure-to-be suggestive ideas. “Remember, virgin here, almost eighteen and never been kissed.” I wiggled my eyebrows. “Unlike Lucy – who makes out with the extremely good-looking Josh, the delivery dude – for shoes.”
Her mouth dropped. But before she could respond, the door slid open.
Brace was standing exactly where we’d left him. His lilting accent filled the small bathroom.
“Let’s go.” His eyes lingered for a moment.
My face warmed as he turned away.
Lucy, already past my teasing, nudged me and whispered, “You’re staring at him the way I stare at my vintage Manolo Blahniks.”
I shook it off. I was stronger than this attraction. I’d seen Lucy actually drool when she stared at her shoes. Reaching up, I stealth-wiped at my mouth. Thank the gods: drool-free.
We lagged behind. Even I struggled with his long-legged pace.
Finally we caught up to him.
He stood outside a half-size door and gestured for us to step inside. It was a laundry – not the room I expected to be staging an escape from.
Brace faced us, his white teeth flashing. “Well, Abby – and Lucy – since we’re friends now, I’m about to trust you with a protected childhood secret.”
He moved to the back wall and with little effort shifted a large white machine to the side. Bending over, he flicked a latch and lifted a trap door.
“This is an old laundry chute; it drops out into the forest.” His grin was a little evil. “I used this to sneak out when I was young. The only problem was figuring out how to get back inside.”
Judging by that smirk, Brace had been a terror of a child
.
I peered into the wide space of the chute opening. “How long since you’ve used it?”
He laughed quietly, a sparkle lighting his deep brown eyes. “Quite a few years. My father pretty much lets me come and go as I please now.”
Lucy pushed me aside to carry out her own inspection. “It’s still safe, right? What if it’s rusted away in places?” Her voice echoed down the length.
Brace shook his head. “Rusted? It’s made from Destruck, and isn’t even through a third of its thousand-year guarantee – it’s safe.”
Lucy snorted. “A thousand years ... I guess that’s good enough for me.”
Brace squinted at her as if he didn’t quite understand the source of her sarcasm, though his lips did quirk into a half-smile.
“I’ll go through first and see you at the bottom.” He pulled himself into the opening, long legs hanging down. “Don’t worry about the alarm and fields. I’ll disable them.” Then he pushed off and was gone.
“You’re next, Luce.” I pushed her toward the chute. “I’ll be right behind, so get out of the way.”
Lucy took a deep breath and climbed in. Then she too was gone.
I waited till last, I didn’t want them to see me freak out. I was a little claustrophobic.
It’s this or prison, Abby.
I shut my eyes tightly. No way could I get in with my eyes open. Hands out in front, I felt for the opening. Misjudging the distance, I found myself tumbling forward before plunging headfirst down the chute, my heavy pack powering me even faster. I screamed the entire way. Bracing myself, I managed to force a hand over the top of my head as the slide tapered off and I plunged out. Tumbling a few times, I ended up face down, my pack thrown to the side.
I stayed like that for a moment of reflection – and to determine what was broken – something sure felt broken. My pride, I think.
Strong hands gripped my arms and pulled me up effortlessly.
“Are you okay?” Brace asked, his eyes wrinkled in concern and amusement.
Lucy, on the other hand, had collapsed in laughter. “That was hands down the funniest thing I’ve ever seen,” she managed to gasp out.
Brace set me back on my feet before handing me my pack. His lips twitched, but he saved himself an ass-handing by changing the subject.
“Since we are trying to avoid the guard, I suggest we move from here.”
I scraped Lucy up off the ground as she continued to let out snorts of laughter.
“Stop replaying it or I will kill you and hide the body somewhere in the forest.” I gestured to the masses of greenery around us. “No one will find you.”
The laughter subsided for a moment, before she lost it again. I shook my head. Brace was already moving along the path, so, dragging Lucy with me, I hauled it to catch up.
Chapter 7
