That got my attention. “Really? So his father must have been Gunari.”
“Yeah, and get this: I didn’t even hear it from Rafe. I heard it from some of the women when I was helping out in the mess hall.” Her eyes lit up with every mention of Rafe and I knew she liked him much more than she let on.
“When we went hunting later I asked him about it and he just shrugged and said he thought everybody knew. Guys are so lame sometimes.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said, taking a bite of zucchini bread.
After that, Dera and I ate in silence, each of us taking in the day we’d had. I almost felt bad for not telling her about what happened with Graff, but then I remembered her claim of being nothing more than friends with Rafe and my guilt subsided. If she could deny it, so could I.
Chapter Sixteen
The last few weeks had flown by with still no word of my brother or father’s whereabouts. The GW units initially sent to Sector Two on my arrival didn’t come back with any more information other than what Graff had relayed to me before. I pestered Jonas and Graff daily for any news that might’ve trickled in from their sources, but they had absolutely no leads. At this point, I was willing to run off alone to search for them. The only thing stopping me was that I had no idea where to look.
Graff had been relentless in my training, working me ten hours each day with Jonas or Gunner relieving him if he had business to attend to. Neither of us had mentioned the porch incident, and I thought it was probably for the best. He’d been more guarded since then—not necessarily cold, just more focused and strictly business whenever it came to me.
A side effect of all my time spent training: I was too exhausted to linger on what could be happening to my family. Another side effect was that Dera and I had barely seen each other and I found myself missing her like crazy.
Today was the day of Jonas’ supply giveaway he held for the townspeople. Graff explained the donations and supplies were distributed to all the Sectors throughout The Outerlands to help feed and clothe the poorer families in towns like this one. So everything today would be free for all, and there would even be bags of food and clothing for those-in-need to take home. He also said that with the impending war, most of the Gunari didn’t feel like socializing, but everyone was willing to go in support of the town. I had to get permission from Jonas to attend because he’d restricted me to eating, training, and sleeping once he’d found out about my abilities. He approved and I planned on spending my entire time there with Dera.
Currently, I had my head stuck in the sink in our bathroom with Dera rinsing one of Nessa’s herbal softeners out of my hair. As I lifted my head and looked in the reflective wall glass, I quickly realized my hair had taken on the reddish color of the softener.
“Oh no,” I screeched, panicking as I took in the bold colors flowing around my shoulders.
“Huh,” Dera said, covering up her smile. “Nessa must have mixed in a wrong ingredient or two.”
“This isn’t funny,” I yelled. “What am I going to do now?”
“I don’t know, but it’s just the top layer where the sun lightened your hair that really took on this red color,” she said, pulling on a strand. “Everything else just looks brighter than normal. It’s kind of pretty, Henley. What are you freaking out about?”
“I don’t know. It’s just so…different.” I stared into the glass at a girl who simultaneously looked exactly and nothing like me.
“This isn’t just about your hair, is it?” she asked. I shrugged and she gave me one of her stern Dera looks. “I mean, think about it. You’ve had so much happen in such a short amount of time. And then Jonas sort of just threw you into the middle of everything, putting all this pressure on you, saying you and your abilities could help him end this war. Seriously, how much can one person take? Maybe you just need a little break from it all.” Dera squeezed my shoulder before emptying the colored water into the toilet.
“Maybe,” I admitted.
“Here,” she said, throwing me a towel. “Let’s not judge it until you let it dry out a bit. Then decide if you like it or not. Personally, I think it’s really cool. Plus, I’m sure it’ll fade in a few days anyway, so there’s no harm done if you don’t. Unless you’re trying to impress someone...” A conspiratorial grin formed on her face and she raised her eyebrow for effect.
“No, Dera. That ship has sailed. There is no need to impress Graff. I’m pretty sure if it hasn’t happened yet, after all the time we’ve been spending together, it never will.”
“I don’t think that’s necessarily true. But even so, who said I was talking about Graff?” She had that I know something you don’t look on her face.
“Okay, I give. Who then?” I walked out into the bedroom to get dressed, Dera right on my heels.
“Well,” she replied, plopping down on my bed, “Ford has been asking about you every time I run into him lately, and I just thought maybe… I don’t know, you might be interested in getting to know him.” Her expression was hopeful, which surprised me, because even though she said she was all right with him now, I never thought she’d be happy to have me hanging around him.
“Um, no. Definitely nothing there. I haven’t even seen him since I started training with Graff.”
“Okay, well, just thought I’d throw it out there. He and a few of his friends hang around Gunner and Rafe a lot. He’s actually really nice once you get to know him. I just thought you could use the distraction with everything that’s happened lately…and I mean, have you seen his body?” she asked as she went to her side of the room to get dressed.
“You should go sit in the sun awhile,” she added as an afterthought. “Let your hair dry some more so we can style it before we go.”
“Hold on a sec. Are you going to tell me what Ford said?”
“Nothing, really. He’s just always asking where you are, saying how he never really sees you around anymore.”
“Yeah, well, that’s because I’m not. I can’t remember the last time I’ve even been to the mess hall, let alone to the group training area where he and everyone else practices.”
“Which is why you are going to make the most of this town thingy. Now go, and I’ll pick you out something better to wear…because that,” she pointed at my tank and matching black pants, “just won’t do.” She smiled and I walked out to let her do her thing; I couldn’t stop her if I wanted to.
* * *
“We look amazing. Have I said that recently?” Dera practically yelled as we walked down the road to the newly set up tables and stands.
“Only about every other minute for the last ten it’s taken to get here. And lower your voice, will you?” I hissed.
“Oh, pipe down. I know dresses aren’t your thing, but you look really pretty in that shade of red with your new hair. And you know, I don’t look half bad myself. Thanks for noticing. Man, there is gonna be some head turnin’ tonight.” Dera laughed, obviously proud of herself and the pretty ensembles she’d created for us.
“I have told you how nice you look. Plus, you already know. So don’t give me any crap.”
“True. So true,” she said, looking around. “Ooh, let’s go there first.” Dera motioned to the second table on the right. It was stacked with boxes of dried foods; we had more than enough stocked in our cabin from Miss Sophia’s ‘leftovers’, so I wasn’t sure what interested her until I saw who was working there.
“What is your deal with that poor girl?” I asked.
“Nothing. Well, nothing other than I recently found out Barbette just happens to be the on-again off-again girlfriend of none other than Rafe. My Rafe. Can you believe it?” Ah, well now that did explain a lot.
“Two questions,” I said. “One: are they on or off right now? And two: so you’re finally admitting to your feelings for Rafe?” I tried somewhat unsuccessfully to hide my smile.
“I don’t know and maybe,” she answered.
“Explain, please.” I placed my hand on her arm and p
ulled her to a stop.
“I haven’t actually asked Rafe about it but everyone else says they haven’t been together since last spring. And the other week in the mess hall, I was sitting with Rafe, Cali, Quinn, and Gunner when all of a sudden she walked in shooting daggers at my head with her eyes. No joke. Then to top it off, she charged over like she owned Rafe or something and basically ordered him outside.”
“What did Rafe do?” I asked but had a feeling I already knew the answer.
“He just got up and left with her, without a goodbye to me or anyone else. Can you believe that?”
“Oh Dera, I’m sorry. But that doesn’t mean they’re together again.”
“No…but ever since then, he goes to talk to her every time she comes around.”
“Maybe you should just ask him about it.”
“Yeah. Maybe,” she agreed. We started walking again and I saw Barbette’s head swivel to us. Wow, I think daggers might’ve been an understatement.
“Okay,” I said, coming around to block the girls’ views of each other. “So can we skip this booth then and go volunteer at one of the clothes tables?” I asked, grinning when she squeezed her eyes shut and counted to five like it was really hard to hold her tongue.
When Dera finished counting, she reopened her eyes, sighing long and hard. “Sure, why not?” She walked around me, giving one last meaningful look to Barbette, and then we continued up the road.
* * *
After having handed out every bag of clothing at our table, we started toward the field where a bonfire was set up but spotted Cali standing off to one side of the road talking with a few people.
“Can we act like we don’t see her?” I asked.
“Ah, probably not,” Dera replied, and pointed to Cali who had her hand in the air waving us over.
“Hey, girls. Where are you headed?” Cali asked when we stopped beside her.
I was so stunned by her friendly tone that I stumbled over my words. “Uh…oh, t-to the bonfire. Right, Dera?” I glanced her way.
“Yeah, if we don’t get distracted by the food booths over there.”
Cali laughed. “I know, right? Well, I have to help the musicians set up. I’ll see you guys later, yeah?”
“Yeah,” I said, “we’ll see you later.”
Watching her walk off, I mumbled, “Weird,” under my breath before adding a little louder, “I didn’t know there would be music. Is Cali part of the band?”
Looking confused, Dera answered, “I have no idea. Guess we’ll see soon enough though, right? Come on, let’s walk.” She looped her arm around my elbow and pulled me forward.
* * *
“Is that Graff behind the fence there? Over by the cliff wall?” Dera asked, pulling my arm to get me moving to the small cliff wall next to the open field.
“I can’t tell,” I said, not having a good view of who she was pointing at. When we got to the fence, I noticed Gunner and another guy handing out weapons at the edge of the crowd. They counted heads, splitting everyone into two groups. Then the one with his back to us turned so I could see his profile. “Yeah. That would be Graff.” All the guys were shirtless, but with some kind of battle gear on. They were covered from almost head to toe in a thick multi-colored liquid.
As we got closer, the groups moved to opposite sides of the fence. They had these miniature grenade-style launchers pointed at each other. Someone yelled ‘GO’ and they all started running around, shooting one another as they darted in and out of cover. The sight was hilarious and I found myself half-doubled over, laughing hysterically at all of them. This went on for several minutes and I finally collected myself, looking up just in time to see Dera’s eyes go wide at something behind me. At about the same time strong hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me close.
“Find something funny, do you?” a deep voice whispered in my ear. I turned to meet Graff’s eyes just as he threw me over his shoulder and ran with me back toward the action.
“What are you doing?” I yelled, half-giggling to cover my mortification. Of course today would be the day Dera talked me into wearing a long flowy sundress. “Graff, put me down!” I pounded on his back to no avail. Looking up, I saw Dera laughing like a hyena. Glad someone found this amusing.
We entered through the gate and Graff dropped me down, inch by inch, so I stood just in front of him. He stared at me for a long moment before speaking.
“You look really beautiful.” He gently pulled on one of the strands of my red hair and tucked it behind my ear. “I like the dress, too.”
“Thanks,” I whispered, a little embarrassed by the attention he gave me in front of his friends. I looked up to find everyone silently gaping at us, so I stepped back out of Graff’s reach in the hopes of breaking some of the awkwardness.
Gunner walked towards us holding a black cloth in his hands. “Dera, get over here,” he said excitedly, handing each of us a smock when she stepped up beside me. “Put these on to protect those pretty dresses you girls have on and come join in on some of the fun.”
Gunner whisked her off to the other side as Graff enlisted me, getting me geared up while he explained the rules.
Wrapping a red band around my wrist similar to the one around his, he said, “This is to tell which team each person is playing on. We’re on the red team. Dera and Gunner are part of the blue team. Each person has fifteen shots of colored paint preloaded into their gun at the beginning of every round. That’s all you get, and if you run out before everyone else, I suggest you hide or you’ll become an easy target. The goal is to hit members of the other team anywhere on their body without getting plastered yourself. If you get hit even once you’re out and you’ll have to go sit on the sidelines until the round is over. This round the color is orange. The team with the most people standing at the end of five minutes wins. Simple as that.”
“Got it.” I crouched down beside the other red team members who were waiting for the signal to start.
“Randall, James, this is Henley Books. She’s on our side,” Graff said to the two guys directly beside us.
“Miss,” the older of the two said, tilting his head in hello. “You can call me Randy—most people do.” He extended his hand to mine and as we shook, he nudged the teenage boy next to him. “Kid, don’t be rude now. Introduce yourself properly.” They shared a look before the younger one finally relented.
“I’m James, but we already met. I was one of the trainees in hand to hand when you fought Drew,” he said, letting out an exaggerated sigh. “I have to say that was an…entertaining day.” The side of his right lip curled up and I wasn’t sure if it was a friendly smile or a sneer.
Graff stiffened beside me and I hurriedly replied, “Right. Well, not one of my finer moments, but definitely a learning experience. And trust me, that won’t be happening again. Not with Graff here personally training me every day now.” I grinned at them.
James’ shocked expression slowly turned into a full-on smirk and he nodded, letting out a short laugh while he gave Randy a pointed look.
“So there is some truth to that rumor. Gotta say, man,” Randy said, turning and patting Graff on the back while wearing an amused expression, “never thought I’d see the day.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, not understanding where this conversation had turned and why. But no one got a chance to answer because someone yelled for the start of the scrimmage and Graff immediately pulled me into the melee.
The first half of the game, I avoided getting hit and managed to splatter two guys I’d never met on the blue team. Although, just as I thought I’d make it the full five minutes, Gunner popped out of nowhere and blasted me straight in the chest. Wearing a wicked grin, he yelled, “I’ve been training you, darlin’. I know all your moves.”
Heading for the sidelines, I saw Dera sitting on the ground, her smock and battle gear completely covered in orange. “I think Graff hates me. He and some guy named James double teamed me.”
“Oh Dera, it’s all in
good fun, right?” I reminded her, barely holding in my laughter at the sight of her. “Let’s get this gear off and move on.” I released the armored vest, then undid her smock and carefully lifted it over her head.
As we started to leave, Graff came running over panting. “Red team won. You did pretty well for your first time, Brooks.”
“Thanks,” I said, a smile taking over my face.
Noticing the paint-covered smocks lying on the ground, Graff asked in complete sincerity, “What, you two don’t want to play another round?”
I laughed when Dera spoke up. “Thanks, but no thanks. We thought we’d hook up with Rafe at the bonfire.” With that, Graff nodded, threw a smile my way, and ran back over to the guys.
Chapter Seventeen
We took our time walking through the field and then headed toward a barn at the edge of the clearing where more and more people came into view.
“Is that music?” I asked, hearing what I thought were faint tunes drifting through the air.
“Yeah, guess Cali wasn’t joking around. And look, there’s even some dancing going on over there by the bonfire.” Dera pointed to the side of the barn. “What do ya say? You up for it?” she asked, hopeful.
I shook my head. “You go ahead. I’ll just go over here and sit down, rest my legs.” I motioned to the rows of wooden chairs along the dance area.
“You sure?”
“Absolutely. Go have fun. I’m fine,” I encouraged her, knowing she wanted to find Rafe.
She embraced me in a quick hug and then darted off, disappearing into the crowd a few seconds later. I found an empty seat off to the side.
Scanning the faces of people coming and going, I realized I didn’t know any of them. There were so many—at least a few hundred just in this clearing. They all looked to be having fun, dancing and cheering for the band that I was now able to see.
Scanning the musicians’ faces, I was surprised to find Rafe perched on a wooden stool at the center of a makeshift stage, expertly strumming the guitar. To the right of the stage was Jonas’ assistant Ben, playing the violin. There was someone I’d never met farther in the back, striking a kettledrum. Just to his left, Cali leaned over, shaking a tambourine to the beat. But the most unexpected member of the band was standing with her hand on Rafe’s shoulder, belting out a hauntingly beautiful melody as the rhythm started to slow its pace. Barbette had one of the most amazing voices I had ever heard, and I must not have been the only one to think so, because as I looked around, I found the dancing had almost completely stopped with everyone now focused on the girl with the beautiful voice. I briefly saw Dera up in front, a stricken look on her face as she stared between Barbette and Rafe, but then the beat picked back up, the dancing resumed, and she slipped effortlessly back into the crowd, moving toward the bonfire.
The Outerlands - Sedition Page 12
