“So it’s not personal to the Kings?”
“No,” Clark and Reid both shake their heads, surprised I’d come to this conclusion. “No,” Reid explains, finally looking at me. “It’s whoever the Dofinikes want. Like ordering off a menu. The Kings are the servers and everyone else runs the restaurant for them.”
“And what about the others,” I risk a glance at Raj, “like the Clients? The ones who are no longer valuable?”
“Added bonus,” Clark shrugs.
“Or they get rid of them,” Reid jumps up from the bench, running his hands through his hair. “Well, there’s not much more we can do about any of it tonight so Pratt, Raj,” he motions to them, “if you could take Fallon back. Griffin, if you don’t mind staying.”
All three nod, Pratt jumping up as both girls round to either side of me. Reid’s already deep in conversation with Griffin, Sampson and Clark. Vix sharpens a knife at her bench, listening. A light pull from Pratt and the scene disappears from view.
After dropping off Raj, Pratt escorts me to my bunker even though I offer to walk her to hers several times. Just seems silly to be escorted by someone less than half your age. Still, I give one last attempt as we reach my door.
“Can’t,” she shrugs, “Boss’s order.”
“Seriously?” I arch a brow. “Boss?”
She laughs. “You have no idea.”
“You’ve got to explain,” I lean against the arch, crossing my arms. “Is his name Reid or Rox?”
“It’s Reid.”
“So what’s with the nickname?”
“It’s not a nickname. It’s a title,” she shrugs. “Like a sign of respect.”
“Okay…” I quickly recount what was told to me that first night. “Well, Raj said ‘Rox’ was over the Rogues. In fact, I think she used the term ‘Kingpin.’ So…” I exhale, ready to know the truth. “Is he a Rogue or not?”
Holding her breath, she exhales after an intense minute. Finally she nods. “He says he retired but… he’ll always be a Rogue.”
“Why did he retire?”
“It’s really best if he tells you,” she backs up.
“Come on…” I’m walking toward her, “tell me.”
“Can’t. He’ll kill me.”
Accepting this as her final word on the matter, I bite my lip. She’s right. He already told me he was Rox—what else do I need to know? It’s his business. Plus, it’s unfair to demand more from Pratt, especially when I’m sure she’s been asked not to say much. I waive a goodnight and start selecting the symbols to unlock my door when her voice startles me.
“Just so you know,” she’s still unsure if divulging this information is smart, “you’re the only one he supplies for free.”
“What?”
“And you’re also the only one he lets use his real name.”
“You call him Reid,” I cross my arms again. “And Sampson and the others.”
“But none of the Rogues, Scouts or Clients. No one calls him Reid. It’s just the four of us,” Pratt shakes her head with a curious glance over me, “now five. Just…” she retreats as shadows fall over her face. “Thought you should know.”
***
How is everyone able to take it?
If I really wanted to, I could do it. Escape. Flee the Castle and live out in the jungle, if it meant I’d be free from this. But Reid’s words come rushing back and with them, the bitter truth of what that would mean. Desertion. Abandoning everyone who wants to do the same. Who needs to, but is too terrified. I can’t leave them. I won’t, not to be snatched or dragged back or whatever being here means. But I need to get out of here too, even at night, if only to clear my mind.
I have to talk to Reid.
Down the line, a girl sneezes. Most keep their heads lowered but a sparse few like me risk a glance. And that’s when I see him.
Not the him I was hoping for, but someone just as useful. Same dark hair and long nose, it’s the kid who is always trailing after Reid and he’s only six or seven bodies down. I make my way over and pause behind him. The girl to his left doesn’t notice right away, but after a second, glances at me.
Shock.
Bewilderment.
Like I’m the last person she expected to see. Her eyes fly to him, willing him to look up. He doesn’t, so I motion her to move along and she’s quick to obey. Resuming her place, I dig in her stead. After a minute, the boy goes rigid, his arms dropping to his side. But I keep digging, scooping spoonfuls of gibb into the bucket and he does the same. A long minute passes.
“You work for Rox.”
He barely nods, as if changing his mind a second into the gesture.
“Got a name?”
A long pause. “Irie.”
“Look…” I languidly toss my Senz into the gibb, “…not sure how this is done… but can I talk to him? Or at least… let him know I’m looking for him?”
“Wait here.” He turns and heads through the trench.
He disappears into the distance and I lose myself in mindless digging. This is good. He’ll be gone for a few minutes and it’ll give me time to figure out how to ask Reid about gathering food. I’ve asked Pratt plenty of times and she always comes back with the same answer. But maybe going to the source will provide different results.
Maybe.
“Hey…” Reid’s voice breaks my focus as he thrusts his Senz into the wall, “what’s going on?”
“I’m coming with you.”
He pauses. “Where?”
“To gather food at night.”
He flings his Senz into the wall again, making a halfhearted attempt. He’s considering it. Definitely considering it but still, he makes no response.
“It makes sense that I—”
“Good afternoon,” Ergiloff’s voice projects from above. Reid cautions a finger over his lips, looking toward the Castle like everyone else. “Would the following persons please report to the labs immediately…”
Ergiloff calls out a list of seven names, six females and one male.
One girl, a few bodies down, removes her Senz as the third name is called and drops them in her bucket. Her hair swishes behind her in a long, straight ponytail as she makes her way for the ladder. The swing of her hair reminds me of Pratt and before I realize what I’m doing, I’m running after her. In and out of people, I dodge over buckets until I’ve rounded in front. Quickly, I search for anything I can use.
“You want me to hold onto your clip?” I gesture to the metallic butterfly pinned in her locks. “They don’t allow hair pieces in the labs.”
“I’m sorry?”
“When I arrived, I was taken to the labs. I had a hair clip similar to yours, but they took it away. Haven’t gotten it back yet,” I clear my throat, “just saying I could hold onto it for you so you won’t have to toss it. I can give it back to you at Leisure Time.”
“Oh,” her eyes relax, “thanks.” She snaps the metal, handing me the clip before heading up the ladder and out of the trench.
I turn the piece over, examining the color and quality of it. The special markings, little indentions, nicks and scratches. This is a piece of her history, her life before coming to Harrizel. I meander back to my spot, running my fingertips over the aged metal. I snap the clip into my hair and I resume digging. Reid stares at me with a questionable frown.
“I want to be able to give her boyfriend something.”
“She doesn’t have a boyfriend. It’s yours.”
“It’s hers. Proof of her,” I swing my Senz into the gibbed wall. “Proof that she exists.” He accepts this and keeps going. “This the first time they’ve called lists?”
“First time with the pills, first time with the lists…” he exhales and after a long minute, glances to me. “You can come with us.”
“Tonight?”
“Tomorrow or the next night. Tonight I… I have some stuff to take care of.”
I nod, biting my lip. “So, when were you going to tell me you were Rox?”
/>
“Still bothered by that?” he grins.
“I’m not bothered… just… curious.”
“Well what are you curious about?” he thrusts his Senz into the wall.
“What does it mean? Are you in charge of… everything?”
He laughs. “No—that’d be sweet. Just the Rogues… their Scouts… their Clients…”
“That’s all?”
“If you really want more details, I’ll swing by your room later,” he tosses me a glance. “After Leisure Time.”
Heat blooms inside. “You know where it is?”
“Of course,” he scoffs, surprised I’d even ask. “We’ll talk about gathering too. Cool?”
Remaining focused on the gibb, I nod. Out of the corner of my eye I see him mirror the gesture before he backs into a retreat. He’s gone without a reply and suddenly, I’m curious as to what the night will bring.
***
Leisure Time.
As Jeb finishes Reminders about the excessive use of the Water Pole and the hushed conversations in the trench lines that must stop immediately, people fall into that familiar timing. When they start grinding on one another, releasing themselves carnally—or feigning it to avoid conversations with the Guide and scientist, which seems more likely after a day of Rebuilding.
I’m skimming the Maze, biding my time until it’s safe to go back upstairs. But as I take another step, I pause, my internal siren going off, warning me of a nearby danger. And I see him—a pair of black eyes sitting like an anchor in a sea of passing fish.
He’s around fifty feet away and starts toward me with slow strides, his crooked mouth hooking high into that jawboned face. On his neck, a red flame disappears into the shiny blonde folds behind his ear. He’s alone, but moves quickly, and I’m not sure what the right plan is. Retreat? Or stay here with the others? Pratt said a lot of the Snatchings occur during Leisure Time… but wouldn’t they happen in the Maze?
He’s coming for me and I need to act fast. Stay or leave?
Stay or leave?
He’ll be at me—whoever he is—in seconds with the rate he’s going. I need to do something now. But what? Loose myself in the crowd? He could follow me right through it. And he’s just about here.
Shit.
Chapter Eleven: Rox
Reid locks his arm on the adjacent wall, blocking me with his back. Nipping his thumb, he tosses the incoming stranger a look, one that makes him stop short.
The boy with the red flame is put off for a second but recovers quickly. He smiles up at Reid, and, with a casual, almost friendly voice, explains. “Just coming over to say hello.”
Silence.
“Didn’t realize you were…” he risks a glance at me, his dark eyes scouring the bits of my body he can see, “…tapping into the Market again.”
Reid positions himself to fully cover me, dropping his arm from the wall. He crosses them, nipping at his right thumb again. The boy with the flame tattoo grins wider. “Good to see things are changing.”
“Nothing’s changed.”
“Pratt still run your assignments?”
Reid shrugs innocently, honestly, “She’s a friend.”
“She’s a Scout. Once a Scout, always a Scout… though they never seem to understand that,” he mutters that last part to himself. “It’s alright to admit you’re back in. I’m not going to deny I’ve been awaiting Rox’s return—everyone has—so just go ahead and say it. We’re here talking, aren’t we?” he shoots me a glance, keeping it unclear as to whom he’s referencing. “Isn’t that enough?”
“I’m just helping out,” Reid grinds his teeth, his tone lowering as he leans in, “speaking of… heard something about unusual movement this morning.”
“Oh?”
“Not sure Tucker had much to say on it.”
“Does he ever?”
Reid leans in, “…Tell your boys they’re slipping.”
“Well, you would know about slipping.”
Reid merely nods to himself, considering the comment with seemingly little interest. He gives it a second more before gesturing for the stranger’s immediate departure. “You said hello.”
“So soon?”
Reid repeats the gesture.
“If you say so,” he casts me a final glance. “Good to know you’re here… Fallon, right?” he smiles, glimpsing at Reid before leaving.
After he does, Reid paces for half a second, running his fingers through his hair, quickly calculating.
“Who was that?”
He risks a glance my way. “Not someone I was hoping you’d meet.”
“A King?”
He stops short with a nod.
“Your status?”
He shakes his head. “High up but not the top. Shit,” he mumbles to himself, starting to pace again as three new bodies approach. Irie and the blonde Rogue I recognize immediately, but I’ve never seen the last boy who stands a foot shorter than Reid. Built slightly slimmer, he sports shaggy bronze hair and has warm, amber eyes.
“What’s doing, Boss?” Blondie crosses his arm, stopping the trio. “Tucker wants word on the list earlier. Pills too.”
“Irie, go get Sampson,” Reid taps his shoulder and he takes off at the mission, weaving his way into the crowd. Reid looks to the pair, “Make sure Mantis doesn’t overstep his boundaries again. I don’t want another instance,” his eyes flicker to me. “And tell Chief to tighten security. We might have to make some adjustments.”
“Got it,” Blondie nods, “any certains?”
Reid shakes his head. “I’ll talk to Tucker about it. Tell him I’ll be there in a minute.”
“On it.”
Reid motions their dismissal and the boys set off again, disappearing into the crowd. He turns to me with an honest frown. “Sorry about the King. He uh… shouldn’t have gotten that close. But just for tonight, I’m having Sampson take you back to your room. I’ll swing by later to discuss gathering.”
“Why does Sampson need to take me back?” I narrow my eyes. “Am I in danger?”
Reid’s mouth opens and just as it looks like he may utter an explanation, Sampson’s here. He glances between us but focuses on Reid first. “Jace and Able said you were finishing up some business and that you’d be there shortly.”
Reid nods.
“Fallon,” he turns his smile on me, “we haven’t spent much time together and I’d like to remedy that. Would you allow me to escort you back to your room?” he steps forward, “Whenever you’re feeling ready, of course.”
I throw Reid a glance but he’s gone, disappearing in the few seconds of escape I gave him. Does Sampson really have to escort me back? I’ve never needed a guard before. “Uh… sure.”
He sweeps a few babeebs over his head and leads us up to the Courtyard. We walk in silence for a minute until we’ve reached the other end of the plum and gray checkerboard.
“Not that I mind but… why are you taking me back to my room?”
He hesitates, “…It was a request from Reid.”
“But why?”
“I guess he feels you need protection.”
I’m about to ask why again, but I know the answer. It’s from that King—what’d they call him? Mantis? But I still don’t understand. Why do I need protection from him? What do we have to do with each other? I look at Sampson. “Are you going to gather later?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
“Well…” he chuckles, “frankly… whether I feel up to it.”
“Reid’s coming by later,” I say, suddenly embarrassed by the sound of it, “to talk about the gathering,” I quickly amend, “about me helping you guys.”
Sampson’s mouth turns up in a grin, “Is that so?”
“I have some other questions so hopefully we can talk about them too.”
“What other questions?” he’s curious. “Perhaps I can assist?”
“Um…”
We start up the stairwell, Sampson linking his hands behind h
is back, “You expressed interest in the tunnels.”
“I did.”
“I didn’t admit it that first night,” he tosses me a playful smirk, “but there’s a whole labyrinth of them.”
“A labyrinth?” the word arouses my excitement and fear, as Reid’s navigation floods back.
“Indeed. One so interwoven, so complex, you could get lost forever.”
“And you trust yourselves not to?”
“I think we’ll be fine,” he hides something in that grin, an inside joke perhaps. But then, as if to offer a logical reason to it, “We have our Callixes.”
I want to ask him how that keeps them from getting lost when it only provides light, but I don’t. Instead, I press forward, asking what I really want to know.
“They’re from that tree, aren’t they?” we’re halfway up the stairs now. “The one out by the ruins?”
He slows, struck by the word. “Is that what you consider them?”
“Well…” and for some reason, I feel as though I’ve offended him. “What would you say?”
He thinks about it, trying it on, applying the word to whatever image he already had in mind. After a moment, he shrugs, “I suppose it would seem appropriate. But yes, it’s the Rinzal Tree. The light in the dark.”
“I could go get a Callix of my own… so I don’t have to keep using yours.”
“It’s not an inconvenience in the slightest, and really,” he shakes his head, “you shouldn’t have to take one. You should be given one. Callix Blossoms are a gift.”
“What do you mean?” we turn onto my floor.
“Well… the Callix is a symbol of love,” he says the word tenderly, as though trying to sound it out, “you give it, usually only once, to someone you care very deeply for.”
I reach for the one he lent me, tucked away in my shoulder strap, “I don’t want to take yours.”
“Not mine,” he smiles, patting his chest, “I keep mine close. That one’s an… extra, we’ll call it… but really, please, continue to use it. Unless of course,” he grins, “you feel more comfortable with the babeebs.”
“Haven’t bothered with them, actually.”
Escape from Harrizel Page 14
