Fif15teen

  Chapter 20

  Law 21

  Girls Are Tricksy

  Akeem snatched the thin boy and spun him around. The dagger grazed Doc’s arm before burying itself in a fallen log with a thump. Akeem looked at Doc, scanning his body for holes. He gasped when he saw blood dripping down the boy’s arm.

  Doc peeked under his torn shirt. “It’s merely a scratch,” Doc said. “I’ll live, but this was my best shirt!” Akeem rolled his eyes skyward. “I must help the injured. Stop her before she kills someone.” Doc nodded toward Piper. Akeem stared at the girl as she climbed off the unconscious boy and pushed him into the pit. Akeem howled and charged; she hissed at him like a feral cat. He slammed into her and bowled her off her feet. They went flying several feet before crashing to the ground. He landed on her hard, knocking the wind out of her. They rolled, smashing through the foliage, hands clawing at each other, then came to a jarring halt when they smacked into a tree. Piper’s forehead cracked into his jaw on impact. Akeem was stunned, and the trees swam out of focus. Piper staggered to her feet, wheezing, coughing, and gasping for air. Akeem stood up rubbing his jaw. He held his hands up, fingers spread wide in a gesture of peace as he stepped cautiously toward her. She held her throat, still gasping for air, but stood her ground as he came nearer.

  “Piper, I just want to find Qui—” The words were punched from his lips by a left hook. “Oww!” He howled as he bawled his hand into a fist and raised it to strike her back. Words of advice from his father about never hitting a lady ran through his head. He hesitated for a mere second before coming to the conclusion that Piper was no lady. His fist cracked her hard across the cheekbone and her neck snapped harshly to the side. She staggered backward then looked at him with rage in her eyes. He winked at her amused.

  “If you can give it, you better be able to take it, baby!” Akeem sneered. “I’ll let you go when you tell me where to find Quinn.” He raised his fist, ready to exchange blows.

  “You actually think you can stop me?” Piper snarled, shaking her head. “Boys,” she quipped, then raised her fists as well. They circled each other, silently forming their own battle tactics. She swung, he anticipated and moved easily to the side, but it was a ploy. She changed direction, lifted a knee, and aimed it at his tender parts. Akeem turned at the last moment, deflecting the worst of the blow, but his insides blossomed with pain nonetheless. An agonized squeal seeped from his mouth as he dropped to his knees. She smiled down at him and then winked.

  “If you can give it, you better be able to take it, Dog,” she mocked before turning to run. He grabbed her ankle in a vice grip and pulled. She landed face first on the forest floor. She fought like a wild woman, hissing and kicking at him mercilessly. Her heel made contact with his wrist and he let go. She was up and running. Akeem pushed aside the pain, got to his feet, and hobbled after her.

  The chase that ensued was a running, knock-down, drag-out, punch-and-kick fest that left them both swollen and bleeding from more places than they cared to count. They fought their way through the Trapped Forest, leaving a trail of whizzing spears, avalanching rocks, and springing nets in their wake. Piper led him to a path again, and he chased her until the terrain changed and became rocky. Akeem’s hopes soared as he realized they were approaching Dregg’s cave. He could only hope that the crazy caveman was close enough to help him stop the girl.

  “Piper!” Akeem shouted. Just as he’d hoped, she glanced backward and it cost her her footing. She slipped down the rocky slope and sprawled in a heap in front of Dregg’s cave. Akeem looked desperately around for Dregg, but what he saw instead stunned him into stillness. The contents of Dregg’s cave were scattered throughout the clearing. His smoking pyres had been stomped flat and signs of struggle were everywhere. Piper laughed triumphantly.

  “We got him! My angels have your blacksmith!” She laughed again causing a wild fury to boil inside of him. He dove at her, and she skittered out of his grasp and ran off once again. Dregg’s capture would change things exponentially for the Dogs. What would Thaniel do to get his blacksmith back? How many boys would he send to the slaughter?

  “Aren’t you tired of this, all this senseless killing?” he shouted and to his surprise she stopped. “Help me. I need to bring Quinn to her sister. I just want to go home,” he said desperately.

  “I have no home to return to, I’ve been here too long. Everyone I’ve ever known outside of the cube is probably dead. Mom and Dad are dust in the ground now. My brother would be eighty-seven if he’s still alive. I can’t leave,” she said in barely a whisper.

  “Your brother could still be alive; he could have a wife, children. You could have nieces and nephews,” Akeem said optimistically.

  “So?”

  “So, they could be out there; you wouldn’t be alone,” he said, but she only shook her head.

  “What do you think will happen if I show up, looking exactly as I did seventy-seven years ago. What would he do if I told him about how I got sucked into the golden cube our grandfather gave me for my fifteenth birthday? He’d probably take one look at me, have a heart attack, and die,” she said with an ironic chuckle. “No one would believe me. They’d think I was crazy and eventually they’d lock me up, send me to a workhouse or an asylum, and I’d end up worse than I am now.” She sighed.

  “Help us find a way out. Come back with us, we’ll work it out together. Quinn and I will help you,” Akeem offered sincerely.

  “Fifteen is all I know. I wouldn’t know how to survive on the outside. This is my home now; I’ll die here,” she said sadly. Akeem didn’t know what to say to that, he just looked at her dumbly until she sighed and took off once again.

  Akeem’s mind churned as he reached down deep for the energy to keep going. He chased the girl from the Trapped Forest into the corn, somehow managing to avoid booby traps and having his eyes pecked out by irritated crows. Their exhaustion caused them to slow to a snail’s pace, but no matter how he tried, the girl managed to stay just out of arms reach.

  The sun was fat and low in the sky when he emerged from the corn onto the bank of the River Femten. He looked across the dark water at Castle Haven. It was a formidable sight, and he stopped for a moment and stared. It was something straight out of a King Arthur movie, enormous and mystical. Quinn was in there; his mind raced and his heart jittered in his chest.

  “Piper!” he shouted. The girl had climbed into a small boat attached to a rope tow that stretched from one side of the quickly moving river to the other. She tugged at the rope, pulling hand over hand, propelling the boat rapidly toward the other side of the river. Akeem dove in after her.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Piper warned, but Akeem continued to swim after her.

  “Just take a message to her for me,” Akeem pleaded as Piper outdistanced him. He wasn’t the strongest swimmer, and the rapidly moving water was leaching away what little energy he had left. “Tell her to meet me at the Tree of Laws at sunset, in two days. Please—there’s a way out…” His head slipped under the water. He struggled back to the top. Piper had stopped pulling the rope tow and instead stood looking down at him, the realization of what he’d said finally reaching her mind.

  “Get out! The river is full of parasites that feed on your organs!” Something about the urgency in Piper’s voice made Akeem’s body respond. He kicked desperately for the shore. He climbed out of the water, hopping and squirming. His clothes went flying in every direction and in seconds he was completely naked, spinning and twisting in an attempt to examine every inch of his wet skin.

  “What do I do?” Akeem hollered, still beating at his skin. Finally he realized that Piper was laughing at him. He stopped and stood with his hands on his hips.

  “Works every time!” Piper grinned mischievously but then she softened. “I’m saving your life, boy. Go back while you can; you’re not safe in our territory. You don’t even have a weapon,” Piper warned soberly as she continued to pull herself across the river. “Go back…
hurry!”

  Akeem shook his head. “Organ eaters. God, I’m an idiot!” He cursed himself as he dressed. Piper looked at him a final time. “Will you tell her? Please, I have to see her. I need her to know I’m okay,” Akeem begged. She was about to speak when an arrow zipped past his line of vision and sunk into her chest.

  “No!” he screamed. Piper looked down at the arrow and then back up at Akeem, confused. Slowly she turned her head and her eyes grew wide.

  “Nishi,” she said before collapsing into the boat. Akeem tore his eyes from Piper and scanned the shoreline. Nishi was running at him fast, arrow sheathed in her bow, pointing at his head. She let it fly. Akeem dove to the sand and rolled, coming to his feet in a fast run. They raced toward each other, Nishi firing arrow after arrow, and Akeem miraculously dodging them. Just before they collided, he jumped into the air and plowed into her with a drop kick to the chest. He heard a satisfying crunch as Nishi flew backward, landing hard. He grabbed her bow, pushed it against her neck, and held her down.

  “Why? Why!” he screamed in her face as she fought desperately to escape. Her face was blood red and a large green vein pulsed in her forehead as he pushed down on her throat. “Why did you kill her; she’s one of yours? Why didn’t you kill me?” he asked angrily. Her face was beet red and even though she struggled, she couldn’t draw a single breath. He let up slightly so she could answer.

  “I never liked her. If it’s any consolation, I was going to kill you next…” Nishi wheezed. Her words were cut off once again as Akeem pushed down on the bow, completely cutting off her air flow. Before she fell unconscious, he heard his name coming from across the river. His rage dwindled as he recognized the voice. He stood up and to his horror saw a horde of angry girls heaving boats into the water. They would land on his side of the river in minutes. He ran up the shore, searching until he finally saw her.

  “Quinn!” he shouted. It was really her; she was alive, but tears streaked her face as she held the lifeless body of Piper.

  “Akeem! How could you? Why?” she wailed. Her words rendered him speechless. He didn’t do this. He looked at the angry girls crossing the river—they were nearly on him—then he glanced at Nishi as she clutched her chest and rolled around the riverbed in agony. Finally, he gazed down at his hands that still held Nishi’s bow and he moaned. He knew what it looked like. He tossed the bow to the sand in disgust.

  “No…I didn’t…” Four arrows landed inches from his feet, startling him into silence. He ducked as one flew overhead dangerously close. He took one last look at Quinn before running for his life.