Fif15teen
Chapter 22
Law 45
Seek Revenge
Quinn huddled on the bed in her room, slowly rocking back and forth and staring blankly at the cold stone walls. She rubbed her palms absently on her shorts, trying to wipe away Piper’s dried blood that had left her hands stained red. Her thoughts fragmented, as she tried to sort out the terrible events that unfolded before her eyes. She saw a flash of Akeem’s face and squeezed her eyes shut in a futile attempt to block it out. Why did Piper tell her he was dead? Why did she lie? Her brows knitted as she searched her mind for a reason. Her thoughts settled on Pox and Nishi. She suspected they were involved somehow. But why make Piper lie to her? Her mind reeled when the image of Piper lying dead in her arms flashed to the forefront of her brain. She jumped up, hoping that movement would chase away the gruesome image. She paced, brows knitted together so tightly, they throbbed dully. Piper had managed to say a few words with her last breath, but Quinn had no idea what they meant.
Quinn hitched a sob and then bit down on her knuckle to stop herself from crying. She was so confused. She still couldn’t believe Akeem killed Piper. He’d almost killed Nishi too. The Asian girl was in her chamber with bandaged ribs and a throat so swollen she couldn’t speak. Quinn was so desperate for answers she had paced outside Nishi’s door the entire night waiting for the girl to wake up. She finally gave up and returned to her quarters just before dawn. But a nagging thought kept plaguing her mind. How did Akeem get Nishi’s bow from her, something that most said was an impossible feat; no one had ever disarmed Nishi, but somehow Akeem had. Something didn’t seem right about that, but she set the thought aside for the moment.
She had to keep moving. She couldn’t stay still for very long without images of blood and death converging in her mind, so she left her room and paced the cold castle. She started for the rooftop but stopped. She couldn’t bear the thought of being up there without hearing Piper’s constant chatter. As she walked the echoing hallways—scouring her mind for answers that wouldn’t come—Pox’s screeching voice reached her ears.
She peeked over a marble balcony onto the great hall at scores of girls preparing weapons and supplies for the upcoming battle. Pox had called nearly every girl to arms but as usual, Quinn had ignored her summons. Below her Pox raged with a mad fury. She whacked girls with a heavy stick that she had whittled down for just such occasions. She doled out verbal and physical abuses freely to move them along faster. They grumbled and hissed at her back, no one daring to complain to her face.
“I thought I ordered you to report for battle!” Pox screamed when she spotted Quinn.
“This is not my war!” Quinn hollered back.
“This war belongs to all of us. If we don’t fight, we die. If we lower our weapons, Thaniel and his Dog’s will force us out of our beautiful castle and then where will we be? Wallowing in the mud like filthy animals, like those Dogs? Fifteen must be free of Thaniel and his vermin. We must kill them all!” Pox’s voice echoed through the marble halls. Some girls cheered in agreement, but most just looked on wearily.
“Piper is dead; so are Lisa, Jonnell, and Christie. They haven’t even been buried yet, and you’re ready to lead more of us to our deaths. For what? We have their blacksmith, isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Yes, but I also want revenge for my Angels. I want Dog heads hanging from the ceiling like chandeliers.”
“And then what?” Quinn asked, but Pox just stared up at Quinn with murder in her eyes. The girls had stopped working to watch the exchange. “We avenge our friends only to have the boys retaliate. This is all you idiots have been doing for years and years. When will it end?” Quinn asked desperately. She heard shocked gasps coming from the crowd.
“It’ll end when Thaniel is dead! He must die,” Pox said venomously.
“But why? What did he do to you, Pox? Tell your Angels why they’ll die today.” All heads turned toward Pox.
Pox ignored the questions and the stares. “Either you join us and fight for your castle or you stay out of my way, but you will pay for what your Dog Akeem did to Piper and Nishi.” At the sound of Akeem’s name, Quinn twitched and gulped. Pox mistook her reaction for one of fear and grinned.
“I won’t kill you, but I promise you, you’ll wish you were dead when I’m finished.” Pox stared long and hard, but Quinn wasn’t afraid. She returned Pox’s glare, silently accepting her challenge.
“You’re already fighting a war against the Dogs. If you want one with me too, then bring it!” More gasps from the crowd of girls followed her as she turned her back on the blonde girl and walked away.
“You’ll regret that!” shrieked Pox, but Quinn’s only response was laughter. If Pox wanted a fight, that is exactly what she would get, but right now she had to find a way to bury the dead. She stalked on, fuming, and after a while realized she was lost in a part of the castle she had never seen before.
“Great!” She looked behind her hoping to recognize something. When she turned around again, she was startled to find Jara standing in her way. She jumped in surprise, before narrowing her eyes. “Move!” Quinn warned, balling her hands into fist. The girl held up her hands in a sign of peace. Her eyes were red and swollen, as if she’d recently been crying.
“I just want to talk,” she said sincerely. “Piper told us if anything happened to her we should put our trust in you.” Quinn’s anger faded and she rubbed her brows wearily as she pondered if the girl could be trusted.
“Who’s we?” she finally asked, and Jara sighed in relief.
“I’ll show you,” Jara said, looking cautiously up and down the hallway. They walked for a while in silence, cutting down dark corridors and through open breezeways. The castle seemed to go on forever. Finally, they slipped behind a tapestry and onto a flight of stairs hidden behind it.
“Where are we going?” Quinn asked as they climbed down into darkness, but Jara shushed her. The stairwell was so dark and steep, they needed all of their concentration not to tumble down and break their necks. Their going was slow and careful and the air was cold and damp, causing gooseflesh to spring up on Quinn’s bare arms.
“Stop,” Jara finally said before striking a match. She lit the nub of a candle; its meager glow showed the narrow staircase and cold bricks squeezing in on them from both sides. The stairs continued down, disappearing into blackness.
“Why are we stopping here?” Quinn asked, looking around.
“Piper believed that we could trust you, but I need your word that you will not tell anyone about this place or what we do here.”
“Yeah, that won’t be hard, especially since I have no idea where I am or what you’re talking about.”
“I need you to swear. If Pox or Nishi found out about us…,” Jara said nervously.
“I wouldn’t give that psycho or her minion a hand if they were drowning!” Quinn said with venom. “You have my word.” The girl smiled then pushed against the brick wall. The bricks moved and opened onto a large room. Quinn stared in disbelief.
“A secret room in a hidden stairwell of a medieval castle in a world squished inside a golden cube,” Quinn tittered nervously as she paused on the stairs. “What’s next? Flying monkeys and creepy witches that ride basket bikes? Please God, send a tornado to get me the heck out of here,” she moaned, making Jara chuckle.
“It’ll be okay, come on,” the girl urged.
Quinn stepped over the threshold and into a cheerily decorated space with a huge inviting fireplace. She didn’t realize how cold she was until she felt the warmth of its blazing heat against her chilled skin. The room was so dark, she didn’t notice it was full of girls until a lamp was lit. She looked around at their solemn faces. She recognized Moani, the large Samoan that worked in the kitchens, and Kiefa, the shockingly beautiful Arabic girl who tended the gardens. Cheyenne, Marley, and Kyla and the Tibetan girl named Sangmu.
“Okay, Jara, you have my attention. What are you up to?”