The Key of F: a young adult fantasy romance (Freedom Fight Trilogy Book 1)

by Jennifer Haskin

  “Tell me why they’re after you. Why are we running from the scanners?”

  “Control wants to throw the fight tomorrow.”

  She gasped. “You’ll be killed. The losers almost always are.” Fale’s eyes were glossy while she fought for sobriety. “Whass the connection to me?”

  “Whoever is after the key is in league with the Control Agency. First, they were following me. Now I’m seeing them at the gym, talking to my trainers. If Control knows them, then they’re powerful. Which means we can’t afford to be scanned.”

  “I don’t wanna jump to conclusions, but I don’t wanna get picked up by Control, either. We hafta go back to Nelson’s. He’ll help. He knows about court, too.”

  “Right.” The muscles in Keron’s jaw ticked as he clenched his teeth.

  “What?” asked Fale innocently.

  “Thought I was doing a pretty good job helping you figure things out.”

  Fale sighed. “O’ course you are, but we need an adult.”

  Keron pulled back. “Fale, I am an adult.” He paused, looking defeated. “But I get it if you need his advice." He pushed the towel off her hair and wrung them both out.

  “He’s always taken care of me,” she said. “They were putting me into apprenticeship when he rescued me.”

  “I didn’t know.”

  “You never asked me anything that personal,” she said.

  “Touché.”

  She laughed at his serious expression, her head spinning. Her feelings were magnified. All the fear from earlier came crashing through her haze of vodka. “Pour me another?”

  “Save it for tomorrow. You’ll need it when you get the feeling back.”

  “You take care o’ me, too,” she said somberly, looking into his eyes.

  “Yeah.” Keron sat up. “You need it. Now go to sleep. I’ll shower and be back.”

  Fale snuggled down into the sheets and breathed deeply. Keron nodded and left her.

  The water shut off in the bathroom and Fale heard Keron turn out the lamps. He got into the tiny bed. Even though Fale was on her side, she felt him lying stiff as if he were trying not to touch her. Eventually, he relaxed and let his valezsan arm lay up against Fale’s back.

  “I’m glad you’re not fighting tomorrow,” she said quietly.

  “Don’t know how I’m going to get out of it, actually.”

  She turned to face him. “You have to. Keron, if they make you throw the fight you could be destroyed.”

  “I have too much value to them. I’m their money machine. I mean, one of them." He didn’t sound so sure.

  “What if knowing me has dropped your value? I’m the one with the key. What if they want us out of the way?” Fale worried. “And you’ve been so good to me,” she slurred as she lay on her back and started to cry.

  In all the years she’d known Keron, she’d never cried in front of him. Not even the night he had shattered her heart. He rolled to his side, propped up on his elbow, to look down at her.

  “Fale.” Her face was visible in the crack of moonlight coming from between the closed curtains. “This is not your fault. I know you got this gift and things went wrong, but this can’t all be connected to you. It’s too big. If I have to fight, I might go down, but I’ll try to defend myself.”

  “Is it allowed?” she sniffed.

  “No. But I can try."

  Tears leaked down the sides of her face. “What will I do?” she asked, slurring slightly. “What if I can’t do this alone? I don’t want to do this without you. You pick the best hiding spots and always know what to do. And you always find me and rescue me in alleys and kiss me." She cried harder.

  Keron leaned over her. “Fale."

  She stopped and sniffed, looking up at him.

  Staring into her watery olive-gold eyes, he bent his elbows low and whispered against her lips, “Hush." He pressed his mouth to hers, over and over, drawing her into his kiss. All their senses buzzed to life. She could feel his hesitation. He left Fale’s mouth and kissed a path to her ear.

  “Roll away from me. Please.”

  She sighed contentedly and did as he said. “Will you hold me?” she asked softly. It took a lot for her to ask for affection from him after the way he had treated her.

  Fale thought about how young and handsome he’d been three years ago. She had been such an innocent teen. She was still inexperienced, but she had matured miles beyond her counterparts. She’d never forget the hope and love she’d felt when she had met him that night, and the desolation she wore after he had crushed her. They would never have made each other happy then. But now…

  “I will." He wrapped his arm around her slender waist, and she closed her eyes. It felt so good to be protected. It felt right.

  “I didn’t tell you what happened at Lisle’s,” she whispered slowly.

  Keron’s interest was piqued. “Who was there?”

  “Just Lisle and me,” she said, getting slower. She was falling asleep.

  “What happened?”

  “I turned into a boy.” She yawned deeply and snuggled into him.

  “You what?” he chuckled.

  “Turned into a boy. Or he turned into me. Whatever,” she yawned the last word.

  “I think you’re drunk.”

  “Well, ah, yeah. But it’s true.”

  “Sure, Fale. Go to sleep.”

  She wanted to stay awake. She knew Keron would be trying to formulate a plan and she wanted to help. Thoughts about tomorrow’s fight drifted through her mind. What could she do? She knew if she didn’t do something, Keron would be a dead man, again.

  Chapter 8

  Fale and Keron tried to avoid any place with a scanner as they clandestinely quick-stepped between the University buildings on their way to Barton Hall.

  “Fale,” a male voice called from behind them. Fale jumped and was ready to run when Keron’s hand on her arm stopped her.

  “Hey, Lisle,” he said.

  “Oh, hey, Keron. Fale, I did my presentation. Got a perfect score,” he said proudly.

  Fale realized what he was talking about. “Did you leave me out of it totally?”

  “I had to give them something. They already knew you had the gift.” Lisle looked anxious. He whispered, “I know someone’s after you for the key. So, I told them about you and the boy.”

  “What boy?” Keron stopped scanning the area and snapped his attention to Lisle.

  “You didn’t tell him?” Lisle asked.

  “I told you last night,” Fale said dryly. “You didn’t believe me.”

  “You said you turned into a boy,” Keron said incredulously.

  “Not exactly,” Lisle tried to interject.

  “Yes.” Fale nodded.

  “It’s not possible.” Keron threw his hands up.

  “Welcome to my life.” Fale angrily crossed her arms.

  “Great. Now you’ve pissed her off,” Keron said to Lisle.

  Fale and Lisle both stared at Keron with their mouths open.

  Hello, stupid? You’re the one who didn’t believe me.

  Fale turned to Lisle. “Don’t tell them anything else, okay? We don’t know where our hostile friends are getting their information, but they could be sharing with Control. Some of the men we fought were at Keron’s gym, talking to his trainers. And the men sent after us last night might have been involved with my parents.”

  “Whoa, wait, what guys?” Lisle asked. “Did you find out who’s following you?”

  “Beats us. We don’t have enough to go on yet,” Keron said. “I’m about to go tell Nelson I can’t protect his girl. Great.”

  “I’m going to class. Hope you win later. I had a positive reading on your next fight. Izzy told me it was tonight.”

  “Why did you read for my fight?” Keron narrowed one eye in distrust.

  “It’s an assignment,” Fale offered. Lisle nodded, fixing his glasses with one hand, and holding his books in his other arm.

  “You knew about this?
” Keron accused her.

  “Yep.”

  “You and I are going to find a quiet place somewhere, and you can explain all this Lisle business, but I need to get to the gym by two,” Keron told her. “We only have three hours.”

  “Oh. I guess we’ll see you later, Lisle,” Fale said.

  “See you guys.”

  To get into Nelson’s building, Fale and Keron would have to scan themselves. They thought if someone else scanned to get in, they might be able to catch the door. So, they sat on the closest bench, like any couple, talking and waiting for the side door to open.

  Around eleven, a man with a bow tie and briefcase walked up the sidewalk. Fale recognized him as one of Nelson’s colleagues and poked Keron in the side. With their hearts pounding, they rose as if they were ready to enter the building and walked up to the door, at the last moment letting the man go in front of them. He scanned his wristband to open the door and they followed, going quickly to Nelson’s office.

  “Oh Fale, there you are.” Nelson’s secretary RoseMarie was seated at her desk, a miniature version of her boss’s. “There have been people from Control here looking for you. And some others that wouldn’t give me names. I’ve been worried.” She lowered her voice and looked around. “Mr. Wickarsham hasn’t been in for the last two days. He’s missed all his appointments and I’m supposed to call this number at Control when I see you. Honey, are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “Nelson’s missed his appointments?” Fale asked. “That’s not like him.” She didn’t know if she should say anything to RoseMarie or not. Who could she trust?

  “Yes, but he did leave you this." She pulled a thick packet out of her desk drawer and handed it to Fale.

  Fale took the bulging manila envelope, looking at Keron. “When did he leave it?” she asked the secretary.

  “He had a meeting early Friday morning and came back with instructions to give this to you the first time I saw you, then he left for the day,” she said. “I haven’t seen him since, but the phone has been ringing non-stop.”

  “So, you don’t have any idea who he met with?”

  “It wasn’t on the datebook. Something unscheduled. Look, Fale, I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t interrupt an investigation if that’s what this is. I have a family. I need to call this number, but I’ll give you a head start. If you need one?" She looked hopeful Fale would say no.

  “Yes please, RoseMarie, it’s complicated. Thank you for all your help, though. I appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome.” RoseMarie exhaled. Dropping her shoulders and looking down, she expressed her sadness in her voice. “I’ll give you twenty minutes before I call. Good luck, Fale.”

  “Goodbye, RoseMarie,” Fale said as Keron tugged at her arm.

  They walked out of the office as quickly as possible, trying not to gain attention. Once out the side door, however, they broke into a flat run away from the building.

  “I need to get to the gym soon,” Keron said when they finally stopped.

  “We need to see what’s in here, first. It might be important. Besides, they’ll know where we are when we go to the fight. Won’t they just arrest us then?”

  “Who said anything about we?" He looked angry. “You’re not going.”

  “The hell I’m not.”

  “I can’t fight and watch you at the same time.”

  “Watch me? Watch me?” Fale yelled. Her stubborn independent streak spewed its fire from her throat. He had the ability to irritate her, like dust in her eye. Why did he insist she needed to be coddled?

  “Calm down, Fale. I know you can take care of yourself. You know what I mean. I have to concentrate in the ring. You get that, right?”

  “Yeah. I just need to know what happens. This confirms Control is involved somehow.” She faced him and gripped the front of his t-shirt in terror. “What if you don’t come back?” She was afraid to lose him now, while Control was following them. Who knew what the agency would do to him if he showed up to fight?

  Keron touched her face. “I’ll come back for you.” He smiled.

  “Can we at least find a place to look through this stuff?” She waved the packet. “Humor me?”

  “Fine. I’ll take you back to the guest house before I go, but we have to hurry, I’m running out of time.”

  Keron unlocked the door to their room and Fale urgently dumped the packet on the bed while he turned on the lamp. Inside was a note, two wristbands, and a detailed map.

  “What’s it say?” he asked.

  Fale picked up the note. “It’s from Nelson,” she said, reading. “Oh no.”

  “What?”

  “It says: Fale, you are in danger. I found out about your father. Things are not what I thought. I can’t write much. Someone’s following me. To hide, you need to wear this alternate wristband. It has a new identity for you. There is one for Keron, too, because he is involved now. You both need to go to the house marked on the map. It is a building owned by your father’s coterie. They will contact you there. If you don’t hear from me, Fale, I love you.”

  She looked up at him. “There’s a description on the bottom, with the directions. What could have happened to him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What’s a coterie? I thought Alloy City only had apartment buildings. Have you ever seen a house in the city?” She reread the note.

  “Maybe it’s not in Alloy City. Let me see the map.”

  “This changes everything. Again.”

  “You can do this, Fale,” he assured.

  Her face lit up, suddenly excited. “Now you don’t have to fight.”

  “Guess not,” he looked uncertain. “It’ll take me at least an hour to figure out how to get these wristbands unhinged and the new ones in place. With the new ones, I can see how the locking mechanism works.”

  “Can you tell the difference between them?”

  “The female one is thinner. They always are.”

  “Oh. Do we have to take the new bands? We’ll have to destroy the old ones.” She put her hand protectively over her band. “I’m kind of attached to mine. I mean, my whole life is recorded here. It’s who I am.”

  “Don’t forget, the bad guys are after ‘who you are.’ Surely, there’s a bigger reason we need the new bands.”

  “I can’t expect to accept change if I can’t let go, can I?” Fale lovingly slid her finger over the shiny display square. “I guess I won’t be my father’s girl forever, anyway. At some point, I’d have to change my name if I got married in this district.”

  “Yeah, it’s only a band.” He looked sympathetically at her.

  “Right. Then I choose to go first. I need to look through Nelson’s apartment before we leave the city. I can easily sneak in and out. Maybe he left some kind of clue for me about where he went,” she said.

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “We’ll pack up and go there on the way.”

  “I can do it myself.” Fale’s temper rose.

  “Is life with you always a battle?" Keron ran a hand through his hair. “All I’m trying to do is protect you.”

  “I guess it is a battle.” She looked down at the note in her lap. “It’s a real pain, isn’t it? Being with me?”

  “Fale, I don’t- “

  “Don’t say it. Really. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m just feeling sorry for myself.”

  “Was gonna say, I don’t mind so much anymore. But if you don’t want to hear it…” Keron let his words trail off. He grinned a small dimple at her and Fale couldn’t help smiling back.

  “Fix these things then and let’s go find this house,” she said.

  Keron had underestimated how difficult the wristbands would be to change. They were made to be tamper-free. He had worked for two hours on Fale’s before he found the seam, uncovered the joint, and felt a give in the hinge mechanism. “Why don’t you cut the band off?” she complained, shaking her arm awake. Her fingers felt like tiny nee
dles were sticking into her skin.

  “Don’t you think people have tried it before?”

  “I’m sure they have; I wonder how on Algea, Nelson got fake wristbands. That’s beyond the underground, even.”

  Keron twisted the metal. “Ouch,” she complained.

  “Sorry. Know it’s tight." He twisted again and heard a snap as the metal bent. “Perfect." The band released and Keron unhinged the broken locking clasp.

  Fale rubbed her wrist while he got the new one ready. It would be much simpler to lock into place. She had never had a bare wrist. Since she was a child, she had been fitted with an expandable black band, until she received her adult band that would never come off for the rest of her life. Any adjustments had to be made by Control. Tampering with the band was an offense. Fale felt the weight of her situation as Keron put the new piece of hardware on her arm and locked it into place. Forever. This was serious. Whoever this band said she was, she would be from now on.

  Keron had his band off in half the time. Fale had been studying the map. “We can go north, through the city, to Nelson’s apartment, then cross the molten river where it’s cooled. We’ll have to head east for a few miles. The house is beyond the city limits, deep in the marsh. Did you know there were buildings out there?”

  “There can’t be many. What’s it say to look for?”

  “A green house with a white door,” she said. “It should blend in with the plant-life in the marsh. It has a symbol on it. It looks kind of like an upside-down tree in a circle, but the roots run horizontal like a river in front of a setting sun.”

  “How do you know it’s setting?” Keron asked, locking his new band.

  “It could be rising. It has rays coming out of it, so I thought of evening.”