The Red Door

by Heather Kindt

  The first of the horses reached the city gates. Farra dismounted and walked over to one of the dead guards, dragging her body over to a black box beside the gate. She used the woman’s handprint to open the heavy, metal doors.

  The caravan moved out of the city gates and into the vast wasteland that separated Jaco’s stronghold and Mateel. With each step the horse took away from the white walls, my heart ached with the thought of never seeing Brek again.

  After an hour of riding, Mateel’s massive shadow loomed in front of us, the talisman of superstition and death for Athena’s lackeys. The horse whinnied and sidestepped; the body of the man behind me tensed.

  Thoughts of the deadly fog filled my head as I stared into thick trees, and who knew what else, that stretched into the darkness. I likely wouldn’t make it through alive to reach Athena.

  An arrow flew from the depths of the forest and hit the soldier on the horse in front of me. The arrow protruded through his back before he tilted to the side in the saddle. He fell to the ground. Two more arrows soared through the air as two more soldiers collapsed, including the one in front of Carter. In his half-conscious state, Carter slid off the horse and crawled across the ground to a patch of tall grass. I tried to duck, but the man behind me grabbed my collar and pulled me against his chest. Farra had already dismounted and hid among the thrushes with Carter.

  My soldier dismounted, clutching me against him. His ragged breath filled my ears. Whoever wanted to kill these men probably wanted me alive because the arrows stopped flying.

  Farra crept through the grass, her gun drawn. The red on the tips of her hair gleamed like fire in the early morning sunlight. The ghost-archer in the forest wasn’t going to let her cross into Mateel without a fight.

  “Get over here.” Farra motioned to Carter.

  When he shook his head and buried himself further into the grass, she pointed the barrel of her gun at my head. He heaved his body up and lumbered over to the half-pint teenager. Carter was as good a shield as any. She pointed the gun against his back and pushed him toward the forest. Our misfit band moved on, no longer fearing the arrows.

  Inside Mateel, Farra quickened our pace. Even with the silent beefcake behind me, I scanned the foliage for any sign of our savior. A gentle slope in the path led into a glen of thick trees where Esme blocked our path with an arrow notched in her bow.

  “Don’t take another step, Farra.” The confidence in Esme’s voice almost made me fear her.

  “Do you think we’re afraid of one lone archer?” Farra raised her gun to Carter’s temple. “We outnumber you.”

  “Drop the weapon.” Esme’s voice rang out through the glen. “I’ve already taken out more than half of your measly forces.”

  “And who are you? A farm girl?” Farra stuck her hip out. “Oh, no, wait. You’re an interior designer.” She laughed, and the soldier behind me chuckled.

  “You have no idea who I am.” She took a step closer, never flinching. “But I know who you are. You’re Farra, the eldest of Athena’s children. Capturing the foreign woman, the would-be queen of the prophecies, is as important as breathing to you. You believe the reign is yours as Athena’s heir.”

  Farra aimed her gun at Esme and fired. The young girl leaped to the side, dodging the bullet, and let an arrow fly right at me. I wiggled out of Beefcake’s grip half a second before it struck his chest.

  Carter grabbed Farra’s arm as she took aim at Esme, and the bullet zoomed off-track, lodging itself deep into a tree. He wrestled her to the ground, pinning her shoulders against a rock. “What should we do with the tiny bitch?”

  Esme walked over to them, stopping to crouch down and remove the dead soldier’s sword. “Your mother has committed serious crimes against the people of Rushna. Her acts deserve to be brought to trial.” She lifted the tip of her sword and ran it along Farra’s neck. “But you’re not your mother.” Esme threw the weapon to the ground. She removed a long rope from her sack. “Help me tie her to a tree. We’ll leave her crimes to the judgment of the spirit of Mateel.”

  Farra’s face reddened then drained to white, her eyes widening.

  “What’s the matter?” With Carter holding her in place, I brought my face up to hers. “Afraid of ghosts? There’s at least a dozen people you killed this morning who would love to have a word with you.”

  “Please.” Her body trembled under Carter’s grip as he dragged her to a pine tree a hundred feet from the trail. “Run me through.”

  “You have wronged many people.” Esme tightened the end of the rope on Farra’s belt then preceded to tie the young girl to the tree. “But I’m not a judge or a jury. Justice will be restored to Rushna under the new queen.”

  It was now up to fate for someone to find her.

  Back on the trail, I expected Esme to turn toward the insurgent town, back to Satchel and Jaco, but she took the path to the left. Carter and I followed. I shot him an uncertain look.

  “Aren’t you going to take us back?” I jogged ahead to catch up to her.

  She kept her eyes on the trail. “For Jaco to use you as a means for his puppet monarchy?” She plucked a long reed from the grasses that grew on the side and slid it between her teeth. “I don’t think so.”

  “Then where are we going?” Carter’s long strides matched hers.

  I had to keep jogging to keep up with them.

  “Back to Miske to collect supplies and gather whatever green capsules are left.” She removed a device from the pocket of her coat. She pressed a red button to power it down. “Then on to Crestone. Do you still have the moon flowers?”

  I frowned. “All my supplies—the flowers, Aric’s box, my clothes—are in my room at the Insurgent headquarters. How did you know about the moon flowers?”

  Her dark brown eyes that had appeared so innocent to me took on a new light, almost as if she held the secrets of the universe. “It’s part of the prophecy. With our green capsule supply dwindling to nothing, we’ll need at least four pendants.” She looked at Carter. “He already has one. That means we need one for Brekken, Satchel and the two of us. We’re going to take down Athena.”

  Carter stopped. “You mean without Jaco and his soldiers?”

  “Yes, without Jaco. I’ve already told you that he wants a leader that will do his bidding. There’s nothing to be afraid of, Reyes. You’ve got the prophetic queen on your side.” She followed a trail that veered to the right and ducked beneath a low-hanging branch.

  I bit my lip to keep from laughing. She was beginning to grow on me.

  “We might be able to get the stones from Crestone, but what about the hearts and flowers?” Although I trusted her a hundred times more than Jaco, I wasn’t sure her plan was foolproof. “Athena’s potion master said that the love fairy only appears to someone who is pure.” I ran my hand along the back of my neck. “The two of us aren’t exactly the purest of people.”

  “Leave that one to me.” She lifted the corner of her lip and climbed over a log that crossed the trail. “And I keep a supply of moon flowers at the cottage. Being an herbalist has its advantages.”

  It was obvious that she had a green thumb, but she never mentioned her knowledge of plants.

  A happy, little stream meandered beside the path, unaware of the fact that it crossed through a haunted forest. Esme kept her world-record pace ahead of us as if she sensed the trees and underbrush creeping a bit too close. I took Carter’s hand. His finger traced circles in my palm. I wasn’t sure which of us he was trying to calm.

  “Not long now,” she called back over her shoulder. She leaped over another log; her quiver set high on her back.

  “She’s different,” I said.

  Carter squeezed my fingers. “How so?”

  “You haven’t spent a lot of time with her.” My gaze set on Esme, well out of earshot. “The word I would have used for her before was submissive. She does whatever Satchel tells her to do. Kind of the opposite of me.”

  He smirked, his dimple pronounced.<
br />
  “But now she’s confident.” I motioned with my thumb behind us. “She killed all those soldiers without hesitation, like went total Katniss on them. Do you think we can trust her?”

  “Well, she didn’t try to kill us, and she’s telling us not to trust Jaco.” He pulled me to a stop. “What does your gut say?”

  “Based on the last two hours? That she’d be a much better queen than I’d ever be.” The words from the note in Athena’s jail came back to me. “I’m not patient or kind. I can be boastful at times.”

  “That’s not true.” He released my hand to rub my neck. “Look what you did in the Green Door. You saved an entire village even though it wasn’t the easy way to get the seed.” He ran his fingers down the length of my hair. “And I have to say, you’re very patient with Brek.”

  I gave him a playful shove, so he retaliated by grabbing my waist. We both laughed, releasing the stress of the last day. Using his strong arms, he lifted me over one of his shoulders.

  “Let me go!” I pictured him dropping me, giving us both a head injury.

  “Are you coming?” Esme glared at us from further up the path. “We must reach Miske by nightfall to avoid the beasts of the forest.”

  He set me down then kissed my forehead. “I don’t care what anyone says. You’d be an amazing queen, not that I want you to stay in this crazy world.”

  “That wasn’t my plan,” I groaned at the expectations set upon me in Rushna. How did a mediocre student from the Dump end up in this situation?

  As the afternoon wore down, the denseness of the forest lightened to the twilight skies. Beyond the trees of Mateel, we glimpsed the evening glow of Miske nestled in a rolling valley. Weariness beat down on me as we trudged up the path to Esme and Satchel’s cottage. Crickets and fireflies welcomed us, and I cherished this pocket of safety hidden within the eccentric folds of Rushna.

  An orange tabby meowed as we crossed the threshold.

  “Hello, Opal.” Esme bent down and scratched the cat behind the ears.

  She purred.

  “What did you call her?” Maree’s story was still fresh in my mind.

  She hooked her quiver on a rack by the door. “Opal. It’s an old family name. Not sure if, and when, Satchel and I will have our own children, so for now, the honor goes to the felines in my life.” She opened a closet and pulled down a blanket and pillow. “I’ll sleep out here. You two take the bedroom.” With both hands she let the covering fly into the air until it landed snuggly on an overstuffed chair. “You are together, right?”

  “Uh… yeah.” I scuffed the toe of my Van on the floor. It’s just that her little arrangement made it kind of tough to set boundaries with a guy I’d already said ‘no’ to multiple times.

  “If it makes you uncomfortable, I can sleep out here.” The hurt was evident in Carter’s eyes.

  “No.” I opened the bedroom door, keeping my eyes averted from present company. “No. It’ll be fine.” I rushed into the tiny room. The dress Maree had me wear earlier that day was suffocating me. Was it really earlier that day? It felt like a century ago.

  Carter entered the room and shut the door behind him. He leaned against it and gave me one of those smiles that melted my insides. “Honestly, I can sleep in the other room. I’ll be right there if you need me.”

  Why did I always push those I cared most about away? Distancing myself from others protected my fractured heart. It was smashed to pieces, watching my mom drive away in her red Datsun. Did I love Carter? No. I’d only known him for a couple of months, but they’d been life-altering months.

  I crossed the room and took in the liquid brown of his eyes.

  He bit into his chapped lip. “Eres caliente.”

  “I flunked Spanish.” I reached up and touched the lip he’d just bit into. “Translation, please.”

  His eyes bore into mine. “I said that you’re hot.”

  “Ah… caliente.” I fanned myself feeling the temperature rise in the tiny space.

  He cupped my cheek with his palm and brought his lips down to mine. My resolve was stripped away. The kiss started out slow and innocent. Carter’s fingers wove through the strands of my hair at the back of my head, pulling me closer to him. The tip of his tongue slid along my lower lip, and he groaned. Love is patient… I placed my hand on his chest. I was a tease. His eyes were hooded. He moved in again, but I pushed back harder this time.

  “What?” Carter shrugged as if he were innocent in all this. “You’re my girlfriend. We’ve got this room to ourselves. I thought you said this was okay.”

  I fumbled with the buttons on the back of my dress. “I’m okay sharing a bed with you, but I’m not okay sharing a bed with you. Not that you wouldn’t be amazing. It’s something I’m holding onto.” The buttons near the top of my dress were getting harder to reach. “You’ve got to respect my decision.”

  Carter sighed then helped me finish the remainder of the buttons. “I respect you more than any other girl I’ve ever known.”

  “Then turn around.” I twirled my finger in a circle.

  The dress fell into a pile of material on the floor. I stepped out of it and pulled on the cream colored nightgown Esme had left on the bed. I climbed beneath the covers. I faced the wall to let Carter undress. The pillow smelled like Satchel, which made my mind drift to Brek. Was he all right? Did they make it back to Jaco’s stronghold? Was he worried about what happened to me? Why was I thinking of my best friend when my hot boyfriend was half-naked in the same room as me?

  Carter climbed into bed then turned off the light. The silence between us was deafening. “Can we snuggle?”

  I answered him by backing into his arms. He didn’t have a shirt on. Flames ignited within me, so I calmed them with a long exhale.

  “Meg.” He stroked my arm. “Are you really going to go through with this?” The heat from his body sent mine into a hyper-alert state.

  “You mean this insane idea of me becoming queen?”

  His paused. His fingers tapped my fevered skin. “Yeah.”

  “Tempting, but no.” I smiled into the crook of his elbow. Was Carter Reyes concerned that I’d become a big shot queen and never come home again?

  “Good. Because I’m falling in love with you.”

  19

  Early the next morning, I slipped out of bed so I wouldn’t wake Carter. I wasn’t sure if his proclamation from the night before had been a dream or reality. Slipping the blue dress over my head, I cringed at the thought of wearing it on our journey. I sat down on a wooden stool to tie my shoes and watched him. His dark hair curled near his ears, his thick lashes its perfect match. The thin blanket that covered his frame rose and fell with his shallow breathing. Yeah, I might have to keep this guy around for a while.

  Esme stood over a frying pan by the stove, cooking something that smelled like breakfast at the Hungry Bear. She wore her brown leather pants and white tunic, her hair braided down her back. “Good morning.” She glanced back at me, shut off the flame, and carried the pan to the table. The contents were deposited onto a large platter. “I trust you slept well.” She smiled and whipped me with the towel she used to carry the food.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Did she think that because I slept in a room with a guy that stuff automatically happened?

  “The two of you are always touching… flirting. Just thought I’d help the process along a bit.” She popped a piece of bread into her mouth. “No harm in starting the future heir process a little early.”

  “Esme!” I grabbed the dishtowel this time and whacked her on the arm.

  She laughed but swished past me, carrying the basket of bread. “He’s quite charming. No wonder Athena wants him alive.”

  I plopped down in one of the chairs at the table. The bread was still warm as I spread a pad of butter across it with a knife. “Yes, my boyfriend is a hot commodity with the royals.”

  “Am I?” Carter stood in the doorway, thankfully with a shirt and pants on. “This smells
amazing, Esme.”

  “Thank you.” She sat down next to me. “Today we make the journey to Crestone, which in many ways is more dangerous than Mateel. We have to make sure we don’t cross into Athena’s realm of influence, because we won’t know who’s on our side.”

  “Do you know how far it reaches?” Carter sat next to me and guzzled down the contents of his juice glass.

  She stood up and removed a piece of paper from a book on a shelf. She unfolded it, spreading it out on an open section of the table. “We’ve mapped out most of its boundaries.” She circled one of the dots with her finger. “Satchel still worries about the village of Ag, so we’ll steer clear of that area. It’s about a day’s journey to Crestone through treacherous terrain.” Her finger trailed along the paper to a stone structure beside the ocean.

  “And what happens when Jaco discovers I’m missing?” The thought had crossed my mind that he would blame me for the deaths of Maree and his guards.

  Carter chomped on a piece of sausage as he piled more eggs on his plate. “He doesn’t think that highly of you. He’s giving his people what they think they want but like you said, his plan is to be in charge of Rushna.”

  What was it with men in this world? First, Satchel, then Jaco. Most of the women I’d met were perfectly capable to be leaders—Maree, Esme, and although I didn’t agree with her management style, Athena. It was as if the guys put on blinders to the thought of a female in total power, although it was the way things had always been.

  Esme replaced the book on the shelf. She gathered other supplies from around the room. “I’ve suspected him for a long time. Satchel didn’t want to hear about what I believed to be Jaco’s ulterior motives. He’s a war hero, a true patriot…” She dropped her armful of supplies onto the table, spilling the contents across the map. She lowered her voice, “Well, I say we can trust him about as much as we can trust Athena. They’re both in it to control the people.”

  “What makes you think that I’d rule fairly?” I walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet. “You’ve only known me for a few days.”