Rasha held up two hands in surrender. He was right. She’d done her duty and warned him, but it was up to him to decide what he’d do. Since when did he ever listen to her?
“Please tell me you haven’t been up here this whole time flirting with the princess?”
Lu sighed before he answered, “No, of course not. I’ve been on the communicator with some of the local greenies. It’s not good.”
“Not good? How not good?”
“You’re underwater with the mermen without a breather, not good.”
“So are we talking bounty hunters?” Rasha asked.
“More like assassins, trackers, and bounty hunters.”
“I see. Things are going to get thicker than I’d like.”
Rasha took a deep breath. They wouldn’t last the night in this place if there were that many people after them. Assassins meant they would shoot to kill anyone who stood between them and their goal. Rasha needed to prepare. If they’d sent an assassin, they weren’t at the inn yet.
“I need you to throw off the communications.”
“You know that’s not really how it’s done.”
“This time it will be. I want the assassins, trackers, everyone else looking for us in the wrong place. We’re getting off this road north and leading them in the opposite direction. Send them west.”
“There aren’t many roads leading north on the west end.” Lu said with a hint of complaint in his voice.
“I don’t care, create one, and make sure everyone thinks we’re on it.”
Lu nodded.
“Oh and send the princess over,” Rasha said, and he glared at her.
Lu returned to his room and Chiza came out a moment later.
“Oh, sure, thanks for listening. I’ll see you in the morning,” Chiza said to Lu.
Chiza looked up and met Rasha’s eye. Bold, she didn’t flinch under Rasha’s glare. She didn’t have time for this. Rasha turned toward her room, intending to speak to the princess. Jak stormed up the stairs and straight into her room. She hadn’t expected the furious expression on his face. It threw her off guard. Her surprise was complete when he slammed the door in Chiza’s face.
17
“Have I done something to hurt you?” he asked. When she didn’t answer he continued, “Since meeting you have I treated you in a way that’s causing you to distrust me and think ill of me?” Jak stood there with his arms crossed.
Rasha saw where he wanted to go with this. He’d rescued them in the woods and after some playful banter perhaps he thought they should be ready to begin some kind of relationship. She had other plans. A little huffing and puffing from him wouldn’t intimidate her. Rasha rolled her shoulders back and placed her hands on the swords at her hips.
“I don’t have any reason to trust you, and a million reasons not to. I don’t care if the Universal himself says you’ve been sent from the stars, I’m not going to let you pull me into whatever this is.” Rasha waved a hand between them.
“This,” he repeated her hand movement, “is called friendship. I’m surprised you don’t recognize it. If you need help in the future, I’d be glad to point it out, except I doubt anyone would bother if you treat them all this way.”
He was right. She kept people at a distance and she didn’t show herself to anyone. But she had reason not to let anyone in. That discussion could wait for another time. For now, she only had to remind him of one thing.
“You’ve been tracking us since we left Sidoa and you still haven’t told us why. I’m supposed to take it on faith that a trained tracker and courier is helping us?” Her voice had risen an octave.
Jak grabbed her left arm, and she drew Cutter and held it steady at his neck.
“Whoa!” He dropped her arm. “I wanted to put something in your hand.”
Rasha sheathed Cutter and nodded for him to reach for his pocket. He took a deep breath, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his communicator. He scrolled through until he found the document he wanted, then he scrolled to the bottom and showed it to Rasha.
* * *
Thunder rolled in the distance. The weather outside grew ominous, the sky filled with dark rain clouds.
“What is this?” Rasha asked as she stared at the order. It had an official Adalu royal seal.
“The king of Adalu hired me to track you all the way to the first kingdom,” he explained.
“Why didn’t you say that before?”
“It’s confidential. I’m not even supposed to know. The reason I do is because I did some back-channel checking. I learned that the king of Sidoa had hired not only a group of illegals to transport his daughter, but also bounty hunters and trackers to make sure she never made it,” Jak said.
“I see.” Rasha understood this was more about the wealth of Sidoa and less about his daughter’s potential marriage to prince Bashir. “The tenth king wants to honor his promise to the royals and hold onto his wealth.”
Jak nodded.
“You’re here as backup in case something should happen to the original couriers.” Rasha said.
“You weren’t supposed to track me while I tracked you, it’s jeopardized the entire mission. Besides that, I thought your pride wouldn’t like it very much.”
“Don’t concern yourself with my pride.” Rasha clenched her fists. “What do you plan to do now?”
Jak was expecting something, but not that. He blinked twice as if he needed a moment to register what she’d asked. Rasha didn’t understand at all why he hesitated. It wasn’t a crazy question. He’d admitted what his mission had been and to breaking the rules of engagement. She only wanted to see how far he’d go now.
Instead of answering he grabbed the back of the neck and kissed her hard on the mouth. She felt her lip hit her teeth. Rasha struggled against him but his mouth melted against hers, demanding and needy at the same time. She couldn’t catch her breath. She had to push against him with both hands as she gasped for air.
“I—” Jak stammered. Something in his eyes went dark, and he turned and stormed out the door, leaving it open behind him.
What in the world was that? They’d been fighting, arguing about the princess and then he’d kissed her. Rasha shook her head as Chiza came in.
“What was that all about?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Rasha replied.
He was a fantastic kisser, that she would concede. Her wobbly legs forced her to sit down on the edge of nearest bed. She hadn’t been kissed in a while, she thought. That must be it. Then she remembered the boy from the bar. She decided that didn’t count since she only did it for spite.
* * *
Lu left her a written message on her communicator. He’d discovered a route they might take if things got more complicated. Though she did wonder how much more complicated things would get. They’d already lost their licenses. Lu was pining for the princess who was promised to the prince. Bands of assassins, trackers, and bounty hunters were chasing them. Jak had kissed the brains out of her. Things were beyond complicated.
Chiza turned in while Rasha sat in the chair looking out at the night. She wondered what it would be like to kiss Jak again. He wasn’t bad looking. He had a dark look about him that brightened when he smiled. His laugh, she had to admit, was contagious too. He was a skilled fighter, and he had a beautiful voice. She preferred songs that didn’t revolve around her. Rasha held two fingers to her lips, remembering how his lips felt.
It was from that moment and vantage point she saw the men coming for them. They filtered out from the trees like hungry insects on a neglected plate of food. Dressed in black, they were almost invisible against the dark sky. The cloud cover diminished the light of the two moons.
Rasha watched them for a moment, counting. When she got to twenty, she leapt from the chair to wake the princess. The door flew open before she reached the bed.
“We’ve got to go, now,” Lu called, moving toward the princess. Chiza heard him and scrambled out of bed.
�
�I’ve got her,” Rasha said. “Go to the stables and get our beasts to the spot you showed me on the map. We’re on our way.”
“Where’s Jak?” He asked.
“He’s not with you?”
“No, he never came back. I assumed you were still together.”
Rasha didn’t want to let the comment bother her. What did it matter anyway? Lu didn’t care one way or the other, so why was she so annoyed by it?
“No, I’ve been here with Chiza the whole time.”
Lu gave her a strange sidelong look before he turned to leave. Temi, now too big to fit inside of the carrying pouch, scampered behind him.
Chiza stood at the ready, her own bag in hand. Rasha grabbed her cloak and ran down after Lu. But instead of going out the back, she took Chiza through the bar and out the front door. Both of them were cloaked. Rasha put a chummy arm around Chiza and stumbled out singing and swaying. Chiza got the idea. She couldn’t imitate the singing but she pretended to be half carrying Rasha. The two walked out past the first row of men. They weren’t assassins. Rasha stole a few glances and noticed one man who had pink hair from the ninth kingdom of Vol. There were several others in varying colors, but the Buku from the eighth kingdom and the Winakans from the seventh she recognized.
They made it as far as the edge of the woods before they were spotted.
18
Rasha pushed Chiza ahead of her through the woods. She ran with her hands in front of her to protect her face from the small branches whipping at her head and face. Under the cover of the trees they were less visible and Rasha dared a glance back. She didn’t see Jak, but he could take care of himself. If Lu made it to the stables, he’d have two beasts with him and would wait up ahead.
“How much further?”
Rasha looked back at the men running toward them. The sky decided at that moment to open, and torrential rain drenched them. The pounding water drowned out Chiza’s startled shriek.
“There, up the tree.”
“What?” Chiza looked from Rasha to the tree and then back again. “You want me to climb up there?”
Rasha wanted to scream herself. Why hadn’t she shown her some basic fighting skills or something? This girl would be useless in a fight and this was worse than a fight. For her own sake, Chiza’s people should have taught her more defense and less dancing.
An arrow whizzed past her head as she covered Chiza.
“Up the tree now. Use those knots.” She boosted the princess up the tree. “Up you go.”
When Chiza was out of reach and out of sight, she called up to her, “I’ll be right back,” the sound of the rain and thunder almost drowning out her voice.
“What?” Chiza called back down to her.
Rasha raised a finger to her lips instead of answering her. She ran from the base of the tree where the princess was hiding and then crouched down behind some brush to wait for her pursuers.
She’d teach them not to come after her in the night with only twenty men. Rasha pulled out Blade and Cutter, testing the grips in each hand. They didn’t slip and slide in the water. Her gloved hands were tight on the hilts. A man on her right didn’t see her until he was on top of her and she forced him down with a sweep of one leg. He fell backwards, and she got on top of his chest and held her sword to his throat.
“Why are you after us?”
He ground his teeth together, refusing to answer. She didn’t see the other man until the first one smiled at her and his eyes flicked above her head and on the right. Balancing on the man under her she kicked out with her right foot and slashed his stomach open. The man under her grunted, and she returned Blade to his throat.
“You were saying?” The man looked less confident now, with water cascading down his face. He sputtered, but she didn’t let up.
“We’ve been paid in full to kidnap the princess.”
“By who, and don’t make me ask you twice.”
“The king of Sidoa.”
Rasha’s blade froze against him. That was the same thing Jak had said.
“Why would the king pay for us to deliver the princess, and for you to kidnap her back from us?”
“A fickle bunch, royals,” the man replied.
She didn’t trust this man any further than she’d trust a slithering stolken, so she hit him with Blade’s hilt and he went to sleep.
Rasha ran back for the princess with a weight in her chest. How many people had the king hired for this job? What had she gotten herself into? The tree was where she’d left it but the princess wasn’t anywhere. She looked down at the ground and found a green leaf lying at a peculiar angle, out of place. Something only a greenie would do. Lu had come for the princess and put her some place safer.
It was a good thing she remembered the map. She ran to catch up with Lu. When she heard the sound of men fighting nearby she ducked behind a tree. She saw Jak, holding off two men. His sword danced through the air slicing and jabbing. She debated about going to help him but she needed to get to Chiza. Jak would be fine. At least, she hoped so.
She raced for their alternate route. Rasha managed to avoid a group heading in the opposite direction when she saw Lu. He and Chiza were each on a beast, waiting for her. Chiza made room for her to get in front and take the reins. As soon as she mounted the animal she urged the animals into a run.
“Now, Lu,” she yelled back at him.
“What about Jak?”
“Now!”
Lu triggered their trap, and a pulse went off behind them, knocking every man off of his feet. Some flew up in the air and landed on their backs. Others were pushed forward and landed on their noses. There was no one left standing, or cable to follow them.
They rode hard for quite some time before they pulled up. Lu stopped next to her and they panted as if they’d been running the miles themselves.
“Have we lost them?”
“No one’s following us.” Lu smiled as he checked the biometric locator. “We’re good.”
“We need to keep going. You lead since you know the way. Thanks to the rain our tracks will be impossible to follow.”
“Chiza?” Lu asked.
She was clinging to Rasha’s back.
“Won’t they ever stop?” Chiza asked, tears streaming down her face.
“Don’t worry, we’ll keep you safe,” Lu reassured her.
“What good is that, if you all die in the process? I don’t think I could live with myself.”
“About that, we have a problem,” Rasha interrupted.
“What?”
“I pulled an attacker aside. He wasn’t an assassin. He said he’d been hired by your father to track you and then deliver you back to him.”
“What? How can that be?”
“It seems your father is not inclined for you to marry the prince and take your newfound gems with you.”
“That can’t be. My father would never dishonor his family in such a way.”
“I want to believe you, but Jak told me the same thing only a few hours before. He’d been hired by the king of Adalu to see you safe if something should happen on the way. Either way, it changes nothing. We’re going to make it to the first kingdom.”
“Agreed,” Lu said as he looked at the princess. “Stop worrying about us. We can handle this.” Lu moved on ahead and Rasha followed without another word.
They continued east on the alternate road and by noon the rain was drying up. They reached the edge of Winaka and Wilds lands by late afternoon. With no food yet and damp from the rain, they all needed to get dry and eat something. Rasha noted that Chiza was quieter than usual. Lu tried several times to engage her in conversation, but she didn’t respond. The shock of everything was getting to her and they’d need to consider making camp soon.
Rasha scanned the base of the southern ridges and didn’t see any caves or places where they could hide for the night. Their best move was to double back. She’d seen a cave several miles behind them that might do, but she’d hoped to find something clos
er. Before she could decide, she heard the rumbling of more thunder. They would get even more rain tonight. Rasha tried to remember what it felt like to be dry.
19
“You’re hungry,” Lu said. He wasn’t asking, he knew that look.
“How do you know?” She gave him what she hoped was a skeptical look.
“You start looking around as if a plate of food will materialize out of nowhere.” Lu couldn’t hold back his laugh. “I’ll go get us something.”
“I don’t think so, there’s no shelter. We’ve got rain on our backs in two hours.”
Lu looked up at the sky. He debated about which direction to go.
“We’ll go back to that cave we passed. Maybe we can scare whoever’s in there out and camp for the night.”
Lu nodded and they turned to go back.
They reached the small cave as the clouds rolled in and lightning lit up the sky in every direction. The cave, half hidden by brush and trees, faced away from their route.
“Set up camp, I’ll be back,” he said.
Lu dismounted and hefted Temi from his new, larger bag and placed him at Chiza’s. She still seemed sad. He’d have to do his best to cheer her up later. Lu wanted to touch her, to give her some kind of reassurance. The thunder reminded him he had little time to get food and prepare it before the rain was on top of them.
He reached down and pat Temi on the head.
“You take care of the girls.” Temi growled in response and nuzzled his head against Lu’s hand.
* * *
Lu took a small pack that he strapped across his chest and disappeared into the woods. It didn’t take him long to track a medium-sized beast drinking at a nearby stream. The animal sniffed the air. It trembled with nervous energy, ready to run on its spindly legs at the first hint of danger. Lu raised his arm and aimed, but a noise from behind him startled the beast and it bolted.
“What the yahtz?” He turned back to retrace his steps and see if he could find another beast. He found something even better.
The Courier's Code Page 7