A wary look travels across Ryka’s face, but he doesn’t object. “If I order you to come with me to find your friend, Penny, then you have to obey.” He is tense now, though, as he always is whenever I mention Cai.
“Is that a smart idea?” Callum asks.
“Probably not. You should wait here in case James comes back. He’ll lose his mind if he has no idea where we’ve gone,” Ryka says.
“Forget that!” Callum shifts his body weight, rolling his shoulders back. “It may not be a smart idea, but I never said I wasn’t in. My brother seems to think it’s okay to participate in hair-brained ideas that ruin his life, and he’s supposed to be the smart one. I’m not sticking around for James, no way.”
I nod my approval at him and turn back to Ryka. A grim look has set over him. “Aren’t you concerned about pissing him off?”
A hint of emotion flickers in Ryka’s eyes, disappearing as quickly as it came. But I see it: pure hatred. “No. Now come on.” He’s so good at hiding that emotion; so good that on a daily basis I have almost thought he looks up to James. Now I know the truth. He hasn’t forgiven him for murdering his father. Judging by the intensity of the fleeting expression I just witnessed, Ryka is biding his time. For what, I don’t know, but I’m almost glad Ryka’s not the pushover James made him out to be.
“Penny lives a couple of houses up from my family,” I say. “We’ll have to be careful that we’re not seen. The casual bystander might not recognise me but my brother or my mother definitely will.” My stomach churns when I think about my mother. I haven’t missed her in the same way Olivia misses her mother, and that seems like a bit of a tragedy.
We slip out of the training rooms unnoticed, and Ryka surprises me by walking at my side with a completely flat expression on his face. I can’t say I feel half as calm as he looks. On the other hand, Callum looks extraordinarily tense. I shoot him a brief smile as we duck our way through the still quiet streets. I also smile politely at the people we pass, because it would be strange if I didn’t. Fifteen uneventful minutes later we’re standing out the back of Penny’s house, and there’s a ball of pent-up nerves manifesting itself in my throat. I can’t seem to swallow it down. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I can see the roof of my old house from where I’m standing, and the upstairs windows are overlooking the courtyard we’re standing in. I lay my knuckles against the freshly painted white door, the service door this time, hoping to everything holy that a Therin I don’t know answers. Slim chance since I’ve been coming over here to meet Cai nearly every day for the last twelve years, but still.
Ryka’s hand goes to the small of my back again as we wait for the door to open. My body hums to life, and I bite my lip. This seems easier with him here. Callum, too. I raise my hand to rap again, but the door swings open and, once more, the same Therin with the cloudy eyes stands before me. This must be her sole responsibility or something. I curse and step forward. Despite her poor vision, my short hair and the layer of filth covering me, she recognises me instantly. Great.
“I just want to speak to Penny,” I tell her. She quickly appraises the three of us.
“I’m supposed to tell the Trues immediately if you show up,” she states. She cowers into the door like I’m about to attack her. I huff out a sharp breath and take a step forward, which makes her flinch.
“We’re not going to hurt you. I just need to talk to her, okay?”
She looks at me and I suddenly realise her eyes are wet. She swallows so that her throat bobs up and down, clutching her shirt collar at the base of her neck. “Is it better? Where you are?” she asks.
Stunned, my eyes flicker to her halo. Looks like Cai might not have been the only one off the Sanctuary’s drugs in this household. I consider her question. Is it better where I am now?
Ryka’s boots scrape a little as he shifts his body weight. “Yes, it is,” he answers for me. I don’t miss the hard look he shoots me out of the corner of his eye. I should have answered quicker. I nod sharply, stepping up into the hallway. “Yes.”
The Therin shrinks back and lets us slip inside. “Quickly,” she whispers. I don’t stop to think where I’m going. I move down the hallway, knowing Ryka and Callum are behind. I open the door I’m looking for and all three of us slip inside, the Therin hovering in the doorway behind us. “I’ll go and get her,” she breathes. “Don’t leave this room.”
Ryka exhales and sinks down onto the single, narrow bed—the only piece of furniture in the room bar the simple chest of drawers. “Not going anywhere.”
The Therin takes one more look at us each in turn, as though she’s trying to figure out which one of us is more dangerous, and then pulls the door closed.
“I get the feeling we’re all about to die,” Callum declares brightly. I laugh a little despite how true that statement might actually be.
“If Penny is who I think she is, she’s probably got everyone in this house off their halos. I doubt they’ll turn us in,” I say. If I knew that with a certainty, maybe my heart wouldn’t be hammering so hard in my chest. I chew my lip and sink down on the bed next to Ryka. He runs his hand through his hair, studying me the whole time.
“This is his room, isn’t it?
I nod. “Yeah.”
Ryka looks away, looks at the plain, pale blue walls with the sun faded patches adjacent to the bed, at the scuffed floorboards and the bookcase that still holds the few books I saw here last time. He looks displeased. “Did you spend much time here?”
“No. I’ve only been here twice.” Two times too many. If Cai were still alive, I would never have had reason to come into his room. He never saw mine, after all. But then, if Cai were still alive I would never have left the Sanctuary. I would never have met Ryka or gone to Freetown, made friends with Olivia or August and Jack. Hell, there’s every chance I would be dead by now, killed in the arena. I take Ryka’s hand and we sit in tense silence for a few minutes before the door rushes open and Penny edges in sideways. She’s practically on tiptoes, she’s so nervous.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she hisses.
I don’t answer right away. Her damn father has been at it again; her face is a swollen, purple mess. I clench my fists and stand stiffly from the bed. “You’re coming with us.” I’d wanted to give her the option, but looking at her now, seeing her like this―I’m not giving her the choice.
“I can’t just come with you, Kit! Things have changed around here since you left. My father suspects I helped you leave, he watches me like a hawk!”
Callum pushes off from where he was leaning against the wall. The room seems really small with his tall frame taking up so much space. He flicks a knife over in his hand. “No one will notice if you leave with us tonight. It’s a match night. We can sneak you out with everyone else.”
“Everyone else?” She looks appalled. “I have people relying on me here. I can’t just abandon my responsibilities.”
“We’ll take them, too,” Ryka says. I wasn’t expecting that. Opa’s group is already big. I strangle out a wheeze when I realise how badly James is going to freak out.
“He’s right,” I say. “You can bring them with you. How many?”
“Four.” She blinks at me. “There are four of us.”
“Four won’t be too big a problem,” Ryka says. “Can you stay home tonight?”
Penny’s eyes round out. “Yes. My father hasn’t let me go to the matches ever since Cai died. He’s embarrassed that I cried over a Falin in front of all of his friends.”
Callum knocks his balled up fists on top of one another. A muscle works in his neck. “Wow. Your dad sounds like a complete jerk.”
When she laughs, Penny’s voice is shaky. She gestures to her face. “You could say that.”
I feel like giving her a hug but there’s no time, and I still can’t help but remember the look on her face as she held Cai’s broken body. “We’ll be back later for you. Bring only food and water. No clothes, no trinkets, nothing, o
kay? Wear strong boots and clothes you can move quickly in.” I relax a little at the knowledge that we’ll be coming by here for her later. That means we can collect my brother. Despite how useful it would have been to study other fighters’ techniques, Miranda never wanted us to go to the arena if we weren’t called. She always thought it showed weakness to watch the other fighters, and there would be nothing miraculous or mysterious about me if I didn’t just show up and beat everybody every single time, without having picked my opponents apart beforehand. At least her ridiculous pride means my brother will be at home tonight. He wasn’t on any of the betting screens that we saw. I take a small knife from my belt and hold it out to Penny, but she stops me. She bends to pull out a small, curved fixed-blade dagger from her boot. “Caius gave it to me,” she says. “I know how to use it.”
There’s a bright gleam in her eye when she says this, and I know who she’s dreamed about using that knife on. I don’t blame her. I want to kill her father myself, if only for his callous reaction to Cai’s death. He’d laughed, for crying out loud.
“All right. Be ready,” I tell her, glancing at Ryka and Callum; both are tensed and ready to move, themselves. “We have to go now.”
A desperate look floods Penny’s face. “Kit?”
I turn to look at her. “Your father,” she says, “he’s got people looking for you everywhere. He’s so mad.”
I draw my lips into a tight line. “He better pray he doesn’t find me.”
With that we leave Penny chewing on her fingernails and depart the house. The walk back to the training room is silent, and I’m glad. The whole time I think about how close I was to my old home, and whether it was a mistake that I didn’t try and grab my brother right then and there.
COLOSSEUM
If James knows we snuck out while he was gone, he does a good job of hiding it. The Sanctuary is teeming, but its energy is flat and missing the charge that snaps through Freetown in the evenings. No laughter, no shouting, no catcalling.
We wear the collars of our jackets up just like Opa told us to. How he is going to find us in this mess of a crowd I have no idea, but Jack seemed sure he would. For the first time ever, I follow the general populace into the Colosseum through the curved sandstone archways, pressed up tight between Ryka and Max. Ryka shoots me the occasional glance but neither of us smile. That would be an immediate giveaway. It also helps that we have absolutely nothing to smile about. Our fingers brush from time to time, though―a small comfort no one notices.
“I didn’t think there would be so many people here,” Callum mutters behind us. James doesn’t turn his head but I know his whole body is on alert, his sharp eyes focused on every single moving object surrounding us. I don’t like admitting it, but he’s actually really good at this. If there were any other way I would take it, but right now we’re counting on James to keep us safe.
“Shut up,” he hisses over his shoulder. “You’re going to get us caught.”
Callum presses closer to his brother’s back and does his best to keep his eyes looking straight ahead like James told us to. When the all-too-familiar smell of the Colosseum reaches my nose, my whole body comes alive. It’s like ten thousand volts penetrating through my skin, warning me to prepare. Is this what it would have felt like if I’d have fought here without my halo? Probably. My hands itch to go to my knife belt, but it’s not there, of course. It’s back at the training room along with everyone else’s weapons. All I have is the sharp-bladed stiletto that Ryka bought from Callum for me, its heel pressing into the base of my spine like a friendly reminder every time I take a step. At least I have something to defend myself with if we get caught.
It takes us a while to march placidly up the arena steps, trying to find somewhere to sit all together. Technically it shouldn’t matter, but we need to keep close enough that we can all run as a group if we have to. The work it takes to keep my face free from emotion is taxing, especially when a Therin stomps on my toes not once but twice. Ryka notices, his deep brown eyes clouding over. Gods, I want to make sure we get out of here alive. It would be a cruel joke if I just figured out how much I care about him only to lose it all in the blink of an eye. Because it would be that quick.
The place is full of guards and technicians with their stupid, ever-present tablets. They’re out in full force, and even though I never really paid attention before, I know with a certainty that there are well over twice as many of them as usual. They’re out looking for Opa and the others, but that doesn’t mean they won’t catch us instead.
“Sit there, you two,” James whispers. Ryka and I are smooth when we slip onto the end of the stone steps he points to. We sit down, our faces trained to mirror those of the dutiful Therin surrounding us.
Breathe in for three.
Hold for three.
Exhale for three.
Repeat.
It feels like I’m breathing too quickly, even with the pause. No one else picks up on it, though. Miraculously, no one picks up on the fact that there is no silver glinting under my collar either. Ryka’s dishevelled hair covers the back of his neck pretty well, so he’s safe from prying eyes at least.
“They’ve sat three rows behind us,” he says under his breath.
“Are there guards back there?” I ask.
He nods. “Some. I didn’t get an accurate count. They still use guns here?”
“Yes.”
“Great.”
“It’s going to be fine. There isn’t going to be a fight,” I tell him. Do I believe that? No. Definitely not. But it turns out I’m a grade A liar these days, because he turns and gives me a tight, incredibly polite smile. It makes me feel sick how good he is at this. It would suck for Ryka to be controlled in any way.
“Don’t do that,” I tell him, raising my eyebrows. My own inane, vacant smile doesn’t slip. “It makes me angry.”
A flicker of a real smile chases across his lips. “Good.”
We wait for a painfully long time while the rest of the Colosseum fills up gradually. I can tell Ryka’s desperate to move by the time they start up the fanfare lower down on the arena floor. It’s nowhere near as loud up here as I’m used to it. Down there it rattled your bones.
My fingers intertwine with Ryka’s, our hands hidden between our bodies. Our shoulders touch and his presence is almost enough to calm the ridiculous surges of panic that come in wave after wave.
“I’d be hopeless down there right now,” I murmur.
Ryka shakes his head. “You wouldn’t. You’d be better.”
“I can barely think straight up here. I’d fall apart in a match.”
“You’re wrong. You’d react quicker. Your body would take over. A good dose of fear is an excellent motivator when you’re fighting, Kit. Trust me.”
He’s probably right. I wasn’t exactly scared when I fought Sam, even though I should have been. I was quick and fluid, and I will be that again if I have to be.
“Citizens of the Sanctuary!” A static crackle tears through the air as the microphone comes to life, startling the both of us. I try to play down how badly shaken I am by fixing my gaze on the loudspeaker situated to our left. Its dirty grey plastic vibrates as the nasal voice speaks again.
“Citizens of the Sanctuary, welcome to the fifth amphi-match of this year. We thank you for your organized entry into the arena, and for pledging all bets through the appropriate channels. As usual, the matches will commence immediately. We must note there is a revision to the schedules, however. Due to illness, we have reassigned our fight finale this evening. Falin Kitsch of House Kitsch will now be fighting in place of—”
The plastic keeps rattling but I don’t hear the words coming out of it. He’s fighting. My brother is fighting. How has this happened?
“Falin Kitsch of the Kitsch household?” Ryka whispers.
“Yeah. My brother.”
“Damn. What do you want to do?”
I can feel James’ hot glare burning into the back of my head. He’s
expecting me to lose it. I’m not that stupid, though. “Nothing. There’s nothing that we can do.”
Ryka grunts, and I’m grateful he doesn’t say anything else. We sit stiff as statues next to each other as the first fighters come out―a Belcoras daughter, dirty blonde hair and all, pitted against another girl I’ve never seen before. All I see is her red hair tied back into a neat bun at the back of her neck. She could be a Rosen or maybe a Lightwater. The alarm sounds and they step into the triangle. My knee starts to bounce up and down as I wait for them to get to it. The second alarm sounds and they rush each other, while the Therin make their supportive cooing noises right on cue. I blink fiercely as Ryka stills my knee and removes his hand before anyone can see.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.”
The Belcoras girl and her opponent aren’t as quick at picking each other apart as I’d like them to be. There are three other fights between now and my brother’s, and if they all take this long then it will be midnight before I get to see him. My memories of him all seem warped now. The halo robbed me of all interest in watching him fight before. I know I always thought I could beat him, but does that mean there are others out there who can, too? Has he just been lucky so far?
“Stop worrying. He’s going to win and then we’ll get him out of here, too.”
I snap my head up at Ryka, narrowing my eyes at him. “We’re taking him?”
Tiny lines form in between Ryka’s brows. “I know you’re planning on it. You may think you’re excellent at hiding things from me but I gotta say, your attempts are actually quite pathetic.”
I scowl, ignoring his jibe. “James is never going to agree.”
“Tough luck for James, then. He’s going to have to deal with it.”
The crowd below where the Trues sit splinters apart as the red haired girl lunges at the Belcoras girl. The blonde’s body goes rigid and she topples sideways, stiff as a board. It would almost be funny if it didn’t spell the end of her life. The Therin mark their score sheets even before the alarm sounds, declaring the match over. Finally.
Halo (Blood and Fire Series (A Young Adult Dystopian Series)) Page 29