Chapter 18
‘Ox!’ Scarlen gasped, eyes wide at the blood seeping from his shoulder wound into the material of his top.
‘Fuck, Smithson! I was coming to check on you.’ Oxley tugged off his sweatshirt to examine the cut, which luckily wasn’t too deep, but the magick in the weapon was going to make him feel a touch queasy.
Scarlen pulled off both her sweatshirts, tying them around her waist before attempting to rip the bottom of her t-shirt as a bandage. ‘Actually, we’d better use yours in case we get accused of swapping colours. Trust me, you don’t want time in a dark cell.’
‘Been there, done that.’ He flashed a cheeky grin as he tore his t-shirt. ‘When you’re a Rebel, they find all the punishments possible for you.’
Scarlen helped bind his shoulder, feeling bad for cutting him. ‘I guess that’s what you get for trying to kidnap the princess.’ She didn’t even mean to say it, it just fell out of her mouth.
‘Fair enough, if that’s what we were doing.’
She tightened the binding and sat back, staring at him. ‘You make it sound as though you weren’t.’
‘What difference would it make?’ He checked over his wound, seeming happy, then glanced around.
‘It would make all the difference.’ She eyed him suspiciously. ‘What kind of statement is that?’
He circled one finger in the air, a smile in his gaze. ‘The trees have ears,’ he whispered in a sing-song kind of way, then darted off, waving her to follow.
It was his purple hair she caught sight of as he wove in and out of the trees.
‘Put some mud in your hair. You stick out like a beacon in the dark.’ She went to put some in her own locks, but someone covered in foliage ran at her, taking her by surprise.
They hit the ground hard and scrambled, Scarlen getting in a few punches to the dirt-smeared face she could now see belonged to one of the women from Amber, eyes as wild as a storm.
The woman tried hard to secure Scarlen’s dagger but found her opponent was no pushover as Scarlen jumped to her feet, snarling.
‘Come on,’ spat Scarlen through clenched teeth, her blood boiling, the heat all around not helping. ‘You want me? Well, come on.’ She plunged the blade forward, and the woman fled back into the night, leaving Scarlen arguing with herself. ‘Argh!’ she yelled to the empty space before her.
Oxley stepped into view, a quirk about his brow. ‘You doing all right?’
‘I fucking hate this place,’ she snapped, then gulped the muggy air, able to inhale properly for the first time since the heat arrived. ‘I’m just …’ She locked eyes with him as the ground started to vibrate.
‘Watch your feet.’ Oxley motioned at the large fissures appearing around them.
‘What’s happening?’
He shook his head. ‘Jesserlie is messing with us. Just stay away from the cracks.’
Before she had time to reply, thick hedges rose from the crevices, rising higher and higher, shaking the ground, bringing the scent of pine, and blocking the path between her and Oxley.
‘Ox?’ she yelled, reaching for the hedge wall. ‘I have one either side of me.’
‘Me too. She’s created a maze. See if you can find the way out.’
Wiping sweat from her hairline, Scarlen started following the dark pathway, unsure of the point the prison witch was trying to make, if there was a point at all. The dry air took up a lot of concentration, and the need to get back to the pond was a priority.
It was quiet in the maze, nothing lurking in the hedges, no rustling of people on the other side. That alone brought wariness into the journey.
Keeping her weapon at the ready, Scarlen navigated the pathways as best she could, choosing a direction she felt was right when facing two options, never sure if water was close by or where the exit was.
A grunting sound had her still, straining her eyes towards the noise. A low roar followed, then the pounding of feet. No, hooves. Something was running, and whatever it was, it was heading her way.
Turning sharply, Scarlen ran, her head light, heart thumping. With no time to figure out the maze, she smacked straight into a dead end, and adrenaline swirled as she had no choice but to face her pursuer.
Saliva dripped from two sharp fangs of the hog-like beast that skidded to a halt to face Scarlen, its dark beady eyes carrying emptiness, its coarse brown fur crawling with parasites, its green tongue lolling in need of its own drink, which she hoped wasn’t her blood.
Steadying her breath while pointing her dagger its way, she balanced herself, ready for the charge. One of them was going down, and she was going to make sure it wasn’t her.
‘Well, I’m ready,’ she told the beast, her weapon secured, her nostrils flaring. ‘Bring everything you’ve got.’ Her message for all listening.
The creature cocked its head as though summing her up, then snorted, kicked a front leg backwards, then charged, its growl loud and fierce.
Scarlen inhaled, dug in her feet, then made her own run, her battle cry deep and filled with the anger of her life.
The beast leapt, reaching Scarlen’s chest, her dagger pointing, and as it landed upon her, it disappeared in a sparkle of grey dust, leaving her flat on her back, gasping.
‘What the …!’
She scurried to her feet, scanning the pathway for any sign of danger, then a scream in the near distance had her jolt before sprinting. There was no telling who it was or what they were facing, she couldn’t even be sure if everyone was in the maze.
As she met a crossway, the ground shook once more, and the green hedges changed to rusty sheets of thick metal panels.
Some of them started to swivel, revealing more ways to go, but they opened and closed with such a snap, Scarlen got the impression they were capable of slicing a person in half if they didn’t slip through the gaps fast enough.
She wasn’t going to attempt moving to another path, but the panels shifted, forcing her in its chosen direction, and she jumped through an opening just in time, the slap of it sealing behind her clanging in her eardrums as though a bell had rung out close to her face.
The maze had her running, leaping through gaps, and steering her towards more metal, her need to rehydrate now desperate.
‘Smithson,’ yelled Oxley, sprinting her way.
He was such a sight for sore eyes, she almost hugged him.
‘Follow me,’ he added. ‘I found a glimmer.’
She had no idea what that meant, but rushed after him, darting through the sheets, her lungs burning, her chest so tight.
‘Look.’ Oxley pointed out a shimmer of blue light upon the ground by a grey wall. ‘Has to be something, right?’
‘Water, I’m hoping.’
Oxley took his dagger to the ground, stabbing it hard before digging, and Scarlen knelt to join in, but the metal sheets closed in on them, forming one big panel moving forward, looking fit to squash them between its rust and the stonework.
Scarlen ran at the panel. Pushing back on it, but it did nothing but press towards her. ‘I can’t stop it, Ox.’
He joined her side to help, but the panel kept moving towards them, and they both knew they couldn’t dig quick enough to escape their death so didn’t bother trying.
‘At least my hair didn’t frizz in this humidity.’ Oxley bit his lip and grinned, and Scarlen could do nothing but stare at him.
A bang of thunder boomed through the air, the ground vibrated, and the maze lowered back into the earth, revealing the clearing by the pond.
Scarlen made a dash for the water, but the glint of something shiny caught her eye as she passed Oxley, then she saw Judd, his mouth gaping, wild eyes burning white hot before flashing with horror, but why?
Oxley dropped to his knees, his head dipped to his stomach where Judd’s dagger speared him, blood seeping to the dry earth.
‘Ox, no,’ Scarlen gasped in terror, rushing to aid him, but his weight had them both tipping backwards, his head on her lap, her hands covering the wound, trying frantically to stop the flood, her fingers smothered, his amber top crimson.
Judd was panting, his hand still shaking with adrenaline rushing through him from his strike. ‘That was meant for you.’ His glare focused on Scarlen, the end of her braid tucked into the waistband of his bottoms, proving he had been the one who had cut her hair while she was locked in the pillory.
Oxley’s breath was sporadic, the dagger terrifyingly deep within him, taking all it was designed for, and Scarlen could no longer see Judd, as her focus was on the man who had always been so kind to her. The man who made everyone laugh, was everyone’s friend. He didn’t deserve to die.
‘Speak to me, Ox. How can I help you?’
His warm smile still held strength as all else faded. ‘Take care of Bear.’
‘You take care of him. Fight this and see him again. See everyone.’ Her words were useless, but her mind was scrambled, and she didn’t know what to say.
‘He cares for you like I’ve not seen before,’ he spluttered.
‘Care for him. Love him as I have.’ Obsidian eyes watered as they fluttered, his hand reaching for hers but lacking the energy to make it all the way, so she grabbed it, trying for comfort, hoping someone would arrive soon to take away his pain.
Muffled footsteps came, then silence, as the other inmates gathered in the clearing for a drink before noticing who had fallen, and all heads dipped in sorrow at once before scowls turned on Judd.
‘He was going to hang soon anyway,’ Judd told the sea of eyes judging him.
‘I did him a favour.’ But his gaunt face told a different story as the scorch of malice changed to the taste of dread.
Everyone knew of the storm coming. War with the Flames was one thing, but he’d killed a Rebel.
His imminent death was in Bear’s hands. It was just a matter of when.
Scarlen huddled Oxley into her, rocking him like she used to sway her little sister to sleep on the nights Lancen would have nightmares.
‘Stay awake, Ox,’ she whispered, knowing he wouldn’t.
Couldn’t. No one was coming to save him, and she had never felt so helpless.
‘Please. Please,’ she cried softly, brushing his locks from his sweat-filled brow as life in his face faded.
Warm blood leaked over her fingers curled with his as his wound pumped more from his body.
His heart slowing, his eyes closing, his breath fading.
There was his easy-going smile within his last look, cast just above her shoulder, and she wished she knew what he was seeing.
An angel, she hoped. One as bright and beautiful as him.
‘Mother,’ he whispered, his one word stealing Scarlen’s heartbeat.
Scarlen wasn’t sure she would ever be able to let him go.
The feeling of someone slipping away in her arms had her numb, almost as lifeless.
How could she get up and walk away? It was bad enough the last time someone died in the Zone.
Now each part of her was shattered into a million pieces, limp and so alone.
Oxley took a wheezy breath, then breathed no more, his weight sinking into her, his blood staining her clothes, her skin, her soul.
The horn blew, and no one moved.
‘Inside,’ said Kane, his voice cracking on seeing who was on the ground. ‘You have to go inside.’
The inmates started to depart, but Judd was stock-still, and Scarlen’s lungs were fighting for air as she held back tears.
She wrapped herself around Oxley, cradling what was left of his warmth, wishing so hard Horstal Island didn’t exist. That someone as kind and sweet as Oxley got to live a happier life.
It wasn’t fair. None of it was. And she found herself screaming into the night as Kane reached for her arm and other guards appeared for Judd.
‘We’ll take care of Torro,’ said Kane quietly, his face so pale.
‘I can’t leave him,’ she croaked, her body as seized as the one in her arms.
Kane got her to stand, her legs shaking, pulse rattling. ‘Go to the shower chamber. Get changed.’
She glanced down at the blood embedded in the material of her uniform. Smeared, damp, not her own, then up at Judd as he passed with a guard either side of him.
A hot whip of wind hit her face as she made eye contact with the killer, a silent scream whirling as he scowled, then with vengeance controlling her, she lunged at Judd, stabbing him in the arm with her weapon, her roar as wild as the beast in the maze.
‘Die,’ she screamed. ‘Die.’
Guards dragged Judd away as he lurched towards her, and Kane grabbed her hand, forcing the blade to the ground, which wasn’t hard, as all energy had left Scarlen the moment she drew blood.
‘You fool,’ snapped Kane. ‘You’ll be sent to Red now.’
But Scarlen heard little of what he had to say as he led her into the building, her body still back with Oxley, or floating somewhere close by. Wherever it was, it wasn’t with her, as she couldn’t even feel her legs moving, taking her all the way to Red Block Two.