Page 24 of Rising

My eyes landed on a few of my books, thrown about where I had last left them months ago. I’d opted not to finish the series once more when things got too familiar, too close to home. I knew he was right. It was time to lift the fog. It had been weeks and weeks ago.

“The heroine hasn’t found her way. She doesn’t until the last book. It takes her a few fuck ups, a few mistakes, and some really,reallygood friends, but she wins and her family survives in the end.” Prescott followed my eyes, realizing the hidden meaning behind my words. Remembering the question he had asked me just two months before.

“And what book are you on right now?”

“Honestly?” I chuckled. “Book three. Out of eight. But I’m ready, I’m ready to be at the end. I’m ready to read that last page.”

“Good,” he said, as he walked towards the door, “Because you’re on prisoner duty. Welcome back, captain.”

He disappeared from my doorway, and I called out jokingly, “That’s General to you!”

As I pondered what he meant, realizing his play on words and questioning if maybe hehadpicked it up all those months ago, as a towering figure walked in. Harley let out a growl and crawled towards the strange man at the door. I let her, knowing she wouldn’t attack unless he posed an immediate threat, or I commanded it. He glanced down at my beast of a girl nervously, then wiped the expression off his face as quickly as it appeared.

The man’s beige skin was covered in tattoos from his neck down to his fingertips as they peeked out from his dirt dusted white beater tank. His brown hair was neatly cropped on the side and gelled back at the top. A series of silver and bronze rings littered his tattooed fingers.

My gaze trailed back up to take in the rest of his features, as his small lips curved, smirking. There was nothing kind behind the smile, instead he held my stare. The darkness in his dead eyes unsettled me, a shiver going down my spine.

“You must be said prisoner,” I barked.

“Ouch,” he said, hand flying to his chest as if I had shot him in the heart. “And you must be the drunk General. And her dog,” he said, putting distance between him and what were now gleaning teeth a few inches away. A trace of an accent stressing his R’s.

“Well, don’t you just catch on fast? What are you doing lingering outside my walls, anyway?” I scooted towards the door and grabbed one of my hoodies as I covertly pushed him back out onto the path.

A discrete attempt to put some distance between those I loved and whoever the hell this annoying person standing before me was. I motioned for Harley to stay as I pulled the door shut.

“I was running from a small herd and was able to pull myself into a tree,” he offered simply, as if it were no big deal, “Some took a turn down the cliff side, fell I guess, and the rest kept moving past me and then I heard all the commotion. Figured I’d get a closer look since I heard a few kids, climbed up another tree, ya know, higher ground and all, and saw your little set up. I’d heard about The Compound, just didn’t know I’d end up this far in its territory.”

Maybe having earth magic grow extra trees around our walls wasn’t a great security measure after all. I’d never considered the alternative repercussions of it.

I studied him. His loaded sentences offered me a glimpse of the possible information he could have on quite a few topics and deemed him a worthy prisoner to keep around.

“Do you treat all your prisoners with such distaste?”

Do you ever stop talking?

“Just the ones that come on the heels of attacks. The rest are offered more peaceful options, like the guillotine.” I grinned at him, making an effort to be convincing, though nothing I had just said was true.

Execution was rare. Most were exiled or sent off to another compound in the network depending on the problem, but honestly, there wasn’t much trouble that popped up. People were tired and busy. Trouble came from boredom, and there was plenty to keep busy with around here.

It landed, and he stiffened up a bit, trying to figure me out, no doubt. He tried again. “I figured this was the kind of place I could come help out in exchange for a place to stay. Given the current state of things, it’s easy for one to come to the conclusion that you could use a hand.”

Selfishness, of course. “Because God forbid you help out, out of the kindness of your heart.”

“In this economy?” he rebutted.

Growing tired of his back and forth, I started walking, making motion for him to follow.

“You’re going to be exhausting, aren’t you?”

“Well, you aren’t exactly a ball of sunshine, pretty lady.”

Though he could not see for himself, my lips upturned in disgust at the thought of being under another man’s gaze. I walked off, leaving a tight ring of fire at his feet, preventing him from being too far from me in case he proved to be of danger.

Alexiares

Itried to maintain my positive facade, but this girl was getting on my nerves. She upped her pace every time I attempted to walk in step with her and tightened the ring of fire in silent protest.

Following her through the perfectly laid cobble paths of The Compound, I took in my surroundings. We passed under an arch that connected two of the massive buildings near the gate I had originally entered through. The top of the archway had metal finishings on the windows that gleamed against the lamps that now lit the pathway from the dark night sky.

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