Page 13 of Harmless
“I’m not after your position, I don’t want it.” My eyes continued scanning the arena, and I pulled out a couple knives to mess with in order to look less suspicious. “We’ve got a real shot at fucking this place over. But we need to organize. You’re the one with the most influence over the fighters.”
“Yes, I am,” he said matter-of-factly. “What are you proposing? An uprising?”
“Help is coming from the outside.” I flipped a knife in the air, caught it, and held it up, pretending to examine the blade. “We need the fighters aware and ready, and most importantly, to keep their mouths shut until it’s time.”
“When is this outside help coming?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay, so who are our kind rescuers?”
Tezca’s words returned to me.You can trust the light and the guard. But do not trust the false messenger.All fucking riddles. Some names would have been great, but all I knew was that the guy’s name was Torrance. Who knew if that was even a real name?
“I’m not sure. But they posed undercover as guests here,” I answered.
The Saint snorted. “So you don’t know who’s coming or when. What do you expect me to tell the fighters?”
“You’re their leader.” I shrugged. “You speak well. Be persuasive.”
“And why should I put any amount of trust into what you say?” He peered up at me again, those tattoos making his glare look sinister. “The pitmasters put you up to this, didn’t they? Are they trying to see if I’ll actually go through with an uprising so they’ll have a reason to shoot us all down?”
“Why would they kill us en masse? They need us.”
“Only temporarily, until they find more bodies,” he pointed out.
“Listen.” I sighed heavily, caught my knife, and brought it to my side. “The Butcher is missing.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“He’s my friend, okay? We’ve had each other’s backs for years, and I know his real name.”
“Which is?”
I hesitated. The Saint could take Santos’ given name and run directly to the pitmasters. Or worse, Nella. Both of which would immediately throw me into a fight I wouldn’t be allowed to win. He knew the risks of asking for and receiving such information. But he needed something if he was going to help us, and I had nothing else to give him.
“I won’t tell you his,” I said. “But my name is Devin. Devin Ito.”
The Saint straightened, his face going slack with surprise. “You’re either incredibly foolish or you believe in this cause that strongly.”
“I do,” I said. “I’m done here. I’m finding my friend and getting the fuck out or getting killed trying.”
The other man narrowed his eyes again. “Is anyone else in this with you? Or are you coming to me on your own?”
“The Hunter is with me,” I said. “He’s the one who actually spoke to the undercover guest.”
The Saint crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll need his name as well. That is my price.”
“I don’t know it.”
“Then get him over here.”
I looked around, then whistled and motioned when I spotted the Hunter trying to look busy while swinging a sword around. He jogged over, and I gave him the rundown of what we had just discussed..
“You told him yourname?” The young fighter stared at me in disbelief.
“Talk louder, please,” I hissed at him.
“Are you fucking nuts?” he whispered aggressively.
