Page 187 of Everything Under the Sun

Oh Atticus…where did they take you?

“Where did they take Atticus?” I said out loud as Kade led me up a wide flight of stairs.

“Ah, he’ll be all right,” he said, brushing it off. “He looks like the kind of guy who can hold his own. And if not, then you don’t need him protecting you anyway. We’ll see soon enough.”

What does that mean? I clenched my hands behind my back, and bit down on my bottom lip. What does that mean?

Another floor and down a weaving hallway and we came upon a room. Kade led me inside, and cut the bonds from my wrists.

Before I could take in my new surroundings, a tiny young woman with a soft cloud of black hair around her head scurried forward and stood before Kade, her hands with long, gentle fingers were linked down in front of her like a little basket. She was clothed in a sheer ivory gown that clung to her petite form, revealing her deep brown skin underneath.

“Drusilla,” Kade spoke up, “this is…” He looked to me askance.

With a short sigh of surrender, I told them my name.

“It is nice to meet you,” Drusilla said, slowly smiling; she had delicate, round features, but set within them were a pair of fierce brown eyes, hinting at something far stronger underneath than what appeared on the surface.

Drusilla reached out a hand, and reluctantly I took it. Rings were slid upon all ten of her fingers; jewels hung from her earlobes, and her dainty neck, and her wrists.

“See to it that Thais is dressed and fed,” Kade said.

“Yes, sir.” She smiled at him, but to me, it appeared forced, vengeful even.

Kade’s eyes grazed the spacious room filled with random furniture, and a king-size bed, and tables covered with rolls upon rolls of fabric, and baskets and shelves chock-full of yarn and thread and various other sewing supplies.

“This room is a fucking mess,” Kade told the girl with the wave of his hand.

“Yes, sir, I will clean it before you get back.”

“Good,” he said with a solid nod, and then he turned on his heels.

“When can I see Atticus?” I asked, but Kade’s tall form slipped out into the hall and disappeared, the door closing behind him.

“They’re going to make him fight,” Drusilla spoke up from behind. “Whoever Atticus is.” She retreated back to the spot on the floor where she had been sitting when I entered the room.

With dread in my heart, I went toward the girl. “Fight? Why? With who?” I stood over Drusilla as she sat cross-legged, surrounded by small strips of fabric in an array of designs and colors.

Drusilla moved pieces here and there, appearing to match each one with another one that best complimented it; she rarely ever looked up at me when she spoke.

“Everybody fights eventually,” she explained; her dainty hands moved gently over the patterns. “You either stand up for yourself, or if you can’t, you find someone willing to stand up for you. Of course, that way isn’t free, either.” She glanced at me, a hidden meaning in her eyes, and looked back down at the strips of fabric on the floor.

I sat down in front of her, needing to see her face, wanting the girl to see mine so she’d understand my desperation.

“I have to get out of here,” I whispered. “Can you help me?” I never expected the girl to help me, and even thought the request too bold and too soon, having just met her less than five minutes ago, but there was no time for getting to know one another.

“What do you expect me to do?” Drusilla said. She looked right at me then, the fabric she’d been holding resting within her lap. “I’m in the same predicament as you are—I can’t even help myself.”

“And what predicament are you—are we—in exactly?”

Drusilla looked me over. “In exchange for Kade’s protection, we do whatever he wants us to do—unless you’d rather fight him for your freedom.” She cocked a curious brow, which meant she thought me incapable of such a feat, considering.

I jumped up and ran toward the door; it opened easily, which surprised me, and when I looked out into the hallway there were no guards waiting to thwart an escape; people walked past without even looking at me. My heart hammering against my ribs, I let out a long sigh, and my dainty shoulders slumped forward, and I hung my head low, feeling defeated. Because although Paducah seemed starkly different from Lexington, the one way they were the same was that I was a prisoner, locked behind an unlocked door, unable to take advantage of it because I would never leave without Atticus and I had no idea where he was.

“Kade will take you with him to the fights tonight,” Drusilla said. “You’ll see your Atticus there.” She got quiet, which caused me to turn around to see her. “For his sake, and yours, I hope he’s strong.”

I went toward Drusilla slowly, dread and uncertainty in my steps, afraid of Drusilla’s words but needing to hear them.

“The fights are never fair,” Drusilla went on. “It’s anything goes down there. But with newcomers”—she looked down at the fabric in her hands and went back to matching it—“it’s always a fight to the death the first time.”

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