Dangerous Lovers (24 page)

I couldn’t believe what I saw.

Chapter Forty-Four

What I saw was a little girl.

She was wearing torn clothes that were too small for her, and her face and hands were streaked with dirt. She was barefoot too, and I wondered if this was some kind of feral child; she couldn’t be much older than Akira. Though she had a harelip, her face was still very beautiful, with eyes that were a bright gold and framed by thick, dark lashes. She had curly brown hair that was so dark it almost looked black, and a skin color that suggested she spent a lot of time in the sun.

Whatever impression her appearance had on me was subdued, however, by her fierce expression, and the crudely made weapon she was holding. I took a slow step forward, and she raised the sharpened stick she was carrying.

“Don’t move,” she said in a strong voice.

I held my hands up in front of me and came to a stop. She narrowed her eyes. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“My name’s Alexa. I’m lost. I’m trying to get back to Two Rivers.” Her eyes dropped down to my right arm. “What are you?” “I’m a Warrior,” I told her.

Her eyes widened and she slowly lowered her stick. “Kayden’s Warrior?” she asked.

The mention of Kayden’s name gave me pause. Who the hell was this girl? And how did she know Kayden?

I shrugged. “I wouldn’t say I’m
his
exactly, but yes, I know him.”

In fact, I should say that I’m Jackson’s, but that was irrelevant right now.

Her tiny face scrunched up as she considered this. “If you’re a Warrior, then you are Kayden’s because there is only one Warrior, and she’s his.”

She said this with absolute certainty, and I was beginning to wonder if she was some kind of apparition. How else could some child in the woods know about Kayden and me? Either that, or I had really lost my mind this time.

She approached me slowly, cautiously, and I made sure to remain very still. I didn’t consider her a threat exactly, but who knows who else could be with her. She may have an army of cannibals waiting in the trees for her signal to attack.

When she reached me, she gripped my right arm in her tiny hand and ran a rough finger over the lily on my wrist. I stared at her adorable little face and tried not to smile at her confidence.

“Alexa, right?” she asked, releasing my arm.

“That’s right.”

She held out her hand. “I’m Soraya. It’s good to meet you. I’ve heard great things.”

I raised my eyebrows. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Soraya, but”—I glanced all around us—“Who told you about me?”

She took my hand and led me to a tree that had fallen near the bank of the lake. It made for a decent bench, and she sat down and patted the seat beside her. I did as I was told and sat down.

She stared up at me with those gleaming, golden eyes. “What has brought you all the way out here, Alexa?”

I shook my head, still very confused by this weird turn of events. “I just got lost.”

She shook her head in return, and it made her curly hair bob around her face. “Don’t lie. A Warrior should be truthful with those she trusts.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Who said I trust you?”

She shrugged. “You trust Kayden.” She said this as a statement, not a question, and I found my curiosity growing.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“I’m Soraya,” she answered simply.

I blew out a frustrated breath, and she laughed. She had a rich laugh, and the sound of it reminded me so much of…
Oh, no
.

I was afraid to ask, but I had to. “You’re… you’re his daughter, aren’t you?”

She was quiet a moment as she studied me, and I felt my heart beating like a drum in my chest. At last, she broke out into laughter. “No,” she said, between laughs. “I’m not his daughter. But you should have seen your face just now.”

I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “Oh.”

“I’m his niece.”

I looked into her golden eyes, Kayden’s golden eyes. Then, I thought of something that made me a little angry.

“What are you doing out here all alone? Where are your parents?”

She smiled. “I live out here, with my mommy. Our village is just on the other side of the lake. You want to see? I’ll show you.”

She slid off the log and held her hand out to me. I took it, and she led me around to where a rickety bridge hung over the lake. We crossed it, making it rock as we moved along.

“Is this safe?” I asked when we were about halfway across.

She giggled. “Of course, Uncle Kayden built it so that it would be easier for him to come visit me.” She looked back at me, her voice taking on a serious tone. “But don’t tell anyone, okay? He’ll get in trouble if they find out.”

I furrowed my brow, but nodded. “I promise.” This was getting stranger by the second.

Once we were across the bridge, she led me down a dirt path that wound through the trees, and after about a mile, we stopped, standing on top of a large hill.

“That’s my village. You can see my house over there. See?” she asked.

I nodded slowly, not believing what I was seeing.

The hill looked down on what was quite literally a village, and the house she had pointed out was little more than a hut. People in ragged clothing mulled around, carrying buckets and baskets. The ground was dusty brown, hard-packed earth. All of the houses were huts, and there seemed to be hundreds of them. They appeared to be made of mud and had hand-made blankets covering openings that I supposed served as windows. Some of the people lead around goats and donkeys, and a small breeze brought their fecund, animal smell to the top of the hill where we stood. It looked like something you would see on the National Geographic channel, like in some third-world country. It was a sharp contrast to the luxury of the city I had just run from. It must have still been within the walls, though, because I would have noticed if we would have had to climb over it.

Soraya sat down on the ground and pulled my hand for me to join her. I plopped down beside her, not taking my eyes off the scene in front of me. I hadn’t known places like this even existed in America.

The more I studied the place in front of me, the more my disbelief grew. None of the people had shoes on, and from what I could see, most of them had some sort of disability. But some of them seemed perfectly normal, albeit the fact that they were hideously ugly and maybe a little malnourished. These were outcasts, I realized, and the thoughts that entered my head were so horrible I found myself trembling.

Something warm and rough touched my hand, and I looked down to see that Soraya had placed her hand over mine, which was still shaking.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she said in a small voice. It was a complete opposite to the tone she’d used earlier in the forest.

I just shook my head and was surprised when I felt warm tears spill down my cheeks. “Who knows about this place?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been outside of the village. Except for when I wander in the forest, but Mommy says I shouldn’t do that, so most of the time, I don’t.”

Anger flared in me as I realized something. “But Kayden does,” I said. “You said he visits you.”

Her face lit up at the mention of her Uncle. “Yeah, he brings me stuff, food and clothes and toys.” Her face fell a little. “But, he can’t come very often. He says it’s dangerous.”

I was going to have to have a word with Kayden when I got back. “What else does he say?” I asked.

“He told me about you. He worries about you a lot.”

I wanted to say he should be worried about
her
. Instead, I asked, “How did all these people get here?”

“Some of us, like me, were born here. But others, like Mommy, got sent here.”

“Sent here by whom?”

She shrugged again. “I don’t know. I call them the Evil Ones, but Mommy won’t speak of them. She says I’m too young right now to worry about it.”

I looked back down at all the people in the village and compared them to those at Two Rivers. Now that I thought about it, no one back in the city was really old or deformed or even over-weight. I was beginning to think my outcast theory was dead-on.

“Why are people sent here?”

“Mommy says it’s because they’ve outgrown their use or that they don’t fit the mold, whatever that means.”

I wrapped my arms around her and she snuggled into my embrace. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for this girl. She was so sweet and perfect and I just wanted to protect her. Thinking about the luxurious lifestyle back at Two Rivers made me sick. This wasn’t right. It wasn’t right at all.

“Do you want to stay here, Soraya? You could… you could come back with me.”

She shook her head. “No, I can’t. They wouldn’t allow it.” She pointed to her lip, and I felt fresh tears brim my eyes. “They wouldn’t have me… I’m damaged.”

I took her shoulders and forced her to look at me. “No. You are not. You’re perfect. One of the most perfect girls I’ve ever met in my life.” My voice was fierce and full of passion.

She gave a small smile. “He was right. You are amazing.”

“Kayden said I’m amazing?” I shook my head. “That’s not important. Look, I need to get back before someone notices I’m missing, but I promise you, I’m going to fix this.”

She gave another sad smile. “You truly are a Warrior, Alexa. Will you come back to see me?”

I looked straight into her beautiful eyes. “I promise. I’ll be back. And I meant what I said, I’m going to make things right.” I just had no idea
how
I was going to, but she didn’t need to know that.

She gave me a look that said she didn’t think that was possible.

I drew her into my arms once again. “Do you trust me?”

She pulled back and looked up at me. “Yes, I do.”

“Then trust me when I say I will take care of this. I’ll straighten it out. I promise.”

She gripped my hands, concern covering her little face. “You can’t tell anyone you were here, Alexa. I mean it. I don’t want them to hurt you.

“No one is going to hurt me. Don’t worry. I won’t say anything.

Can you show me the way back?”

She nodded. “You won’t forget about me, will you?”

I cupped her face in my hands. “Of course not. How could I? You’re far too important to be forgotten.”

She smiled, and my heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces. I had to do something about this, I just had to.

“I think it’s the food,” she said, as she led me back to the other side of the lake.

“What?”

“Uncle says everyone there must know something is off about that place. But he says that they just go about their days like nothing is wrong. He says they’re happy. So, I think they must be putting something in the food to make people more… you know, easy-going, so that they’ll turn their heads to certain things.”

I smiled at her. “You’re smart and beautiful, you know that?”

She grinned and squeezed my hand. “So are you. I just hope it’s enough.”

I furrowed my brow at that, but she pointed into the trees. “Go straight from here, just keep going straight until you reach your city. You should be okay, but hurry, you don’t want to be lost in the trees come nightfall.” She reached into her shirt and held something out for me. “Take this, as long as you keep heading north, you’ll be fine.”

I looked down and saw that she was offering me a compass. I thanked her and scooped her up into another hug. “I will be back,

Soraya. I promise you. I’ll be back.”

She kissed my cheek. “I know. I know you will.”

I set her down and she headed back toward her village, giving me a small wave. I waved back and then headed toward my own destination. I had a feeling that when I got back, the city was going to take on a very ugly new light.

Chapter Forty-Five

As I stepped out of the trees at last, the sun seemed to shine brighter in my face than it had all day. It glared down on me in a way that made me feel as though the sweat running down my back might turn into steam. I stopped and stared at the glorious structures all around me, and for the first time, the sight of them disgusted me.

The cherry blossom trees that stood in the medians of the streets no longer smelled of sweet floral. Their scent had taken on the odor of an overbearing perfume. The fancy green street lights that lined the sidewalks appeared to be spitefully thrusting their noses into the air. The mosaic-like buildings no longer resembled pieces of art; now they sparkled like blood diamonds. The city I had once stared at in wonder now had me glaring in distaste.

Ahead of me, I could see the school and students filing out of the buildings. It must be the end of the school day, meaning that I had spent almost four hours out in the woods. I had no doubt that Nelly would come looking for me soon, so I stuck to the outskirts and made my way back to my dorm room.