Chapter 5

Isaw right away that she was trying to butter me up so I'd help her get out of there. But there's a good reason I've never been caught working in this business as long as I have: I'm good at sniffing it out when something's a little fishy.

Yet it does make me admire Ree-mee even more, knowing that she's shrewd. She wants to escape, and I'm part of her scheme.

I try to tell her that she doesn't need to offer herself to me in exchange for getting out of here. If I could speak her language, I'd say that I've already been formulating a plan after Kugara killed our jam session.

There are a few options, if I actually want to do this, which I'm still not sure that I do. I know that I can't simply watch her get beaten or raped by whoever purchased her and ordered her shipped here. But that means defying Gusak, which would inevitably lead to getting my limbs cut off one at a time until I bleed to death—if I'm caught. Not my favorite way to go out.

If I'm not caught... that means I can't ever go back. I would be dead to the clan, the place where Graz and I finally made our home after sleeping in dark corners our whole lives, where my skill in staying hidden, in taking what I need without being seen, is valuable to someone. I earned coin and recognition instead of being kicked and hollered at.

If I do this, I'll always be on the run from Gusak.

Anyway. Back to the escape plan.

Option one is to get up in the middle of the night, open her cage, and then go back to bed and pretend I didn't hear or see anything. If I could put down the right clues, I could make it look like she got herself out and take at least some of the heat off of me.

But there are downsides, the main one being that I would be freeing her from captivity, where she has meals and shelter, and abandoning her in the jungle to be killed by jaguars or hippos.

Option two is to get up in the middle of the night and sneak off with the wagon and the horses while Kugara and Drozeg are still sleeping, leaving them stranded in the jungle until they can get back to Kalishagg and tell Gusak what I've done.

Hopefully by then I'll be far away.

But this is not the sort of thing you do lightly. Am I really going to give everything up for some human?

Probably.

She doesn't deserve this, whatever happened to bring her into my possession, and I have a responsibility to keep her safe. It comes over me abruptly, the way a young troll gets his first crush and realizes what his cock is for. A deep kind of knowing, where no matter how hard you try, you can't resist its pull. Not only do her gray eyes speak to me, they see me. Her quick little mind deserves freedom.

Not to mention she's absolutely beautiful, like the first flower emerging from the ground after a long winter. Flowers should not be cut and left to rot in cages.

I know what I have to do. It's dangerous, but I have no choice. Maybe there's a reason that I ended up assigned to this job: because Ree-mee needs me.

We only have a day left until we reach the buyer, maybe less by the glance I'd gotten of the map. That means arriving tomorrow afternoon. If I'm going to do it, it'll have to be tonight while the others are asleep.

We stop for the night a little after sunset, while the sky is still a warm purple, and find a place by the side of the road to make camp. Kugara builds a fire, and I stalk out into the woods to see if I can find a creature to hunt for dinner. We always have rations, but tonight I want to cook up something fresh and delicious, something that will make the other two sleep heavily and soundly.

After a while, I manage to spot one of the tiny little deer that call the jungle home, no bigger than a dog, but stuffed with plenty of warm meat for the four of us. It's not hard to bring it down with my gun—just one bullet to the head—and then I carry it back to camp over one shoulder.

"Nice," Kugara says, nodding in approval. "Dinner is served."

Ree-mee is pleased with the cooked meat I give her, and this time, the brush of her hand across mine feels different. Affectionate. Grateful. She smiles again, showing off all of her perfect white teeth, and my heartbeat quickens.

It doesn't slow down as night falls and we spread out our bedrolls around the fire. In fact, it's beating so hard and so fast as I consider my plan that I wonder if the others can hear it, if the rapid thumping of it will give me away.

Once a few hours have passed and I'm certain Drozeg and Kugara are in their deepest sleep, I get up and make my way over to the wagon. I'll need Ree-mee to be completely silent for this to work. That's my biggest gamble.

In the dim light of the moon, I can make out her sleeping form in the back of the cage. Gently, quietly, I reach out and tug on her blanket. Her eyes flutter open, and she looks confused as she glances around to find it dark outside. Then her gaze lands on me and her lips part. I can't help thinking that they look extremely kissable.

I put one finger to my mouth and shake my head, hoping she'll understand that I don't want her to make a sound. Her eyes widen, and when I reach for the bolt that latches the cage shut, her lips tilt up on one side. I slide it open as quietly as possible, and then gesture for her to come out with one hand.

Cautiously, as if she doesn't believe that I'm really going to help her, she reaches out and takes my fingers in hers. Then she steps out of the cage, using me to stabilize herself, and for a second I wonder if she's going to take off on her own. I remember from transferring her to the cage that her flight response is strong, even if she doesn't have much strength left from all her time in captivity.

I help her down from the wagon and set her on the ground. She weighs almost nothing. Ree-mee looks out towards the jungle, and she tenses as if to run. My biggest gamble was that she would be greeted with her freedom and decide that I'm still her enemy.

But then she looks back at me, an inquiring look in her eyes. I point at the ground and hold up a hand, trying to tell her to stay put for now.

The first thing I do is pack a bag of supplies and leave it by the fire. When I steal the horses and wagon, I'll be stranding Kugara and Drozeg out here. The least I can do is make sure they have enough food and water to walk home. Then I clean up my bedroll and pack it in the wagon, trying to keep as quiet as I can. Kugara shifts in her bed and lets out a snort, and I freeze. If she wakes up now, I'll definitely be fucked.

But she just rolls over onto her other side and snores. With a breath of relief, I retreat back to the wagon, where Ree-mee is patiently waiting for me. I'm grateful she trusted me enough to not wander off on her own. She must sense that I have a plan.

One of the horses huffs as I re-attach them to the front of the wagon. It makes some noise as I hook up their leather straps, and each time the wood creaks I pause to glance back at Drozeg and Kugara. As I'd hoped, they're sleeping hard.

Once the horses are ready to go, I gesture for Ree-mee to follow me, and then I lift her up into the front of the wagon. When I climb in next to her she scoots over to make room, and I can't help but smile. Tentatively, she smiles in return, and I shake the reins.

This is the moment, of course, that I hear Kugara's sharp voice say, "What are you doing, Lo'zar?"

I glance back at the encampment, where she's abandoned her bedroll and is now scrambling for her hand axe. But it's too late. I rap the reins harder and let out a whistle, no longer afraid of waking up the others. The horses jump from a walk into a trot. But Kugara is fast, and she's already sprinting towards us at full speed.

"Hup!" I call out, shaking the reins even more vigorously. "Hup!"

We burst into a gallop just as Kugara reaches out for the rear gate of the wagon. She reels her arm back and hurls the axe—and I duck just in time to avoid being beheaded.

"Lo'zar!" Kugara shouts after me. "Gusak is going to kill you for this!"

And he probably will, if he can get his hands on me. But if there's anything in life I can say I'm good at, it's swiping the treasure and getting away with my hide intact.

I can't help but holler back, "Let's see him try!"