Blood Red Road

He don’t say a word. He jest runs his eyes slowly over my body, right down to my feet, then up agin. Th’other men whistle an jeer. I feel heat rushin through me. Feel it strain my chest, my neck, my cheeks. I know I must be bright red. Then he smiles. A lopsided, crook of a smile.

My fists clench. Cocky bastard. Who does he think he is?

So I do the same to him. I cross my arms over my chest an look him up an down. Brown hair to his shoulders. Silver gray eyes in a tanned face. High cheekbones, a shadow of beard. Crooked nose, like it’s bin broke. Lean but strong lookin. Like he knows how to take care of hisself.

Our eyes meet agin.

Like what you see, Angel? he says.

I step to the fence. Hook my hands into the links, next to his. I lean in close. He’s got tiny white lines around his eyes from squintin. Or maybe smilin. He smel s of warm dust an sage.

You ain’t my type, I says.

As I turn on my heel an walk away, one of the men cal s out, She sure told you, Jack!

I hear him laugh.

His name’s Jack.

Heat burns into me. Crawls over my skin. A trickle of sweat runs down my chest. I pul out the heartstone tucked safe inside my vest. It’s warm. No. Hot.

That’s strange. I look at the sky. The sun’s dyin in the west. The day should be coolin down.

But it feels like high noon. White hot.

Epona makes her way slowly in my direction. She does it so’s you wouldn’t notice unless you was lookin out fer it. At last she stops a lit le ways of from me. She squats down an starts tracin in the dirt with her finger.

I start with my usual exercises. Stretches first. Arms an then legs.

I talked to Maev, I says. I speak in a low voice, don’t look at her direct.

I saw her at the fight today, she says.

Looks like we’l be workin together to git out a here, I says.

Suits me, she says. What’s the plan?

How many Hawks is there? I says.

Forty some odd, she says.

Can Maev git ’em al here? I says.

Yeah, she says. But they won’t al git through the Gate past the guards. That many girls ’ud make the Tonton suspicious, even if they came in smal er groups.

Maybe they wouldn’t git suspicious if there was a lot a other people tryin to git in at the same time, I says.

Go on, she says.

I’m in the Cage agin in two days, I says. I’m due to ght you. I plan to lose that ght. When people hear the Angel of Death’s on a losin streak, they’l pack the place out. The Tonton won’t be able to keep track of who’s comin an who’s goin. They’l pul most of the guards away from the cel blocks to help keep the crowds unner control.

She grins. A quick flash of white teeth, a dimple in her cheek. A completely dif erent girl. I like the way you think, she says.

I’m gonna lose aginst you three times, I says. Then I’m gonna run the gauntlet.

She gives a low whistle.

Oh, I got no intention of dyin, I says. That’s where the Hawks come in. When I start to run that gauntlet, th’only people on eether side’s gonna be Free Hawks. They’l pul me down al right, but only to help me disappear.

I git it, says Epona. It’l take a lit le while fer everybody to gger out yer gone but when they do … al hel ’s gonna break loose. That crowd ain’t gonna like bein cheated of the Angel’s blood.

An while that’s goin on, I says, you’l be escapin from the Cage an …

She looks around the yard, at the rest of the fighters.

… the Hawks’l be set in al of these free, she says. Then we’l burn Hopetown to the ground. You’l help us, won’t you? You know this place an the guards bet er’n anybody.

Of course I wil , I says. I look her straight in the eye when I say it.

Lugh always says it’s the best thing to do when yer tel in a lie.

Emmi manages to find Maev in Spanish Al ey an tel her about my plan.

Maev thinks it’l work fine. She’s already sent fer the rest of the Hawks an, over the next few days, they’l al be git in ready.

She sent word back with Emmi that once they smuggle me through the gauntlet, we’l head straight fer the cel blocks where I’l help ’em set al the fighters free. After we set fires goin al over town, we’l make our way to the northeast corner, wel away from the Gate. Everybody else’l be leavin the burnin town that way. Not us. The Hawks is makin a hole in the palisade fer us to escape through. One of the Hawks’l bring Emmi there.

So that’s it.

Wel … not quite. I’m ne with everythin up to the point where the Hawks smuggle me through the gauntlet. After that, I got other plans fer me an Em.

I lose to Epona.

I make it look good. Real good. I let my right foot slip an Epona’s on me like a jackal on a corpse. She gits me in a strong headlock. I push

I make it look good. Real good. I let my right foot slip an Epona’s on me like a jackal on a corpse. She gits me in a strong headlock. I push back the red hot that tel s me to fight back.

In the blue skies above the Colosseum, Nero swoops an screams with fear. I wish I could tel him why I’m doin what I’m doin, but I cain’t.

At first, the crowd cain’t hardly believe it. You can see it in their faces. Not the Angel of Death. She’s unbeaten. Unbroken. Unstoppable.

But then they git the whif of blood, my blood, an they howl fer more. In the end, they don’t care whose blood it is.

Maev’s in the front row. As I lie on the ground, our eyes meet. She nods. That’s one fight down. Two more to go.

I ain’t bin back in the cel block more’n a few minutes when the door slams open.

There’s a shout. Make way fer the King! Make way!

My innards lurch. My mouth goes dry. I go over to the door of my cel . Press myself aginst the bars so’s I can see bet er.

Twelve Tonton with torches run in, pushin the cel block guards out a the way. They line theirselves up along the length of the cel block.

They lift their torches to light a path.

A man steps through the door.

I don’t believe it. It’s the man from Rooster Pinch’s book. He stands in the doorway with his walkin stick. Jest like the picture in the book.

Thick black curly hair down past his shoulders an piled high on top. Animal skins thrown over one shoulder, trailin behind him onto the floor. Fancy shirt with fril y col ar an cuf s. Short, puf y lit le britches that show his legs. White stockins. High heeled shoes. Sword at his side.

His face is painted white. His mouth’s painted red, like one of the Hopetown whores.

What was it Rooster cal ed him? Lewis Ex Eye Vee. The Sun King of France. Dead fer hunnerds of years, he said. So it cain’t real y be him.

It’s somebody who looks like him.

He starts to walk down the cel block, head high. He takes tiny steps, like his shoes is too tight. He’s holdin a white lace keercheef to his nose.

The fighters in the big cage next to me, they’re al doin like I am, crowdin up to the bars of their cel to git a good look at him.

The Tonton bow their heads. Your Majesty, each one murmurs as he goes past.

A man fol ows a lit le ways behind him. It’s DeMalo. My heart clutches. No. Please. Not him. Right away, my body goes al tight.

After DeMalo, comes Miz Pinch. What the hel ’s she doin here?

Suddenly I realize. They’re comin straight down the cel block. Straight towards me. I scramble back onto my cot. Push myself into the corner. Feel the cold stone of the wal through my thin tunic.