Page 11 of A Thief to Die For

‘What do you mean?’ Samuel snaps. He throws out a muscled arm, pointing. His six-foot-six frame makes his horse look dwarfed. ‘Because it’s red.’

‘Is it, though?’ Levi asks. ‘I’d say it’s more orange. Maybe brown.’

‘It’s not ora–’ Sam inhales so hard his crooked nostrils close. ‘The Sarcans bombed every reactor in the Republic, and the trees around every direct hit turned red. It’s called the red forest. Everyone knows that.’

‘Well, not everyone, obviously,’ mutters Levi. ‘But maybe they would if they called it the orange forest. And we don’t know it was the Sarcans. It could have been Daulti after decades of us playing let’s-try-to-kill-your-leader-but-make-it-look-like-an-accident. Then there’s North Ripette, another country that was constantly threatening to take us out. For all we know, it could have been an all-of-the-above situation.’

Venson, the name I’ve given the bulging vein on Sam’s forehead, makes an appearance. It’s become my guide, telling me whether I need to intervene. ‘Just walk away,’ I say to him.

A warning flashes in Samuel’s dark eyes. But then he twitches his heels and his horse moves along.

Levi turns to me, mischief sparking on his face. ‘Also, what exactly is the chip of a horse?’

‘A horse chip is what you’re full of !’ Samuel yells over his shoulder.

‘Ohhh … you mean like manure?’ Levi fights a grin.

I arch a brow at Levi. ‘That’s really how you’re going to use your free will? It’s too early in the morning to have to save your life.’ Again.

He chuckles low. ‘Good thing it’s the middle of the afternoon.’

Is it? With a sigh, I pull out the trader map that Vador, our mayor and head of the elite guard, gave me.

‘This is the Sekani Red Forest.’ I stab the bottom of the map with my finger. ‘It extends four miles. We’ll encounter more like this along the way. Especially where the bombs targeted a fission reactor, which, thanks to the old world’s thirst for electricity, could be close to a thousand different locations across the Republic. They’re the worst of the destruction.’ My gaze skates to the dots we’re headed towards, due east, the only settlements on this eastern trade map. We’re still about three to five days away from our target, if we’re lucky.

Levi leans in to see it. ‘Do we need to dig out those old-world gas masks?’

‘You can. But if we avoid this area altogether, we should be fine.’ Should be being the operative words. There’s not exactly a lot of scientific monitoring going on. ‘Our contamination control team lead said the residue left from the bombs in these areas rests in the soil. If we only stop where the map indicates it’s okay, we should be good. Most importantly, don’t dig a hole and lie in it around here.’

Levi’s eyes go wide. ‘And we’re going to trust some random trader’s map?’

I click my tongue, prompting my horse, Duke, to follow Sam. ‘Not sure we have a choice.’

We ride another two hours alone, but with the hills on either side funnelling us into a forest valley, it soon becomes a popular area. We run into eight men and two women, all of us drawing our bows and taking aim as we slowly pass by each other. I’m not sure if it’s our weapons or the promise of malevolence permanently stamped on Samuel’s face, but no one has tried their luck against us. Yet.

At dusk, we stop next to a small creek. The terrain has changed again; the land is flatter and treeless. Mostly a barren prairie with some foliage along the water.

‘No fire tonight,’ I say, tense. My eyes clock a few of the lousy options for cover if we’re attacked. ‘And we shouldn’t do tents.’

No one objects. We all saw the bodies left next to a smoking campfire yesterday. A wake-up call to be more alert. Less seen. ‘I’ll take the first watch.’

Samuel squats for a drink from the creek. ‘And you, kid, will water, feed and brush down the horses.’

Levi tosses one of the packs he untied from his horse. It lands not far from Samuel’s feet. ‘It’ll go faster if we all work together.’

Samuel wipes his mouth with his shirt. Venson the vein making another appearance.

‘Sam,’ I warn.

‘No,’ he snaps at me before stalking towards Levi. ‘You listen up – I don’t know how you got here, but you damned sure haven’t earned your place in the elite guard.’ He retrieves Levi’s pack and throws it hard at Levi’s chest.

The kid falls back a step as he catches it, face tight. But, miracle of miracles, he pauses to think before he speaks. ‘I’m not an elite guard, yet, but I am a trained soldier – two years ago, I was the first they allowed to enlist at fourteen. And I’m here because I won the Teelerman tournament. I chose this as my prize.’

Sam and I share a look. The Teelerman is a choose-your-weapon obstacle race, mixed with a tournament of battles. It’s for soldiers of all ranks.

I’ve won it twice with my bow.

‘They let you choose this mission as your prize?’ Sam says in disbelief.