Page 10 of Outfoxed

Carlos didn’t worry me, but Sandro did. In the Alley, there were two classes of mages. One could, through poetry, create explosions. The other could manipulate plastics, a prized skill in a city constantly rebuilding. Either ability would cause me a lot of problems.

In the hands of a master, either power would limit my options for escaping.

I had to give credit where it was due. Sandro had kept his word. If he hadn’t, and if he was a quadrant master like Noah believed, I’d already be on my way to New York. The new information wasn’t helping me ditch my inappropriate interest in the man.

He’d deliberately made my capture more of a challenge for himself.

“Who is the third bounty hunter?”

“A woman named Anna Greene. She’s easy to spot. She’s a black woman over six feet tall. She usually takes the small jobs, but she’s as ethical as they come, and she tries to take the jobs involving women headed to the auction block. If she’s taking a job, it’s because she’s vetted the buyers and believes the woman will be better off in slavery than out in the Alley’s streets. You have a reputation, so she probably wants to see you move up in the world.”

At the rate my brows kept shooting up, they’d permanently adhere to my hairline. “She wants to see me move up in the world?”

What kind of woman thought selling another woman into slavery was moving her up in the world? Then again, the more I learned about courtesans, the more I understood why some women might believe slavery was an upgrade.

I wouldn’t have to salvage to make ends meet, I wouldn’t have to work two jobs, and I wouldn’t have to dive for shelter every day for half of the year.

“That’s one of the oddities about uncontested courtesans, Jade. Sure, you’ll technically be a slave, but one day, you’ll rule an influential family—and then, one day, you’ll be the matron. When you’re the matron, nobody will care where you came from or how you rose to power. It’s a good deal for you, but I’d definitely try to figure out why someone wants you this bad—and turn that into your strength. You’re going to need every advantage you can get. There are worse things to be than an uncontested courtesan.”

So said a man with no worries of ever being enslaved. I refused to allow any of my anger to show. “Anything else I should know?”

“It could be worse, Jade. You could be dead.”

I’d have to do a lot of hard thinking about which fate I preferred. At first blush, death seemed like the nicer of my choices, but in some ways, Noah knew me well.

I was stubborn enough to go toe-to-toe against Mother Nature, and I’d pick a fight with a tornado and do my best to win despite the long odds. “I meant about the bounty, Noah.”

“I know. I owe you my life, but I don’t know how I can help you out of this one. Look for the upsides, own them, and find a way to become queen of the hill. That’s the best advice I can give you at this point. All your bounty is going to do is go up. The longer you evade bounty hunters, the more valuable you’ll become. You can run, but you can’t run forever. And once the families learn how interesting you are, and that you’re capable of avoiding bounty hunters, they’ll do anything to secure you. Sometimes, all fighting does is put you in a losing position. If you want to win this game, fight just long enough to make them believe you’re worth every penny they’re paying for you—then conquer them from the inside. As an uncontested courtesan, you’ll be in a unique position to do just that. You have ambition, Jade. You always have. Use your ambition. If you don’t like being a slave, change the world. But you can only change the world from within the system. Take your time and think about it. Take a shower and think it through. I should have a change of clothes that’ll fit you. Let me do that much for you.”

A shower and clothes wouldn’t sting my already battered pride too much. “All right, Noah.”

He threw his hand to his forehead and faked a swoon. “I never thought the day might come where I could begin to repay my debt.”

“You gave me information on the bounty,” I reminded him, shaking my head at his absurdity.

“And I am grateful you have put your faith in me. That goes a long way towards repaying what I owe you. I only regret there is nothing I can do to make this bounty disappear. Some things are beyond even me.”

Nothing worried me more than a black market operator admitting a bounty was beyond even him. All I could do was accept what neither of us could change with a nod. “Thank you, Noah.”

I meant it, too. Knowing what I was up against would help me defy the bounty right to the bitter end—and if the bounty hunters won, Noah wouldn’t have to worry about his life debt any more. I regarded the man with a slight frown. “Look for more information on this bounty, where it came from, and those hunting for me. Then we can call us even. My freedom is worth as much to me as my life.”

“You have a deal, Jade. I’ll see what I can find out, and then I’ll call us even.”

In some ways, I’d miss my ventures into Asylum to see the bastard, but I figured we’d both be better off freed from debt and obligation. “Take care of yourself, Noah. Send a runner if you find anything out. But you won’t, will you? You’ve already found out as much as you can. Am I right?”

Noah smiled. “I have, but because you asked it of me, I’ll look anyway. Watch your back.”

“I will.”

Friday, May 1, 2043.

Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Alley.

In a few weeks, I wouldn’t even notice how drastically Tulsa’s outskirts had changed, but after a winter of few storms, the destruction served as a harsh reminder of how we’d live for the next six to nine months. Those in Asylum would barely notice—until harvest time came and there was no one left brave enough to gather the crops.

Assuming, of course, anyone braved the fields to plant the crops.