My lips graze the outer edge of her ear and her eyes close.
I whisper, “I’m sorry.” It takes every ounce of strength to pull back.
Her eyes flutter open and a tiny little line appears between her eyebrows. I want to smooth it away.
“For what?”
I’m pulled back into reality.
“For this.”
I push her shoulders until she’s off balance and falling straight back into the nearby garbage chute.
I look back at the brethren one last time and jump in after her.
THIRTY-TWO
Bri
Inever want to think about that trash heap ever again. Unfortunately, the smell makes it impossible to forget. Daisy snorts at me when I step into the stable. Even my loyal h’axom is bothered by my smell. My hair, my robes. Everything stinks. I could kill Tai. He could have warned me or found another way out!
“Yeah, Daisy. I know. I smell terrible.”
“It was that or wave the blaster around, and I was just honoring your wishes,” Tai says as he grabs the giant saddle for the h’axom.
“I didn’t know those were my only two options!” I suspect this was his way of getting back at me for the Wahadi.
“Neither did I, but I made an executive decision,” he grins at me, a failing attempt at innocence.
“I should have left you in the dungeon.” It’s an empty threat, and we both know it.
Brutus snorts and stamps his feet when Tai approaches, also offended by our smell. I slide my hand up Daisy’s snout and overher furry ears. With lazy eyes, she looks over at me and slowly chews through the pile of small grass at her feet.
“You take that one,” Tai says and nods toward another h’axom farther down. One I don’t recognize. I know Daisy has her faults, but at least I’m sure she won’t toss me on my ass in the middle of the desert.
“I’ll take Daisy.”
“No way. It’s too slow,” he whispers, shooting me his most stern look. A look I have gotten used to and no longer has an effect on me. Well, at least not the one he intends.
“Itis a she. And she’s mine.” I couldn’t leave her behind. Plus, she comes with the added benefit of getting under Tai’s skin.
“Fine,” Tai says through pursed lips. He moves quietly around the stable releasing the rest of the h’axom. I’m impressed. It’s a good call. One I didn’t even think about. Now it will be near impossible for the brethren to catch us.
“Oh, come on girl. I know you’re happy to see me.”
I grab the saddle horn with one hand and brace myself when two strong hands circle my waist and lift me up. His eyes sweep over the saddle and h’axom, checking to make sure everything is in its place. Once satisfied, he returns to Brutus and easily pulls himself up and onto the giant animal.
With a snap of his reins, Brutus lurches forward. I tug on Daisy’s, urging her along. She nibbles at the grass before slowly dragging her feet and stepping into the bright morning light.
“Keep up. The brethren will not be happy when they realize we got away.” Brutus breaks into a gallop. Tai moves gracefully, like he’s been doing this his whole life.
Miraculously, Daisy follows at a much quicker pace than I thought she was capable of. I smugly lean forward and give her a grateful pat on the neck. I knew she wouldn’t fail me.
We climbed through deep piles of garbage for hours, the smell curdling my stomach the entire time. If I could have taken a full breath, I would have screamed at Tai the entire way out. Whenpushing garbage out of my way, I got a tiny bit of pleasure from pushing it right into his path. Right now, microaggressions are the only thing keeping me going. And we take it wherever we can get it.
Tai leads us through the winding channel that was once a thriving river. The feeling of the unknown gives me a rush of adrenaline crackling under my skin. I know we’re still in danger, but against all logic, I haven’t lost my taste for adventure.
“I can’t believe we made it out,” I say.
