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Treasure
ZOE DAWN
She is beautifully wild.
Mum’s words tangled with my eager thoughts of my new treasure. It was her usual excuse to the Doyen to explain my hazardous and reckless adventures outside the boundaries of our village.
When Mum would speak these apologetic words, the leaders would surprisingly nod in agreement, except serious Sister Nikita. Their amused grins would stretch wider as they allowed me to reveal my adventures, and then afterward, they sent us on our way. It seemed the only one distraught by my endeavors into the unknown was Mum.
But I could not fault her for her worry. It was a village rule and I had been breaking those since I was eleven full seasons, dragging my best friend through the tattered jungles of the past to explore what was being hidden from us. Our close calls from other humans, wildlife, and the anaman far-outnumbered our safe journeys.
My gaze drifted down to my stolen prize, and despite our dire circumstances, I grinned like a crazed hyena. The ancient ones’ animal picture book I had discovered a few years back was all I had to compare my giddiness to, but it was exactly how I felt, like a grinning hyena.
The dirt embedded in my fingernails made the object sparkle even more than it had on that shelf. I slid the tips of my fingers over it, admiring its smooth, cool surface. Finding it had been completely worth the risk. It was too bad the male anaman had showed up when he did. I knew there were more treasures to be found in that hidden room of theirs.
A clatter echoed down the darkened path across from me, yanking my attention back to my surroundings. Green vines clung to the broken ceiling, spreading in every direction and covering my view from a clear escape route. Running was the quickest way to my death bed, but remaining mashed between the crumbling wall and this barely sturdy piece of rotting timber would only lead to my capture.
Death is by far the better choice.
The late afternoon humidity was extra thick, with the cracked ceiling allowing the outside air to infiltrate the inside. I chewed on the gums of my cheek and brushed my inky, curly hair away from my eyes. Sweat dripped from my hairline, and I wiped it away as I turned my ear toward Kia Lynn, who was hissing from across the darkened corridor.
Peeking around the flimsy wood, I pressed my finger against my lips, then pointed in the direction of the metal stairs leading to our sublevel secret entryway. She vigorously shook her head. Her auburn dreads whipped from side to side, and they matched the crimson flush speckling across her cheeks. I had made her angry.
What else was new?
I grinned and pointed again, then whispered, “This is our chance. No more stalling.”
Kia Lynn gulped. She loved the thrill as much as I did, but this time, we had gone too far. This new tribe would skin us alive if they caught us. Then they might eat us while we were still breathing. Mum had warned us of their traditions when we first discovered their settlement. They had come from the sky and the Doyen had refused to meet with them, afraid their presence would bring the wrath of our Goddess and her four Mountain Gods upon us.
It all seemed ridiculous to me, but I had been in this situation before with other tribes, and none of them would hesitate to use my flesh for their needs while I was still breathing. I had to believe there was nothing different with this one.
I ran my finger across the rune of the thurisaz, the thorn, which was tattooed on my forearm, invoking the protection and luck to encase us both. Then again, I traced the kenaz rune across my heart, kissed my fingers, and held them to the sky for Goddess to bless. My gaze traveled over to Kia Lynn, who was tracing her ansuz marking on her chest. We had the Divine on our side.
I raised my brows when Kia Lynn’s eyes turned toward me and held up three fingers. I mouthed, three. Then I dropped a finger. Two. Another finger dropped.
“One,” I hissed, tearing from my hiding spot and sprinting for the stairs. The board I was hiding behind smashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
Kia Lynn’s scrambling footsteps were right behind me, and her ragged breath grew more frantic by the second. She was afraid.
Up ahead, a large figure burst from the rubble of one of the rooms and loomed above me. I skidded to a halt and scooted frantically toward the other corridor, dragging Kia Lynn behind me. The smirk on the taut gray face sent a shiver down my spine. I had a feeling this was a game to him and nothing more, but I was not sticking around to find out.
Before rounding the next corner, I glanced back the way we had come. He had not budged, aside from folding his arms across his overly muscled chest. I held my hand up and turned my palm toward me, before wiggling my fingers at him in blatant disrespect, then I tore off for the gaping hole in front of us that led outside.
Wild foliage of various species had wrapped themselves along and up the broken walls, making it appear as if we were running into a wonderland of sorts. But I knew it was a façade. This world was filled with the darkest enemies, especially the ones who flew above in their shiny machines.
White-and-purple flowers danced with the wind just outside the doorway, and as Kia Lynn blew past them ahead of me, the vines fluttered around us in unusual gusts. Kia Lynn’s locks hovered around her head as if by magic, and the view almost made me halt midstride.
From the shadows, a dark-haired girl caught my eye. She was standing as still as a statue just within the darkness of the vegetation, her tall stature towering nearly a head above my own. Her lips quirked up slightly into a smirk when I did a triple-take. Waving her fingers, almost as if she were taunting me, she then ducked into the blackness.
As she disappeared, a searing pain ripped deep within my stomach, and I curled over when it shot through my body and spread like a fire had ignited in my veins. Heat rose to my cheeks. I flinched as the trees swayed to the side and the earth violently quaked beneath my feet. Shooting out my hand, I grasped for anything to hold onto, biting back a scream when an explosion of intense heat rippled through my head. Unable to stop myself as the ground continued to shake, I tilted. A squeal burst from my lips when my foot snagged on an exposed root and I face-planted into the dirt.
Gurgling back a groan, I lay there for a few moments trying to catch my breath. The shaking slowed, then settled completely. I slid my knees underneath me, keeping my face pressed against the cool earth. Hot tears filled my eyes. I quickly rubbed them away, but flames still festered just beneath my skin.
“Zoe Dawn, are you hurt?” Kia Lynn asked in a frantic tone, skidding to a stop next to my head.
I leapt to my feet, my gaze circling back around to the spot where the girl had stood. “We must get out of here.” My voice quivered with emotion.
I reached out for Kia Lynn’s arm. She was trembling. Our eyes met briefly, and by the look of terror in hers it was obvious the ground shaking was not just in my head. Dragging her alongside me, I did my best to ignore the heat in my veins and the bursts of wind that seemed to be swirling around us.
The vegetation’s twigs snapped at my arms and legs when we pushed through the thickest area, leaving scratches I would be lectured about later. We did not usually take this route, but we were familiar with this forest and the trail that led home was not much farther. Silence surrounded us for several ragged breaths before we broke through the brush.
My gaze swept across both directions. The pathway was quiet. We crept onto it, then sprinted toward our village.
As we neared the hidden trail that brought us to the village entryway, I glanced over at Kia Lynn. She was limping and her pale skin was reddened from the sprint, but her hair was no longer floating. It was possible I had imagined it.
She threw me a tight smile. I grinned back, grateful the sweltering heat was subsiding. I stepped closer to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders to give her a squeeze.
“Did you see the giant girl?” I threw a glance over my shoulder, making sure no one had followed us.
We veered off the main path and circled around the two large trees that marked the upcoming trail to the mountainsides that led to our village. The ruins on the other side of the smaller structures peeked just above the dirt as if they had grown there like the trees. We swerved around each one following the trail as it gradually inclined.
Kia Lynn shook her head. “I was too busy watching out for trees and their sudden ability to wipe us flat on our faces.” Her smile twisted into a smirk.
I shoved her, then laughed. “Shut it, keefie.”
Her brows shot up. “Keefie? That’s a new low. The only fool around here is the one who risked our lives for a silly contraption.” She snuck a glance at my hand, which was still wrapped around the object. “Can I see it?”
I skidded to a halt and looked behind me. Once I was positive no one had followed us, I pulled her under the canopy of a tree, then held out the object. She picked it up and examined its shiny exterior. Her fingers ran along the narrow edge of the rectangle-shaped object and then back over the top. My face contorted as I watched her handle it so carelessly, but she did risk her life so I could have it. It was going to make a fancy new addition to my collection.
“What is it?” she asked, pressing her finger harder. Her gaze shot up to meet mine.
I shrugged. “I don’t know.” A smile teased the edges of my lips. “Yet.”
“There’s nothing to look at.” She flipped it upside down. It looked exactly the same. “I don’t understand your fascination with this junk. How did you know you would find it there?”
I took it from her and tucked it under my arm. “Two days ago I found a door that was opened, in a spot that used to be a solid wall.” I dragged her forward with me, eager to be home. I wanted to examine my new treasure. “I peeked inside.”
Kia Lynn shot me her usual you-are-an-idiot look.
“Don’t judge, sister.”
“Too late,” she muttered, stumbling alongside me.
I glanced down at her leg. I still felt the slight warmth of the strange inner flame, but she seemed injured.
She noticed I was staring and shrugged her shoulders.
“I am fine. It just hurts. The sooner we arrive home, the better.”
We tiptoed through the brush that hid our meager village, careful to secure the vegetation curtain back in place behind us. The mountainsides loomed up on either side of us as we picked our way down the rocky path. My gaze wandered up to the blue sky. The sun was dipping down toward the horizon, which meant we were nearly late. I picked up the pace.
“Ouch!” I cried out, loud enough to attract an outsider.
I hopped away from the boulder protruding from the dirt. My big toe throbbed.
Kia Lynn reached over and held me steady. “You are on a roll today. What is your deal?”
I sighed. “My mum is going to lose her mind. I promised we would be home long before the celebration tonight and that we would not go snooping around the new anaman tribe again. But I had to go back after discovering that room.” I rubbed my sore toes and then stood up straight. “I will not have enough time to stash this away. Will you do it for me?”
“Why do you continue to make promises you never intend to keep?”
I scowled and shook my head. “Will you do it or not?”
“We have the mating ceremony in the morning,” Kia Lynn said, reminding me of another reason Mum would be furious for my tardiness. “I need to hurry home with you. Just hide the lousy thing. We can come back tonight after the celebration.”
My gaze swept over the nearby terrain. There was not much here, but rocks and short weeds. I stepped over the boulder that had nearly had me in tears and jogged to the edge of the cliff. From this vantage point, I could see the tips of a few homes above the tree canopy below us. Only because I knew where to look. To the left was the rocky trail that led down to the village. To the right rose a steep bluff, but a lone tree had grown out from the side of the ridge, intent on surviving no matter what. It would do just fine.
“Wait for me, please.”
Kia Lynn’s brows lifted, but then she nodded.
I crept toward the tree and gingerly stepped on the loose stones, then reached for the nearest branch. After wrapping my fingers around it, I pulled myself closer, searching for a spot to conceal my shiny treasure. The edge of the cliff was so close. If I made one wrong move or slipped even an inch, I would be mincemeat at the bottom.
Turning my attention back toward the tree, a groove near the end of the branch I was holding caught my eye. Right behind it looked like a deeper dip within the trunk. My luck had not run out yet.
“Be careful,” Kia Lynn called from back on the path.
I kept my eyes forward and hauled myself nearer to the curved trunk. Inch by inch I crept closer, until I could wrap my arm around the trunk. I leaned forward and looked inside the dark crevice. Dried leaves and pieces of bark lay at the bottom.
Perfect.
I set the silver object down and piled leaves on top. No one would even think of looking there.
Sliding my way back the way I came, I made the mistake of looking down the sheer drop that my toes were nearly dangling over. My heart beat ferociously against my ribs. I shot a glance in Kia Lynn’s direction, wishing she were closer, when my sweaty palms slipped from the tree branch. My arms flailed out like a baby bird first taking flight, and I bit back a shriek just before my backside connected with the loose rocks.
Black clouds encroached on my sight. I reached up to wipe them away from my eyes, but my feet slipped, and I slid closer to the precipice. I reached upward, straining for the branch I could no longer see, but then was yanked to my feet and quickly dragged from the umbrella of leaves.
