Chapter Twenty One
The next morning Grier finds me sitting alone in the Hunter lounge. The Corp has been exceptionally busy today, with young interns as well as veterans shuffling about the building. I stoically chew bite after bite of a fairly bland imitation chicken sandwich. Grier sits beside me and taps on my shoulder with added grit.
“I have some interesting news for you,” she says, eyes shining with excitement. I force myself to sit upright, groaning as something pops in my shoulder. I’m slacking in the physical exercise department. My colleagues in Central would probably hang their heads in shame.
“One of the senior Hunters caught a rogue Harpy and brought it in. He’s downstairs right now being interrogated by Myra, and guess what? He’s openly bringing out information from the Harpy front,” she says.
“Seriously?” I blurt out. A hundred questions race through my mind. Who is he? Where did he come from? Does Asher know about this? Should I check it out? Or should I play indifferent?
“I know, right? Myra wants you down there this afternoon. The place is going crazy, but apparently they’re keeping this pretty hush-hush from Central, so don’t tell anybody, okay?” she says seriously. A few months ago, calling Rupert would have probably been my first course of action. But now all I want is to see how all of this plays out. It’s funny how things change, how people change. Who knows what they might find out from an imprisoned Harpy?
“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed. You should know by now to trust my secret keeping abilities,” I say, giving her a quick wink.
She blushes uncontrollably, knowing I’m referring to her and Sandy. “Right, thanks for not squealing on that one. I really wasn’t expecting anyone to come around,” she admits.
The thought of it still turns a smile on my face. Of any two people, Grier Lan and Sandy Atwood would be the least likely people to fall in love. Then again, a Harpy and a Hunter carry about the same odds.
“While we’re waiting for this interrogation to go down, you might as well tell me how that one started,” I say, glancing quickly at the time. It’s nine now, so I’m giving Myra at least an hour to get the answers she needs, and I desperately need a distraction from all of the uncomfortable thoughts entering my mind.
“You know what? It’s actually really nice to be able to talk to someone about it,” she says, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Why didn’t you?” I ask.
“It’s not because of social status or anything stupid like that, just so you know. I might be vain, even I’ll admit it, but I don’t really care who sees me with him. It’s because of a policy we have here in Ichton. We’re not supposed to be involved with other Corp members like that. I guess it’s because we’re in a smaller atmosphere and we need to keep up our cover. Anyway, I’m pretty sure Myra would kill both of us if she ever found out. But I like him a lot. He’s really sweet and smart, and he takes care of me,” she says, a smile creeping onto her lips.
“Then I’m happy for you,” I reply. There’s nothing I’d like more than to be able to tell her about Asher right now, and the thought of it nestles deep inside me, twisting with contempt. There are so many things I’m dying to get off my chest, to make myself feel better about what I’m doing, and I’m trapped with them inside me.
“Now that you know my secret, it’s only fair that I know yours. Are you seeing anyone?” she asks.
“There might be someone I have my eye on,” I reply elusively.
“Tell me!” Grier exclaims.
“Can’t. If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” I say. Funny thing is, it’s absolutely true.
When I finally head down to the catacombs of the Corp, Myra’s seated outside of a guarded door, scouring over some papers.
“How’d it go?” I ask, cringing as she jumps at my presence, scattering papers everywhere.
“Well, I’d definitely like for you to explain why he’s asked to see you,” the woman says, giving me a hard stare.
“Me?” I ask, perplexed. How would a Harpy even know my name?
“Yes. He explicitly asked to speak with one Piper Madden, said he’d heard you were the best,” she quips.
“Well, I guess that’s flattering,” I mutter, “should I go in now?”
Myra nods, hurriedly picking up her messy papers.
“Keep it short, don’t let him change,” she orders as the guard opens the door for me and lets me in.
As soon as my eyes adjust to the dim light I see a young male Harpy chained to the wall, the thick iron cuffs around his wrists and ankles holding him firmly to the concrete backing. When he sees me he grins widely, showing off a set of perfect white teeth against his handsome face. His light blond hair is long and hangs over his eyes elusively as I pull up a chair at the interrogation desk in the middle of the room.
“What’s up, Madden?” he says casually.
“How do you know me?” I ask carefully.
“Well, you’re Asher’s girl, right? You don’t remember me?”
My heart stops. How does he know about Asher and me?
“I don’t think we’ve met,” I reply simply. He gives me a big wink, as if we’re in together on some kind of joke.
“Let me refresh your memory, sweets. Name’s Dodge, one of Asher’s best friends. We had a scuffle once out in Central, and you were looking dynamite! Too bad I got away, huh? I’m telling you though, that was one of the best fights I’ve ever had with a Hunter,” he says, twisting the word with contempt, “so why’d you let me get away? You had me, you know, pinned down against the ground with your little crossbow pointed at my throat. But then you got up and set me free. I’ve gotta admit, it’s been haunting me ever since.”Oh God, it’s starting to come back to me.
A cold night more than a year ago, and I was out hunting alone. I’d seen him first, prowling the streets on foot, and stalked him for a few hundred feet before he noticed I was there. I’d caught him easily, barely a fight even, but before I could kill him, I thought twice and let him go. But why? Even the memory seems blurry to me now.
“You were too easy,” I say, hoping he’ll indulge a little more information. I recognize him now that he sits before me. That same twisted grin and pompous attitude.
“So it’s true, huh? You did forget. I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
“You’re just trying to screw with me,” I stammer, knowing full-well thathe’s succeeding. Is there more to this that he’s not letting on?
“Oh, if only, sweets,” he says, licking his lips slowly. Ugh. Vomit.
I stand up quickly and knock on the door for the guard to let me out.
“I’m done here,” I say to Dodge, and he only laughs.
“You’ll remember soon enough. And by the way, give Ashey-boy a big kiss from his best friend, huh?’
I scoff in disgust as the guard opens the door and I leave Dodge in the room alone. Myra’s waiting for me, an expectant look lining her face.
“I don’t even want to talk about it,” I mutter, trying to shake the creepiness from me.
“Did he have anything important to say?” she goads, following me as I start walking down the hall.
“No, he was just being creepy and hitting on me,” I say. I’m not even ready to start thinking about the other things he’d said.
“Well, you’ll be happy to know that he’s provided us with some very useful information. He’s given us in-depth insights into Harpy culture and even the army’s battle plans. I think he’s on our side,” Myra informs me.
I don’t even know what to think about it. “So what are you going to do with him now? Integrate him into Ichton society?” I ask, chuckling at my own little joke. When Myra just smiles, my heart stops.
“Actually,” she says, “That’s exactly what I plan to do.”
Time passes in silence. Silence becomes normal, easier. Even my nights with Asher are spent in quiet bliss. We speak little, not wanting to shred our time together with the ugliness of the world around us. Instead we hold our hands out together, comparing the difference in size. We hold each other, waiting for the sun to rise. When he sleeps I watch his chest rise and fall with his breath, I watch the flare of sunlight wash through his hair and brush his skin.
We hold onto these moments, fragile as they are. Somehow we know inside that it won’t always be like this.
I’m having coffee by myself when Shelley finally speaks with me again. I don’t see her coming as I swirl the soft clouds of cream. She stands beside me, and I jump when I see her.
“Can we talk?” she asks timidly. I nod and gesture for her to sit across from me.
“Hi,” I whisper.
“Hi.” I notice her eyes are slightly swollen as she reaches into her bag and pulls out a pile of paper scraps. She spreads them out over the circular table and detailed on each is a tiny sparrow; my tiny, wonderful sparrows. “I found these in your room. They’re beautiful,” she says.
I touch them delicately, lovingly. I know I should be angry that she was looking through my things, but somehow, I can’t be.
“I know I haven’t been honest with you,” I begin, but she holds up a hand in protest.
“I should have known better to trust you, Piper, and you should have known better to trust me, but that’s not really important anymore, I don’t think. These are from him, aren’t they?” she asks.
I nod, and she traces over one that was carefully etched onto a slip of scrap metal. “They’re beautiful. I didn’t know you were still seeing him,” she continues.
“We didn’t tell anybody. I didn’t tell anybody. It wasn’t just my secret to tell,” I reply. She reaches out and takes hold of my hand. Her eyes are wet with threatening tears, but her lips are smiling.
“I understand. As much as I can, anyway, and I can’t stand not being around you. Next time, you just tell me that there are secrets too secret even to tell me,” she says.
I laugh and roll my eyes. “That’ll drive you insane and you know it,” I say. We resume like nothing ever happened between us. That’s one of the better parts of having a best friend; that even after being wedged apart by circumstance, things always seem to melt back down to the way they were. We stand when she’s ready to leave and embrace each other, squeezing tightly.
“I’m happy we cleared things up. You’re my best friend, and whenever you’re ready to talk about things, I’m here, okay?”
“Shells?” I whisper before she gets ready to leave.
“What’s up?”
“I have secrets too secret even to tell you.”