Fif15teen Page 27

  Chapter 25

  Law 24

  Dogs Shall Never Trust Angels

  Thaniel watched with his mouth lifted in a snarl as the boats drifted silently upriver. He and his Dogs were on their stomachs, camouflaged in the corn, spread out in a long line just out of eyesight. His hackles were up; he didn’t like the corn and just on this brief journey they had lost two boys to treacherous traps. He bubbled with rage. Fifteen was his, made specifically to suit him, yet it had gotten frustratingly out of control. Just one small mistake all those years ago had turned his paradise into purgatory. He growled deep in his throat when Pox came into view. She stood up tall and anxious in a boat full of Angels that crouched low behind her, scanning the corn nervously. Just a bit closer to shore; and they would be in arrow shot. His best archers fanned out to his left and his right, itching to send their deadly missiles flying.

  “Come out, come out wherever you are!” He heard Pox tease from the center of the river and his blood boiled with annoyance. How long will it take for her to finally forgive him, he wondered to himself.

  “There’s not enough,” Javier hissed as he counted the Angels. “Where are the rest?” Thanial’s eyes grew wide when he realized, too late, that he had been tricked.

  “Smart girl,” he whispered as arrows rained down from behind them.

  “Bloody ’ell! Fire, fire, fire!” Gideon bellowed, kicking the archers into action. Boys toppled over like dominos before the remaining archers sent a volley of black-tipped arrows sailing into the sky. A few Angels screamed and several bodies hit the ground hard when the arrows found their marks. The Angels on the river took the opportunity to glide quickly ashore. They beached the boats and used them as shields as they sent more arrows into the corn. The Dogs were trapped, attacked from both sides with nowhere to run, and all Thaniel could do was laugh.

  Boys scattered in every direction, firing arrows as they ran. Gideon grabbed Thaniel by the collar and dragged him, still laughing, toward the river. If they hadn’t burst through the tall corn just as the Angels were reloading their bows, it would have been the end for them all. As luck would have it, the girls were surprised by the horde of fleeing, screaming boys that burst from the corn and charged toward them firing arrows, throwing spears, and chucking jagged rocks. A good number of girls fell to the unpredicted onslaught, giving the boys the upper hand. Fists flew, legs kicked, and the sounds of fighting echoed through the corn.

  Gideon searched for Thaniel and wasn’t surprised to find him sitting on the rocky shore staring in Pox’s direction. He was on his way over to slap some sense into the boy when his leg exploded in pain. He looked down to find a red-tipped arrow protruding from his thigh. He sidestepped another arrow that whizzed by his arm. His knee buckled and he stumbled. He went with the fall, dove, and rolled across the sand as he simultaneously snapped the shaft off, leaving the head of the arrow buried in his leg. He came to his feet in an all-out run. He spied the girl that shot him and charged her. She reached behind her for another arrow but found her quiver empty. Her eyes widened and she turned to run but stopped cold in her tracks when Gideon’s morning star slammed into her skull. He shook it free and ran on, howling like a madman. He hacked to the left and heard a satisfying crack when his weapon made contact with an arm, he spun and swung low, mangling the legs of an Angel who had been advancing on Javier with a wickedly sharp knife. As she fell, he snatched the knife from her hand and threw it into the neck of yet another Angel, who dropped like a stone. He was a one-boy-wreaking machine, fighting with a blinding warrior rage. He helped Javier up, and together they fought through eight more girls before the Hispanic boy was felled by an arrow to the eye.

  Gideon looked around, his vision blurred by blood that splattered his face and body. There weren’t many boys left, but those that remained were improving their odds dramatically. He watched a Japanese boy named Tadashi take out two girls at once with a razor-sharp Katana. Another boy called Kolby, a former gymnast from southern California, flip-flopped across the sand, killing Angels with such beautiful grace that Gideon was impressed, even though the boy wore skintight fuchsia short shorts and a matching headband. MacNab had one girl thrown over his shoulder kicking and screaming, another squished under one booted foot, and a third dangling by the neck from his clenched fist. He shook her like a ragdoll as he cursed in a Scottish brogue so deep Gideon had no idea what he was saying.

  As he watched appraisingly, he heard someone sneaking up on him from behind seconds before a sword whizzed through the air. He ducked and spun around, coming face to chest with a six-foot Amazon. She was at least a foot taller than him, and he had to tilt his head back to get a good look at her. Her eyes flashed a spellbinding hazel and Gideon stared at her, mesmerized. His heart fluttered strangely and he coughed, hoping that whatever bug he swallowed would find its way back up his throat.

  As a fifteen-year-old boy in the postwar streets of London, he had no interest in girls. In fact, he never noticed a single one that didn’t bump directly into him. The only girl he ever liked was his sister, but she didn’t actually count since she was only two the last time he saw her. This complete disregard for girls had followed him into Fifteen. He had never envisioned a girl any other way but dead until he looked up at this blonde giant. Something switched on inside him that he couldn’t understand. For some outlandish reason, he didn’t want to kill her. He rubbed his head nervously, wondering if his brains had finally broken through his skull and were now spilling down the back of his head. She was a beautiful goddess with a single mission, to kill him. She swung her sword clumsily, and he danced out of the way.

  “I kill you,” she huffed in a heavy German accent and swung the massive sword at him again. He skipped easily out of the way. He couldn’t stop staring at her, and a creepy smile spread stupidly across his face.

  “Why you smile? Dumb Dog,” she snapped, and her voice tinkled like Christmas bells in his ears. He would have punched himself in the face then if he wasn’t currently worried about the state of his brain. She swung at him a third time, and her sword flew from her hand and landed in the sand. They both looked at it surprised.

  “Blimey lass, you’re terrible with a sword.” He snatched it out of the sand.

  “I make das bread,” she mumbled, terrified. There was no escape. Her back was to the river and she couldn’t swim.

  “It’s yours if you give us your name,” he teased, waving the sword at her. She looked at him confused. “Name…what’s your name?” he asked slowly.

  “Seffi,” she answered suspiciously, but true to his word he tossed her sword back. She looked at it with knitted eyebrows, and in that brief second, he lashed out at her with such speed that she squeaked in fright. He swung his morning star, and it crashed into her sword, smashing it to pieces; then he lunged at her. She screamed as they fell back into the shallow water with a splash.

  Everyone was too busy fighting for their lives to notice when Gideon cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. She froze, eyes huge, body stiff as a board. When he pulled back, she slapped him hard across the face. He smiled and kissed her again, but this time she kissed him back.

  “I’m Gideon,” he mumbled when he finally came up for air.

  “Giddi-kaan,” she repeated tentatively.

  “Please don’t get killed,” he begged. Then he was on his feet running before she had a chance to come to her senses.