The First Kingdom (The Bolaji Kingdoms Prequel)

CHAPTER 14

SANEE CREPT UP TO THE fire and found a boy sleeping, though several feet into the bushes. He hadn't heard Sanee until it was too late. Sanee hit the boy with the blunt end of his bow, knocking the boy unconscious. The other boy was dragged, still awake but begging for his life to the fire by the twins.

"Where are the others?" Sanee asked.

Neke gave the boy a small kick to the leg when the boy tightened his lips.

"You know what I can do to you, little one. You can see it in my eyes. Tell me what I want to know and you won't get hurt."

"There are no others." He spat at the ground. "Only us."

"Why are you lying so far from the fire?"

The boy's brown curls whipped around when he heard the sound of his companion waking up.

"Answer me," Sanee said. He used his elbow to knock the other out again in a swift move.

When the boy realized he was alone for the moment, he let his shoulders fall and hung his head.

"If I tell you, the others will string me to the nearest tree and let an obulong take me."

At the mention of the obulong, Neke and Jiden both looked over their shoulders. Sanee never took his eyes off of the boy as his eyes shifted to one side.

"Why are you watching this fire from the bushes?"

"I'm waiting for the other girl to return."

At the mention of a girl, the twins both perked up and looked at Sanee for confirmation of what they'd heard. Sanee didn't look up.

"What girl?"

"There were two girls here, one green and one blue. The blue one ran off into the woods. We're supposed to wait here until she returns."

"How long have you been here?"

"I don't know, a few hours."

Sanee finally took a step back and scanned the woods as if he could see through them.

"Is it her?" Asked Jiden.

Sanee nodded.

"Do you think she's still in the woods?" Neke asked.

Sanee shrugged.

"The other one, the green one, where is she?"

The boy tightened his lips again as the other boy stirred.

"She's not coming back," he said with a smirk.

"Tie these two up and we'll search the surrounding trees. If she's not in the area, we'll go after the green one. Maybe Adera did the same," Sanee said.

The twins did as they were told and Sanee searched the woods around the campfire. They searched as far as the fire light reached before giving up. She wasn't there. If she was, she'd have seen them by now and made herself known or they'd have tripped over a group of obulongs feeding on her dead carcass. The latter made Sanee sick to think about, but he was glad when he didn't see that either. No body was a good sign she'd followed the others to stay near to her friend.

Adera was loyal. She'd never leave a friend behind. It was her way.

The three young men agreed to stay at the campfire until light, then follow the two boys to their hideaway to get the other girl.

The place where they'd taken Poge was a larger encampment. There were a few tents, small shanties built with gathered wood. Some of the boys slept in the trees. Their beds swung to and fro, their bellies full as they'd eaten all of Poge's kill. They'd tied her to a tree near the center of the group and poked fun at her during the night until they grew tired of throwing dirt and calling her names.

"We'll deal with her in the morning, when we've captured her friend," Their pale leader announced. "Get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow. This meat won't keep us fed forever." He carried his stick of meat to the only actual building: a small habitat built for one. He shut the door, settling in for the night and the others did the same, curling up on the ground and in the trees.

Adera counted close to a dozen of them and no girls of any kind. Since she'd managed to keep her own hat secure on her head, she pulled it down over her ears and watched the encampment go to sleep.

Two boys who stayed awake and took turns walking around the edges of the camp. They used hand signals to communicate—a language so similar to her own, she could make out the meaning. They must have learned it from the mermen, but how?

She looked at the boys more closely. Perhaps there was a merman among them. In the night, it was impossible to tell.

* * *

Adera fell asleep and woke with a jolt. She'd been watching the camp for hours. Now that the guard had fallen asleep themselves, she crept into the camp to where they held Poge.

The boys slept where they fell and most in no particular pattern. The fires were burning low and it looked like it would be morning soon. Poge had taught her to use whatever she could find as a weapon, but warned her against rocks. She'd scoured the brush but only managed to find rocks, so she put two in her pockets and held one in each hand. If nothing else, she'd discovered her aim and strength were weak. She'd need two if she hoped to do any damage.

Poge had fallen asleep against the tree. Adera touched Poge on the shoulder and a hand flew to her throat making her gasp aloud.

Somehow, Poge had managed to get one hand free of the tree and had been working on the other the entire time. Poge held up a finger to her lips and Adera bit back the squeal that was on the heels of her gasp.

Adera helped Poge get her other hand and her feet free of the tree. Then Adera crept behind Poge out of the encampment.

When a hand clamped down on her shoulder, Adera let her elbow fly, hitting a small blue boy in the nose.

As the little boy held his nose and howled. He woke the camp with his cries. Poge dragged Adera away by the hand and through the trees. The others were already in motion and calling the alarm. Poge and Adera raced into the woods, running until they were out of breath.

"You can let go now," Poge said between breaths.

Adera looked down. Only then did she feel the ache of clutching Poge's hand and let go.