I no longer feel so upset about Ace’s assault. Someday I’m going to make him regret attacking me. If I killed Gabriel and downed two guards, I can definitely take care of Ace.
Maxine slowly approaches us, pressing a finger to her lips, signaling for me to keep quiet. Wreck doesn’t notice her, completely consumed by our scuffling. She steps up to him from behind and slaps the back of his head. He freezes in astonishment for a moment, wide-eyed.
“Damn it, Maxie!” He turns to face her, rubbing his head. “What was that for?”
“Get off her! That’s no way to treat a lady! Where’s your manners, Kris?”
Wreck snarls, jumping to his feet and rolling his hands into fists. “That’s enough, Maxie! You crossed the line! I’m gonna put you in your place!”
Maxine curls her black lips into a mean smirk. “Only in your dreams, boy.”
“I’m no boy. I’m a man.”
“Yeah, whatever. And I’m a ballet dancer.”
“I’ll make you very sorry for saying that!”
“You make me laugh.”
Wreck cracks his knuckles, taking a step toward Maxine. She lifts up her chin, obviously not a bit intimidated. He’s going to kill her, crosses my mind.
CHAPTER 31
“You’re really asking for it now,” Wreck says, slowly approaching her. “I’m gonna destroy you.”
“What’s keeping you then? Come on, little boy. Bring your ass over here, and I’ll be happy to kick it.”
Wreck smiles broadly and charges at Maxine. She quickly moves off the line of attack and smacks the back of his head once again as he passes. Wreck tries to grab hold of her, but she drops down, grabs his legs and takes him to the ground. Wreck plops on his back with Maxine on top. She attempts to elbow him in the face, but Wreck covers. He throws her off and grabs her from behind, wrapping his arm around her neck, choking her.
“Tap!” he exclaims, chuckling. “I’ve got you!”
Maxine just grins as she jabs a finger into his eye.
“Damn it, Maxie!” He releases her, rising to his feet and rubbing at his eye. “I thought we agreed not to eye-gouge.”
“Do me a favor and stop whining,” she laughs, approaching me and taking my hand. “Come with me.”
“Hey!” Wreck frowns. “Kora is my friend. Find you your own friend to hang out with.”
“Hush it, boy! I imagine she’s deathly tired of you by now.”
Maxine pulls at my hand and I follow her, thrilled to be spending some time with this amazing girl.
“I’m coming with you,” Wreck says, following.
“No, you’re not,” Maxine motions for him to stop. “We don’t need your company, Kris.”
He sighs, obviously disappointed. “Have fun, Kora.”
Laughing, Maxine leads me away.
“Are you all right, sweetie?” she asks me softly. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“I’m fine,” I answer. “We were just playing.”
“Well, my silly brother tends to behave a bit out of hand sometimes,” she smirks. “So if he becomes too unmanageable, just let me know. I’ll beat some sense back into his thick skull.”
“Oh,” I glance at her in surprise. “Wreck is… your brother?”
“Unfortunately. Mom adopted him when I was eighteen, so it became my duty to look after him. He’s terrible. Always getting himself into some kind of trouble where I have to come rescue him. And he’s so clingy. But he does make a great sparring partner for training. He has good technique. We used to practice all the time. But enough speaking of that fool. Tell me all about you.”
I tell her my life story. I can’t lie to this girl because she reminds me so much of Amy. We come to a separate part of the village and I can hear the mooing of cows and see chickens in the street. Several women with kids saunter past. They look peaceful. There are no guys with painted faces anywhere to be seen.
Maxine invites me inside one of the houses where we eat stew at a massive wooden table in the kitchen.
“So now you want to become a ranger, do you?” she asks after I’m done telling her my story. “Is that your own decision? Or did my stupid brother put the idea into your head?”
I shrug, unwilling to admit that Wreck did indeed coerce me into joining his gang.
“You shouldn’t listen to him,” Maxie says. “You need to do what you want.”
“I guess I’m a little lost,” I confess. “I no longer know exactly what I want.”
She smiles, “That’s all right, sweetie. We’ve all been there. You’ll figure it out.”
“Are you a ranger too?” I ask.
“Oh, hell no. I wouldn’t tolerate their pointless violence. I don’t want to kill people only because they happen upon our land. I was greatly disappointed when Kris joined their gang last year.” She pauses, her expression distant. “I dream of becoming a healer just like mom. But unfortunately, I’m not so skilled with healing. Kris is a much more natural healer. Tartis thinks I should become a ranger because I can whip any of his soldiers. But I don’t give a damn what that jerk thinks.”
“I heard the rangers were different back when Jingfay was their leader.”
Maxine nods. “Jingfay no longer exists, unfortunately. But yes, this place was very different with her around. She was an Amazon warrior, you understand. And Amazons didn’t tolerate senseless killing. They were peaceful and only wanted to live freely. The taking of Deathfall root during an initiation used to be one of their rituals.” She smiles, tilting her chin up just as Amy did. “I wish I could become an Amazon warrior someday. This is Amazon face paint, by the way.” She points at her face.
“It’s beautiful,” I comment.
“Like me to paint your face?”
“Okay, sure!”
Maxine brings two jars containing black and white paint.
“Is
