Sequel: Red Ink, White Feather ›
A Modern Myth
Chapter 2
“I thought you didn’t use knives.”
I turned the blade over and studied it near the hilt, looking for any trace of a signature. “I don’t. This isn’t mine.”
“You stole it? I thought you couldn’t-”
“He threw it at me and forgot to pick it up on his way out,” I murmured. I always had to be careful about talking to him when the guys were around, even if they were asleep. “I don’t steal, Ray. That’s a given.”
The light reflected off a tiny line of letters, right where I thought it would be. I frowned upon seeing it written in Japanese. I knew they wanted to be traditional, but it was pretty ridiculous to me. I had a difficult time remembering the characters, so I stood and went to grab the dictionary I had picked up some time ago.
“Why do you think one of them would be here?” Ray asked. I shrugged.
“He’s after one of you for some reason. I’m almost sure of it. But I can’t understand why,” I said, pausing as I scribbled down the meaning of the first character.
“Yeah, I thought you were only supposed to kill bad people,” he said softly. I knew the thought of one of them dying must have scared him. It sounded like it, anyway.
“We are.” I shook my head and flipped a page in the book. “I guess any system can be corrupted. I don’t agree with a lot of the Order’s decisions, but it’s not my place to argue with them, either.”
“You shouldn’t have to live like this,” Ray insisted, sitting on the other side of the table. “Sneaking out almost every night to go on dangerous missions and kill people-”
“Don’t worry about me,” I said for the thousandth time. I wrote down the meaning and pronunciation of the last character and read through all of it. My eyes widened. “No way…this is impossible.”
“What?” Ray asked, sounding alarmed. I shook my head.
“I’m not completely sure, but I think I know who this belongs to.” I slipped the knife into a hidden pocket and turned off the light, returning the dictionary to its place. “I’ll find out tomorrow. Now that he knows I’m protecting you guys, he won’t be coming back tonight.”
“You seem pretty calm about this,” he said uneasily. I nodded and walked to the back of the bus to get some sleep. I knew Ray was still confused about what was going on, but I figured the less he knew, the better.
I turned the blade over and studied it near the hilt, looking for any trace of a signature. “I don’t. This isn’t mine.”
“You stole it? I thought you couldn’t-”
“He threw it at me and forgot to pick it up on his way out,” I murmured. I always had to be careful about talking to him when the guys were around, even if they were asleep. “I don’t steal, Ray. That’s a given.”
The light reflected off a tiny line of letters, right where I thought it would be. I frowned upon seeing it written in Japanese. I knew they wanted to be traditional, but it was pretty ridiculous to me. I had a difficult time remembering the characters, so I stood and went to grab the dictionary I had picked up some time ago.
“Why do you think one of them would be here?” Ray asked. I shrugged.
“He’s after one of you for some reason. I’m almost sure of it. But I can’t understand why,” I said, pausing as I scribbled down the meaning of the first character.
“Yeah, I thought you were only supposed to kill bad people,” he said softly. I knew the thought of one of them dying must have scared him. It sounded like it, anyway.
“We are.” I shook my head and flipped a page in the book. “I guess any system can be corrupted. I don’t agree with a lot of the Order’s decisions, but it’s not my place to argue with them, either.”
“You shouldn’t have to live like this,” Ray insisted, sitting on the other side of the table. “Sneaking out almost every night to go on dangerous missions and kill people-”
“Don’t worry about me,” I said for the thousandth time. I wrote down the meaning and pronunciation of the last character and read through all of it. My eyes widened. “No way…this is impossible.”
“What?” Ray asked, sounding alarmed. I shook my head.
“I’m not completely sure, but I think I know who this belongs to.” I slipped the knife into a hidden pocket and turned off the light, returning the dictionary to its place. “I’ll find out tomorrow. Now that he knows I’m protecting you guys, he won’t be coming back tonight.”
“You seem pretty calm about this,” he said uneasily. I nodded and walked to the back of the bus to get some sleep. I knew Ray was still confused about what was going on, but I figured the less he knew, the better.