Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
"Don't lie to me," Kevin said. "We are in enough trouble as it is."
"My mother didn't tell me why we were running," Neil said. "I never asked her why she finally had enough. I was just glad to get away. We never talked about anything real after that. It was always about the weather or our current language or the local culture—the next time she had anything meaningful to say to me was when she was dying. Even then she didn't talk about my father. Not once did she mention the Moriyamas. If she had, I wouldn't be here right now, would I? So tell me the truth."
Kevin stared at him for an endless minute, then scrubbed fiercely at his face and muttered something in hoarse Japanese. Neil considered reaching out and shaking him, but Kevin dropped his hands to his lap and explained.
"Your father was Lord Kengo's right-hand man, the most trusted weapon in Lord Kengo's arsenal. The territory he held, he held for the Moriyamas. He was the force that kept the empire in line and the name that would take the fall if the government ever caught on.
"His power made you a loose end. You could never inherit his syndicate," Kevin said. "Lord Kengo handpicks his people very carefully to bolster his throne. Nepotism fractures that upward loyalty and leads families to think of their own successes first. He could have had you killed to keep things simple, but he gave you a chance to earn your keep. Your mother enrolled you in little leagues so you could learn Exy. The day you met us was your audition."
"Wait," Neil said. "Wait. What?"
"You were supposed to be like me," Kevin said. "You were a gift, another player for the master to train. You had two days to win him over: an initial scrimmage with us to show off your potential and a second scrimmage to prove you could adapt to and implement his instructions and criticisms. If afterward he decided you weren't worth his time you would be executed by your own father."
Neil swallowed hard. "How did I do?"
"Your mother wouldn't risk failure," Kevin said. "You never made it to the second practice. She disappeared with you overnight."
The heat in Neil's stomach could have been nausea or rage, but he didn't know who he was angry at. His mother had hated his fascination with Exy his entire life. She'd told him over and over he'd never touch a racquet again but she never told him why. He couldn't understand why she had never explained the totality of what they were running from.
"I'm going to be sick," Neil said, getting to his feet.
He was halfway up before Kevin grabbed his wrist to stop him. "Nathaniel, wait."
Neil wrenched free so hard he almost sent Kevin sprawling. "Don't call me that!"
He backed out of Kevin's reach, but Kevin got to his feet as if to follow him. Neil put out a hand to warn him off. His thoughts spun in a thousand directions as he stared at Kevin, at a number and a reputation that could have been his in another life. If he'd impressed Coach Moriyama he would have grown up at Castle Evermore with Riko and Kevin. He'd be wearing the "3" tattoo that adorned Jean Moreau's face.
Neil wanted to hate the way things turned out. For a moment he did. He'd grown up a frightened nothing and no-one when he could have been raised to be a Raven and future Court. Neil loved Exy so much he had to resent being cheated of that chance. But all Neil had to do was look at Kevin to know he would have hated that life too. He'd have learned from the best and played for the best, but he would have been a caged and abused wreck. Maybe he'd spent eight years running for his life, but at least he'd been free.
Now he'd finally hit the end of that leash. Last night Jean said Neil would never be a Fox. He warned Kevin to teach Neil his place in the Moriyama hierarchy and to discipline him for speaking out so strongly against Riko. Riko still considered Neil to be misplaced property. Now that Neil knew the truth, Riko expected Neil to bow his head and fall in line.
"I won't," Neil wanted to say, but what came out was, "I can't be this."
"You should run."
"I can't," Neil said again. Neil realized his fingers were shaking and raked his hands through his hair. It didn't calm the nerves shuddering over every inch of his skin. "I ran for eight years, Kevin. It was horrible even when my mother was alive. Where would I go now that I'm alone? Andrew thinks I'm safest if I stay."
"You said Andrew doesn't know."
"Andrew thinks my father was a gopher who skimmed money off his boss's payment to the Moriyamas. I told him my parents were executed for their treachery and that I ran with the money. Andrew wants me to use the Foxes' infamy to stay safe. If we're in the news every week it's hard for someone to get rid of me, or so he says."
"Notoriety can't save a security risk like you," Kevin said. "You know too much. You could destroy your father's territory by speaking to the wrong people. They knew your mother would never betray her family to the Feds, but you are an unpredictable and frightened child."
Kevin shook his head and bulled on when Neil started to argue. "The master wants to salvage you. He's going to sign you to the Raven lineup in spring. So long as you keep quiet and keep your head down he won't tell the main family he's found you."
"I'm not a Raven," Neil said. "I never will be."
"Then run," Kevin insisted, low and frantic. "It's the only way you'll survive."
Neil closed his eyes and tried to breathe. His heartbeat was loud as gunfire in his ears, drumming holes into his brain. He dug his hands into his shirt, trying to feel his scars through the cotton. When he breathed he smelled saltwater and blood. For a moment he was three thousand miles away, stumbling alone and broken down the highway toward San Francisco. Neil's fingers ached with the need for a cigarette. His legs burned with the desire to run.