Requiem for a Mouse by Jamie Wang Read Free Book Online Page B

softened as she looked at Prince. “Please.”
    Flower and Bolt gasped at the word. Sasha was never one to plead, she rarely even asked. All eyes fell on Prince.
    No more scars.
    “Fine,” Prince lied. With one hand in his pocket, he crunched up his gambling winnings. It afforded him three good knives. “I mean, Sasha asking nicely? How can I say no?”
    Sasha’s teeth crunched together. She stared daggers through him. “You’re not fooling anyone, Prince. You’re going to buy the knives anyway, aren’t you?”
    “No way.” Prince gave her a blank stare.
    Sasha stood and stepped toward Prince, looking down at him. “And with your gambling money?” Her question sounded like an attack.
    Prince stood as well, the tip of his hair reaching her forehead. “You don’t have to worry about how I spend my money.”
    Sasha stepped toward Prince, looking down at him. “Hand it over.”
    None of this surprised Prince. Even when they were starving, Sasha refused to touch his money. She didn’t want to encourage his gambling. He had thought that hunger would break her, but she lasted until they got paid, three days later. He both loved and hated that part of her.
    Prince looked around, unable to meet anyone’s eyes. Sasha’s word was final. After all, they owed their lives to her. In particular, Prince owed double that and a new eye. Still, repayment came in many forms, even if it meant butting heads. He bit into his knuckle as his thumb slipped the ball of money into his mouth.
    “Your move, Prince.”
    The dollar bills tasted salty. He could only imagine the places they had been. With pretend reluctance, he reached into his pocket and spilled his spare coins onto the ground.
    Sasha stepped forward, shaking her head. “The rest of it.”
    Prince didn’t say a word. Sasha knew him too well to give in to his tricks. His face crunched up with fake anger. He reached into his pocket and this time flung a twenty-dollar bill directly at Sasha’s face. She didn’t even blink.
    “Prince.” Sasha drummed her fingers impatiently.
    It’s no use.
    “What?” Prince growled with clenched teeth.
    He shot his hands into his pockets and turned them inside out. Strings of linen floated down around him. Before Sasha could continue her search, Prince turned and ran. He felt the edges of Sasha’s fingers graze him.

MAVERICK
     
    Leave it to Prince to make such a scene.
    One look at Sasha and Maverick knew what was coming. “Okay, okay, I’m on my way.” Maverick sighed and followed after Prince. He could never understand why Sasha cared so much for Prince. All he ever did was cause her trouble.
    “We should be running.” Bolt jogged behind him. “We’ll lose him at this rate.”
    “No we won’t. I know where he’s going.”
    “Where?”
    “The only place in this dump that sells decent knives.”
    Bolt scratched his head. “But he gave all his money to Sasha.”
    Maverick rolled his eyes and sighed. It wasn’t worth explaining to Bolt. Only an idiot would take Prince at face value.
    By the time they arrived at the store, the sun had nearly set. There was barely enough light to see ‘Jynx’s Shop’ carved into a large clay building. Jynx’s Shop took up the space of three houses and looked like it belonged in the stone ages. Crude squares pocketed its sides as makeshift windows.
    Maverick gave the door three sharp knocks, simply out of habit. The knock Mice used at the end of every drop.
    “We’re closed,” a female voice shouted.
    “I’m here for Prince.”
    Just as Maverick was about to knock again, he heard a click. The door swung open to reveal a young woman. Maverick caught himself tracing the length of her body. She wore a sweat-stained button-up and black skirt that fell right above her knees. He forced his gaze back to her eyes. Emerald and violet twinkled inside her irises like stars. Beautiful.
    “Come on in.” The woman moved out of the way to reveal a well-lit room. Strings of lightbulbs shone