Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
I glanced out the window again, down at the city bathed in that same glowing hue. From this high up, it felt like we were floating in the middle of a sea of blue light.
“And now. . .” Leo continued. “Every part of the East, every corner of this territory is tied to us. The color blue runs through the streets, the walls, the clothes. It’s in the blood of the people who live here. It’s our identity. And that identity is power.”
Those words settled in my mind.
The helicopter banked slightly and we flew further away.
I checked behind us and could barely see the Palace.
My stomach twisted.
We’re so far away from Lei and them now. . .
I looked back down.
Tons of houses appeared with blue-lit windows that glowed like jewels scattered across a velvet night.
“Leo?” I inhaled more of the joint and then lifted my view up to him. “What are the lessons going to be about?”
“Going to be?” Leo laughed. “The lessons have already begun. Every word out of my mouth, you must take mental notes of.”
“Okay.” I handed him the joint.
He grabbed it. “Understand this.”
I watched him.
“The truth is how you look at it.”
“The truth?”
“Yes.” Leo flicked the joint, ash fell onto the floor. “Idiots have black and white minds with no gray. No color. Just wrong and right. Yes and no. Good and bad. They look at something and instantly come up with what they think it is, judging it immediately.”
“Instead, they should take their time?”
“Yes,” Leo grinned. “You don’t immediately decide the truth when you hear something, read something, see something. . .you wait. You be patient.”
“And what do I wait for?”
“The whole picture.” He placed the joint between his lips, inhaled and then pulled it away. “You take the journey.”
“The journey?”
“There’s always a journey to the truth. It's never just laid out for you.” He pointed at me with the joint. “And lucky for you, you’re the only one around the Diamond Syndicate with formal education although one could argue that Dima is a walking university.”
“He is smart.”
“Very much so.”
“So. . .”
“Yes, Monique?”
“Why did you kill the cat?”
Leo chuckled. “Why do you ask?”
“Well. . .” I considered everything he said. “If the truth is a journey and it isn’t just right in front of me, then. . .you didn’t just kill the cat to only make Dima remain there with Rose.”
Leo turned to Song. “Do you see that? I told you she was smart.”
Song didn’t seem impressed at all as he leaned over, grabbed the joint from Leo’s hand, and began smoking.
“I will get to your answer about the cat. Don’t worry.” Leo picked up his daughter’s finger and pointed it at his head. “But, not until you understand my first lesson.”
I widened my eyes. “Okay.”
“Remember this. The eyes and brain are easily fooled so one must make choices with their heart, gut, and flesh.”
“Flesh?”
“Nerves.” He tapped Yan’s finger against his chest. “Never make a decision based on what you see or think, focus on how you feel. Always ask yourself, does it feel right? What does your heart say? What does your gut say?”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. I dated this fraternity guy once in college, and… he had, you know, a nice family, a nice car, and he was good-looking. But something just… never felt right in my stomach whenever he came around.”
“Your body knew?”
“Yeah, so. . .I just never went out on another date with him. My friend thought I was insane.”
“Did you ever find out what was wrong with him?”
“Months later, it came out that he was raping women.” I shivered. “He had five victims. Apparently, he always did this on the third date, liked to bite them and. . .”
“He sounds disgusting. I wish I had time to kill him.”
“He’s in jail.”
“Jail wouldn’t stop my blade. If anything, it would make his death easier.”
I blinked.
Song continued to smoke.
“People think I’m a monster.” He wagged his daughter’s finger. “But they’re wrong, I’m a magician.”
Well. . .I don’t know about that.
“A magician works with illusion and tricks.” Leo twisted the finger between his fingers. “And I want you to be a magician now too. In fact, that will be the only way you will survive in the East. Do you know why?”
“Why?”
“You’re a woman, so they’ll always see you as weak. You’re Black, so they’ll always see you as an outsider. You can’t fight, so to them, you’ll just be someone they know they can knock down. Maybe even kill.”
The words hung in the air between us, thick with meaning I wasn’t sure I was ready to grasp yet.
Song handed me the joint.
I took it and for some reason. . .I glanced back out at the city and realized that the helicopter had already made it to the gate.
The dragons guarding the East appeared even more magical at night. Their golden and blue scales shimmered in the moonlight.