Netherworld

by Amy Miles

  No one heard me as I crouched low under the front window and then hurried to the rear of the house. The sun had only just begun to sink below the horizon. Soon, the shadows would conceal me.

  It was easy to get lost in my city of Eimear, a bustling hub, teeming with merchants arriving from distant lands at all times of the day and night. The sound of horses’ hooves and the creaking of wooden carts called me forward. I leapt over muddy puddles and trod carefully around steaming piles of horse dung in the road. Walking past long row-houses with small gardens, I headed towards the markets, allowing my nose to guide me.

  The city centre was a booming market for trade, labor, and general mischief. I usually held an affinity for the latter.

  My boots rattled the loose boards as I passed the docks and then swung north. Dunleary Castle sat high on the hill behind me, a regal mansion of stone and fathomless age, lit by rows of torches. I had heard tales that the castle was forged by the first among the gods. I didn’t know if the tales were true, but I liked to think they were. That at least would be far more interesting than the snotty royals who lived within their walls now.

  “Over here!” Eivin rounded the corner ahead of me and hopped over the crumbling stone wall at the back of Malachy’s fish market.

  “I was wondering if you were going to show this time.

  “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve been pulling double shifts.” He held up his hands. “I’m here to make up for it. Ya asked me to train ya, and I will. No holding back, just like ya asked.”

  “Alright.” I pulled my dress up over my head.

  Eivin laughed when he saw my leathers.

  “I shoulda known you’d have another pair squirreled away somewhere.”

  I grinned and patted my dagger. “Are we gonna talk or fight?”

  “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  The challenge in his voice didn’t hold its mocking tone. I knew then that he’d be true to his word. No holding back. For the first time I’d get a proper fight.

  “Aye. I was born ready.”

  “I bought these for ya.”

  I tugged on the gauntlets Eivin handed to me. The leather clasped to my wrists and wove up my arm to secure below my elbow. The boiled hide was strong and thick. Soon enough it would mold to my skin. Like my new leathers.

  My halter top was form-fitting. My skirt was short and pleated with strips of crimson cloth. My laced boots rose to my knees, hugging my calves.

  It took me nearly two full moons to find a leather trader willing to deal with a girl, let alone one capable of designing a set of leathers for one. Eivin had stamped on my toe when I bucked at the exorbitant price I was quoted. I knew I was being gouged, but each morning when I slipped into my battle armor, I knew it was worth every soul I had to ferry to pay for it.

  The leathers, though made by the same designer as my former pair, felt different against my skin. Maybe it was just because I hadn’t had a chance to break them in. Maybe they just made me feel more exposed than my former fighting apparel.

  I missed pants.

  A thick plaited necklace hung from my neck. Eivin made it from strips of leather and the bits of bone from the Lorcan who attacked me. He even made a set of earrings to match. They were a peace offering that I refused to acknowledge but felt bound to wear them. To some it might seem gruesome, but I wore it with pride. It was a reminder that I survived and it didn’t.

  Eivin waited for my signal to begin. I reached for the sheath at my side and drew my glass dagger, holding it at waist height. “Ready.”

  I blinked and nearly missed Eivin’s dive. Taking the brunt of the impact in my stomach, I curled my spine as we slammed to the ground. Using my momentum, I knocked him aside. He was on his feet and crouched low by the time I turned to thrust out my leg.

  Eivin knew me too well. Called me predictable. I hated it. He knew that as well.

  “Too slow.” He grabbed my leg and tossed it aside. Then he held out a length of fabric to me. “Put this on. The Lorcan are smarter than ya think. Learn to hunt with your other senses and ya might live.”

  He tied the cloth around my head for me.

  “Eivin, I’m blind.” No light peeked through the thick, scratchy fabric. How was I supposed to fight if I couldn’t see what was coming for me?

  “Feel your body. Move with your breathing. Ground yourself.”

  Not being able to see him was infuriating. He couldn’t seriously expect me to fight like this. The instant I heard the scuff of his boot against the ground I knew he wasn’t bluffing. I turned my hips and swung out my blade aimlessly. He caught my wrist in his hand.

  “How did I best you?” he whispered.

  “Ya don’t have a bloody blindfold on, that’s how,” I grumbled.

  His voice sounded beside my cheek. “I allowed you to hear me. A Lorcan is a crafty bugger. Do not let it lead you into a trap.”

  Focusing on the winds funneling off the bay instead of the beating of my own heart, all I wanted to do was give him a good smack. I heard his movement a split second before his boot slammed into my stomach and I hurtled backwards. My head bounced off a wooden crate.

  “Again.”

  Eivin wasn’t joking when he said he wouldn’t hold back. My ass was killing me after that hit. Thank the gods I chose not to eat dinner or it would be all over the alley right now.

  The next strike came at the edge of his blade and cut a line into my thigh. The instant I tried to react and cover the wound he elbowed me in the stomach and kicked me to the ground.

  “Never show weakness. To do so gives a Lorcan the advantage.”

  I grunted and pushed myself back to my feet. I was really getting tired of this damn blindfold.

  “I won’t be blind when I’m fightin’ one.”

  “And if it attacks ya at night? They blend in, Ryn. Don’t ya be forgettin’ their blood. One wee splash in your eyes and you’re a goner. If ya want me to train ya like a proper reaper then follow my orders.”

  Eivin had been stern in the past, but this was a bit much. Instead of questioning him and risking another sucker punch, I bit my lip and raised my dagger. As he shifted away, I strained to hear any hint of his whereabouts. And that was when I caught the faintest hint of his leathers rubbing. He was right in front of me.

  I swung my blade and heard him grunt. Advancing without thought, I drove my shoulder hard into him, pushing him back against the wall. Then I ran my boot down his inner calf. His second grunt of pain was both satisfying and weird. I felt guilt and pride mingle together as I jabbed him in the ribs and then backed away.

  “Aye,” he coughed out. “That was a skilled attack.”

  I balanced my weight, remaining light on the balls of my feet, but he seemed to need a minute to catch his breath again.

  “Lorcan are cunning beasts. They will root out your weakness, so show them none. Stay unpredictable.”

  Suddenly, I heard Eivin dart to my right. I reacted instinctively and landed a kick perfectly in the crook of his knee. He crumpled to the ground with a load groan.

  “Yes!” I tore off my blindfold and raised my hands overhead in victory, only to find myself hurtling towards the ground a second later. Blood stained my teeth as they sank into my lower lip when I hit.

  I rolled to my side and spat. “What the hell was that for?”

  “Don’t get cocky,” Eivin reprimanded as he leaned down over me. “Never drop your guard until you bind it.”

  I shoved my hair out of my eyes, breathing hard to ignore the pain. “We shouldn’t be binding ’em, cousin. We should be killing ’em.”

  Eivin hesitated before shaking his head. “That is not our way, Ryn, and you know it. We capture to release them to Hollow Earth. Those are the king’s orders.”

  Pushing up to a seated position, I was careful not to wrap my hands over my bruised ribs and betray my weakness. Eivin would only exploit it and use it as another teaching tool later.

  “Every Lorcan that passes through that veil is a threat
. We could end this war before it even began if we whittled down their numbers.”

  “Keep your voice down,” he hissed and glanced back towards the alley to make sure we were still hidden from sight before he moved closer.

  “You can feel them. I know ya can. Their rage is growing. Soon enough, binding won’t help ya. They must die by our swords.”

  “Enough,” he growled and pushed past me.

  “What are ya so afraid of?”

  “You dying.” His shoulders slumped.

  “Aye, but you won’t be letting that happen, now will ya?” When I placed a hand on his shoulder, he shrugged it off.

  He refused to look at me when he spoke again. “The next time you see a Lorcan, you’ll do what I do. You run, Ryn, and don’t ya be lookin’ back.”

  I’d never known Eivin to back down from an honest fight. It wasn’t in his nature. For him to even suggest running as an option for himself shocked me.

  “Is it the king who has you running scared? He is just a man.”

  “No,” he roared and spun to look at me. “He is far more than that. Don’t ya get it? He wasn’t born into his seat on the throne. He took it by force with the money he got from marrying the queen and made himself a god. A man like that will do anythin’ to silence the likes of you and me if he feels threatened. So you run when I tell ya to run. Understood?”

  I frowned. “The truth has to be shared. You said earlier that I was right. Were ya fibbing to me, cousin?”

  Eivin looked away. “Some costs are too high to pay.”

  “What are you talking about?” I stretched out my hand to take hold of his arm, but he pulled away.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Don’t you be lying to me. I know you better than anyone else.” I didn’t like the way he kept his face hidden in the growing shadows.

  When I tried to reach out for him again, he seized my hand and shoved it away, spinning me so hard that I slammed into a stack of crates lining the wall behind me. I turned my nose up at the scent of yesterday’s catch.

  A sharp sting raced across my cheek a second later and I barely had a chance to get my blade up to counter his next attack.

  “Be on your guard at all times.” He growled and pressed me back against the wall. “Trust no one.”

  I kneed him in the groin. The instant he released me I shoved him back and pressed my blade to his throat.

  “Are you meaning that I canna be trustin’ you as well?”

  When he swallowed, his Adam’s apple grazed the edge of my dagger. “What do ya think?”

  I stared at him long and hard then shifted the blade in my hand to hit him with a right hook that he could have easily dodged, but he didn’t.

  “You want to know what I think? I think you’re scared and you’re trying to push me away. To put distance between us. And that’s a shite move coming from you.”

  Eivin turned his head to the side and spat out a small glob of blood onto the ground.

  “You’re a right arse.” I pushed back and slid my dagger into the sheath at my hip, then turned to retrieve my dress.

  “Aye, I am. And for good cause.” He suddenly sounded so deflated. “I didn’t mean for it to go this way.”

  I wadded up my dress, not looking forward to having to put it on again. It was itchy. “Cryptic messages aren’t you, Eivin.”

  “I’ll stop being cryptic when ya stop being so bloody cocky.”

  A small smile tugged at my lips. I couldn’t help it when I saw a glimpse of the boy I knew and loved peek out. “I wasn’t.”

  “You were.” He didn’t look away. “Stop letting things distract ya from what’s right in front of ya.”

  “Meaning?”

  “A life.” He stepped closer. “You still have a chance to let the rumours fade and keep your head down long enough that maybe the king will forgive what ya have done.”

  The look in his eye worried me. There was no fear to be seen. Only pleading.

  “Something has happened. What aren’t ya telling me?”

  For every step he took forward I stepped back.

  “You’ve been too careless, cousin. I know what you’ve done,” he accused. “Think of your family. Do you really want to see them banished alongside ya?”

  “I won’t be banished. And neither will they.” I should have known he’d find out about Alana. I wasn’t meant to help her see her brother or let her linger in the Eimear, but I couldn’t let her go just yet. I needed to know more about Devlin. “I’m being careful.”

  “Like hell you are!” He closed the gap between us. “I followed you to that cancer centre to make sure you were safe, Ryn. I know a human saw you. He touched you and you did nothin’.”

  My mouth fell open. I tried to speak, but my frustration at his invasion of my privacy was hard to hold back. Not to mention I had no way to deny his allegations.

  “How could ya let this happen?”

  “It’s not like I planned for this—” I stopped in mid-sentence. “You knew it could happen, didn’t ya? That some humans can see us.”

  Eivin shifted uncomfortably. “No.”

  “Aye, you did. You’re lying to me again.” I pressed forward this time, jabbing him in the chest with my finger. “How could you not tell me?”

  “I’ve heard rumours, nothing more.”

  I closed my eyes, thinking back to how conflicted I had been when Devlin touched me. About how I’d spent an entire night obsessing over it. I knew the moment he took my hand that the hatred I’d been building against him for aiding the king was all a lie. He was nothing more than a human, Alana’s brother. A man who somehow managed to breach the veil between our two worlds.

  That had to mean something.

  We’d been told our entire lives that it could never happen, but staring into the hollowness that took up residence in Eivin’s face, I knew this was just another lie. He knew something.

  “Is he the one you saw after the Lorcan attack?” he asked. “The one who tried to get help for ya?”

  “Aye.” I nodded and began fumbling with the lace collar of my dress that I still held tightly in my hands. Ma would kill me for wrinkling it so badly, but I needed to strangle something and Eivin wasn’t an option...at least not until he gave me the answers I needed.

  Eivin sighed and leaned back against the wall. “And you assumed he was a reaper.”

  “I couldn’t have known he was a human, could I? By the time I realised the truth of it he confronted me.”

  “Did anyone else see?”

  “I don’t think so.” It was hard to remember every little detail of what happened once the shock of who and what he was finally sank in. “The other banshees were still collectin’.”

  Eivin plunged his hands into his hair, tugging slightly until he released his hold with a heavy sigh. “I’d wager you got off on this one since you’re not rottin’ in the dungeon right now.”

  “This wasn’t my fault! If you weren’t keepin’ all these secrets from me I might have not walked in blind like that.”

  “Keep your voice down,” he hissed again.

  We both ducked as a man passing the alley peered into the darkness, but we were out of sight, tucked into our small corner. When he had passed, I released a shaky breath.

  “I need the truth, Eivin.”

  He shook his head. “It’s not for me to tell.”

  “Like hell it isn’t!” I gripped his arm tight. “You owe me this.”

  “Aye.” He sighed and his shoulders slumped. “I canna tell you much. Just that it’s happened before. Some call it the balance, a way of keeping our world in line with the humans. Without that...chaos.”

  “Is that what’s happenin’ now? Chaos?”

  Eivin looked hard at me. “Ya need to start acceptin’ that this is bigger than us. There are forces at work that we canna be messin’ with. Promise me ya won’t be going back for him, Ryn. I know you and the way your fool mind works. Let it go before something ya do just makes things worse.
”

  “You can’t be serious. A human can actually see me and ya just want me to walk away? This is historic!”

  “No.” He took hold of my hand. “It’s suicide. You’re already dancing with the Devil. Don’t give the king a reason to toss your family over the wall with ya.”

  I sobered at his words, but Devlin could be the answer to so many things.

  “I know that look.” Eivin shook his head. “You’re not going to listen to me, are you?”

  “I’m sorry.” I smirked. “Were ya saying something?”

  He pressed his lips into a thin line. I could tell he still wasn’t telling me everything. Moving to stand next to him, I pressed my shoulder against his arm and leaned in.

  “I promise I’ll behave if ya tell me what’s really eating at ya.”

  “You’re crossing your fingers behind your back.”

  When he laughed softly, I nudged him. “Stop stalling.”

  Leaning his head back against the wall, he spoke to the night, “I’m being sent to the front lines, Ryn. We leave tomorrow morning.”

  “What?” I thrust away from him. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. “You’re the best reaper we’ve bloody well got.”

  “We both know that’s not why.” Eivin’s dimples disappeared when he grimaced. “You made waves, little cousin. I’m being removed to keep you silent.”

  He placed his hands on my arms. “That’s why I’ll be needin’ ya to be careful. You canna risk the lives of your family for a fool’s errand.”

  My nails dug into my arms as I hugged myself. Too many men had walked the narrow path leading to the Wall these last few months. None had yet to return. “How long will ya be gone?”

  The desolation in his face told me all I needed to know. He wasn’t coming back. Ever.

  My throat clenched as I watched him fumble with the silver ring sitting on his middle finger—his family crest. It was a physical reminder of the burden as eldest son to bring honour to his family. “I swore an oath to serve and I canna go back on that now.”

  “You’ll die.”

  “Maybe.” He looked down at me. “But I’ll also be holding the line for ya. I get to keep ya safe.”