20 Years Later

by Emma Newman

  Zane gawped at it. “You did?”

  Titus nodded, looking at Zane with those violet eyes. “But I’ve never met him before … I thought it was just a dream, ’til you described it.”

  Miri swallowed hard. “Perhaps … it was just a coincidence.”

  Titus looked unimpressed. “There’s a very low probability of that.”

  Miri didn’t know what to say, surprised by his academic tone, as Zane tried to remember whether his mother had ever told him about probability.

  “The dream was very vivid,” Titus continued. “It felt as if I were being trained, but I was a bit scared too.”

  No-one said anything for a few moments until Titus finished his breakfast and laid the bowl on the bed. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “That was very nice. Tasted strange, but nice.”

  Miri smiled at him, relieved that he was talking at last. “Where do you come from?”

  He considered the question for the best part of a minute, as if weighing up whether to reply or not. Eventually he began. “We …” His voice faltered briefly. “From northeast London, quite a long way away. It took us a while to get this close to the river.”

  “What river?” Zane asked and Titus looked at him disbelievingly.

  “The Thames,” Titus said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

  Zane shrugged good-naturedly. “I’ve never been very far from here.”

  Titus accepted that and scrutinised Zane as he chewed on the willow bark. “Did that horrible man die, the one who found us?”

  “I think he means Jay,” Zane said quietly to Miri. “He’s not normally that bad, but you were in his territory … he doesn’t like that.”

  Titus scowled darkly. “Did he die?”

  Zane shook his head and the scowl deepened. He then looked at Miri. “Why are you looking after me?”

  Miri blinked. “Because you’re hurt, and … well, it seems to be the right thing to do.”

  “Mum always looks after people that are hurt,” Zane added.

  Titus frowned, not taking his eyes off Miri. “What will you want in return?”

  She shrugged. “Nothing.”

  The frown didn’t leave Titus’ face and he didn’t seem very reassured, but he didn’t pursue the issue. “Lyssa will be back soon and then we’ll go far away,” he muttered.

  Neither Miri nor Zane felt it was the time to correct him. “Is she your friend?” Miri asked.

  “My sister,” Titus replied. “She’s brilliant. She’ll come back for me when she knows it’s safe. It might be a few days …” He looked at Miri shyly. “Will you let me stay here until then? It seems safe here.”

  She was about to reply when a loud groan erupted from the other room. “Ah … oh shit that ’urts! Oh … oh … Miri? Miri! You ’ere? Oh …”

  She grabbed more willow bark and hurried off as Titus’ eyes narrowed. He struggled to climb off the bed, clutching at his side where the broken bones complained. Zane tried to tell him to stay still, but he was ignored. Titus made his way to the living room with grim determination and Zane followed, anticipating something dreadful.

  Titus stopped in the doorway, watching Miri tend to Jay, who was now chewing willow bark frantically and grimacing as she cleaned away the poultice and began to treat the wound with fresh aloe. Titus’ shoulders were high and tight with tension, and Zane was confused when he didn’t say anything. Titus didn’t rush in and start to batter Jay; he simply watched.

  Zane edged past him and into the living room. He studied Jay’s wound, frowning. “I’ve never seen a burn like that before,” he commented quietly. He glanced at Titus. “It must really hurt.”

  “Course it bloody hurts!” Jay exclaimed testily, and at a glare from Miri went back to chewing the bark. “This twig ’ent workin’, Miri. It still ’urts.”

  “Good,” Titus muttered bitterly.

  Jay noticed him and struggled to recall his face. “Oh, it’s you,” he finally said and squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

  Titus stared at him, as if willing Jay to spontaneously combust before him. Zane was amazed that he wasn’t shouting at Jay, screaming accusations at him. But the thin boy simply maintained a steady, hateful gaze.

  “What happened?” Jay croaked, and Zane filled him in on the lightning, and then at a nod from his mother, what had happened to Mark and Grame. Jay gripped the edge of the blankets, lips pressed tight together. “Someone should be at the square!” he said suddenly but Miri pressed him back down.

  “Callum is there.”

  Jay relented, tucking his hands into his armpits. Zane had the urge to try to heal Jay, like he had with the Gardner, but with Titus’ baleful glare focused on the patient he felt it was the wrong time.

  A loud rap on the front door made them all jump, so intensely were they watching Miri’s ministrations. It opened before Miri had a chance to reply and Zane span around when Titus gasped at the sight of the visitor.

  Luthor filled the doorway, peering in to look with cold interest at Jay lying prone on the floor. He stepped inside a pace before Miri invited him, irritating Zane and Jay immensely. Zane caught a glimpse of someone else behind him, but it was impossible to see whom.

  “Luthor … what a … surprise,” Miri said cautiously, getting up and standing protectively between him and Jay.

  Luthor did not look like he was in the best of moods. His attention switched from Jay to Miri, then fell on Zane, the muscle in his jaw clenching.

  “I’m here to train you,” he said, clearly not happy about the fact.

  As Zane’s eyes widened in disbelief, Jay spluttered out the bark while struggling to get up and yelled, “What!”

  Miri shut her eyes and paused a moment before kneeling to push Jay back down again. “Luthor, please go outside,” she said calmly, authoritatively. “Zane, go and talk to him. Jay, stay still!”

  Zane didn’t move straight away until she said his name again firmly, then he and Luthor stepped outside. Titus followed, still staring dumbstruck at the figure from his dream.

  The person who was standing behind him at the doorway was a girl in her early teens who moved forward to stand next to Luthor. Zane saw an immediate resemblance between the two. She had Luthor’s scowl, certainly, and the same steely eyes. Yet her features were softer, her lips a little fuller, and her hair, scraped back into a ponytail, was mousey brown rather than Luthor’s dark blonde. Without any conscious intention, Zane compared her to the Red Lady and the girl seemed very plain as a result. She was as tall as Zane, slightly taller than Titus, dressed in an ill-fitting white sleeveless top, brown linen trousers that were too long, and the same type of boots as Luthor wore.

  She reached across to brush a stray strand of hair from her cheek, the movement revealing more of her arm. Both Titus and Zane shot a look at each other. The same red welt that they shared also marked her arm.

  Chapter 11

  AN UNEXPECTED DAUGHTER

  “This is Erin,” Luthor said, without warmth.

  “His daughter,” she added proudly, seeming unconcerned by Luthor’s flat tone.

  Zane’s eyebrows shot up. He couldn’t imagine Luthor having a child, as he seemed too hardened for that. After recently meeting the Red Lady as the only woman other than his mother, Erin was the second girl Zane had ever seen in as many days.

  He remembered his manners. “I’m Zane. This is Titus.” Erin wrinkled her nose. “Those are weird names.”

  Both boys frowned at her, mildly offended, and Zane didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t endearing herself to him at all.

  Luthor’s scowl was set in like a long day of persistent rain. “Why is the leader of the Bloomsbury Boys in your living room?”

  “Because he’s hurt, and Mum is looking after him,” Zane replied matter-of-factly.

  “I could see that,” Luthor rumbled. “I need to speak with her.”

  Zane sighed. “I’ll see if she’s free now, shall I?”

  At Luthor’s nod, he went int
o the house to find her speaking to Jay in a hushed voice. Jay threw him an angry look. Zane tried his best to ignore it and said to Miri, “Luthor wants to speak to you. Really a lot, I think.”

  Miri squeezed Jay’s shoulder. “Try to relax. I’ll be back soon.”

  Jay seethed as she left with Zane. She invited Luthor to speak with her in the garden, leaving the two boys with the new girl.

  Titus pointed at the bruise on her arm. “Did you get that after you had a dream?” he asked.

  She looked at him as if he were an idiot. “I got it from my dad,” she replied, unimpressed by the question. “We were training yesterday … I didn’t move fast enough.”

  “Did he tell you to be faster?” both Titus and Zane asked in unison, and then looked at each other in mild surprise.

  She stared at them. “You two are weird.”

  “Did he though?” Zane pressed.

  Erin shrugged. “Yeah, I think so. Why?”

  Zane rolled up his sleeve to show her his bruised arm and Titus did the same. Erin raised her eyebrows. “You both been training too?”

  “The bruises are exactly the same!” Titus exclaimed impatiently. “Exactly the same place, and both Zane and I had a dream about your father training us and hitting us here, and saying we need to be faster.”

  Erin briefly looked shocked but then her eyes narrowed. “Are you two winding me up?”

  “No!” Zane replied, appalled at the idea. “Why would we do that?”

  Erin shrugged again. She thought a moment and then said, “That’s weird, if it’s true.”

  “It is true,” Titus said as he and Zane rolled their sleeves down. “And you’re right, it is weird.”

  They all looked at each other for a few moments.

  “How old are you?” Zane asked her.

  “Nearly fifteen, I think,” she replied, and Titus and Zane both exclaimed, “Me too!” at the same time.

  This time they smiled at each other, amused at their synchrony whilst Erin looked at them uncertainly.

  “Do you know my father, then?” she asked hopefully.

  Titus shook his head as Zane replied, “I’ve seen him lots of times, but only spoken to him a tiny bit.”

  Erin looked disappointed. “Oh.”

  “Why?”

  “Just wondered what you thought of him … what he’s like.”

  Zane’s brow furrowed with confusion. “Don’t you know? He’s your dad after all.”

  Erin looked down at her boots. “I’ve only known him a few days. He didn’t even know about me until a couple of weeks ago.”

  This piqued Zane’s curiosity. “So you didn’t grow up at the Red Lady’s place?” Zane asked.

  She shook her head, eyes distant and shaded by a pained expression. “No, I grew up with –”

  “Erin!” Luthor shouted from behind her at the entrance to the garden, and all three of them jumped. “We are here to train, not chatter.”

  She hung her head and Zane suddenly felt sorry for her. “Sorry, Father,” she said quietly.

  “Don’t mumble like that!” he said sternly, marching over. “A warrior never mumbles. Eyes straight and chin high if you have something worth saying, or say nothing at all.”

  She lifted her chin and looked at him, yet said nothing. Zane began to chew his lip, brooding. Of all the people she could have sent, why did the Red Lady have to send Luthor?

  Miri emerged from the garden, deep in thought. She passed a brief, worried glance over the three children and then slipped back into the house, drawing as little attention to herself as possible.

  “That’s my mum. She’s called Miri,” Zane whispered to Erin.

  Luthor was looking at Titus. “The Red Lady didn’t mention you as part of the deal.”

  “This is Titus,” Erin said helpfully.

  “I don’t care what he’s called. She said I was to train Zane.”

  Titus patted the air with his hands. “That’s fine. I’m not fit to train anyway.”

  “Good,” Luthor said tactlessly and then turned to Zane. He looked him up and down critically. “Practically no muscle … no stamina either, I should think. No power there at all.”

  Zane fidgeted, somewhat humiliated in front of the others.

  Luthor nodded to himself. “I’ll need to build you up before I can do any useful training with you, otherwise you’ll drop a spear from the fatigue of aiming before you can throw it.”

  Erin snickered and Luthor’s gaze fell on her. “I don’t know why you’re laughing, because you need it just as much.” She fell silent.

  “Do ten circuits of the square to warm up,” Luthor said and Erin sprinted off happily. Zane, slower to respond, finally set off at a similar speed, trying to catch her up.

  Whilst they ran, Luthor watched, shaking his head in disappointment at the way that Zane began to slow down after a couple of laps. Titus leant against the wall. He looked on as Luthor went to run behind Zane, quickening the boy’s pace with his menacing presence. Titus rubbed his eyes and, pale-faced, went back into the house to lie down, leaving his fitter companions to their exercise.

  Over the next few days, everything settled into a routine. Titus became marginally more comfortable around Miri and let her have her bed back. He elected to sleep in Zane’s bed, with Zane on the floor, as Titus refused to sleep or eat in the same room as Jay. Soon after the two boys breakfasted together, Luthor and Erin would arrive and then all morning Zane would be drilled through various exercises with her. Erin took to it all very well, revelling in the exertion, whilst Zane struggled to keep up. It was only the promise of a kiss from the Red Lady for his fantasy delivery of meat that sustained him. Sometimes Titus watched, sometimes he read any book that Miri could lay her hands on for him, but occasionally, throughout the day, he would pause at whatever he was doing to turn and stare at Jay, hate-filled, just for a few moments, and then return his attention to his previous task.

  The afternoons were filled with frantic work in the garden, Zane tired out and slow, Miri desperate to extract all she could to feed the extra people in her care. The Bloomsbury Boys intermittently brought canned offerings to her door, but she was adamant that the healing process would be improved by lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.

  All the while, Jay swore and moaned with pain and frustration but kissed Miri on the cheek every morning and every night, thanking her quietly for her kindness when no-one else was looking.

  A couple of times Zane approached Jay to try to help, only to be knocked back by his bad-tempered refusal to have anyone except Miri near him. In the end Zane gave up, letting the healing take place in its own time.

  On the fourth day after Luthor’s arrival, halfway through one of the training sessions, Luthor called a halt to announce that he was going to pick up some equipment from back in his territory. He gave Zane and Erin a set of exercises to complete before his return and then left at a jog. As soon as he was out of sight, Zane flopped onto the ground and groaned. Erin laughed at him.

  “You’re so soft!” she said.

  Zane pouted. “You don’t have to dig for the rest of the day when we finish here.”

  “I have lunch and then I practise with knives and swords,” she replied, coming over to sit next to him on the old pavement. “After dinner I practise fletching.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Making arrows,” Titus answered for her as he came over to sit with them.

  “You do all that every day?” Zane asked incredulously.

  Erin nodded. “I want to be strong.” Her jaw was set in a way that reminded him of Luthor.

  “I just want to be able to hunt,” Zane sighed. “That’s all. I didn’t realise it would be so hard.”

  “My father’s being thorough. Besides, you should feel proud to be trained by him. He’s the Red Lady’s Champion, so you’re really lucky.”

  “Yeah,” Zane sighed, unconvinced.

  “Are you in the Red Lady’s gang?” Titus asked after a few momen
ts.

  Erin shook her head. “No. I think my father wants me to be one day, though. I think he’s hoping that if I train hard, I’ll be good enough to join.” She looked at Zane. “Are you training so you can join?”

  He shook his head and explained the deal to both of them. Erin looked surprised. “I heard she doesn’t make deals with other gangs.”

  “I’m not in a gang,” Zane retorted. “And anyway, she said it was a special thing.” He puffed his chest out proudly. “Just for me.” He noticed that Titus’ attention had drifted. “You ok?” he asked.

  Titus blinked himself out of his deep thought. “I was wondering when Lyssa will be back.”

  “Who’s Lyssa?” Erin asked and for the first time in days Titus’ face became animated.

  “She’s my sister. She’s clever and …” His voice trailed off and he became distant again. His fingers dug into his palms. “Jay stole her … I haven’t seen her since.”

  “It wasn’t Jay that took her away,” Zane said hastily and Titus’ glare fell on him.

  “It was! I remember, he dragged her off and she didn’t want to go with him.”

  “But it wasn’t Jay who took her away afterwards. It couldn’t have been–none of the Bloomsbury Boys can make lightning like that.”

  “Huh?” Erin’s eyes were wide. “Someone made lightning? Did they make a storm come?”

  Zane described the events of the evening that he and Callum witnessed, and it became clear to him that Titus hadn’t fully realised what had happened. “So it wasn’t Jay. He’s alright really,” he concluded, although he felt uncomfortable. He wasn’t certain what Jay had been planning for Lyssa, but he didn’t think that was helpful to mention.

  Titus’ eyes were shadowed by the depth of his frown. “They wouldn’t have had a chance to take her if he’d left us alone,” he muttered. Then he looked up. “So if he isn’t hiding her, and it was these others, who are they? Why’d they take her? And where is she?”

  Zane looked down, uncertain about what to say. His mum hadn’t wanted to talk about the Unders, and what if she and Callum were wrong anyway? Before he could decide how to respond, he was distracted by Erin, who reached out unexpectedly and squeezed Titus’ hand. “I know how you feel, worrying about someone … it’s hard.”