I can hear the markets as we near the Gardens. The vast area of stalls is permanently busy. People always have something to buy, trade or sell, Tahan often says. She slips into one of the many market lanes and I wonder if she’s going to work. But why is she so anxious? I lose her behind the white canvas hangings that separates each stall.
I reach the entrance and search desperately for Tahan, but she is nowhere to be seen. The markets are heaving with people and animals, the noise is loud and constant.
Harries draws alongside me. ‘Is something wrong, Your Highness?’
‘No. I just remembered I wanted to get some, ah, flowers for my chambers.’
I forge off in the direction Tahan took. As we squeeze past the throng of people at the first few stalls of the butchers’ lane, I finally see a flash of Tahan’s flaming hair as she turns into the jewellery lane. The crowd is thinner here and I see her about fifty metres down, talking to a trader over the stall barrier.
Tahan’s never been one for jewellery, except the necklace she always wears that belonged to her mother. I slow my pace and pretend to browse, all the while keeping one eye on Tahan. The stall owners eagerly greet me but I wave them away. Harries’ presence deters them from pressing me. As I get closer, I see Tahan’s discussion with the trader is heated.
Her eyes are wide and her hands are shaking. I can’t hear her words but she is speaking rapidly. I stay four stalls away, not wanting to risk her seeing me. Normally I wouldn’t spy on people, but after last night, spying is what I have to resort to if I am going to find the truth.
The stall owner hands her a piece of paper. She opens it and the anxiety on her face subsides. She gently folds the paper and slides it into her pocket before heading off, this time walking more slowly.
I edge closer, wanting to see who Tahan was speaking with so urgently, but not wanting to be seen myself. I stop at a stall selling high-quality jewellery. From my position, I have a good angle to the one across the lane. I turn my head casually but the trader is sliding down the cotton sheet that covers the stall window.
As I step away to look for Tahan, the stall proprietor says, ‘Good evening, miss. Is there anything in particular you are after? I have more items down the back if you would like.’
Harries looks at me curiously and I step back to the stall. ‘Ah, yes, actually, I would like this ring.’ I point to a plain silver ring.
‘Excellent choice, miss! That will be ten fractions, please.’ Harries steps forward with a pouch and hands the trader money. ‘Thank you, sir. A pleasure doing business with you. Please come again.’
With Harries’ suspicions allayed, I look down the lane but see no sign of Tahan. I feel deflated. This whole episode has only provided more unanswered questions.
I slide the ring onto my left index finger and turn to Harries. ‘Just what I was looking for.’
He looks confused. ‘I thought you wanted flowers, Your Highness.’
‘I did, I mean, I do.’ A man with a grey flat cap, the same young man who was watching me earlier in the gardens, distracts me. His head is turned down, the peak of the cap shadowing his eyes. Noticing me looking, he turns away.
I yell, ‘Hey!’
He sprints away, weaving through the crowd. I chase after him before Harries or the sentinels can stop me. As we enter another lane, the aromas of the candle and perfume lane mix into an unpleasant aroma. The man enters the produce lane and I follow. While I’ve never been allowed to play sports, I’ve always been fast and nimble. I can hear Harries calling for me to stop but I ignore him.
The man reaches the end of the produce lane, which is blocked by a cart carrying fresh seafood. He jumps over it and out onto the North Road, beyond the markets. I plant my right foot and hurdle the cart. I just make it over, my right foot dislodging a snapper. The cart owner yells in protest but I am already on the North Road.
I glance back to see Harries stuck behind the cart and its angry owner.
The capped man dashes into a side street and I yell for him to stop. He ducks and weaves through the streets, veering through pedestrians and almost being flattened by a cart as he crosses a street to avoid me. My breath is laboured and my cloche hat falls off as I rush to catch up to him. The houses become more dilapidated as we pass into the less populated area of the West Quarter. The paved streets turn to dirt and gravel, and my feet kick up dust as I dash past astonished citizens.
As I turn a corner into an empty street, I see the man slip into a house with no glass in the window frames. I slow my approach, holding my side, as I come to an entryway with no door, cautious of what awaits inside. I tentatively step over the threshold. The air is stagnant and the floorboards are thick with dust. I snap my head up, hearing movement from above. I take a moment to catch my breath before climbing the rickety staircase. The handrail wobbles beneath my grasp.
I reach the landing and the floorboards squeak beneath my feet. The narrow hallway has three rooms leading off it. I listen but hear no signs of life. Sunlight illuminates the end of the hallway, dust hanging in the air. Three steps along the hallway the floorboards give way beneath me. A squeal escapes me as I fall. I scrabble for the jagged floor, barely maintaining my grip on the filthy, rotten boards.
I dangle precariously, my fingers slipping. I hear footsteps and I look up to see the capped man approaching. The sunlight shines behind him, casting him in shadow. I try to pull myself up but my strength has been spent on running and I’m losing purchase. While chasing the strange man, I had no fear, but as he moves closer, fear courses through me. What was I thinking, chasing him, ignoring my guards?
I am yanked up by my hands. The stranger pulls me to my feet and places me safely on the sturdier floorboards by him. I steady myself by grabbing his forearms and look up.
I almost stumble backwards into the hole. It’s Jay.
We stand so close together that the peak of his cap almost touches my forehead. He’s taller than me and tilts his head down to look at me. His eyes are darker than I remember, but with a shine to their blackness that stops them from being terrifying. I see him searching my face and it bothers me. I don’t know why. I don’t remember him consciously, this dark-haired man, but something in me knows him. He is engraved somewhere in me, like a tattoo – like my Token, hidden away, waiting to return.
I look down, unable to hold the intensity of his gaze. I shuffle my feet, assessing the stability of the floorboards. I feel a slight tingle on my wrist. I must be slowing time and I don’t know how I’m doing it. I am still holding onto him, fearful that I will fall again. I let go, releasing a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
‘You know, it’s just like you to be caught in that kind of dilemma,’ his deep voice rumbles. ‘Funny how you falling through the floorboards made me finally believe you are you.’
The uncomprehending look on my face must make him realise I have no idea what he is talking about.
‘Creating drama so that all attention is on you,’ he explains. ‘That’s just like the Thea Reid I remember. I had almost forgotten what it was like to be pulled into your vortex. Almost.’
‘What . . . what are you talking about?’
He shrugs off his long emerald coat and drapes it over his arm, revealing the same black jacket with the useless shoulder strapping he wore during the parade kidnap attempt. He pops the stiff collar and says, ‘Oh, come on, Thea, you have a whole damsel-in-distress act. Don’t pretend like you don’t.’
I feel my cheeks burning with anger. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about or who you even are. Can you put aside your unfair judgements and tell me why you were watching me?’ I’ve never heard myself so snarky before.
Momentarily, he looks hurt, but his face instantly changes back to its condescending expression. His smirk, concentrated in the left corner of his mouth, annoys me. Without replying, he turns and heads towards the room at the end of the hall.
I follow him, placing my feet carefully. ‘Hey! I asked you a question!’
/>
Without turning, he says, ‘I heard you, Thea.’
‘Are you going to answer or just retire to the bedchamber in this lovely house of yours?’
He turns and grins – less irritating. ‘Tell me, did they give you wit when they messed with your memories?’ He pointedly waits for a reply, but irritatingly I can’t think of a retort. He turns and enters the room. I am left standing alone, wondering if I should follow him.
He leans back through the doorway, grin in place. ‘You just going to stand there or what?’
I stand with my arms folded before sliding past him into the room. One of the walls is missing its wooden panels, while there is a hole in the corner where the floorboards are rotten through. ‘Why did you come here anyway?’
He leans against the doorway, grinning. ‘Here? The house was obviously abandoned and I need a base. It’s also the perfect place to lure a damsel in distress.’
‘Or hoping to build a new life for yourself as a normal person in the kingdom?’
‘You’ve changed, Thea.’ The way he says my name, my real name, resonates with something inside me.
‘You don’t know me at all so–’
He interrupts me. ‘But I do. I used to. You really don’t remember, do you?’
‘I’m sorry, Jay, I don’t.’
He tilts his head, looking at me with a furrowed brow.
‘What?’
‘It’s just . . . you called me Jay.’
‘So?’
‘You never call me . . . Never mind.’
‘Are you going to answer my question?’ I ask. ‘Why were you watching me?’
‘I had to find out if Eli was wired to crazy. He came back to our camp north of the Rampart last night, screaming at everyone to get up. I thought we were being attacked. Vaughn and the elders calmed everyone down while Eli spouted a story about how his sister is really alive.’ He walks over to the glassless window, looking out over the kingdom’s slums. ‘I thought he had found some firewater, and had probably had a bit too much. I wasn’t the only sceptical one, but Vaughn so badly wanted to believe him. You don’t know what your disappearance did to him.’ Jay looks back at me. ‘I decided to come and check you out, to see if Eli was wired or not. Turns out he wasn’t. Not yet anyway.’
‘I’ve convinced you then, that Eli’s telling the truth?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you’ll go back and tell everyone?’
‘Yes.’
‘And then Eli will fetch me tonight?’
‘Nope. Sorry, little Thea. I’m afraid it’s not as simple as that. Vaughn won’t risk Eli returning, his verve is too low. I was sent to confirm your identity.’
‘Who’s Vaughn?’
Although he must know how limited my memories are, I see that he’s surprised. ‘Vaughn’s your father, Thea.’
Vaughn. Vaughn Reid. My father, my real father. I can’t put a face to the name, so I picture an older version of Eli. ‘He has Space Vaulting like Eli, yes?’
His eyes twitch and then look away before returning to me. ‘Yeah, sort of.’ He starts heading out of the room.
‘Where are you going?’
Without turning back to me, his smooth voice says, ‘To do what I just told you – report back to your dad.’
‘Wait.’ I hurry forward and stumble into Jay.
He catches me, holding me up. ‘See, I told you – damsel.’
‘Quiet, you.’
He is about to reply when he drags me back into the room.
‘What are you–’ My mouth is muffled by his hand. His other hand brings a finger to his lips to shush me, his jacket sliding down his left arm to reveal a black mark on his wrist: his Token. He follows my gaze and releases me to pull down his sleeve.
I am about to speak when I hear rough, excited voices on the street below. I have never wished for Harries’ presence more than now. The boisterous voices fade and I unclench my fists.
Jay creeps to the window and slowly looks out. ‘Seems like we’re in the rough part of town, eh, Princess?’ He turns and leaves the room.
I follow him out and we begin our tiptoe-dance along the brittle hallway.
‘I’ll see you back to your palace and then be on my merry way, now I know you are who Eli says you are.’
‘If you had stopped instead of making me chase you . . .’
‘Where’s the fun in that?’ He looks at me over his shoulder, raising his black eyebrows.
‘There isn’t meant to be any fun in being chased.’
‘When you’ve been chased a thousand times, you try and find a little fun in it, otherwise it’s just running and that’s, well, boring.’ Jay reaches the gap I created and leaps over, landing with a thud that splinters more boards. He shuffles forward before they fall away completely.
I look down at the massive hole and feel the boards creaking beneath my feet. I look back up at Jay who is trying to conceal a grin. ‘Thank you,’ I say sarcastically.
He shrugs. ‘It’s not that far, you can do it.’
I take a few steps back before starting my run-up. The board beneath my foot gives way as I leap. My arms flailing, I soar over the gap, landing precariously on the crumbling edge. Jay seizes me and pulls me away from the gap.
I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. ‘Thank you.’
‘Anytime, damsel.’
We make our way back onto the street and I pause, taking in this moment – the first time I’ve been without sentinels outside of Casteel. While Jay has been chased a thousand times, at least he knows what freedom feels like.
Jay jogs back to me. ‘What’s wrong? Why did you stop?’
I smile at the concern in his face. ‘I’m alone.’ His concern changes to confusion. ‘It’s the first time I’ve been alone, without having sentinels around. It’s nice.’
He rolls his eyes and heads back down the street towards more inhabited sections of the city. ‘You see I’m here, right? So by definition, you are not alone.’
‘You know what I mean.’
Jay stops suddenly, looking around warily.
I was wrong. My every move has been watched. Two young men slip out from behind a half-collapsed brick house. I hear a bottle smash on the gravel behind me and turn my head to see two more young men behind us. I step closer to Jay.
A woman and her young son enter the street and she screams, grabbing the boy’s hand and running back the way she came. The young men keep their bloodshot eyes on us.
One of the men in front of us holds a metal pipe and he taps it into his hand menacingly. His neck has a spiderweb tattoo and his greasy dark brown hair falls across his face. All the men wear untucked linen shirts and faded black trousers, two with theirs secured by frayed rope.
The tallest one, whose hair is the only one styled with some semblance of neatness, wears a once fine grey-tweed jacket with missing buttons. He steps forward and says in a steely voice, ‘Evenin’, lassie.’
The hairs on my arms stand up as the men take slow steps towards us.
‘I wouldn’t come any closer if I were you.’ Jay’s voice reassures me.
The leader in the tweed jacket snickers. ‘And why’s that, mate?’
Jay grins confidently. ‘Because it wouldn’t be very pleasant for you, mate.’
The leader’s leer drops. ‘Now see here, mate, there’s four of us and only two of youse. Not to mention one of ya is a girl.’
Although I am scared, I straighten, trying to look tougher.
They are only a few metres away when the men stop. ‘Say, missy, that’s a nice ring ya got.’ The leader ogles the silver ring I bought earlier. I curl up my hand.
‘You will have a closer look when I’m punching you in the face.’
Jay looks at me in astonishment, an eyebrow raised.
‘Right then, lassie, I’ll deal with ya after I’m done with ya man.’
The tattooed man with the metal pipe swipes at Jay, but Jay catches the bar. He knocks it into the man’s stom
ach, making him stagger backwards. The other two leap onto Jay from behind, knocking his cap off. The bald one starts punching his ribs while the blond slams a wooden board into Jay’s back.
I try to pull the bald one away from Jay, but his elbow slams into my jaw and I stumble back, landing on the gravel. Dazed, I watch as Jay kicks the blond to the ground, but the tattooed man has recovered and swings the pipe into Jay’s midsection. He crumbles and Blondy and Baldy hold his arms while their friend pounds the pipe into Jay’s ribs. He cries out and I scramble to my feet and run towards them.
The leader, watching from the side, snatches me and pulls me close. ‘Now, now, we can’t have ya interferin’,’ he breathes into my ear.
Another swing and Jay’s legs give way, and the men holding him laugh.
I struggle in the leader’s arms. I want to help Jay, use my Ability, but I still don’t know how! I try to tear myself free but the leader slides his arm tighter around my waist while his other hand caresses my face.
‘What a sweet cheek ya have.’ I yank my head back but he pulls me closer – his smoky breath making my nostrils scrunch.
He turns his attention to Jay. ‘Here’s what will happen, mate. We don’t get many girls as refined as yours in our part of town so we’ll steal her along with whatever youse have on ya.’ Jay’s eyes are full of anger and I can see him straining against the two men holding his arms.
Slow time, Althea! I command myself in frustration. Do something! I rub my wrist against my leg, trying to get it to work.
The leader grabs my hand, using one finger to stroke the back of my hand. Fear boils in my belly.
Jay stops struggling against his captors. ‘Let her go.’ His voice is strong.
‘Or what?’
Jay grins and I feel hope.
He rips his left arm free and a flash of blue erupts from his outstretched hand, his fingers pointing skyward. The tattooed man flies back through the air, crashing into an overgrown garden. His dropped pipe rolls towards me as he skids across the dirt. The other men leap away from Jay in surprise and another flash of blue explodes from Jay’s palm, sending Baldy sliding back along the gravel. Before Blondy can react, Jay blasts him off his feet.
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