“Thanks, but I think I'd rather go look for myself. That way, I don't have to wait for someone else and get the report firsthand.”
For the first time, I saw a genuine smile on her face, “That's the answer I hoped for...if you don't mind, I'll come with. I understand he can't be mine, but I gotta make sure he's okay....you understand, right?”
As much as I wanted to say no, I felt bad for the girl. So I shrugged and motioned for the door. Together, we started out to find the man who held both of our hearts.
Jack
The bully boys, for though they were dressed as pages, that's what they were, were holding on tight enough that by the time we got to where we were going, my fingers were starting to feel numb.
Every attempt at conversation was met with glares and, sometimes, a few punches to the stomach. It wasn't long before I got the message that I wasn't supposed to talk. Like I had said before, this was what I had been hoping for. But the news that the man didn't abide thieving made things difficult. I figured I would go in, scope him out, see what he was about, and then ruin him.
Every man has vices that he hides in the shadows. If it is children, drugs, or drink, every man can be ruined if you have the right information.
My job was to try to find out which vice this Mr. Franklin had and how to exploit it for my own gain. If I could break his hold on the area, establishing my own after that would be a piece of cake. I could even use part of the system he already had in place, making it less work for me to set up.
They led me up to an extremely large house, decked out in all sorts of decorations and specialties. I knew at once that whoever was living here was an egomaniac and did little to no actual work of his own.
From the outside, it looked like the house of a normal man. Rich, but nothing out of the ordinary from that. My eyes took it all in as quickly as possible before the bullies dragged me inside and threw me into a chair in a large, well-lit sitting room.
Time seemed to pass slowly, the crackling of a fire the only sound until the door creaked open. The young girl who had confronted me earlier slouched in bearing a tray covered with snacks and sweetmeats. “I told you. If you had just listened before, it would have been easier than this,” she whispered, “You made it worse for yourself.” Louder, she asked, “Would you like a snack or drink? Mr. Franklin has specified that you get the royal treatment for the duration of your stay.”
My instincts told me the food was fine, but I waved her away anyways. This man seemed dangerous, and even though he probably could have killed me much more effortlessly than bringing me here to poison me, I still felt as if something was off here.
She stood for a moment, unsure of what to do, before setting the tray on the table and walking out quietly. I didn't bother to turn and watch her go.
This Mr. Franklin fellow seemed content to make me wait as long as possible before deciding to show up. But it wasn't too long before I heard the door open once again, though this time, the footsteps were heavier...and, for some reason, familiar.
Before I could turn around, I heard him speak, “Well, well, well. Look what we have here. How are you doing, Jack? Or should I call you Ayden, or whatever it is you're going by these days?” Elroy walked around and sat behind his desk, a wide smirk stretching across his face.
“You dirty little bastard,” I hissed, hands reaching for the knives still secreted on my person.
Elroy smiled and held up a hand but didn't bother trying to move, “Ah, you might want to hold off there. The moment steel is bared, arrows tipped in poison will be shot through holes specially built into my walls. So you may want just to sit there and listen. You'll learn quite a bit if you pay attention.”
With a glare, I lifted my hands back to the chair's armrests. We sat there for a while, him staring at me until he was sure that I would listen and not do anything rash.
He nodded, “Good. Now, this issue between us needs to be solved. You must understand, it was business. I was being....pressed to get you into service. And I understand now that I may have gone about it the wrong way. Mistakes were most certainly made, and you have my deepest regrets. But from all my reports, you have....well, let's just say you've come back into the business, so in the end, it all worked out nicely. I came to offer the same deal as before. One job, I leave you be, and you get enough gold that all this time it will seem like you've been poor.”
I hate to admit it, but for half a moment, I actually considered it. And then I remembered what a scumbag Elroy was. Once you were no longer helpful to him, he threw you aside. “Rot in hell, Elroy. I know who you are now. There's no hiding that anymore. You burned that bridge years ago when you came between my friends and me.”
He grimaced, glanced at the wall to the left of us, and then called out, “Guards, come take our guest to the dungeon. Maybe a few days down there will convince him to join with us. And if not, at least we get some entertainment out of it.”
The boys who had brought me here entered and surrounded me. I knew better than to put up a fight in the center of another man's power, so I went along willingly. I'd find a way to get out sooner or later, and things would keep until I did. I knew Elroy wouldn't let me die; it seemed that he needed me for something. Something important.
I glanced back at Elroy as I was being dragged out of the sitting room and saw his head in his hands, a sight I had never seen before. He was close to losing it. I had to wonder why he was so desperate for me to join him. My musing was cut short by a fist hitting me behind the ear, bringing blackness to my vision.
Elroy
I watched Jack leave and dropped my head into my hands. I didn't even get a moment alone before the click and slide told me the false door in the wall was being opened.
“Well, it seems that once again, you have failed to gain his consent. I don't know how much more I'm going to take from you. I grow weary of these games. How long has it been now?”
I looked up and glanced at the shadow man from the corner of my eye, “I can still get him; I just have to get the right kind of leverage. The girl, she's in town. It shouldn't be too hard to find her. With her in hand, Jack will be easy to maneuver. You just have to trust me; give me a little more time.”
The man curled his lip in distaste. “I have given you more time than thought possible. My master grows even wearier than I with your incompetence. Neither of us can even imagine what he can do to us. You have until the end of the year, I am told, before he comes here himself to deal with you. That day should hold much terror for you, Elroy. No matter how much money or power you gain in this world, he will find you and destroy everything you hold dear.” Before he had even finished the sentence, the man stepped back and vanished.
I had the house built and knew every single part of it. There were no passageways or hidden doors where the man had stepped...it was a blank wall. There was nowhere the man could have gone, and yet...he was.
My head was starting to pound, so I called for my best bottle of wine and decided to pass the time that way. If I only had a year left, I might as well make it a good one if all else failed.
With a sigh, and a wish to turn back time, I drank until I couldn't keep my eyes open. And then I passed into oblivion.
14
Aether
Victoria was a lot more pleasant now that she wasn't threatening my life at every turn. She knew her way around the city much better than I, and people seemed to sense something about her, moving out of the way, leaving a path clear for us.
I also noticed her lifting pockets the whole way, though I kept my mouth closed. It was her way of life, and I was starting to see how someone who's desperate enough could be driven to such things.
And I didn't want to piss her off after just making things up with her. So if she wanted to steal, I wasn't about to stop her. We had more important things to do anyway, like finding Jack.
One thing did have me curious, though, “Are your guys able to hold their own without a leader? We can't be sure how much time
it will take to do this, and how can you be sure that you can spend every day searching for Jack?”
Victoria looked shocked for a moment but shook it off quickly, “My people will be fine without me for a little while. This is more important. This shouldn't take too long anyway. Besides, us girls gotta stick together, don't we?”
She refused to meet my eyes for the rest of the trip, and something about her seemed a tad off. I blamed the stress of the situation, but my gut was telling me there was something more going on.
She interrupted my thoughts, “Have you ever been to South before? No? Well, get ready. It's not officially called the poor quarter, but it is known as such. That's where the dregs, the lowest of the low, show up. They make it their home... It was mine for a while, before...well, you know. I don't know if Jack even knows it, but he did so much for his crew. They love him for saving them from that place. Few, if any, would ever choose to live there. But sometimes, you don't have anywhere else to go.”
I nodded, trying not to think about it too much. I had never truly been poor. True, I didn't have that much money when I showed up here, but it hadn't lasted long. I hated to admit it, but I had been pretty much spoiled my entire life, even if they did it while also piling on emotional abuse. And the thought of how all that money and food I had wasted could have helped someone else...sickened me. “You're probably better at this than I am, but how long do you think it will take to find some trace of Jack?”
Victoria shrugged, slyly pocketing yet another purse, “Depends, really. If he's hiding, in trouble, that sort, it'll be harder. If he's out in the open, it'll be a lot easier. So, it depends on what our friend is up to, doesn't it?”
I started to snap back at her when she put a hand on my shoulder, “Let's stop here for a moment; I want to grab a roll from a stand.” She spoke loudly, and I winced at the sudden increase in volume. Once more, I tried to talk when she silenced me with a glare. In a soft whisper, she spoke from the side of her mouth, “Look behind us while I shop. If there's a boy in clothing fit for one of those servants for royal people, I think we're being followed.
My spine stiffened, though I tried to relax as I glanced around. Sure enough, a young boy dressed as a page of some sort stood at a stall not too far away, seemingly intent on shopping. He might have gotten away with it, too if it hadn't been a stall that sold small clothes for girls.
Victoria glanced at me and must have seen the look on my face. Nodding, she turned and set off, leaving a confused man with a bun in his hand. He shook his fist and cursed at her, but it didn't seem like she cared.
Mouthing an apology to him, I rushed after her, breathing hard, trying to catch up.
As I neared Victoria, I saw her lips pursed in thought. “I swear, I've seen him somewhere before...Those clothes. They stick out. Where was it, though?”
I had to stretch my already long strides to keep up with her hurried steps, “Could he have been hanging out around your hideout place? Maybe you saw him somewhere around there.”
She smacked her thigh hard and hissed, “That bastard! I saw him tailing Jack one day, a few days back. I even mentioned him to Jack, who told me not to worry. I knew I recognized him from somewhere!” “Well, why is he following us now, instead? And do you think he might know something about where Jack is? Can he help us find him, somehow?”
“I can't tell for certain, but we'll find out soon enough, won't we?” Victoria started to turn, presumably to confront the boy, but I caught her arm just in time.
“Not here. He can get away in the crowd, and there are too many witnesses." I shuddered, chilled by the cruelty I heard in my own voice. But some part of me knew that I could get much crueler, much more evil, in order to get back to Jack. In order to make sure he was safe.
She stared at me hard for a half of a breath before nodding and leading the way down a few side alleys. Even I had trouble following where we were going, and I was actually paying attention.
Soon enough, the noise and confusion of the main streets died away, and the only sound left was that of our boots scraping along the floors and the squeaking of animals disturbed by our passing.
As we rounded yet another corner, Victoria pushed me towards a wall, slipping a knife from her boot, “Now we'll get the little weasel and find out what this is all about.”
The page boy, if that's what he was, didn't even know what hit him. One moment he was sneaking around the corner, trying to be discrete, and the next, his head was slamming against the alley wall, and a knife was pressed hard against his throat. I was worried that Victoria was pressing too hard for a moment, but she knew what she was doing. Not a drop of blood would spill until she wanted it to.
I knew that Victoria should do all the talking, but I couldn't help myself. I saw, more than felt, one of my hands snaking out to clutch at his tunic, “Why are you following us? What do you want from us?” “The better question,” Victoria hissed towards me before turning back to the boy, “Is where in all the hells is Jack? And don't you dare tell me you don't know, I'm already in a bad mood. We wouldn't want this knife to slip. You know, on accident.”
“Jack? Who the hell is Jack? Get that thing away from me, you filthy devil woman!” He started to push back at Victoria but had to stop when he found that she wouldn't be moved. A small red spot decorated his throat around the knife and slowly started to trickle down.
“Jack. The boy you were tailing out in North Gate, not even a span ago. I know it was you, you rum bastard! Tell me where he is before I rip your throat out!” Victoria leaned in, pressing the knife in even deeper. The boy started to panic, feeling the blade start to prick the skin slowly.
“That guy? Do you mean Arthur or Ethan or something like that? I don't know who he is, or was, or anything, I swear! Mr. Franklin told me to follow him, and I did. When he tells you to do something, you don't ask him why, you just do it, I don't know anything else, you gotta believe me!” Tears started to bead up in his eyes, and his breath was coming out in ragged gasps. I almost felt pity for him. Almost.
She tossed him, crying, to the alley floor. “Then I guess you'll have to bring us to this, Mr. Franklin, won't you? So get up, and get moving. We can't waste all day on this.”
She didn't bother putting the knife away, holding it loosely by her leg. The threat was there, and the page kept looking at it with a glint of fear.
“Go before I lose my patience. Or my friend here does even worse than I can imagine,” I snarled, fingers clenched into a claw. I felt foolish, but it seemed to get the job done, sending the boy scrambling to his feet and scurrying down the alleyway.
“Wow, girl. You got the spirit. Anyways, he looks like he's going to South...so we were right about that. I hope we get there in time...”
I looked at Victoria with a flutter in my chest, “You don't think something is going to happen to Jack, do you?”
She looked at me and had a sad little smile, “Oh, I'm not worried about Jack. I'm worried about the other guy.”
Jack
The cellar, which is where I thought they had thrown me in, lacking an actual dungeon, smelled rank and foul. Sewer water was leaking up through the rotted floorboards and made the stench even worse.
It also drew the rats, who I had to guard against. If you've never seen a real, honest-to-goodness wild rat, you're lucky. The beasts could grow to be massive, over a foot long and weighing as much as a small dog. A moment of distraction, and they'd be back, nibbling on my toes and scratching my legs with their nails.
“When I get out of here, I'll make him pay. Let him see how it is to spend the night here,” I muttered to myself. But it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Growing up had, in a way, prepared me for things such as this. The quiet was nice, though. Aside from natural sounds, and the small animals, it was silent. There were no man-made noises, no disturbances to the natural flow of things. It reminded me of times, deep in the woods, that had similar atmospheres. Even though it wasn't comfortable, I would live.
&nb
sp; And then I'd exact my revenge when I got out. That thought kept me warm inside.
A new sound interrupted my thoughts, a foot knocking against a crate and a curse rattling through the air.
“Why in the world are we keeping all the lights off? It makes no blasted sense!” A hiss sounded from the darkness, “It does nothing but make it harder to get around. It ain't even a dungeon or nothing!”
“Hey, shuddup, what if he can hear us?” A second, smaller voice whispered softly, “He's s'posed to think it is.”
“Nobody would ever believe this is real, you damned fools; it's the bloody cellar! I can smell the damn cooking above and hear the stores on the street!” I called out loudly, startling the both of them.
one of the two slammed a staff or sword against the door to the damp room I was housed in, probably in a way to intimidate. I stifled a yawn and asked, “So, how long are you gonna hold me here? Will you really let me starve to death? Is your loyalty to the scum really that strong?”
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