by Andra Leigh
Unable to place herself completely on either side, Eliscity had begun to hate the moral classifications associated with them. Could there even be a right side where murder was concerned?
Giving the page she was on a final withering look, she closed the book, turning her attention to Jinx.
“I’m concerned that you may have an idealised notion of how useful you’ve been this past week,” she said dryly, thinking of his refusal to help her get to know the Family.
Jinx bit out an amused laugh, settling next to her. “Better to be liked for being you than being tolerated because I said so.”
Eliscity didn’t bother replying. He was right. Although she suspected he would have had enough power within the Family to allow her to stay whether the others had an issue with her or not. Despite being younger than all but the Triplets, Jinx seemed to hold some sort of unspoken, de-facto place at the top of the Family.
“I should be back within the week,” he rumbled, picking up the book from her lap to read its title. “Planning on joining the call for our extinction while I’m gone?”
Snatching the worn cover back, she smacked him on the arm with it before hiding it from sight. He grinned, casting his eyes over to Raiden and Casamir who were sparring with each other. Jinx didn’t hold eye contact easily, often opting to have entire conversations with people while staring at something arbitrary across the room.
Eliscity found it a frustrating habit. It made her feel like she was being ignored. Every time it happened she would be find herself unintentionally scowling at him, as if hoping to make him uncomfortable or remind him she was there.
“Where are you going?” He’d told her yesterday that with her settled at the Manor he’d be heading out on one of his regular excursions. For what, she hadn’t had a chance to ask. Part of her – the part that struggled with the idea of family and the inherent trust that went with it – didn’t expect an answer.
So she wasn’t prepared when he said simply, “Back to Wrethic.”
She supposed this was how ordinary social interactions played out. Questions were given answers. There were smiles, some jokes. No one was strapped to a stone table. It was all a bit new to Eliscity.
Remembering that it was polite to acknowledge answered questions she let his words sink in.
“Wait, Wrethic? Why?”
He’d just come back from Wrethic. Why would he need to go back so soon?
“Best not to steal in the Northern Cities if we can help it. Although I’d prefer it. Don’t like taking from cities that need more than they get.”
“What – you’re not going back to the med-building!” Eliscity demanded, cringing as she heard the absurdity of the order she had no right to give slip out.
“Well no, I wasn’t planning to hit the same building so soon, give me some credit would you.” Jinx feigned insult as he misread her reaction.
“That’s not what I – ” Pulling up short she reminded herself she had no right to tell him what he could and couldn’t do. Changing tactics she said, “Someone should go with you. I’ll go with you.”
“Oh yeah? Do you know how to fight?” Jinx nodded at the tousling men.
Eliscity watched Casamir send a fist crashing into Raiden’s cheek accompanied by a primal roar.
“Did I not prove myself when I dragged your unconscious backside out of the med-building?”
“You want to be my back up, learn to fight.” He was grinning but she could hear the challenge in his tone.
Watching the battle between the two men for a moment she flinched as Raiden slammed Casamir into the ground only to be rewarded with a knee to the ribs. Every one of their practices had the same intensity.
“Are you trying to get me to give Casamir permission to try and kill me?”
“I think you think he’s scarier than he actually is.”
Casamir chose that moment to ram his fist into Raiden’s nose. With a sickening crunch blood spurted across both of them.
“Yes, I’m completely wrong about him,” she said flatly.
Jinx shook his head. “Damn it, Raiden’s always miserable to be around when Casamir’s broken his nose.”
“Tsk, has no one ever told him not to overreact about trivial things like broken bones?”
Jinx sighed at her sarcasm, leaning back into the cushions on the sofa. “How about I show you some basics when I’m back? We can go from there.”
Eliscity narrowed her eyes at him. She’d seen him practice. While Casamir and Raiden were a well-balanced fight, Jinx would often have to go up against both of them at the same time, just to get a challenge. He was good. Better than good.
Better yet, she’d never witnessed any spraying of blood in his fights.
“Fine. But if you break my nose I’m telling the Reigner where to find you. And I still think someone should go with you this time.”
Jinx snorted. “I’ve been doing this alone for years and haven’t had any problems.”
Eliscity felt her jaw drop. “Pulse cannon!” she shot back, her voice creeping up an octave.
He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “Fluke.”
“No, the fluke was that I got you out.”
“I wouldn’t have needed getting out if your wings hadn’t distracted me from my escape.”
“Oh I see. So it’s my fault that your lack of subtly set off the cannons?”
She didn’t know whether he was teasing her or if he meant what he said, but either way she found his carefree attitude and blatant disregard for safety infuriating.
“I always get out, Angel.” He grinned smugly, prompting her to roll her eyes.
She couldn’t bring herself to argue. Despite their unfortunate first meeting and how much she wanted to smack him every time his confidence turned arrogant, she knew she wasn’t worried about him not coming back. In the short time she’d known him he’d proved himself capable. From his quick recovery after the pulse cannon and the way he’d leapt from the roof of the building, to taking on both Casamir and Raiden and coming out victorious. The ease in which he took on life made him seem invincible.
“Besides,” he continued. “I’m the only one who has ever left.”
“Huh?” Eliscity mumbled, trying to figure out what he meant.
Jinx nodded around the Playground; at Raiden who now had Casamir in a headlock, blood soaking his beard; at Laleita and Neith who were kneading dough in the kitchen area in comfortable silence; at the Triplets who were playing an exuberant game of throwing blades at a wooden target.
“None of them have left since they were rescued from the Clinic,” he said. “I think the Triplets would if we gave them a chance. But three identical people walking down the street wouldn’t be all that inconspicuous, so until they’re okay being apart we’ve agreed they’re stuck here. The water tunnels and the Manor’s gardens are the furthest any of them have gone.”
Eliscity’s eyes grew wide. “That’s a long time looking at the same walls.” Windowless walls, she thought bitterly as she looked around the Playground. That was the part she was still struggling with. Hynxt may have the scent of bodies tainting its air but at least that air was in the open. She missed the sky. She missed sunsets and rises. She missed not being afraid of walls collapsing around her and becoming buried underground.
She felt like she was being slowly suffocated by the lack of natural light and fresh air. The Clinic had had similar aesthetics despite being above ground and Eliscity couldn’t understand how the Family could stand it.
“They’re afraid?” she guessed.
“Maybe,” Jinx shrugged. “I think they handle the idea of being in hiding better than I do. It’s not our world out there.”
“It used to be.”
Jinx flashed his eyes over to her. “What do you know? You don’t remember your life before this.”
Eliscity blinked slowly at his sudden hostility. “I wish I did.”
Jinx stood up, his expression humourless. “What a ridiculous wish. You want
to know why they don’t leave, ask them. Try Neith. He’s been here the longest. He was the first one of us Cyan ever got out,” he spat, offering her a rare bit of information he didn’t force her to get from the source.
With that he walked away.
Utterly confused by the sudden shift in him, she only just refrained from throwing her book at his retreating back.
●
She needed air.
Fresh flowing air.
Not the stale air of the underground that was slowly smothering her.
Peering around the sitting room on the ground floor of the Manor, Eliscity listened for any sound to indicate she was about to be caught. Aside from the wind rustling through the glossy leaves on the trees outside and the gentle shudder of the Manor walls, it was quiet.
Sliding the panel to the underground levels closed, Eliscity sighed as she felt the natural heat of the day wrap around her. As much as she wanted to open the window and stick her head out into the fresh air, she refrained. She doubted the Northern Cities had the same anonymity as the Southern, and being seen hanging half way out a window shaking her hair happily in the sunshine may draw some unwanted attention.
Creeping past the series of paintings depicting mountain scenery she eased out of the room and into the lavish hallway.
She knew that turning right would take her past Cyan’s office, so she went left, venturing deeper into the extravagantly decorated Manor. Finding a stairwell she climbed through the storeys, peeking out each passing window. She’d been hoping to find a balcony or ledge she could climb out onto, sure that the height she’d reached would obscure her from anyone on the ground, but managed one better when the fourth door she peered into had a narrow flight of stairs leading up to the roof.
Bursting into the afternoon sunlight she actually threw her arms wide and spun around. A breeze threaded itself through her hair, making her feel lighter than she had in a long time. Gazing past the Manor’s turreted edges she got her first look at where the water tunnels had left her a week ago.
The first thing she realised was that she possibly could have stuck her head out the ground floor window and shook it around without being seen.
Vance Manor was edged with stone courtyards and manicured gardens all the way around. Strange structures and centrepieces she guessed passed for artwork in this city were dotted around them. Personally, she couldn’t see the point of them. There was certainly nothing beautifying about the bizarre medley of metal and twisted pipes sprouting from the ground that held its place at the centre of one of the courtyards. Framing the Manor’s boundaries was a climbing vine, snaking high and thick, forming a hedge with the telltale glint of a metal fence showing through in places. It was both a sturdy and obscuring barrier to the unwanted. Looking out over the Manor’s boundary she saw more of the same style of grand houses with meticulously tended greenery.
She couldn’t help but notice that while plentiful and carefully maintained, the outside areas seemed to have limited functionality. Courtyards were used for serving tea to visitors while the gardens were nothing more than embellishment. Not even useful embellishment, it was all bright, overwhelming flowers and fruitless trees. She thought that after the tight, over-crowded spaces of Hynxt, she would be happy to be somewhere so vast and unobstructed. Instead it just angered her. She could see sprawling fields where, rather than plant and harvest food for the hungry, the privileged rode groomed and glossy horses around in order to satisfy their boredom. The perks of not needing to panic about where their next meal was coming from, she supposed.
Clearly every choice made in the Northern Cities was based on meaningless aesthetics and leisure.
In the Southern Cities there was no forgetting what lay to the north. But as Eliscity looked out over the rises and falls that was the city of Seltley, she knew that same sentiment was not returned. To the east, Seltley gave way to a city named Trelyes, before turning the horizon into an endless blue that she knew to be Lake Rylock. She had briefly studied one of the Realm’s maps in the library, though when none of it had been familiar she’d done little more than commit the surrounding areas to memory. Heuthan lay to the north, the gigantic palace of the Lord Reigner visible despite being a full city away. Beyond Heuthan, the Desa Plains stretched out, touching its dull orange to the skyline. Scanning around to the west, the dry desert orange slid into the green and blues of Tequail. Neither a Southern nor a Northern City, Tequail was a large territory that defied the desert’s persuasion with the aid of the same river that fed the north’s water tunnels.
Eliscity was surprised by how much of the Realm she could see from her vantage point. Everything in Hynxt was built low, offering little change in perspective from its cramped streets and she hadn’t had much of an opportunity to take in the sights while in Wrethic.
Not ready to seal herself back into the underground she sunk to the floor leaning into the brick chimney.
Her anger at Jinx and his leaving attitude was bubbling in the pit of her stomach.
‘What do you know. You don’t remember your life before this.’
‘I wish I did.’
‘What a ridiculous wish.’
Ridiculous wish? Was that what Jinx thought of her hope of recalling her past? Did he believe it was such an outrageous assumption that she may one day remember her life? Cyan didn’t think it was ridiculous. In fact he thought it was a perfectly acceptable aspiration. So why did Jinx disagree?
Eliscity was still on the roof as the sun moved toward the horizon, setting Tequail’s colours on fire. When the flames faded into a soft sinking glow she stretched her legs out and made to climb to her feet.
The phantom hand appeared out of nowhere, extending its long calloused fingers out to her, as if to help her up.
She froze. Deaf to everything but her heart pounding in her ears, she stared at the disembodied hand, desperate for it to not disappear. She knew it was wrong. She knew she shouldn’t be clinging to her hallucinations. But there was something about the large, rough hand and the way it would always reach out to her so tenderly that made her feel safe. Obviously the concept of slipping into complete insanity was comforting to her. As much as the thought of insanity scared her, the figments of her imagination did not.
When her chest clenched and her eyes started watering she realised she had been holding her breath. Inhaling out of necessity, she blinked rapidly. It was the action that broke her concentration and the hallucination vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
She felt a momentary sense of loss.
She’d been left alone again.
Abandoned by her imagination.
Unlocking her body from the awkward half-sitting-half-standing position she had frozen in, she cast her eyes around the growing darkness. Candles and lanterns were beginning to twinkle in the windows of Seltley. She tried to imagine the happy families behind the closing curtains and shutters. Were they sitting around a dinner table and laughing about the joys of life?
Eliscity made her way back to the underground slowly, feeling its thick air blanket around her as soon as she sealed herself in. Only Raiden was absent from the Playground when she descended the winding staircase. She assumed he was still nursing his broken nose and feeling miserable for himself. According to the Triplets, this was his third broken nose at the hands, elbows or knees of Casamir. Three also seemed to be the number at which the Family stopped dispensing friendly sympathy and moved on to jovial mockery or looks of bemusement.
Hearing the rumble of her stomach, she paused in the kitchen area to find something to eat. Being able to grab food whenever she wanted was still a strange concept to her. A strange concept that was resulting in the steady filling out of her body. The Clinic had only ever given her enough nourishment to keep her as healthy as possible while pumping her with lightning and Fae blood and her time in Hynxt had almost starved her, leaving her with a slender frame. Her week at the Manor had given her an idea of what her body shape may have been in the past. She had to adm
it she rather liked the promising hourglass figure that seemed to be presenting itself.
Some of the bread that Laleita and Neith had been making earlier sat on a tray. It was the same bread that Jinx had offered her in the water tunnels. The Family made all meals themselves from ingredients acquired through the varying efforts of Cyan and Jinx and the small gardens built into the kitchen benches. Laleita had given her a cooking lesson the day after she arrived. It had gone well until the cake she had been making had bubbled over and set the whole cooking chamber on fire. She was yet to have another lesson.
Before she could cut off a slice of bread for herself, Neith pushed a plate with some sort of meat pie and salad on it into her hands.
“When you missed dinner I managed to rescue some food from the clutches of the Triplets.”
A twinge of sadness tugged at her when she realised that while she had been missed, no one had been concerned enough to try to find her. Sure, she’d only been here a week and couldn’t imagine ever being able to call herself a member of the Family, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be nice to have someone worry about where she was.
“Thanks,” she said. Then added, “How do they eat as much as they do?”
“We’ve been working under the assumption that in the beginning there was only one of them, who ate so much that they split into three. And now all of them are attempting to create more of themselves in order to take over the Realm,” Neith answered.
Eliscity laughed, letting him lead her over to one of the sofas where Laleita was sitting.
Laleita, too, seemed unperturbed by her apparent disappearance. Something that annoyed her until the pale-eyed woman asked. “How was the roof?”
“How…? Oh is that your thing?” Eliscity waggled her fingers suggestively at the Witch. “Finding people.”
Laleita’s laughter chimed around her. “My thing?”
“Your…” Eliscity hesitated. “Witchy thing.”