Obsidian Eyes

by A. W. Exley

  A tall, lean, and beautifully dressed man enters our dismal little cell. He has unusual sideburns on his face, long and narrow. They make me think of little dagger blades running along his cheeks. Fredericks jumps to his feet as soon as he sees the visitor. Hope and fear compete with one another on his face. The man casts an appraising eye over me and a new chill runs down my spine.

  Fredericks rushes to him, hands outstretched in supplication, he pleads for him to intervene. They are quickly engrossed in a low conversation. I can hear the timbre of their voices and only the occasional word. I hug my knees tighter, trying to disappear into the walls and follow their conversation at the same time. The man is angry at Fredericks. Every now and then they glance in my direction, as though wondering how much I overhear, how much I understand.

  The tall man stops the conversation with a choppy wave of his arm and Fredericks sobs and falls to his knees. I rise to my feet. It is time to meet my fate. The man gestures to me and I walk forward. My feet are numb from cold and fear.

  “Have you learned your lesson?” he asks.

  “Yes,” I whisper.

  He nods, and holds out one black gloved hand to me.

  I place my frozen hand in his. He wraps larger fingers around mine and then waves for the guard to return and unlock the door. The keys jangle once more and the door swings open. Blissful release beckons beyond.

  He pulls me closer to his side, letting his heavy wool coat fall over my shoulders. I sigh, instantly enveloped in warmth and protection from the cruel surroundings. Together we walk through the cell door and it clanks shut with resounding finality behind me. I hear the clink of coins exchanging hands, but I keep myself burrowed in the coat. Le Foy leads me through the dark, dank prison corridors and soon we emerge out into the sunlight. I blink, adjusting my sight as though I had dwelt for years underground. I shudder. For a year now, I have known only cold, hunger, and fear.

  I made a mistake, but so did my father. He let me slip away.

  We gradually draw farther from the prison walls and Le Foy steers me through the awaiting throng, all gathered in the square for the excitement of the day’s spectacle. I try to absorb the sunlight into my cold bones, willing it to penetrate my body, but the chill refuses to budge. I am an ice maiden. I refuse to let go of Le Foy’s hand, sensing my physical connection with him is my only protection.

  No further words are spoken, or exchanged between us. A tremendous roar goes up from the crowd as the first group of prisoners walk out from the prison and cross the short distance to the stairs of the gallows. I see Fredericks ascend the stairs and stand in the middle, an empty noose swings next to him—my spot. The executioner goes down the row, putting rough hessian sacks over the prisoners’ heads and tightening nooses around their necks.

  I draw a ragged breath, fear clutches at my heart as I sense the sack going over my head. I try to draw air through the thick cloth as the rope tightens around my small neck. My vision starts to blur, the edges of reality fading. Am I really amongst the crowd, or standing on the gallows imagining I am amongst the crowd?

  “Allie!” A long familiar voice calls from behind, breaking the panic clawing up within me. As I turn, I feel the first genuine ray of hope.

  “Poppa!” I yell. Relinquishing the hand of protection, I hurtle into the outstretched arms of my grandfather. I bury my face in his chest, inhaling the familiar scent of books and candle wax. A roar comes from the crowd. I know what it means and refuse to look. Relief overcomes me at finally being safe.

  Finally, someone wants me.

  The tears well up from deep within. I start sobbing into my grandfather’s tweed jacket.

  “I’ll take her to Egypt.” I hear him say. “The ship leaves this week.”

  “Very well. Bring her back when she can be of use to me,” Le Foy answers.

  I don’t look up to see him vanish back into the crowd, nor do I want to see the dancing figures. I only want the safety of being reunited with my grandfather.

  “Where are you?”

  A voice penetrated Allie’s memory. It held concern and warmth, things she was unaccustomed to receiving.

  “Newgate Prison,” she replied as her mind drifted back to her body. Opening her eyes, she met Jared’s gaze. He leaned over her, but moved as she sat up. There was a reassurance about his presence. It chased the last cold shiver of bad memory from her bones. “It was the last time I saw Le Foy.”

  He remained silent and waited for her to elaborate. She let out a deep sigh, ready to tell him just enough for some of the pieces he had collected to make sense. “My mother died when I was ten. After that, my father withdrew, physically and emotionally, not that he was very demonstrative anyway. My grandfather was busy decoding hieroglyphics and travelling around Europe. The tombs held their secrets for millennia and then there was a mad rush to read their stories. Neither had time for me. I think they both simply forgot I existed.”

  The sadness almost overwhelmed her. She remembered trying to cope with the loss of her mother on her own. Eleven years old and adrift on an ocean she should never have had to navigate solo.

  Jared picked up her hand, folding it into his larger ones, reminding her he was there.

  “They forgot my twelfth birthday. A house full of people and not a single one remembered. So, tired of being overlooked and alone, I left and never went back.”

  “You ran away?”

  “No, I didn’t run.” She blinked back a tear. “I just walked out the front door. No one stopped me and no one ever came after me. I lived on the streets for a year as part of a Runner gang. We stole to survive until one day the Street Enforcer and I were caught. Le Foy pulled me from Newgate and my grandfather took me to Egypt.”

  She dropped her eyes to her lap, unable to look Jared in the face while she spoke. Nobody knew she had been in the infamous prison, except for her grandfather. “So you see, I am everything Madeline suspects me of being. Thief, criminal, street brat.”

  “She will never hear it from me.” The scowl dropped back over his face.

  “Have I mentioned you’re going to age prematurely the way you keep frowning at me?”

  He still held her hand, not letting her go.

  “Perhaps you should stop giving me cause.” He tilted his head to look at her from under his drape of hair.

  “Where would be the fun in that?” A ghost of a smile touched her face, before she dropped it for more pressing matters. “We have to tell Marshall what happened today. KRAC will need to know.”

  Jared looked at his sleeping friend. “They’ll remove Zeb from school if we do.”

  “But having tried and failed to get Zeb, they could either try again or go straight for his father.”

  It worried Allie; not that she wanted to get involved with the military or anyone in authority, but she wanted her friend safe. Plus, Eloise would kill her if she let anything happen to Zeb.

  “Marshall first.” Jared stroked her palm with his thumb. His touch zinged all the way through her body and made her toes curl in her boots.

  She watched Zeb twitch in his sleep. “He doesn’t know the excitement he is generating.”

  Jared turned her hand over in his, exposing her naked wrist. “Speaking of generating excitement.”

  He lowered his head and kissed her wrist. Allie inhaled sharply as his lips grazed her skin for the first time. Her body responded instantly, her whole arm tingled as his mouth slowly moved up the inside of her arm. He pulled her closer to him as he progressed, drawing her nearer to his chest, inch by delicious inch.

  Allie was immobilised by indecision. She wanted to luxuriate in the contact, her skin drinking up each feathery kiss like parched earth receiving the first droplets of rain. Another part of her wanted to snatch her arm back and ward him off before she became lost. Her emotions became a whirlpool threatening to suck her down. Jared was a marquess and she was guild. He could talk of actions making someone noble, but nobody ever escaped the guilds.

  We should
n’t be doing this.

  His arm encircled her waist as his tongue licked the delicate crease on the inside of her elbow. Allie closed her eyes and bit her lip to stop a soft moan from escaping.

  “Jared?” Zeb cried out groggily. “Where am I?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jared muttered. “He wakes up now?”

  Jared leaned his forehead against her and blew out a ragged sigh.

  She took a steadying breath and straightened up but Jared kept his arm around her. She placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back a few inches. “That’s the second time life has stopped us from kissing. Have you considered it’s fate’s way of telling you we’re not meant to be? This is impossible, you must see that.”

  “No, I don’t accept that. If this wasn’t meant to be, it wouldn’t feel like this between us.” His eyes were level with hers as he withdrew his arms. “You won’t get away next time.”

  Allie shut her lids and shivered at the resolute promise blazing in his iron gaze.

  Sunday, 21st August.

  uncan sulked, having missed all the fun. He leaned against the wall and pretended disinterest. Marshall scratched his chin as Jared ran him through events of the day.

  “They said the Whisperers are spreading the word, that Le Foy wants Zeb.”

  Marshall let out a soft whistle. “Popular boy, to have such a powerful admirer.”

  “Who is Le Foy?” A frown crossed Jared’s face and his pale gaze flicked to Allie.

  Her heart accelerated at the question. She turned away and placed her hands on the railing. Her fingers tightened on the wood as she gazed down at the gymnasium floor.

  Marshall’s deep baritone answered the question. “Overlord of the Whisperers, and held his position for ten years. That’s a long time to rule a guild, practically a life time.”

  She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. Will Jared ask why the overlord bothered to rescue me from Newgate?

  “Were the men guild?” Marshall directed to Allie, before Jared could ask any further questions.

  She turned back to the room, her mind replaying the scene in the barn. She gave a snort. “They weren’t very good, nor were they marked, but they could have sought favour in the guild. If word is out, who knows who will be after Zeb.”

  “Like a Zeb hunting season.” Duncan gave a laugh, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of more excitement.

  Allie raised her gaze to Marshall. “Putting a purse on Zeb is breaking the covenant.”

  Marshall rubbed the back of his neck and then dropped the hand. “Let’s worry about one thing at a time. I’ll pass the information on to KRAC. Zeb is safe on school grounds, apparently the guilds can’t gain access here.” Humour laced his words. “Stay close to Zeb though.”

  The three friends descended the narrow staircase and crossed the polished floor. Pushing through the double doors, they found Madeline staring out the window in the corridor.

  She turned on hearing their voices, her gaze and posture focused on only one person, Jared.

  “There you are,” she said. Closing the distance, she grabbed hold of Jared’s arm, turning her back to Allie and Duncan. “I started to think you were avoiding me, spending all your time in the gutters.” She leaned her blonde head on his shoulder.

  “Not at all. I’ve been busy.” He shot a look over his shoulder at his friends.

  Duncan held in a snigger, Allie stared at the toes of her boots.

  “I thought we could take a walk outside, just the two of us. It’s such a lovely afternoon and I have managed to lose my chaperone.” She headed down the hallway and forced Jared to choose between accompanying her and wrenching his arm free.

  Ignoring the girl’s snub, Allie looped her hand through Duncan’s arm. “You can tell me what creatures my roommate made you hunt. Now she has her own laboratory I fear she will move on to larger prey than frogs and rats.” They walked off in the opposite direction, leaving Jared to his fate.

  Monday, 29th August.

  A week passed and Zeb recovered from his adventure without any adverse effects. He dispatched a note to his parents ostensibly about arrangements for the forthcoming holidays but in reality to warn his father. The friends were now in a state of limbo, trying to occupy themselves while waiting for any developments to unfold. Dread settled over Allie as she waited to be called into service of the guild, not knowing what decision she would make when the day finally came.

  School days blurred into a monotonous painting of classes, the same evening meal and homework. Allie tried to lose herself in riding and hard sparring. She dropped onto the sofa in the library nook with an exhausted body and mind. Eloise curled up in the armchair opposite, engrossed in a novel clutched in her lap. Every now and then she gave a heavy sigh. Allie couldn’t stand the suspense and looked up from the pages of her book.

  “What on earth are you reading so rabidly?”

  Eloise looked up, a faraway expression on her face. “It’s the latest gothic novel by C. Rainey. It’s so desperately romantic, about this young woman, kidnapped by vampires and she falls in love with the leader of their nest.”

  “Vampires?” Allie raised an eyebrow. “She must be desperate then, aren’t vampires all cold and dead? Like week old fish.”

  Eloise faltered. “But it’s terribly romantic. Their devotion is eternal you know.” She emitted a deep sigh. “Can you imagine a love that endures forever? And their embrace—”

  Allie rolled her eyes. “Cold, clammy, and fishlike? Actually if they are dead why don’t they smell?” Her brows knitted as she tried to figure out why undead creatures weren’t subject to decomposition. I thought the Frankenstein experiments were bad enough, but maybe Eloise should be working on that little puzzle instead.

  Eloise fingers curled around the book as she leaned forward, her eyes shining bright behind the round lenses of her glasses. “You should read it. They are star-crossed lovers from different spheres. Their love is so strong it transcends the restraints placed on them. It endures all the tests it has to withstand.”

  Something about Eloise’s statement got under Allie’s skin. Different spheres could never be compatible, no matter how much you might wish it differently. A fish can love a bird, but what world would they ever inhabit? Neither could survive in the other’s world, one would either drown or suffocate.

  She tried to reason with Eloise over the error of striking up a relationship with a creature that had been dead for centuries. “But you won’t feel the heat of their body when they hold you near. Or their warm breath on the nape of your neck as they pull you close, or feel their heart beat under your fingertips as they—” she trailed off, starting to confuse her literary point with more real recent events.

  The colour rose in Eloise’s face and she jumped up from the chair, causing the book to tumble to the floor with a thud. She pushed her glasses up her nose with one finger and glared at Allie. “I think you left your heart behind in a desolate Egyptian tomb, since you don’t understand romance. I have to study, so please excuse me.” She gathered up her fallen book, clutched it to her chest and then hurried out of the library.

  Allie gave a sigh at having upset her friend. Everyone’s nerves were on edge. Inactivity preyed on them. I’ll have to apologise for that later. She’s wrong, I didn’t leave my heart in Egypt. I’m trying to protect it from tomb robbers. She chastised herself and the source of her building frustration.

  From behind came a deep chuckle. Jared stepped out from the shadow of the stacks as though conjured by her wayward thoughts. A book dangled from his long fingers and the lock of black hair hung over his face. “I think you’ve ruined vampires for her.”

  Allie rose from her seat, uncomfortable with being alone with Jared after what she said to Eloise. She turned to pick up her own books from the table. “She needed to be disillusioned. She has her head full of romantic notions that are completely impossible and will never happen. Let alone with some long dead creature.”

  As
she turned, she found Jared stepped closer. She could smell his warm clean scent. She breathed him into her lungs, wanting to hold him deep within her and not let go.

  No cold fish. She remembered how after their ride he drew her to his chest, a mere fraction of an inch from kissing her. Under the oak tree, he left a row of kisses up her arm, hotter than any caress from the Egyptian sun.

  Treacherous body. Why does he have to feel so good? She thrust the thoughts to one side before she gave herself away by blushing like Eloise.

  “Yes, a warm body is infinitely preferable.” He took another step closer, which brought him within touching distance of her.

  “I’m sure you’ve never suffered a shortage of warm bodies,” Allie reminded him.

  Ignoring her comment, he reached out and ran the back of his fingers up her exposed arm, from wrist to elbow. Mimicking where he trailed kisses. She drew in a sharp breath. A line of goose bumps appeared on her skin, following the path of his caress.

  “Are you going to lie and tell me you feel nothing?” His hand dropped back to his side. “Your body betrays you every time I touch you. The only thing I can’t understand is why you’re being like this.”

  Allie took a deep breath and tried to hold her emotions in check. It’s too hard! She wanted to scream. You will break my heart and grind the scattered pieces into the dirt. “Because you are the son of a duke, and I am guild. We have no middle ground; our worlds are kept apart by covenants and rules. There is no place we could ever be together.”

  Being born guild was like being born noble - a permanent condition. She could run away from her family but their blood still flowed in her veins, a connection she could never escape. The guild would seek to use any relationship to its own ends, even if Jared’s family could overlook her underworld connections.

  But there was another impediment in their way, a far more spiteful one. “And besides, you belong to someone else.”