House of Books - Chapter 5 - The Hunt - Seg.3

I looked out the window and down at Malfash’s small yard. It was mostly taken up by the two washing lines, laden with white sheets and towels that glowed dimly in the moonlight, but beneath them was a scattering of children’s toys, probably Luci’s, and a large yellow ball that sat, crushing a small bush that still managed to flower resiliently. Someone seemed to have managed to fit bits and pieces of garden here and there around the edges of the yard. Everywhere, I saw evidence of the way this family lived. This whole place gave a certain feeling of safety and comfort; I suppose it was a feeling of home. But it was their home, I thought. Their place.1

I sighed. As soon as I could, I would repay my debt to them and move on. But right now, I had nowhere to go, and as much as I wanted to go out into the night to get some fresh air, I was tired. Stripping down to my underclothes, I padded over to my bed and slipped beneath the covers as quietly as I could. I made a mental note to myself to get up again later in the night for a walk and closed my eyes. 2

Malfash and the rest of the family had explained to me over dinner that I would have to abide by additional rules to theirs if I wanted to live with them. As an Ilian, I couldn’t just go out in the daytime and blend in like them, so until I dyed my hair and got sunglasses or something to cover my light-coloured eyes, I would only be able to leave the house at night. I didn’t really like the thought of blackening my hair any time soon; banished or not, I’d feel weird if I stained the one thing that still tied me to Ilia. But it had to be done, really… I drifted easily into sleep.3

When I woke, it was still dark. I simply opened my eyes and knew that I’d done so as I’d planned. The mind was a strange thing. Rising, I shrugged back into my clothes and pulled out my plait, letting my straight hair hang freely over my shoulders. I unlatched and opened the window before jumping nimbly onto the sill, holding one side of the frame for balance. Turning so that I was facing inside, I hung onto the wood and leaned back to see how far away the roof was. Not far.4

Reaching down, I summoned the yellow ball in the garden to my hand and held it close to my chest before lifting it and myself higher. Letting myself land lightly on the edge of the roof, I dropped the ball back into the yard and looked around. The sea of rooftops lay before me; I was free to go wherever I pleased. The moon was just past its peak so I had a few hours before dawn. 5

I spent a bit of leisurely time wandering the city. For some reason there were less people out than usual. Not that many people were out at this time of night, but there were still some who were strange, sleepless, partying, or looking for trouble. But I didn’t glimpse anyone at all on my way from roof to roof, and it was somewhat worrying. Occasionally there’d be a flickering shadow or some movement in my peripheral vision, but it was always gone before I could look closer. I wondered what could be going on that night that would drive all the weirdos indoors.6

I was somewhere in the East part of the city when I discovered the reason. It looked as if the streets were being… patrolled by soldiers. Why? I wondered. Now that I’d seen one group of soldiers, I saw more everywhere, spread out evenly, occasionally dividing into smaller groups and parting ways. One man that I’d followed for a while met another soldier at a junction and they continued on together, only to separate later. They moved through the streets with searching, almost eager eyes. They were ready for a fight. What on earth were they doing? Flitting quietly along the edges of the eaves, I followed a pair of men on their way to nowhere in particular. What were they doing? For what…?7

A sudden realisation had me stopping in my tracks for a second, but I quickly brushed the thought aside. Why would they be looking for me, now? They had a chance to kill me on the day of the Peace Ceremony, but no one bothered to chase me then. The pair reached a crossroads and acknowledged each other before heading in different directions. I chose the one on the left and moved to catch up with him. Where was he going? Why were they all going different ways? Were they…? They had to be searching for something.8

I froze as the man below me mumbled something. His soft crooning sent a shiver down my spine. “Arkyntesh…” he murmured. “Where are you, little demon?”9

They were looking for me! A moment of indecision made me hesitate; I felt like jumping down there and asking him why Tylon was looking for me all of a sudden, but that would be a stupid thing to do. I rushed from the edge of the roof, flying over the city as fast as I could run. I hated all of them; I almost wished they would see me so that I’d have an excuse to kill them. But if I got the attention of one of them, others would follow, and they would soon know I travelled by rooftop. And they would soon discover where I was going, where I was… If they found me, I would never be able to return to Malfash’s house for fear of drawing an army to it.10

Clenching my eyes shut for a second, I continued dashing across the buildings, heart skipping a beat every time I glimpsed another soldier beneath my step. As much as I simply wanted to return to my bed, I changed direction continuously… just in case. When I hadn’t seen anyone for a while, I slowed to a halt atop a narrow two-storey building and found that it was nearly dawn. Dim light was appearing along the eastern horizon.11

I had to get back to Malfash’s house before the sun rose; people would see me more easily in daylight, so it was time to finally head back. Confident that there was no one on my tail, I turned, leapt down from the two-storey to a normal building and began running again.12

I finally got back to the house and landed lightly across the street from it. The sun had just cleared the horizon and, regrettably, by now the family would be up and my absence would have been discovered. I hoped Kieren wouldn’t be too visibly disappointed when I returned. Heading up the garden path to the door, I raised my hand to knock and paused at the sound of Kieren’s shouting. 13

“... talked to him, ok? But I didn’t think he’d actually leave or anything; I just wanted him to know he couldn’t mess with us.”14

“Kieren!” Peroi wailed. “How could you…”15

It didn’t seem like a good time to interrupt, but I didn’t want to eavesdrop anymore so I forced myself to knock. There was an abrupt silence and someone carefully approached the door. Opening it only slightly, Malfash peered out warily and brightened at the sight of me.16

“Oh, Arkyn,” he sighed in relief, swinging the door wide and letting me in. “Where did you disappear to? We all thought you’d left us.”17

“I… No, I just…” I took a moment to take in the gathering. Nina was sitting at the left end of the table, smiling warmly, and Peroi sat, hunched over on the far side further to the right, eyes all watery and red. She quickly looked away when she saw me. Luciana was balancing on a hovering dinner plate that she was clearly holding up herself with telekinesis, patting Peroi’s hair. Terisu and Yoyuko were leaning against the far wall glancing from me to Kieren, who stood like a shadow in the corner, glaring at the floor. “…It’s a long story,” I finished.18

“One you’d better tell us,” Malfash replied, taking a seat on the right end of the table. “After all, you’ll probably need to explain why you disobeyed a rule and allowed yourself to be seen outside in daylight, after only one night here.” Everyone but Kieren and Peroi watched me interestedly, waiting. Luci and her plate slowly lowered to the table with a soft clink of ceramic on wood.19

“Oh,” I blinked. “Alright. Well, I headed out at about two or three in the morning for a walk. I stuck to the rooftops so no one below would see me and I headed out for a while. It was strange, because there weren’t as many people out as usual…” I quickly told them of my little adventure while they listened carefully. They all seemed to have different reactions to what I said; Malfash was grim. Terisu and Yuko looked simply intrigued, as if what I was saying didn’t affect them in any way, but it was still mildly interesting. Nina and Peroi seemed anxious, though in two different ways, while Kieren just seemed sulky. Luciana, of course, had no idea the seriousness of the situation and was only silent because everyone else was. “When I was sure no one had seen me or knew where I’d gone, the sun was rising, so I hurried back here but didn’t quite make it in time,” I finished.20

“Did anyone see you on your way here?” Malfash asked. 21

“No. I’m certain.”22

He nodded thoughtfully. “Alright. I don’t think they’ll send out another search during the day because it would make people worry, but we should take turns keeping a look-out anyway. If anyone comes near our house, we all know what to do. Peroi can hide Arkyn under the floor—”23

“Sorry?” I blurted. “Under the what?”24

“We hide things beneath a trap-door under the kitchen table,” Malfash explained. “Books about telekinesis, mostly. A bit of money, too. But there’s enough space down there for you to crouch in. Anyway, nightfall is what we should really be worried about. In the mean time I don’t suggest you leave the house any time soon, Arkyn.”25

“Right,” I said faintly.26

Kieren stirred in his corner. “We could just give him up,” he said to the floor, but his voice was clear and indignant.27

“No, we couldn’t, little brother,” Nina said gently. His eyes flicked up to her and back down again. “If we gave him up to them, they would doubtless wonder why we housed him for so long. They would investigate us. Long story, short… we might not survive to go back to our normal lives.” She paused to let this sink in. “You don’t approve of Arkyntesh,” she stated calmly. “That much is clear. But from now on, I think you should at least treat his life as one of ours, because it may well mean all of ours. Do you understand?”28

He looked up, glaring at everyone defensively. His eyes paused on me. “Yes, Nina. I understand.” But it was clear that he wasn’t going to hate me any less because of it.29