Ablaze Without Flames

Chapter 10, Part 1 - Blaise

Blaise stayed away from the busier parts of the city during the day as a general rule, especially now he had spent three days in the same clothes, but it was hard to find anywhere reasonably quiet that also had access to clean water. He had been down to the riverside once already to wash himself, but decided quickly that he would come out probably dirtier than he went in. The few humans that had caught a glance of his shrouded self had all frowned too obviously at his bare, blistered and bloodied feet for him to get away with it too often.

Hunger was no stranger to Blaise; every year the harvest came later and later. He could ignore the tension in his stomach without much discomfort. But he was not used to being thirsty.

The only fresh water available in this wretched land came from bottles and taps, and neither of those things was easily accessible. It was a good thing that humans were blind in their peripheries.

The first steal was so easy that it seemed almost like the opportunity presented itself on a platter. All the human women carried bags of some description, some of the men too, but this one had a bottle of water, full to the brim, sticking out of the side of hers when she turned her back to the alley that Blaise was skulking in. He slipped it out without forethought and vanished around a corner, unscrewing the cap to finally unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth. The second and third steals were trickier, involving a great deal of stalking before a suitable distraction appeared.

Dawn broke on his fourth day alone while he sat cross-legged on a roof. He was now used to his little network of alleys that could take him from one side of the city centre to the other with only one road to cross and he often took to the roofs if he wasn't hunting for water. He liked being up high. He felt untouchable in a world that never looked up.

But he was bored.

There was no sunrise to marvel at, for the city was stifled under a thick layer of grey cloud (again). Unbidden, thoughts of Thea's warm home, soft blankets, hot meals and her magical television came to mind, as they had done more frequently of the last few days. He dismissed them as soon as he noticed their arrival in his head, irritated at how soft he'd become after just a couple of weeks under her care.

Something would have to give soon. He couldn't skulk in the shadows for the rest of his life constantly glancing over his shoulder in case the hunters got too close.

The thought had barely passed through his mind when the bitter scent wafted around his nose, cutting through the thick medley of other human smells. He straightened his back and inhaled deeply. There was no mistaking a scent like that anymore; and the hunter was close. Inching forward on his elbows towards the edge of the roof that looked over a wide, crowded road. It was early: a busy time in the city. Humans of all shapes and styles wandered beneath, some plodding with steps so heavy he could hear them three floors up and others skittering by in a short, clipping gait. A few were soundless. None of them were the source of the scent, but he could track it eastward; a hunter had passed by in the last few moments.

To turn or to follow?

Without Thea, his only real chance of finding a way through the rift (or finding another one entirely) was slim at best. Aside from Thea, the hunters were the only ones that knew he existed. Which meant there was a chance they knew something about the portal, about how it worked. They also wanted him dead.

But even with their little scent-tracking devices, they hadn't found him. Either the devices weren't very good, or the hunters weren't very clever. Either way, Blaise had the advantage.

Shuffling back from the edge of the roof, he climbed to his feet and made his way east. His feet were so cold now that the wounds no longer made him limp. The alleys between roofs were easy to hop across but he kept his pace slow, one eye on the road to look for the hunter, for he was sure it was only one.