Beyond the Glow

Chapter 5

With a quiet gasp, Cynthia stops moving, and holds her hands in the air, feeling the tip of the dagger poking into her back. My eyes take in the man, the one who had saved me twice now. He still wears the clothing he wore to dinner, the scuffed up shoes, and outdated evening wear. His dark blue eyes flash in the faint light, and his hair looks like it was cut rapidly. He holds the knife tightly, the only indicator that he is angry, at what, I don't know. But Cynthia, for once in her life, looks scared. Out of control. Her money can't save her now, and she knows that I won't either. 

Not willingly anyways. 

"Drop the weapon." Said the man. Cynthia's hand tightened around Hangars dagger. "Now." He wrapped his arm around her neck. The dagger fell to the floor with a clatter. "Good," he said, "now come with me, and I might let you live." 

Cynthia's eyes narrow, but she backs up with him all the same. Carefully, the man backed her up to the wall, and raised his hand, bringing it down on the top of her head, and she collapsed to the floor. I stifle a gasp, "Shes not dead." States the man. "Just unconscious. Lets get out of here." Is it wrong that I feel bad about that?

"Who are you? I can't just go with you for no reason." I said, gripping my lamp. It reassured me that it was there. 

"I'll give you a reason, its called 'come with me if you want to be free.' " He said. Raising his arms in the air and walking towards me. "If you don't, then all our hard work tonight will be wasted. And," he added, " I bet you will be punished even worse then you were tonight."

"I'm not going with you, I don't even know your name." I narrow my eyes, "Besides, I won't be free. Not till she's dead." 

"My name's Len." He says gruffly, searching my face for something I can't identify; then looking disappointed and turning towards Cynthia, pulled out his knife. My eyes widen, is he really going to kill her?

Len bends down, and his knife is inches from Cynthia's pale throat when a roar shakes the house. We turn towards the sound, and I see Hangar charging down the hall; his eyes wild. Len gets up, gritting his teeth. "Move." He says, pushing me towards the window. 

I don't argue this time, running towards the window and leaping out as fast as my battered legs will take me. Len stays behind, fighting off Hangar. "Meet you down there!" He calls out, but I have no intention of stopping. I have to find someplace to hide out the next few decades until Cynthia passes away, I won't be caught, I won't go back to her easily.

I've survived generations of this family, I think, looking over the sprawling city below the house, lit up by torches and lanterns. The Crawdove's mansion sits on a hill opposite the castle, and I can see it across the city as well. The two buildings almost rival each other in size, the Crawdoves are definitely one of the more influential noble families in the kingdom; mostly due to me. 

The dining room was at the top of the house, so that the people inside could get the best view of the land below. I grit my teeth, navigating the complicated roof system as best I can, finally finding a gutter pipe and sliding down it, using window ledges to slow my decent and keep from breaking my legs. At the bottom, I pause, letting my feet touch the bare ground for what seemed like the first time in forever, and it really was. 

The cool earth felt wonderful against my toes, but I couldn't stay and enjoy it. As if to prod me away, the window above shattered, and a body fell onto the roof. After a second, another person climbed out of the room, but I couldn't tell if it was Len or Hangar who had fallen. 

Either way, I didn't feel like being caught by either. 

I take off towards the town, not looking back as I hear the fighting start up again. The Crawdove's entire property is surrounded by an iron fence, and I climb it fast, jumping to the other side and disappearing into the crowds in front of the house. 

In seconds, my hair has shortened, my makeup disappearing, and I'm covered in a layer of dirt. The people around me don't even give me a second glace, going about their business as normal. Good. If I can be overlooked, then I might just get away with this. 

People press in from all sides, and I feel claustrophobic. Even as a child, I had never been around this many people. I grew up in the countryside, isolated from everyone around me, it had been safer that way. 

The people around me all smell, of perfume and incense, but when I take a deeper breath, I can smell sweat, dirt. Mixed into the crowds are small children, shaking hands and running by people as fast as they can. They're on the sides of the streets too, holding small tin cups and making puppy-dog eyes at anyone that comes by. I gape, walking slower and slower. 

What happened to this place? It didn't use to be like this.

Before there were few homeless children, and they were fed and clothed by the city orphanage. They seemed to have multiplied, I gaze around wide eyed, the look towards a nearby building at the sound of yelling. The sign read, 'Happy Horse'.

Men and women hang around outside, catcalling one another, and occasionally a drunk man would stumble out of the tavern next door, right into the door of the 'Happy Horse'. I wrinkled my nose, this place really went down the drain. I continue my way down the street, and make sure to avoid anybody on a direct path to bump into me. My hand never strayed from the lamp hanging at my hip.

Finally, I stopped, Where am I going? I hadn't really thought past getting out of Cynthia's clutches. I suppose, now I would have to hide from her for awhile, lay low. But where? There's shouting behind me, and I turn just in time to see a wild-eyed girl run into me, "Watch out! Coming through!' She yells, knocking me to the ground. 

"Hey! Watch it!" Came a few angry shouts from behind as she continued to shoot forward. My initial shock subsiding, I reached back to my waist to check for my lamp.

It wasn't there.