19

Alayna

Wednesday 7th February, Year 825

I wondered if the grin on my face was permanent. It had not disappeared in the hours since Tiv had dropped me off. I lay on the bed, mind rushing through the afternoon's events. It played them over and over again like a highlight reel of a good football game. He wanted me. He was a virgin. I wasn't expecting that.

This is going to be fun.

I had been so high on cloud nine when I got home, even Mum's stories of how fantastic Lambent was didn't reach me.

Her disappointment was clear when she explained a big important meeting had been cancelled and Anthony and Mayrina let her leave on an earlier ship. She got an entire six hours on land. She even got to go in an aeroplane; it sounded terrifying. Nothing flew in Vakoso apart from Umbrith. She described Staventon, Lambent's capital, as a collection of huge towers of steel and glass which touched the sky. The organised chaos of the busy city streets with thick lanes of speeding traffic was the opposite of the narrow streets of Outer Harroworth.

Both of my parents weren't in a great mood; Ben got in later than me. Nobody had seen him since yesterday. After arguing with Mum and Dad about where he'd been, he grumbled something about hunting and not having a day off in five years before heading straight to his room.

Mum went to bed early, exhausted from the day's travel and I went to my room, knowing Dad would interrogate me about Tiv until he'd sucked the soul from me if I stuck around. My evening had involved living in a little fantasy where I began planning my life with Tiv. The thoughts consumed me so much that the constant voice that chimed in my head, reminding me I was getting myself hurt in the long run, wasn't audible. It was a little bizarre how besotted I was considering I hadn't even had sex with him yet… Was that weird?

But there was one thing that did not sit right with me and it broke through my intoxicating high: Tiv had seen an Umbrith. I didn't dare press him; he looked really angry with me for not getting in the car when he asked… I felt his rage so strongly like it was my own. Surely that was a red flag?

Violent banging on the front door shattered my good mood in an instant. It was nearly nine o'clock at night. Nobody doing house calls that long after sundown meant well. I jumped to my feet and grabbed an old bat from my closet, rushing to the landing where Mum shouted from her bedroom.

"Nate, who is it?" Her voice was strained.

I could see the front door from the upper landing. Ben was midway down the stairs with a gun clasped in his hand behind his back. My heart stopped.

Why the fuck did he have that?

"Is there anything I need to know before I open this door?" Dad growled, not taking his eyes from the door.

"No," Ben said immediately. "I've not done anything."

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"Aly?" Dad pressed.

"No," I muttered.

Dad approached the front door apprehensively, also holding a bat behind his legs. My heart clattered around in my chest as if trying to escape. He flung the door open and to my complete surprise Tiv's dad, Anthony Hawes, stood there looking dishevelled. Usually, he had a full security team around him yet he stood there alone. I had only ever seen him on television, seeing him in real life unnerved me; he was synonymous with danger for us. Dad laid the bat against the coat stand but Ben went rigid at the sight of Anthony, radiating hatred. He turned back upstairs and noticed me standing behind him. Dread covered his face and he shoved the gun in his hoodie.

"What is that for?" I hissed under my breath.

"Protection," he spat back.

"Throwing bottles at The Guard in The Grange is one thing, but this? You're going to get yourself killed," I breathed.

He ignored me and hurried back to his room, pulling the mobile phone from his pocket. My attention was brought back to Anthony as he stepped into the house. I crouched down on the landing to get a better view of Tiv's dad as Mum emerged from her room cautiously in her dressing gown. When she spotted Anthony she went into work mode, adopting her posh voice and rushing down the stairs to offer him a drink and a seat. It didn't make sense he would be out after dark, alone. Usually, if he had a message to deliver one of his assistants would do it. Even in emergencies, Mum got a phone call. Ben made the same realisation, emerging once again from his room.

"Has he said what he wants?" he breathed nervously.

"No," I whispered back. I noticed he'd put his shoes on. "You going somewhere?"

"Anthony Hawes is in the house. We should be getting ready to run. He's not going to bring good news, is he?" Ben snapped impatiently.

He was lying. "Who did you call?"

"Nobody," he said.

I rolled my eyes. Probably the same person he has been sneaking off at night to see.

I looked into the front room directly below where Mum, Dad and Anthony now stood. He still had not spoken. I knew it must have been something bad and I hoped Tiv was okay. Realisation set in about the week's events and I started to hope the visit wasn't about me or Ben. Following his lead, I also shoved my boots on.

"Is everything alright, Mr Hawes?" Dad asked.

When Anthony looked at my Dad he looked like a broken man. His normally bronzed skin was grey, lips drained of colour. His usual slicked-back hair looked as if someone had had a good go at pulling it out and his chocolate eyes were black with deep purple bags under them ageing him significantly.

Ben crouched next to me and we both eavesdropped on the conversation below. We watched Anthony walk over to the sofa, still silent.

"Anthony, please tell us what this is about," Mum said gently.

Unexpectedly he put his head in his hands and started crying. I realised whatever it was was a lot bigger than me and Ben. Tiv had drank most of the wine then I'd let him drive home. What if he'd crashed?

I started to walk downstairs but was frozen in my tracks when Anthony finally answered the questions.

"Mayrina is dead."

The whole house came to a frozen standstill. My Dad's jaw dropped silently as Mum put her hand on Anthony's shoulder but kept her eyes forward as silent tears began pouring down her face. I couldn't ever remember seeing her cry in my life.

"We are so sorry," Dad said, breaking a long silence.

"But I spoke with her just before I left Lambent. She said you were both leaving on the next boat after me," Mum whispered.

"Terrorists placed a bomb in my car. She took it instead of me. It detonated at Thruck Harbour. If you had travelled with her as arranged it would have been you too, Julie," he replied quietly.

His words sent an icy shiver down my spine. I looked at Ben who was also ghostly white. He walked past me stiffly and joined the small congregation in the front room. He sat next to Mum and she allowed him to hug her.

"Sorry Mum," he whispered.

Mum sobbed in response, wrapping a shaking arm around his as she leaned into him. I continued to stand on the stairs, my legs suddenly made of stone. A feeling of dread–coldness–seeped through my veins, much more than shock or disbelief... it was terror. With Mayrina gone, Anthony was in charge. There was only so much Tiv could do to help Outer Harroworth now.

Tiv.

Clambering back the stairs, I tripped over the frayed carpet in my haste to get upstairs and fell back into my room.