3

Alayna

Saturday 19th January, Year 825

I woke up with a jump, the reason why left my mind the second I tried to figure it out. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I caught a glimpse of the clock. It was past eleven.

Shit.

Lucy expected me in the mines an hour ago.

It was weird that she hadn't come and dragged me out of my pit although she might have needed the hours more than my company. It was weirder that absolutely nobody had tried to wake me up… Realising the house was too quiet for a Saturday morning, I shuffled around my room, grabbing layers of clothes that felt warm enough, not giving a damn if they were fresh or not. As I crossed the landing to the bathroom, I was reassured by the vague hum of the television sounding from the kitchen below.

After pulling a hairbrush through my knotted red-brown hair and scrubbing my teeth until my gums protested, I made my way to where the noise came from.

Stepping into our cramped kitchen, I froze. My family stood like statues, their backs to me, all eyes fixed on our ancient TV sat on the uneven kitchen bench. The headline on the screen slapped me cold: "Umbrith attack - Two girls found dead in Cassibare Meadow".

My breath caught in my throat. I gasped for air through clenched teeth making the room turn to me.

"Mornin' love. You sleep alright?" Mum muttered, rushing to potter around as if nothing was wrong.

"What happened?" My voice barely made it out.

They stayed quiet, leaving me to crank up the volume on my own.

"…bodies discovered at half past eight this morning by a local man from Outer Harroworth, Lucas Stanley. The two girls have since been identified as Sarah Hall, twenty-two, and Lucy Hall, nineteen, also of Outer Harroworth."

The kitchen spun a bit as my insides twisted into knots. Blood pounded heavy in my ears, drowning out everything else for a second. The only words that reached my lips were, "Oh."

Wrapping my arms around myself felt like the only thing I could do to hold myself together.

Jamesons don't cry.

But Lucy was gone. Lucy who could down a beer in one. Lucy with the sense of humour of a horny old man. Lucy who beat up the guys who tried to take advantage of me. Lucy who laughed too loud at my temper tantrums… gone.

I had to hold myself together. Lucy was gone but so was Sarah. Ben's mate Sarah. We couldn't have another Hayley reaction, he damn near tore the house apart in his rage.

"All signs point to an Umbrith attack. They are the first undisputed attacks since Hayley Trodder over two years ago..."

The entire room froze as it always did when Hayley was mentioned. Ben went rigid. It almost blocked out the shock of losing Lucy.

"Turn. This. Off," he seethed as Hayley's face flashed across the screen, snatching the remote out of my hands before I could do as he asked.

I didn't stop him and he stormed out of the room the second the tv was off. Mum gave Dad a meaningful look and he followed Ben. I closed the door so they couldn't hear and immediately turned the TV back on.

"Aly, this is not worth watching," Mum said, trying to take the TV remote from me.

"Yeah it is," I whispered as I manoeuvred away from her grasp.

"...Their family is calling for a change in the system."

The TV flickered to Sarah and Lucy's dad. Dad often traded with Mr Hall. The man looked ragged and I swallowed back the lump in my throat.

He was reading a statement as he held his sobbing partner, "Stricter curfews, the Guard and the death traps around Outer Harroworth are not good enough. Central sit in their ivory towers and hope that enough spot rifles will be enough to save the rest of us, but it's not. It's not enough. It's never been enough. It's been weeks since the last attack! Not years! Anthony Hawes is lying to us all."

"He shouldn't be saying that out loud," I muttered.

It was common knowledge that criticising the way the country was run was a big 'no' unless you wanted a visit from the Day Guard. But it was also true that people went missing every week in Outer Harroworth. To say Hayley was the last to die was naive. Mr Hall was right… but still very stupid for saying it on television.

"Both his daughters are dead. They might go easy on him," Mum whispered without conviction.

The TV flickered to a man who I recognised as the Governor of Harroworth and Head of Defence for the whole of Vakoso. He was an older man with black eyes and leathery-tanned skin. He ran a hand through his slicked back, greying hair before adjusting his tailored suit. I didn't pay much attention to politics but recognised Anthony Hawes as the dad of Marco and Tiv Hawes who I went to college with. Mayrina Hawes, his wife, was the woman who hired Mum as her and Anthony's assistant. Mum was very close to Mayrina and they both always tried to set me up with one of the Hawes sons. Considering all of this I had only ever seen Anthony on TV and both of his sons totally ignored me at college. At least they didn't torment me… Mayrina seemed nice enough though, she even sent me a huge hamper of rich foods, flowers and a bottle of wine for my birthday. I'd never had wine before. It still sat on my desk, unopened. I wasn't sure if I needed a celebratory occasion to drink it… So yeah, Mayrina was nice. Maybe her sons weren't too bad either, but Anthony Hawes gave me the creeps.

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My body seemed to have turned into an ice cube. An ice cube with a lump in its throat that burned like red-hot coal. Frozen, watching Anthony, my hearing seemed fuzzy like I was wearing Dad's ear defenders. Focusing on his words, I tried to stay calm.

'It is a shock and a tragedy that two young members of our community have been brutally taken from us. We are doing our utmost to prevent something of this nature ever happening again. I propose more spot rifles and larger fines for anyone caught by the Night Guard after sundown, I also recommend…'

"Bullshit," Ben interjected again, silently appearing at the door. Dad appeared quickly behind him and glanced at Mum in exasperation, "There was no reason for Sarah or Lucy to be there at night; they knew the risks. The only thing increasing spot rifles will do is cost us more in taxes and kill more cats. We need to make our own change."

"Ben!" Dad warned, his grey-blue eyes becoming intense.

The lines carved by time were deep in my Dad's forehead as he frowned at my big brother. Ben towered over Dad and glared.

"That Hawes guy has no idea. He gave exactly the same speech when Hayley died," he forced her name out as if he was choking on it. "If it was one of his sons it would be a different story. Instead, he hires these bastards, or Guard, to harass and kill us in the street. We need soldiers hunting the creatures, not incompetent fu-," he continued.

"Ben, that's enough. Anthony is only doing his job. They're good people and they deserve your respect," Mum hissed.

"Respect? You joking, Ma? That entire family has done nothing to earn my respect. Unless you think being the richest people in Harroworth entitles them to it? They leave us to rot and you're thick to think otherwise," Ben sneered.

"Pack it in!" Dad barked, "They gave your Mum a good-paying job letting us keep this house, and they have paid to put your sister through the best college in Harroworth! So unless you want to go back to that one-bedroom shack outside the Grange, I'd put a pin in it."

Ben was mutinous. He could always rely on Dad for a good Hawes-bashing session—unless Mum was caught in the crossfire. Ben opened his mouth and then decided whatever he was about to say shouldn't be said. Without another word he left the kitchen, throwing his foot through the leg of the hallway table and hurling it across the room before slamming the front door so hard the glass pane shattered.

Dad looked to the ceiling, sitting down at the kitchen table and rubbing his eyes. His frown was hidden beneath his shaggy beard. "I thought it was supposed to get better after the teenage years."

"Nate, go and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," Mum groaned.

Dad stood up and caught my wide eyes, "I'd never have thought you'd be the easier one if you'd asked me ten years ago, kiddo."

He grinned but it didn't touch his eyes.

As he left I turned to Mum, "Ben's not okay, is he?"

"It's complicated, love. But no. What happened to Sarah won't be helped by the fact they keep flashing Hayley's face all over the news. We'll get him there though. He's had a rough time over the last few years and just can't see the sun beyond the grey right now," she replied quietly.

My mouth pulled down at the corners and she grabbed my hand, smiling sympathetically. She was a beautiful woman with a pale complexion that always had a flush of colour to it. Her clear blue eyes, sharp enough to cut through fog, were set above high cheekbones, framed by lines that spoke more of concern than age. She was my neurotic, anger-prone best friend.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Mum asked anxiously.

"Lucy died and it was just around the corner," I whispered, my fears bubbling to the surface.

Mum's expression turned to steel. "Those things won't come in our house. They stick to the meadows and the forests. Just be home before dark and we'll be safe."

I just nodded and she released my hand.

I hesitated, deciding on my next words carefully, "Mum, Ben has been sneaking out at night." I knew he was going to kill me but I preferred that to him being dead.

She went rigid, "You haven't been following him, have you?"

"What? No. Why would I-"

"He doesn't have his head on properly lately. Just leave him to me and your Dad," she dismissed.

She wasn't apoplectic as I expected, but she didn't give me an opportunity to probe any further.

"To change the subject," she said with a careful cheerfulness that didn't quite reach her eyes, "I'm going to Lambent in a few weeks."

My surprise was genuine but tinged with understanding at her attempted deflection. "No way!"

"I know! Mayrina has to do some work over there and she's asked me to go with her. She thinks they can get me a three-day visa," Mum explained, bright-eyed.

"That's not long! You'll barely get there before they ship you home," I joked halfheartedly.

"I'll get a day in Lambent then!" Mum replied with forced brightness. She changed course abruptly again, "I'm going to sort the horse. Coming?"

"No, I need to ring Jo," I replied.

"Okay love," Mum smiled sadly. "Aly, keep Lucy out your head."

I nodded and continued to do so even after she'd left the room.

The house was eerily quiet as I made my way to the hallway. I saw the family phone resting on the floor next to the overturned table. I wanted to call Lucy. But I could never call Lucy again.

That left Jo.

Jo was the only other person from Outer Harroworth who managed to go to Central College. Me, Jo and Lucy were a perfect little trio; I needed to check she was alright. I needed to debrief about Ben. I needed to cry my silly little heart out to my best friend where my family wouldn't judge me for it. But before I reached the phone, it began to ring.

"Hello," I answered.

"Hi, can I speak to Alayna please?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

"Speaking. Who is this?"

"It's Marco Hawes. I'm in your year at college. My mother gave me your number."

I laughed out loud and flushed with embarrassment, "I am so sorry you have been roped into this."

"Have you had them on at you too then?" Marco joked.

"Yeah, apparently we would look good together," I said in a fluster.

It was not beyond my notice that Marco was pretty gorgeous.

"We definitely would," Marco remarked. "Would you be interested in coming to the manor on Monday night?"

I instantly went rigid. Manor? Not really…

While gorgeous, Marco had a reputation for many things, none of which I found attractive and I was a scab who had no place in a manor. But I wanted to shut our Mums up for a few days. I also figured the assholes at college might simmer down their torment if I screwed a Hawes brother.

"Yeah, that sounds fun," I lied.

"Great. Well, we could skip some college on Monday and get you something decent to wear then you can come to the manor after?"

Decent?

"What's wrong with what I wear?" I asked.

"Nothing. You always look beautiful. However there's nothing wrong with spoiling a beautiful woman every once in a while," he said, not realising he had offended me.

I rolled my eyes. "I won't be skipping college. That's not the best way to repay your parents' generosity-"

"Nobody will tell them."

I took a deep breath, already regretting my decision, "I won't be skipping. And I won't have time to go shopping I'm afraid. After what happened to Sarah and Lucy Hall, it's probably better that I make it home well before sundown on Monday or else my Dad and brother will start a manhunt."

My chest already felt too tight thinking of Lucy in past tense.

Marco's voice darkened, like he was choking on something, "Fair. I'll see you at college on Monday then."

"See you Monday," I replied. "Bye."

"Bye."

I gently tapped the phone receiver off my forehead, listening to the dial tone, knowing I would live to regret agreeing to that date…