It wasn’t until Lewis and Maria were in the street running parallel to the bakery that the calmness of the night disappeared. The sound of fire crackling and loud voices carried out of the darkness, calling hurried instructions. As they turned the last corner, both of them froze, staring at the scene before them.
The street in front of them was filled with people carrying buckets out of the half a dozen houses closest to the burning shell of the bakery. Despite all their efforts, they seemed to be fighting a losing battle. Lewis watched several of them jump back when a large burning beam fell from the roof, sending sparks skyward. Beside him, Maria began to whimper as she watched her life’s work burn to the ground.
Taking her by the arm, Lewis guided her towards the bakery, spotting Arron passing a bucket to a man next to him. As if he had felt someone watching him, Arron looked up, watching Lewis approach. When he saw Maria with him, he called something to someone behind him before ducking out of the line, leaving the others to attempt to put out the fire.
‘Where did you find her?’ Arron asked quickly before Lewis or Maria could say anything. ‘Is Charles still inside the bakery?’
‘No,’ Lewis replied. ‘I found her wandering through the streets looking for me. She said that someone took Charles before setting the place alight. Did you see anyone?’
Shaking his head, Arron turned to face the bakery. ‘It was already burning when I got here.’
‘We should have been here though,’ Lewis reminded him.
‘There’s nothing you could have done,’ Arron insisted. ‘You couldn’t have foreseen what was going to happen when you stopped to help her.’
‘Who did you stop to help?’ Maria piped up, looking between the two boys worriedly.
‘It’s nothing,’ Lewis interjected quickly before Arron could say anything else. With the thought of bounty hunters looking for Emily, he decided that the fewer people who knew about her, the better. The guard would obviously want to take a statement from Maria about what had happened at the bakery, and he didn’t need her to mention that there could be a link between the two incidents.
‘Are you in trouble, Lewis?’ she asked, gently placing a hand on his arm.
‘No. I’m fine, just a little tired,’ Lewis insisted. ‘We need to get you somewhere safe in case whoever took Charles comes looking for you.’
‘Is there anything I can do?’ Arron asked.
‘Could you find a carriage for her? I’ll send her to stay with my mother and uncle until it’s safe to come back,’ Lewis explained.
With a nod, Arron headed back towards the burning bakery as more of the roofing beams began to fall. He paused momentarily to exchange a few words with one of the men who seemed to be in charge of those attempting to put out the fire. Slowly, the flow of buckets from the houses began to stop while the people in the street stood and watched as the building began to collapse.
Before a fresh wave of sobs could come over Maria, Lewis guided her forward, hoping that some of the familiar faces might be able to offer a little comfort to her.
As they moved through the group, many of them offered sorrowful looks and sympathetic words. It wasn’t until they reached the front of the crowd that they saw that one person was still attempting to put out the fire alone. From the flickering light of the flames, Lewis recognised her. It was Robyn Steele.
Leaving Maria with one of the homeowners that she seemed to know quite well, Lewis moved towards the fire. ‘Robyn!’
Looking around quickly, she slipped slightly, with the majority of the contents of her bucket landing on her rather than the flames. Frustrated, she pushed her messy black hair out of the way, glancing in Lewis’ direction before heading back towards one of the houses.
‘Robyn!’ Lewis called again, following after her when she didn’t look back. Slipping into the house unnoticed, he followed the sound of running water. She was leaning against a sink, watching the bucket fill with water. ‘Robyn?’
‘I’m sorry,’ she sighed as she turned around, tears trailing down her cheeks. ‘I tried to get in and find them, but the fire was too bad.’
‘It’s okay, I found Maria; she’s fine,’ Lewis said as he reached around her to turn off the tap.
‘But what about Mr. Hargrove?’ she asked quietly as she wiped her eyes.
‘He wasn’t inside the bakery; it’s alright.’
‘It isn’t alright though! I’ve been working for your grandparents since I was twelve. It’s become like a second home to me in the last four years,’ she whispered.
On several occasions over the last few years, Lewis had also worked at the bakery along with Robyn while he was training for the guard. In the last year, though, the only time he had been near the bakery was when he was on patrol.
‘Hargrove! Are you in there?’ A man barked from outside before Lewis could say anything. Instantly, Lewis recognised the voice of Commander Eli Redmond.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Rolling his eyes at Robyn, Lewis sighed. ‘In here, Commander Redmond.’ For several seconds, his response was only met by the sound of heavy footfalls on the wooden floorboards before a man stomped through the doorway, his large figure almost getting stuck in the doorframe.
‘Who decided to make these doorways so damn small? He cursed as he tried to open the door further than it wanted to.
‘I don’t know, Sir,’ Lewis replied, hoping to cover Robyn’s tearful chuckle.
‘What are you doin’ in here?’ Commander Redmond demanded when he caught sight of Robyn standing by the sink.
‘Helping to put out the fire, Sir,’ Lewis answered quickly.
‘The people outside stopped wastin’ their time on that ten minutes ago,’ Commander Redmond pointed out angrily as colour began to rise from behind his messy black beard. ‘Does it take two of you to carry a bucket of water?’ he added when he saw the overflowing bucket in the sink.
‘No, Sir,’ Lewis said quietly.
‘Good, because the city ain’t payin’ you to carry buckets of water around!’ he said, his voice beginning to rise by the second. ‘Get outside now! There’s some woman weeping all over the place, and Somerville says you’re related. Get her out of the way before I have to do it myself!’
‘Yes, Sir,’ Lewis replied, biting the tip of his tongue to stop himself from letting out the witty reply that had formed in his head.
‘Well, don’t just stand there!’ Commander Redmond shouted when Lewis didn’t move. Without waiting for a reply, he wrestled his shoulders through the doorway and disappeared from view.
‘Remind me why you work for that guy?’ Robyn asked, jabbing Lewis in the back so that he moved towards the door.
‘I ask myself the same thing most days,’ Lewis admitted with a laugh when she smiled, the tears disappearing from her grey eyes. ‘I didn’t see you offering any answers.’
Shrugging, she glanced in the direction of The Commander, who was now berating one of the other guards who had appeared. ‘I don’t work for him.’
To one side, the homeowner who Lewis had left Maria with was attempting to comfort her between each of The Commander’s outbursts. Before Lewis could move towards her, Robyn had darted around him and was halfway there.
By the time Lewis got close enough to hear any of their conversation, they were already discussing what had happened to Charles.
‘I saw them dragging him towards the castle. I think it was a group of-’
‘Maria, there you are,’ Lewis interrupted, cutting her off before she could mention her suspicions about the guard. ‘We’re going to get you a carriage to take you to Uncle Samuel’s.’
As if on cue, Arron appeared at his shoulder, a horse-drawn carriage trundling along the street behind him, the driver’s greasy, long black hair bouncing about in front of his eyes as the carriage lurched and jumped over the uneven snow.
‘But what about Charles?’ She asked worriedly.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll deal with it, and when I find him, I’ll send him to you,’ Lewis reassured her.
‘I can go with her,’ Robyn suggested slowly. ‘It’s not like I have a job here anymore.’
‘No, my dear. I’ll be alright,’ Maria insisted. ‘You need to stay here with your family. I expect I might need some help when I reopen the bakery, though.’
‘Alright,’ Robyn sighed. ‘You know where I am if you need anything.’
‘Thank you, my dear,’ Maria said as she gave Robyn a quick hug before turning to Lewis. ‘You take care of yourself as well, Lewis.’
‘Don’t worry about me,’ Lewis replied, accepting his own bone-crushing hug from Maria. ‘I’ll come and see you if I find out anything.’
Stepping back, Lewis watched as Maria climbed into the carriage. When she had made herself comfortable, Lewis pushed the door shut, turning to the driver. ‘Can you take her to The Green Valley for me?’
‘That’s a long way,’ the driver replied hesitantly.
Rummaging around in his coat pocket, Lewis pulled out a fist full of gold and silver coins. Picking out all the silver, he held the gold coins out in his palm. ‘Can you take her to The Green Valley for me?’ he asked again.
‘Yes Sir!’ The driver said it enthusiastically, his dark eyes lighting up at the sight of the gold. ‘Will there be anything else?’
‘Be careful that you aren’t followed,’ Lewis said quietly so that only the carriage driver could hear.
‘Yes, Sir,’ he replied, picking up the reins.
As the carriage began to slowly move away, Robyn appeared at Lewis’ side, nudging him and nodding her head in the direction of Arron, who was being berated by Commander Redmond.
‘I should go and see what’s going on,’ Lewis said as Commander Redmond’s voice began to rise. ‘Thanks for the help tonight, Robyn.’
‘No problem; it was my job too,’ she replied, glancing towards Arron and Commander Redmond. ‘Good luck,’ she added before smiling brightly at Lewis. For a few seconds, Lewis watched her walk away, catching her glance back in his direction before she disappeared around the corner.
‘Hargrove!’ Commander Redmond bellowed from behind Lewis. ‘Get over here!’
Sighing, Lewis paused, taking an extra fraction of a second to compose himself before he turned around. Commander Redmond’s hulking figure was silhouetted against the dying flames behind him as he stared at Lewis intently. Beside him, Arron looked as if he was trying to shrink into the darkness.
‘Yes, Commander Redmond?’ Lewis asked politely, trying to read the expression on Arron’s face.
‘Do you think this city is payin’ you to stand there and chinwag with your little girlfriend?’ he demanded.
‘No, Sir, and she isn’t my girlfriend, Sir,’ Lewis said, trying not to let The Commander’s questions influence him.
‘I don’t care if it was your mother! This city doesn’t need people who don’t pull their weight on the payroll,’ Commander Redmond spat. ‘Now, your shift is over, so get out of my sight. I’ll deal with you later. Somerville, stay!’
Glancing at Arron, who had been trying to slip away, Lewis saw some of the colour drain slightly from his face. Mouthing a ‘good luck, Lewis turned away before The Commander could find something else to shout about.
Wearily putting one foot in front of the other, Lewis began the walk home, desperate to fall into bed. With a sigh, he remembered that wouldn’t be an option tonight. With all the commotion at the bakery, he had completely forgotten all about Emily.
What was he going to do when she woke up? He had promised her that he would take her to the bakery to see Charles. By then, all that would be left of the bakery was a pile of ash and charred bits of wood. As for Charles, well, he had no idea where he was now.
As he felt the headache that was beginning to build up, he groaned, looking skyward. At some point during his patrol, the clouds had begun to fill in, and now only a handful of stars were visible, including the green star that had mysteriously appeared at the end of Harvest.
When it first appeared, there was a blind panic in the city. Some had taken to the streets, claiming that the end of the world was coming. Others had merely noted its existence before carrying on, and at some point, a religion worshipping it had sprung up. The longer it had been there without anything happening, the less people seemed to be bothered by it. Life had just been returning to normal before tonight. Shaking his head, Lewis forced himself to look away from the star and carry on walking.