TWENTY-FOUR FRESH AIR
TWENTY-FOUR
FRESH AIR
I t’s been a few days since the hospital, and I’m finally back at home, recovering.
Mum has been in nurse-mode both at work and at home, barely leaving my side unless she has a shift.
In between, Lily and Jack have been visiting, and Tariq’s been staying over at night like usual, only this time Mum is aware, and was okay with it on the condition he let me rest. Then came the sex talk.
Consent, condoms, and that I should start thinking about PrEP.
That was a whole thing. Little does she know that Tariq and I aren’t actually together, aside from having my first kiss with him.
Tariq and I still have yet to talk about it.
He hasn’t brought it up, which makes me think he doesn’t think it’s a thing.
My phone buzzes. I swipe on Lily’s face.
‘Hey, you.’ Lily greets me with a warm smile, the familiar backdrop of her bedroom behind her.
‘Hey,’ I reply.
‘How’re you feeling?’
‘Getting there.’ I adjust myself against the pillows. ‘I managed to make my own breakfast this morning. I put milk into cereal. It was a big moment.’
‘I’m so happy for you.’ Lily laughs. ‘You’re not missing much at college. Same old stuff. Jack’s been running around reporting on the state of the library. Apparently, it’s closed indefinitely. They still don’t know how the fire started.’
Tariq told me that Principal Gellar had met with the Guild to discuss how best to cover up the incident in the library. I guess no official statement has been made yet.
‘Oh, and guess what?’ Lily continues. ‘History has been cancelled this week. Miss Williams hasn’t shown up. Jack said no one can get hold of her.’
I fake my surprise. ‘Really?’
Lily shrugs. ‘Yeah. Weird right?’
Not so weird when you try to murder one of your own students. Don’t think I’d show up either.
‘Speaking of weird. Ben thought he saw you the other day.’
‘Ben?’ I say.
‘Ben. Hipster Ben who I work with at the gift shop. You met him that time we took Cassie up there for a walk.’
‘The one who is always smoking a joint on his break?’
‘Yes! He said he saw you and some older guy going into the Old Sarum ruins. I said there was no way. Liam wouldn’t voluntarily go roam a heritage site.’
He must have spotted me last week when Nathaniel took me to the Crossing.
‘Yep, definitely not me. Someone’s been on the weed a little too long.’
‘Don’t get me started,’ Lily says, rolling her eyes. ‘He’s been seeing all sorts lately. Talking about strange visitors to the site. I haven’t seen anything when I’ve been working.’
‘Strange visitors?’
‘Er… yeah. He said there was this creepy guy in a hat and long trench coat. He was with a woman. Apparently, they spent hours up around the ruins.’
That has to be Draven and Layla. They must be scoping out the Crossing in preparation for this summoning thing. Or maybe it has already started. I need to tell Tariq.
‘Hey, isn’t Tariq taking you out today?’ Lily says.
‘Yeah, he’s coming over later. We’re going to go for a walk.’
Lily grins. ‘Enjoy the fresh air. I promise to bring Cassie over soon to provide some compression therapy for you.’
I laugh. ‘Thanks, that’d be great.’
‘And you’ve got those healing crystals I bought you,’ she says.
There they are, sitting in a velvet pouch on my bedside table, catching the morning light. ‘I do.’
Lily blows a kiss at the camera. ‘Love you, bye.’
The video call ends and I settle back against the pillows, picking up Tariq’s copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe .
I’m actually into it. Although I didn’t step through any magic wardrobes, I do feel a bit like the Pevensie siblings, like I’ve entered a whole new world with demons and Dark Friars.
Except it’s not a new world, it’s the real world, living in the shadows.
The door to my bedroom opens.
‘How’s the wounded soldier this morning?’ Tariq says, stepping into the room.
He looks cute in his grey turtleneck jumper.
The front door closes. ‘Did Mum let you in?’
He nods. ‘She said to say bye, she’s off out.’
‘You’re early.’
‘I cancelled my Munch shift. Nathaniel’s got an update for us. You still good to go?’
‘Achy, but ready to escape this room,’ I reply, pushing back the covers and sitting up.
Tariq scrunches his nose.
‘Oh god, I smell, don’t I?’
‘No…’ he begins, but I can tell he’s lying. His voice goes a little higher. ‘Okay, maybe a little. When did you last shower?’
It has been a couple of days since I had a proper wash. With the wound still healing, getting in and out of the bath to use the shower has been an ordeal, even with my mum’s help.
‘Maybe you should just go without me.’
Tariq pulls the covers off me further. ‘Nice try. But you need to get on your feet. A walk to the Seven Angels will do you good.’
He extends his hands toward me. ‘Come on, you’re getting showered.’
My cheeks are burning at the thought of Tariq helping me shower. This is not how I envisioned my morning.
‘Just pass me my deodorant, I’ll mask it,’ I say as I attempt to get up.
‘How much deodorant do you have?’
I shoot him a look. I let out an involuntary noise as my stitches pull slightly.
‘Take it easy,’ he says, helping me up. ‘Let’s get you under some water.’
He wraps his arm around me and leads me out the door. Abandoning me in the middle of the bathroom, he turns the tap handles hesitantly.
‘Uh, how does this thing work?’ he says.
‘You need to pull the handle down first.’
He does, and the water shoots out. He then adjusts the water temperature.
Tariq clears his throat, eyeing me up.
‘What?’ I say.
‘Generally, people don’t tend to shower with clothes on.’
I pull at my oversized T-shirt and trackies. My face is burning up again. ‘Oh, right.’
Tariq turns away and begins browsing through the cupboard above the sink.
I quickly slide off my top half but grimace as I try to remove the bottoms. I must make a sound because Tariq turns back to me.
‘You good?’
‘I got it,’ I say quickly. Too quickly.
Tariq turns back. I slip my thumbs into the waistband of my boxers and pull them off.
‘Okay, I’m naked. No looking!’ I say.
‘I’ll try my very best,’ he says, turning around, his eyes closed. ‘Where do you want me?’
‘Take a couple of steps to your left and hold out your arm.’
Tariq does as instructed. I grip his firm forearm as I step into the bathtub. It’s a bit of a struggle, but he keeps me steady.
‘Okay, I’m in,’ I say, pulling the curtain across.
Tariq closes the toilet seat, which I assume he will sit on. I step under the shower and immediately feel refreshed.
Panic sets in for a second as the water runs over my lower body. Luckily, Mum has used waterproof dressings for my wound so if I wanted to shower I could.
‘So, what do you think Nathaniel has found out?’ I say, attempting a casual conversation.
‘No idea,’ Tariq says, his voice a little louder over the running water. ‘But hopefully there is progress.’
The struggle is real as I attempt to soap myself up.
‘Let me know if you need help with those hard to reach spots.’
I smile. ‘I’ve got them covered, thanks.’
I quickly wash myself. When I’m done, Tariq offers me a towel, and I wrap it around myself before he helps me step out of the tub.
My damp feet struggle to grip the floor.
Tariq holds me steady. Steam swirls around us like we’re in some sort of dodgy 80s music video.
His eyes linger on mine. Is he about to kiss me again?
His eyes fall to my bare chest. His grip tightens on my hips and I’m praying my towel stays up.
There’s a thumping sound. Is that my heart?
No. It’s Tariq’s heart. His eyes suddenly dart from side to side.
Does he realise I can hear the pounding in his chest?
‘You should get dressed,’ he says, letting me go and stepping away. ‘We don’t want to be late.’
Tariq leads the way into the Seven Angels’ bar. The walk from my place was surprisingly smooth. My body is slowly adjusting to movement again. Tariq did have to quickly move me out of the way of a street cleaner at one point, but that was a minor inconvenience.
As I enter the bar, my eyes are immediately drawn to three people: the Guild head, Charles, who is talking to Nathaniel at a table, and his two grandsons, Theo and Lucas, both with Opel at the bar.
The last time I saw Lucas, he was saying if he were in charge he’d kill Heather to bring forth a fresher Keeper. Just seeing his face makes me shudder.
‘Ah, Liam, Tariq, you’re here, wonderful.’ Nathaniel stands up, quickly, almost as if he was bored with whatever Charles was telling him.
‘Mr Ashar, Mr O’Connor,’ says Charles, remaining seated. ‘I believe you remember my grandchildren, Theodor and Lucas.’
Theo smiles, a much warmer reception than Lucas’s, who looks as if being here is a huge bother for him.
Nathaniel clears his throat. ‘Glad to see you’re on your feet again,’ he says to me.
‘Yeah, I—’
‘Terrible business at the college, Mr O’Connor. The Guild were deeply sorry to hear what happened.’
‘It’s a shame no one from the Guild could bring themselves to visit Liam in hospital,’ Tariq says.
‘Tariq,’ Nathaniel warns.
There’s an awkward silence in the room. Even Opel looks uncomfortable.
‘Why would the Guild waste time visiting a Debbler?’ says Lucas.
‘Shut up, Lucas,’ Theo says, before catching my eye.
I offer him a thank you smile, and he nods. Tariq shifts awkwardly next to me.
‘Behave, Lucas,’ snaps Charles. ‘Remember why you’re here.’
Lucas crosses his arms and leans back against the bar.
‘Perhaps we should begin,’ says Nathaniel. ‘Please, have a seat, everyone.’
Everyone does. I gingerly lower myself into a seat at one of the tables, a grimace involuntarily crossing my face. Tariq props himself on the bar, letting his legs dangle.
‘Well, now that we’re all here, I’ll get to it. The Guild is meeting today to discuss this summoning business as a collective. Afterwards, I will meet with Charles to discuss our next course of action.’
‘Do you have any idea what this summoning might be?’ Tariq interjects.
‘No,’ Charles replies. ‘But we have our specialists working on it. Hopefully, we’ll have more information by the end of the day.’
‘So, what do we know?’ Opel says.
‘Well, the summoning is likely to relate to a demon,’ Nathaniel begins, ‘but there are thousands of known demons, and we have no idea which one it could be. My guess is that it’s a pretty significant one, considering the large Dark Friar presence and Draven himself leading the campaign.’
‘How do we stop it?’ I ask.
‘That will depend on where and who,’ Nathaniel says. ‘The “where” is the Crossing, there is no doubt about that. But who the summoner will be, we do not know.’
‘It’s Layla Blyth,’ I say.
‘How do you come to that conclusion?’ Charles asks.
‘She told me when she ambushed me in the college library. She had some big role to play. That has to be it. Draven asked her to get prepared. Also, I’m pretty sure they’ve both been to the Crossing recently.’
‘How do you know that?’ Nathaniel asks.
‘I… I know someone who works up there.’
‘I hope you haven’t been spilling our secrets, Deb— Liam,’ says Lucas.
‘No, he hasn’t,’ says Tariq.
Charles stands. ‘It appears the most pressing matter is what kind of demon the Dark Friars are summoning. I must go and prepare the Guild for the meeting.’
‘Of course,’ Nathaniel says. ‘I’ll be over shortly.’
Charles nods and opens the door. The sound of busy pedestrians and traffic fills the room. ‘Theo, Lucas, let’s go.’
Theo squeezes Opel’s hand before shooting me a smile as he leaves. Lucas strides out with no acknowledgement to anyone. The door closes and the room falls silent.
‘He’s not telling us something,’ Tariq says. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s nothing of relevance.’
‘Yes, it is,’ Opel says. ‘You’re barely looking at us. What’s up?’
Nathaniel sighs. ‘There have been many summonings throughout the Crossing’s long history. The last attempt, Charles told me, was in 1903. The Keepers at the time managed to thwart it, but four of them were killed in the struggle.’
My stomach sinks. I came pretty close to dying just a few days ago. I’d rather not get that close again.
‘Well, they’re not us. Right, Tar?’ Opel says.
‘Right,’ he says. But he doesn’t sound confident.
‘I have confidence in all of you,’ Nathaniel says.
‘But until we know what we’re up against, we’re at a disadvantage.
’ He tucks in his chair. ‘I must get over to the Guildhall. In the meantime, Opel, I’d like you to pay a visit to the church.
See if Draven and the Dark Friars are there. Strictly scouting; don’t try anything.’
Opel throws on her jacket. ‘Works for me.’
‘And me?’ Tariq says.
‘For now, I’d like you to stay here with Liam. Work on some light combat. But go steady, Liam. We don’t want you pulling any stitches.’
‘I can help,’ I say. ‘I don’t need to be babysat. Let me contribute.’
‘Great idea, kid. What are you gonna do, hobble toward the Dark Friars menacingly?’
I roll my eyes.
‘You have helped, Liam, you’ve provided the Guild with information that will help their investigation into the summoning,’ says Nathaniel. ‘I understand your eagerness to do more, but I think, given what you have seen and your connection to this thing, you should perhaps keep your distance.’
Nathaniel bids his farewells and leaves, quickly followed by Opel, who slaps Tariq’s back on her way out.
‘Let’s get training, then,’ Tariq says, hopping off the bar.
Training is not what I have on my mind. I want to help, and that’s what I’ll do.
‘Actually, could we take a walk?’ I say.
‘But we’ve just walked,’ Tariq says.
‘I know. But seeing Lucas just now has given me an idea.’
Tariq raises an eyebrow. ‘What sort of idea?’
‘I’ll explain on the way,’ I reply, picking myself up out of the chair.
‘Liam, hold on. We can’t just leave like this. Nathaniel said—’
‘You have to trust me,’ I say. ‘Please, Tariq.’
Tariq lets out a sigh. ‘Alright, let’s go.’