IV
It's natural for humans to have instincts.
After all, they were just like the animals they lived next to.
Deep primitive compulsions that seemingly came from no rational basis, yet felt so desperately certain and compelling that one can't help but listen to it.
Often, these instincts turn out to be right for James; his drive to flee having saved him more times than he could count.
He owed his survival to the force which was often unjustly blamed as irrational.
?However, these competing instincts weren't always compatible.
In James' case, his next strongest compulsion was his curiosity; his intense desire to fully understand the questions that squirmed in his head.
There was a value in knowing what your enemy was capable of and what they wanted. Knowledge was also survival.
?James wanted to keep running, but he really didn't understand how the knights had gotten this close to him so suddenly. He wasn't that significant in the greater scheme of the kingdom. Why put this much effort into him? How did they suddenly catch up to him? Why now?
?These were the questions that plagued James' mind as he crossed the last house of the town, on the edge of the deep forest beyond him. He stopped.
?There was too much he didn't know. That alone seemed more dangerous than simple proximity.
?In this case, his instinct of curiosity won the battle, and he turned around. Perhaps James was too self-centred, and it was his middle-man they were interested in. Or not. Either way, it was important for him to know.
?He knew bits and pieces about his middlemen, it was important to have the leverage. It kept them quiet, in theory, but James never let those bastards see his face anyway. He always picked the worst scum around for the job he could, but that made them the least trustworthy as a result.
?James wanted to be thorough in his investigation, so he would need more than what was available on the top of his head. He made his way to the slums.
?The slums were his favourite place to be, despite the poverty and crime. It was the kind of place you wouldn't want to walk alone through after dark, but it was also where the criminal heart of the town thrived.
?The stench of sewage became stronger the deeper James went, flesh, filth, and rot littering the streets.
The flimsy buildings creaked with a breeze, being held up by sheer proximity and density alone; it left the walkways so narrow that he had to walk slightly sideways just to avoid bumping into others.
He knew better than to make eye contact with the characters that lurked and loitered. He didn't plan to stay long.
?This was where that middleman had the unfortunate, but deserved, fate to live; just like all the others. He would never let these people live comfortably.
?James slipped away into a long thin alley that was so tight he had to keep his back pressed to the wall behind him, lacking the arm space to be able to draw Eris if he needed to. That fact hiked up his anxiety.
?Deeper down, where the tall buildings on either side kept James under a path of darkness, free of the light from the sun, he found a door that seemed sturdier than the others.
It was a struggle to kick it down with so little space to move his body.
He couldn't have used Eris even if he was able to, as she is just a plain lump of metal against anything that's not living.
Somehow, though, he managed to break it open and slunked inside.
?There was complete darkness as soon as the door shut behind, not a single window on any wall. James lit a match from his pocket, cupping a protective hand around it, and used the small amount of light to find a lamp that he could use.
?With the condition of his eyes, even though more light was now available, James struggled more than someone else would have to recognise elements of the room; his inadequacy to distinguish colours was making it difficult to see.
?Even so, with a bit of searching, the lamp shone a light over a wooden desk with a scrappy book surrounded with other sheets of paper. It only took James flipping a few pages before coming to the quick conclusion that the book was a ledger; detailing the selling of goods. This intrigued James.
?His middleman had never been a worksman, nor a merchant. He had been aware the man had sold illegal drugs before, but those goods didn't make as much profit as whatever was being documented in this financial register. Whatever he had been selling, it had made him a lot of money.
?James decided to investigate further, walking from one side of the room to another, checking a cabinet, to a chest, to a bedside table. The only other thing to note was the large quantities of non-perishable food being kept in this house. It was a lot for one person.
?There. James noticed one floorboard didn't sound like the others.
?It seemed Eris had also picked up on this, he could feel her curiosity.
?James squatted down to shine the light to the floor, seeing the rug was suspiciously placed. It was a big room, yet, the only rug happened to be in this single corner with nothing around it.
?He peeled it from the floor, only to find a trapdoor beneath. Bingo.
?"That was surprisingly obvious," he remarked.
?An attempt to hide this basement had been made, but it had been way too easy to find. If the guards had gotten here before him, no doubt even those imbeciles could have found this. The man must have been an idiot.
?Pulling it open, the lamp revealed some wooden steps that James decided to follow. It was a tight squeeze, and the downward corridor was a lot filthier than the room upstairs. An awful stench emanated from within.
?It didn't take long for James to find out what the smell was, as the corridor widened into a room, and a corpse lay by his feet. He had been somewhat startled by it, despite knowing the scent well, as the child that laid at his feet mustn't have been older than ten.
?The body was at quite a late stage of decomposition, it must have been festering for weeks.
?A whimper sounded suddenly.
?James turned around quickly to find a living child curled up in the corner like a terror-stricken animal.
?Was this how that man was making his money? Child trafficking?
?James felt a hateful rage burn up, disgusted with this kingdom, its people, its kings. All of it.
?Those ledgers reported a dozen sold a month, just how many children had been sold?
James felt sickened. He had seen many things, and every time he came across situations like this, he couldn't control his reaction.
He was outraged that this had been allowed by others' laziness. Someone, somewhere, must have known.
?He'd become convinced that those Ankaid knights must have been interested in his middleman rather than James himself.
However, he didn't understand why they were so interested in an insignificant human trafficker in Drykas territory that they would come all this way themselves.
Why not just alert the Drykas knights and let them deal with it?
?With a quick survey of the rest of the room, it seemed as if this child was the only one left.
?"What's your name?" he asked.
?The child didn't respond.
?Impatient, James approached the young boy; swinging the lamp in front of the kid's face.
?"Hey, I asked what your n—"
?James froze.
?Red eyes.
?"You..."
?The child startled, his wide eyes panicking. He quickly shut them tightly, and blocked his face with his hands.
?James was at a loss for words for a moment. This wasn't as simple as passing him to the knights.
?This boy was in danger.
?"Hey, don't panic," James said, "I'm a knight from the Talum empire." he lied.
?The boy lowered his hands a little, peaking at James.
?"I'm not here to pass you onto an owner, nor the knights of this country. I can take you to Talum."
?He got the sense that the boy didn't believe him, but he didn't say anything.
?"What's your name?"
?The child had a hollow defeated look on his face, "Milo".
?James smiled, aware it probably didn't look genuine. "It's nice to meet you Milo, I'm Jack."
?Milo gave James a limp hand, expecting to get dragged away.
?Eris seemed just as hateful as James did in that moment. He knew the boy was just going to be easy to save himself from further abuse. He had completely given up.
?"Okay, Milo." James untied his pouch from his belt, "I'm going to need to put this in your eyes."
?He saw the terror that froze the child's body.
?"It's not harmful," James promised, "here, watch me."
?The boy watched James pour the liquid from the vial into his own eyes with sick scrutiny. James didn't bother to show it hurt.
?"See?" James said, blinking the tears away, "It hurts a little, but it'll be safer for you."
?Hesitantly, Milo nodded, and James slowly and gently poured a couple of drops in each eye.
?Milo groaned and hissed in pain, but they didn't have much time left until the Ankaid knights found this place. James believed that they must have known about this child. That was why they were here.
?"I'm going to carry you," James warned, "keep your eyes closed for a few minutes."
?It was lucky they were near the border to Talum.
The Drykas royal house focused on the military defence of the empire; as a result, the majority of Drykas territory was around the outer edges.
Talum was a country powerful enough not to be forced into extraditing petty criminals back to Khearian.
In the case of those with red eyes, Talum refused to send them back, taking moral contention over the issue.
It was the one place this boy would be safe.
?They had to be quick, however. It was a race against time.
?James ignored the child's frightened yelp as he picked him up over his shoulders. The boy's clothes were way too thin to wear at this time of year, but he would just have to cope with it for the time being. He'd die of a stab wound far sooner than he would of the cold.
?He knew the boy didn't trust him, but that didn't matter. He wouldn't have either.
?It was hard to sneak past people with a young boy over his shoulders. There was a limit to what these people would pretend not to see, and children hit many people's soft spots. James quickly remembered how tight together and tall the buildings were.
?They left through the entrance, the light made the boy whimper, his eyes having been in the dark for so long. James didn't have time to let him adjust.
?"Keep them closed a little longer."
?Holding the boy with one arm, he grabbed onto the window sill of another building, and pulled himself up. He strained to lift his other arm upward with the boy on it, trying to get him in reach of the roof.
?"Grab it." James ordered, reaching his limit.
?The boy did and James pushed his feet up so the boy could climb on top, and was quick to follow.
?Taking a glance at the boy in the sunlight, his arms and legs trembled like thin bare branches in the wind. This child had absolutely no strength nor muscle, clearly having been starved.
?Despite James' tired arm, he picked the boy up once again over his shoulder. There was no way this child would be able to keep up in his state.
?"Stay still." James said.
?James wasn't going as fast as he liked, but with only one arm free and an uneven weight, it took more effort to keep his balance as he stepped from one rooftop over to another.
?He was thankful the density of the slums remained consistent, it kept them out of view for the most part. People below would perhaps see a passing shadow, and they'd be gone before anyone would think to look up at them.
?Behind him, in the distance, he heard shouting.
?He didn't have time to look back. It could have well been some locals fighting each other; or it could be some locals getting into a spat with those knights.
?James would treat it like the latter. If he always assumed the worst, it meant he could always be prepared for that scenario.
?The tiles of rooftops slid as with each step, some falling and shattering on the ground below. He hoped the commotion was loud enough to cover him to any particularly sharp ears.
?"You can open your eyes now," he told the boy, "but don't look down."
?They were nearly at the edge of the city, the buildings becoming shorter, and wider apart. The jumps were becoming too long with a child over his shoulders. He would have to travel by ground from now.
?Peering behind, James took in the skyline of the city he probably would never come back to. The cream, red and grey roofs looked pretty as they faded away into the pale fog that huddled in front of the green mountain. He wondered if the boy felt the same way.
?He lowered the boy to the floor first, whose eyes, now browner, seemed to have a glint of life restored in them. James knew what that dangerous emotion was; hope.
?He jumped down himself, garnering glances from the few people around. Many of them were carrying farming equipment, confirming to James that they'd nearly reached the end.
?"Can you run?" he asked the boy.
?Milo bit his lip, as if he was unsure himself.
?James sighed.
?He crouched down and presented his back to the boy. "Hop on."
?James did the running for the both of them, bounding past goats and chickens and getting further from humans, and closer to the woods. The path had long since turned from cobbles to dirt, grass thickening on either side and the trees becoming denser.
?He didn't fool himself into thinking they were safe yet. Obsessively looking over his shoulder to spot any sign they're being followed. So far, it seemed unlikely; but he couldn't confidently claim that they wouldn't catch up.
?Luckily for them, no wild animals seemed interested in them; their journey not having to be slowed down by any territorial beasts.
?James vaguely attempted to picture a map of this area in his; having not carried one for a while now.
?His memory served correctly as they stumbled upon a small hidden village, only a few houses huddled together in this clearing. They were well sheltered by the forest around them.
?James lowered the boy from his back and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards one of the houses. It seemed to be made of a mixture of rock and clay, a wood and straw roof barely keeping it dry inside. A washing line blew gently in the wind.
?It didn't seem anyone was around.
?James felt the dry material of a brown hooded jacket. It was small, like it belonged to a child.
?He pulled it off the line and leaned down to wrap it around the shoulders of Milo, thinking Milo would need it more than its original owner.
?Whilst they were at the border, it was a few hours walk to the next village in Talum. The boy needed to be warm enough to at least last the journey if he wanted to survive. The dried meat in James' bag would have to do in the way of food for the kid.
?He squatted down to be eye-level with the boy, gave him the rest of his meat, and grasped him by the shoulders.
?"Listen to me carefully." he said, "Right now your eyes are brown, but they'll soon turn red again. You must follow this path and not come off it under any circumstances. Do you understand?"
?The boy nodded enthusiastically, his sunken eyes full of determination.
?"You can trust the villagers there." James went on to say, "Do not go with any other Talum knights than the ones the villagers tell you are okay. They will know who is safe for you."
?"Thank you."
?James smiled, but it was more like a grimace. This child shouldn't have even been in this situation in the first place.
?"But, what about my mum?" Milo asked.
?"You can never come back here, you understand?" James told him in a harder tone, "Your family are safer with you away in Talum. You must never come back."
?A bit of the child's optimism faded, but even he knew better than to deny it.
?"You must go now."
?James stood and gave Milo's shoulder an encouraging push.
After some hesitance, the boy clung the jacket closer to his body and walked the path with his sore bare feet.
He looked back many times before he finally went out of sight beyond the trees, but James hardly had the capacity to feel happy anymore.
?Eris seemed to approve of what he had done.
?"It's just one boy." he said to her, "There's still a whole country of them behind us."
?He got the sense she brushed off what he just said.
?"Rude." he huffed.
?Alone again, just Eris and him. He let himself take a breath of fresh air, simply thinking.
?As long as the child got there within the daylight without disturbing any animals, and not being caught by any corrupt Talum knights first, he would live.
?Still, James was a paranoid man.
?"I think we'll just stay here for a little while longer," he told Eris, "just in case."
?It wasn't like Eris had a choice in the matter. James often wondered if she ever got sick of being dragged around; she never once complained. Though, he supposed she didn't have anything else to do.
?A twig snapped behind him.
?James didn't have time to react. He had only narrowly missed the swing of a blade before he completely understood what was happening.
?It came at such a shock to him, he lost his balance from the clumsy evade. They took that as an opportunity to swing once again. A flash of silver and blue, a blade whistling as it effortlessly sliced through the air, aimed directly for his throat.
?James was falling backwards, narrowly escaping. He couldn't spare an arm for a single moment to pull out Eris, not when he needed them to break his fall. He desperately needed to create space.
?The hairs on his neck prickled to stand up, his frantic heart trying to steal his concentration.
?The man swung again, but this time it made contact. Was he hit?
?James felt fear.
?It took a moment once he was on the floor, his body was okay. However, the weight didn't feel right.
?Eris.
?Above him, a man in silver armour, the metal glaring under the sun, stood above him, pointing a sword to his throat. Adorned in a blue cape, and a lavish blue plume sat acrest his helmet, his face was entirely obscured from view.
?He must have used his blade to cut Eris off her strap, and used his foot to kick her away. James held his breath, unable to look away to search for her.
?James was at his mercy.
?This man's skill was frightful.
?The man said something unclear to James behind his helmet.
?"What?"
?The man used his free hand to tear off his helmet, letting it fall to the dirt.
?James flinched at the surprising sight; this man's skin...
?"The boy," he said, his voice a deep rumble, "what did you do with the boy?"
?His skin and hair was an olive brown.