Chapter 5
Five
It might have taken me a moment to register what he was saying before, but the terror in his voice gets me moving, my instincts kicking in before my mind has even caught up.
That fear in his eyes wasn’t for him, but for me.
Caleb would not cause a scene like this unless he was sure.
He could get in a lot of trouble if he was found to be helping one of the sullied.
Not sticking around to find out if he’s right or not, I grab Ella’s hand and pull her roughly to her feet.
She doesn’t complain, responding to my fear and sticking to my side like glue.
She knows better than to question me when we’re in the city and trusts me to keep her safe. I just hope that I don’t let her down.
I abandon our basket and the water container, moving away from the fountain as smoothly as possible.
Although Caleb told me to run, I know that will only bring attention to us.
We need to blend in, look innocent, and get out of the market as soon as we can.
Leaving our basket behind will seem suspicious too, but carrying that weight would only slow us down.
The muscles in my legs burn with the need to run and my palms are sweaty.
My eyes flit from person to person beneath my veil, looking for signs that we’re being followed.
A thumping noise pounds in my ears, blocking out the sounds around us, making me feel disconnected and afraid, and as though everyone is looking at us.
My normal calm reactions are gone, Ella’s presence making my mind spin, the responsibility to keep her safe wiping away everything I know.
“Sullied.”
The whisper is quiet and I shouldn’t be able to hear it, but the word hits me like a physical blow.
They can’t be speaking about us; our bands are covered.
However the brand seems to follow us, the whisper on everyone’s lips until it’s all I can hear.
Suddenly everyone around us is a threat, no one is spared of my paranoid suspicions.
The market stall holder who glances my way?
The child sitting by the fountain? Anyone of them could be an informant.
The atmosphere in the market changes drastically, people stopping in their tracks as they realise one of the sullied is in their presence. We need to get out of here now. I cannot take any risks, not when it feels like everyone is staring at us.
Glancing around, I realise that I’m not just being paranoid. Everyone is looking our way.
“Your veil.” Ella hisses, reaching up and jerking it back into place.
Horrified, I glance down at the offending fabric which is now safely covering my band. However, the damage is done. There are at least twenty people who just saw my black band.
The veil must have become dislodged when I was drinking and I hadn’t even considered shifting it back into place once Caleb appeared with his warning. Stupid, such a stupid mistake. A decade old habit that’s kept me safe, gone in a second because I got distracted. Now I might have doomed us both.
A loud booming noise fills the market, the sound echoing through the bazaar, seeming to get louder.
The frightened cooing of city folk around us raises to replace it, startle them and they become like chickens, flocking together and making useless noises in their distress.
They are right to be distressed though. The gates closest to us that lead out of the market have been closed.
A rush of adrenaline floods my body and my mind finally clears, narrowing down to one priority. Getting us out of here.
Like the nails in my coffin, three more slams sound distantly as the remaining market gates are closed.
Dread washes over me in a cold wave, the blood draining from my face.
We are trapped. Desperately I look around for a way out, there has to be a way.
If we can get to the wall then we might be able to climb over as lose the guards in the maze of the city streets.
It’s going to be difficult with Ella, she lacks the strength in her arms for climbing, but we don’t have an option.
Dragging Ella behind me, we hustle through the market, weaving between people and not caring who we shove past. There’s a commotion behind us and shouts for us to stop, and we ignore each one, using them instead to power us forward.
Glint of sunlight against metal is all the warning I get before a row of guards step out in front of us.
Gasp caught in my throat, I jerk Ella to the left and weave through the mess of stalls, but no matter how far we run, the walls don’t get any closer.
Lungs burning, I keep going even though it feels like the ground has become like quicksand, each of my steps slow and laborious.
More shining silver of the guards armour shines in my peripheral vision and I know they’re closing in on us.
Five guards’ step in front of us. My heels kick up dust as I dig them into the ground, skidding to a halt.
I look to my left. Stalls. Looking to my right I see it’s the same, only row after row of stalls with no way of escape.
Like a cornered rabbit, I spin so we can run back the way we came, but more guards pour into the market, blocking us off.
“Stop in the name of the King!”
I don’t see which of them speaks, but it’s probably the one with the decorated patch on his shoulder, marking him as a senior guard. Without giving me a chance to respond, they step forward in unison, the thudding of their boots like the frantic beating of my heart.
Releasing Ella’s hand, I push her away from me, backing up to put distance between us. She could easily lose herself in the crowd, they’re not looking for a child, but someone dressed as a widow.
“Go! Leave me!” I order, trying to ignore the way my heart breaks at her expression of desolation.
“No, I’m not going without you.” Her voice cracks and despite her denial, I can see the truth written in her eyes.
She knows her only way out of this is to leave me behind and its killing her.
This isn’t a decision anyone should have to make, especially not a child.
However, life in Rune is rough for the sullied and nothing good will come of her staying here with me.
“Run!” I bark, my eyes stinging with tears I refuse to shed. “Find Jules, he’ll help you.”
The man might be a solitary bastard but he has a soft spot for Ella. He won’t let her starve. I can’t believe that it’s going to end like this, I’m supposed to be here to protect her. Will she survive without me?
Someone from the side of the road reaches out and pulls Ella against them.
Instinctively I lurch forward to pull her back until I realise what’s happening.
One of the women running the stalls has taken her out of the line of sight of the guards.
I meet her gaze and she slowly dips her head.
Not in respect, but in acknowledgement that children don’t deserve to be dragged into all of this.
“Kiara-” The cry in Ella’s voice makes those final fragile parts of my heart shatter.
Thankfully whatever she was going to say is cut off but the woman on the stall.
The guards would have seen her with me, but they won’t go searching for a lone child unless she starts causing problems. Calling for me is only going to draw attention to her.
The guards have me completely circled now, but all I can focus on is Ella where she watches on, horrified.
“Go!” I roar, the ferocity of it startling even me. However, desperation is making me reckless and if I need to be the bad guy to keep her safe, that is what I shall do.
The sun is blocked out momentarily and I know my time is up as the guards surround me.
Rough hands grab my shoulders, pulling my hands behind my back so tightly that I cry out.
Raising my head, I stare at the closest guard and narrow my eyes, snarling in a way that makes me sound more animal than human.
With only my eyes visible and the growl rumbling through me, I’m not surprised to see a flash of fear in his eyes.
Unfortunately for me, it has no effect on getting me free, if anything, their grip only tightens.
Dragging me through the market, I try and take in as much around me as I can, cataloguing everything and putting it away in case I have the opportunity to escape.
I do take some pleasure in the fact that the guards are so out of breath.
I might have walked straight into their trap, but I made them work for it.
We seem to be moving toward the north side of the market, where the punishment block and stocks stand tall.
My mouth goes dry. I might have accepted my upcoming death, but there is a lot that can happen before then that I have not allowed myself to contemplate.
Will they torture me? Strap me to the stocks and flog me, leaving my open wounds to fester until I eventually die of an infection?
My bowels turn watery and I sweat profusely beneath my headscarf despite suddenly feeling freezing.
I should have considered this, but what would it have changed?
I would have only had more doubts and fears when I entered the market this morning, and that’s dangerous.
Doubt makes you second guess your decisions, which leads to mistakes.
No, it’s better that I didn’t let this affect me while Ella was with me.
Being faced with it now though, is something different altogether.