“Raid?” My sleepy mind cleared. “Another?”
I jumped to my feet, Tewy in my arms. I clung to him. I had to get dressed, but my sleep clothes would have to do. Just managing to swipe my cane from where I kept it next to my bed, I broke into a run. I heard Nikon breathing beside me but his footsteps made no sound.
As I headed up the stairs, I asked, “What about Zoe and Kaius?”
“We’re here,” Zoe said.
I rushed toward her voice, grateful when her arms enveloped me. “Stay safe.” Emotion cracked my voice.
“We’ll be fine. It’s you we need to worry about.”
“And maybe Nikon, if the Reding has put word out about his escapades.”
Nikon pulled me away from Zoe, not acknowledging my words. “We have to go.”
“Be careful,” Kaius said in his soft tone as I headed down the hall.
I opened the door to the roof, and Nikon took Tewy from me. Within moments, we were jumping from one house to another, like we’d practiced far too many times.
Had the raids increased because of our dealing with the Reding and Vading, or because the rebellion was getting a footing here?
I tried to keep my landings as quiet as possible but didn’t do as well as Nikon. I could only tell he was with me by his hand occasionally brushing against my free one.
My movements were jerkier than I intended as anxiety flashed through my muscles. The sounds from the streets grew louder. People, shouting and screaming. Crying. Warriors, yelling for them to be quiet and cooperate. Windows breaking. It was too much. Made my chest twist in pain. I hoped they didn’t look up, and if they did, that the night protected us from being spotted.
As we got away from our house and closer toward the less raided part of Itpy, the noise grew more distant. Things were oddly silent by the time we climbed down the ladder to the alley below. I didn’t dare speak and break that silence while we headed toward my hiding spot in the sewer. As we crossed over to the amant side of town, the cobblestone was hard and cool against my bare feet.
I did not want to go back into the sewer. The memory of having to do so before was sharp and disgusting. It was better than being found by the warriors, but not something I wished to repeat. Another thought occurred to me. There wasn’t room for us both in the sewer. I doubted Nikon could fit in it, with how tight a squeeze it’d been for me. I whispered, “What about you? Where will you hide?”
“I’ll find a place.” Nikon’s voice was softer than mine.
“Then I will, as well. We’re in this together.”
“We must keep you safe.”
“I won’t leave you,” I said with a stubborn tone.
He sighed. “Fine. We’ll hide in the amant alleys until dawn or till the raid is over, but we’re more likely to be caught, since we’ll be out in the open.”
I squeezed his elbow instead of speaking.
We passed the amant sewer and entered an unfamiliar area. I was taken back to those first days I knew Nikon, when we left the safety of the territory I’d lived in since Antonia took me there when I became blind.
The memories were frightening, but oddly, the current moment wasn’t so bad. Perhaps it was because I’d come to trust Nikon. It made stepping out into the unknown less terrifying. Didn’t stop my worries that the warriors would find us, but tempered them with his comfort.
Nikon led me into what I suspected was the amant side of town. At some point, we moved next to a wall. He leaned up against it, next to me. It had to be clean and safe if he was doing so.
I followed suit, and the waiting began.
At first, I was tense and jumping at imagined noises, but soon I became more relaxed. I was sleepy. I wanted the night to be over. Wanted to hear that no one from the rebellion got caught and that our housemates were fine. Tewy jumped on my shoulder. I reached up to run my fingers through his fur. The familiar feel of his fur against my fingertips was comforting, and I eased closer to him.
As time passed, Tewy moved from me to Nikon and back again several times, before leaning his head against mine and curling his tail around my neck. If I had to guess, he’d fallen asleep or was trying to. Just as well, since he brought attention down on us before with his sounds. Of course, that was only because Antonia trained him to do so. What else did she do, that I was clueless about?
My legs grew weary of my standing here, but I persisted, ignoring the burn. I held my cane loosely but tight enough to whip it out and turn it into my fighting sticks. My eyelids grew heavy, and I couldn’t stop yawning until Nikon nudged me.
“I think it’s safe,” he said.
“You think?” It was too quiet on this side of town to hear the cries well from the odiosom part where we lived.
“The morning sun is dawning. It’s safer to leave than to stay.”
I didn’t feel the morning warmth yet, but he’d see it. “You think that will end the raid?”
“We’ll be cautious, but yes, I do.”
I stretched my aching muscles, causing Tewy to give a protest and jump off my shoulder. “Let’s go, then.”
Taking his elbow with my free hand, I let him lead me back the way we came, the heat of the day finally starting to hit me. The turns weren’t familiar, until the odor of sewage came to me, and he said, “We’re at the amant sewer.”
From here, I had a pretty good idea of where we were. The sewage faded, replaced by the scent of dirt. Nikon had to go to his job if the sunlight was beginning to show, but I didn’t want to go home alone, without being sure if it was safe. Still, he couldn’t afford to lose his job, and I’d be fine. I had to be.
“Do you need to get to work?” I asked.
“No.”
“But—”
“Not yet.”
I left it at that. If he wanted to see me home, I wasn’t going to push him any further. I hoped we didn’t pay for it later.
We climbed up the ladder and made the many jumps across the roofs, before finally reaching ours.
Before I could ask if it was safe, he said, “There are no warriors on the streets, just a few odiosom.”
The others of our kind, who either couldn’t fall in love or simply hadn’t set their gaze on the right person who was their match. If they were out and about, things must be safe again. I should get going, and I could either rest or make more shawls. Nikon wouldn’t get that opportunity, and I was loath to part from him.
“Zoe and Kaius?” I asked.
“No sign of them yet, but this late in the morning, they may already be gone.”
I’d spend the rest of the day worrying over my friends until I knew they were fine. Though they should be. They were cautious, despite being the ones who led us to the rebellion. We needed people to fight against the amant’s rule. Just because the amant fell in love and the odiosom didn’t, it shouldn’t mean that the former ruled over everyone else. And to enslave the blind? My temperature rose and made me want to punch the closest thing that wasn’t Nikon. I had to think of something else.
“Are you leaving, then?” I asked him.
“I need to.”
I didn’t hear him move. Of course, he could be so silent that I didn’t hear him, but usually he made a little noise for my sake. I said, “It’s been rough, dealing with raids so often.”
“It has, and I don’t think they’re going to end any time soon.”
“Should we leave town?” Not that I knew where we’d go. We’d made a home for ourselves here. Friends and access to the rebellion too, despite the fact it had gone into a slumber as of late.
“I don’t think we’ll find things any easier, unless we go live in the desert outside the Reding and Vading’s reach.”
Tewy jumped on my shoulder and tugged on my hair. He probably wanted to get breakfast. I wasn’t hungry—not after the night’s events.
“Do you think we could survive in the desert?” I asked.
Nikon was quiet so long I didn’t think he was going to respond. “Do you want to go?” he finally asked.
“Not really, but I want us to be safe.”
A scuff came from around our feet. He said, “We could go, but it would have dangers of its own. There’s no saying we’d be any more likely to survive out there than we are here.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “Too bad Antonia knows where my old home was. It was peaceful there.” If lonely.
“It was. And if I’m honest, I’d like to go back at some point, to figure out if we can discover what those plans were about.”
The plans he couldn’t read because he struggled with glyphs, and I couldn’t read because I couldn’t see. Not to mention that we had to have them in the first place. “Do you think we should go to my old home now?” It seemed like a bad idea.
“No. Theodore will have the place watched if he thinks I’m going to return. With my luck, he’s placed a neczar there. One of those monsters or the high priest.”
It took me a moment to remember Theodore was the Reding. Nikon seemed familiar with him, which was to be expected since he’d been Theodore’s right-hand man. Still, hearing Nikon use the Reding’s first name so casually was a tad disconcerting.
“Are neczar real?” I asked. The creatures of nightmares that were mostly human, but with the head of a beast.
“More real than I want to admit. The high priest controls them. He’s worse than Theodore and Antonia. If the rulers have included him in their plans, your waterfall home probably won’t ever be safe, but maybe in a couple years they’ll stop looking for you.”
A shiver ran through me. Too many powerful people knew about me. “That’s unfortunate. I wanted to go back.”
“You don’t like it here? It makes sense, but I’d hoped that it would get better.”
I shrugged. “I’m happy. I like Zoe, Kaius, and Hettie, and I enjoy being around other people.” I lowered my voice. “And I want to help with the rebellion. People don’t deserve to be treated like slaves because they’re blind, or as a lower class because they haven’t fallen in love at first sight. It’s not fair. I want to do something about it.” Too bad I couldn’t figure out what.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you to a better, happier place when I took you from your home.”
“Don’t be. We’re where we need to be, even if it’s difficult sometimes.” Despite missing my idyllic home by the waterfall, my words were true. “Forgive yourself for coming into my home back then. If you hadn’t, I would have never met you, and that would be unforgivable—even if I wouldn’t have known it.”
Rough skin brushed against my cheek, his hand moving in to cradle my face. “I’ll try to. It is easier since it led me to you.”
I leaned into his caress, warmth spreading outward from my stomach. There was so much I wanted—my parents, to help the rebellion and for the rebels to succeed, a good life for the blind and the odiosom—but all I needed in this moment was to stay with Nikon.
Unfortunately, he should leave. “We should pack you a lunch to take with you.”
“I packed one last night.” His fingers traced my jaw before withdrawing. “But you’re right. I need to get going.”
I followed the sound of his footsteps going downstairs while I headed to my room. I quickly got dressed in day clothes and sandals before going downstairs. No sound coming from Zoe and Kaius. Either they’d already gone to work, or they were sleeping after the night’s events.
We ended up in the kitchen, where Nikon shuffled around, probably getting his aforementioned lunch and something for breakfast. I wasn’t hungry, but sat at the table anyway. Tewy curled up on the wood before me as I ran my hand over his fur. He snored softly. The night had been rough on all of us.
“Got everything I need. I’d best be going, since I was supposed to be there by now,” Nikon said.
“Have a go—”
The front door banged open. I gasped, ready to race out the back, but Leo’s voice stopped me. “Zoe and Kaius have been captured.”