The Fate Of The Marked

Chapter Eleven

I spent the next three days in my room. Jane went back to work on Monday, and left early with Derek. It took a lot of convincing for her to leave me alone in the house. After Luka and the other man, Cauis, left and she found me curled up in a ball, she called social services.

I overheard her and Derek talking about it before I dozed off. She had discovered that they had not sent the two men out to check on me, and refused to believe that Luka hadn't done anything to me. Derek let it drop. He must have seen how upset I had been anytime it was mentioned.

I went downstairs and dug through the kitchen. Jane had left twenty dollars on the counter, with a long note that told me order something or go out if I couldn't find anything I wanted in the fridge. It went on to tell her and Derek's work and cell phone numbers, the addresses, and for me to be safe if I decided to go out. The spare key was under the mat on the front porch. Going out seemed like a bad idea, but I was tired of being in the house. I had yet to find anymore interesting rooms.

I dressed and ignored the burn in my shoulder. It had started some time the day before and had not stopped. The mark felt hotter than the rest of my body, as if pressure was building. I didn't doubt that it was fully possible, after everything that had happened.

I only paused at the front door for a moment. I knew that if I went right, there was a small town with a few shops. The city was to the left. I walked to the end of the drive and chose right, hoping it would be quieter. The sun was high and the sky was blue, but the air was frigid. It had looked almost warm from inside the house. I pulled my jacket tighter around me an ducked my head, wary of everyone I passed. I had no idea where I was going, but kept moving towards town.

No one looked twice at me.

It was a good feeling.

I passed a huge building with massive pillars. People were standing around, talking loudly to one another. Most of them were dressed in suits but others were in uniforms. At the very top, the engraving into the stone read Alexandra Court House, 1824. I kept moving. The other streets were just as crowded. I saw several kids my own age, though it was a school day, but skirted around them.

I had no clue where I wanted to go. The longer I was walked in the crowd, the calmer I felt. No one could do anything to me here without causing a scene.

Someone knocked into my shoulder as I turned a sharp corner. I froze for a long second, a cold feeling entering me, wind blowing straight through my clothes and sending shivers down my spine. I kept moving, faster, with my eyes down. When I looked back, a short man was picking papers as they blew in the breeze. Someone laughed as they went into the street. I felt guilty but didn't stop.

I took deep, calming breaths and told myself, as I had over the last three days, that no one was following me. Still, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I turned another corner and found myself walking down a long street. Hardly any people were out.

Two men, in almost identical back uniforms, were walking on wither sidewalk straight for me. There was no doubt, both their eyes were trained on me. They looked exactly alike, with cold black eyes. One of them held a short, sharp knife. the other had a chain belt with a sword hilted by his side. The one on my side caught my eye and winked.

The air rushed out of my lungs. I looked around desperately. All the shop doors were closed against the cold, most of them were closed for lunch. The man was too close for me to pause and open a door. He or his counterpart would get to me before I had the chance. The only rational option was one that could get me killed.

I ducked into the alley closest to me, looking for a wall or fence to jump.

It was a dead end. I faced a brick wall ten yards away, two dumpsters pressed against it. My only hope would be to climb it and hope I could reach the roof. I burst into a run, and for a half second, believed my plan would work. Then, a cold fear like I had never felt before rushed through my body. The only thing similar I could compare it to would be when I first met the Hunters gaze in the café.

I stumbled, feet away from my destination, mark on my shoulder burning like an icy fire. I spun around and saw one of the men staring at me from the mouth of the alley.

His dark hair and eyes seemed to glow with unnatural light. His features seemed to be made of shadows. He flickered in the sunlight, the edges of his form blurring. His eyes were cold, deep pits that seemed to go on for an eternity and I felt for a moment that I would be trapped in them. Behind him, the other man stood with his back to us, watching the street.

A gray light came up like a wall behind the other man, blocking people out and trapping me in. Others passed by the blockade, oblivious to what was going inside the now darkening alleyway. The first man's mouth twitched, lips curving into a malicious smile. Beyond that was a pitch black mouth and rotted, pointed teeth.

If I wasn't sure before, I knew know that what I was dealing with was not human. Or, at least, not completely so.

"Elliot Steele," The Hunters deep voice rumbled, "Prepare to pay for the sins of your father."