In The Shadow of Love

Chapter 44: The Streets of London

Sebastian laid in the bed at the inn, staring up at the ceiling in thought. He had wondered what that door was, but wasn't able to ask anyone about it. He knew he couldn't even talk about it with Ominis and Diane, which made this even more difficult. What had that voice been? He was sure he'd heard Diane's voice come from inside, and some part of him had wanted to open the door and rush inside despite Hecat's warning.

He sat up and looked out the window, seeing a rain gently fall down the glass. London... this was where Diane had grown up. He had no idea what it was like here. He had lived in Feldcroft all his life, never left the area until today. He wanted to see how she grew up, so he could hope to understand her better. She seemed so hurt sometimes, so insecure and depressed. Was it because of this place?

He glanced toward the far wall where Hecat's room was next to his. She'd told him to stay put, but...

He was never one for rules.

He knew he couldn't use magic at all, tucking his wand in his pocket carefully as he snuck his way out of the inn to step into the streets.

It was dark, a man walking down the streets with a long pole lighting the flames within each lantern along the sidewalk. He looked to Sebastian as he walked past, as if seeing something unusual.

It made his skin crawl a bit, wondering what he saw that made him look out of place. He looked down at himself and saw nothing unusual.

He tensed when he heard a scream in the distance, looking around at everyone else in the street around him but all of them seemed unphased. Like it was normal. Another scream pierced the night and though a few people glanced up from what they were doing, no one did anything still.

Sebastian had to move aside for a carriage rolling down the street, the horse snorting loudly and tossing its head as it passed him. It hadn't even stopped, threatening to run him over if he hadn't moved. The driver barked a few slurred words at him in anger, but he couldn't make out what he'd said.

He wanted to find whitechapel. He wanted to see what Ominis had made that face for.

He jogged down the slick cobblestone streets, ignoring the looks he got from others as he ran, until finally he found the small sign that said the street name. He looked around and felt his stomach drop. The buildings were dirty and run down, manure from horses pushed off to the side of the street. A few people huddled in the corner from the rain, wrapped in blankets to try and keep warm.

He walked down the street and imagined trying to live here, glancing over at an alley to see a man with a woman in the open, not even caring that anyone could see them. He gasped as the man slapped the woman, but she didn't seem to care, only looking away as he continued to kiss at her neck.

"Hey, sweetie." A woman said behind him, making him whirl around in surprise to face her. She was around his age, but her eyes were sunken, her cheeks thin. She had dirt and soot smudged around her skin, her dress similarly stained. It was low cut, showing off as much cleavage as she was allowed to legally show.

"Well, aren't you a looker?" She purred, grabbing onto his tie to pull him toward her. "What's someone like you doing here? You want to get robbed or something?"

"W-what? No." He said defensively. "I'm just... looking around."

"At whitechapel? Either you're from out of town or you're stupid." She scoffed. "No one wants to be in this place." She let him go, hearing another angry shout from down the street. She looked in that direction and watched warily before cursing softly.

"Come with me, handsome. Unless you want your throat cut." She grabbed his wrist and tugged him down the street until she went inside a small house, shoving him inside before closing the door behind them.