A Breeding Darkness (Complete)

(1)

Though morning technically arrived hours earlier, the city of Krov Korol never saw a shred of natural light. For the past two months, neither the moon nor the stars lit up the pitch black sky, and the sun's beams had been forgotten in the face of the cold darkness. Instead, the lamps burned their oil to the last drops, and the brave men from the palace continually bustled up and down the abandoned streets to refill them.

Lucy Shubin walked across the paving stones of King Street, the wavering light of her personal lamp reflecting off the puddles left behind from a recent rain. Her boots clicked against the stones and she clutched her long coat closer. It was a strange feeling, being out in the darkness. Almost as if the spaces around her did not exist unless they were in the orange pools of light under the dragon-shaped street lamps. She felt as if she was walking toward nothing, and that the inn she was headed to would not be where it had always been.

Yet, a few minutes later, the lantern hanging over the door of the Trickster Fox came into view and Lucy extinguished her lamp's flame. It was better to save any bit of oil, as the prices were already rising as the panic festered. Everyone was beginning to realize-- the darkness may never leave.

Lucy pushed through the door and into the inn. The warmth of a large firepit, covered over by pots cooking soups, heated her chilled cheeks and ears, and the tension of the mysterious darkness eased a bit as crackling logs banished the shadows into corners and gave the atmosphere a cozy comfort of winter nights.

Since the darkness made it impossible for those who worked outdoors to do their jobs, the Fox was unusually filled with patrons. Yon, the sturdy man who owned the inn, dashed between tables and the bar, trying to sell as much mediocre rice wine as possible. His audience was captive, and they had nothing better to do other than lounge in the nearest inn and empty its stores.

Lucy unwrapped her scarf to hang loosely down her front, revealing her face to the inn. The reaction was immediate. The chatter died away, replaced with stares and tiny gasps of air as they realized who had just stepped into the inn. A Dreamwalker.

The stares always made her wince. In the mirror each morning, Lucy saw the freckles smattering across her cheeks and nose, her stubby nose, and the curls she'd inherited from her mother. It was a simple face, but one she was happy to have. Yet, when the people of Krov Korol saw it, they did not see Lucy first. They saw instead all the rumors they had heard about Dreamwalkers, and the fear that those built in their guts. They saw the whispers that Dreamwalkers were cursed and that staying too near one might spell the end.

Lucy cleared her throat, uncomfortable under the burning attention, but also used to it. It had been eight years since the common folk of Krov Korol learned what Dreamwalkers were. What they could do. Eight years since everyone learned Lucy's name and knew she was set apart.

Yon bustled to her side, body stiff and eyes narrowed. His fingers tapped against an earthen jug. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I asked Saul to meet me here," Lucy responded. Her eyes scanned the thick wooden tables that cluttered the room, hoping to see her manager among the grimy and sweaty faces. Normally she sat with Saul by the firepit to chat, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Yon clicked his tongue. "I asked Saul not to use my establishment for your meetings any longer. The folk are getting nervous about you spending so much time here."

"I didn't know that," Lucy said, though she wanted to remind Yon that he hadn't been this thoughtful of his patrons before the darkness hit, when she and Saul had been paying him handsome fees for the trouble of hosting a Dreamwalker.

Yon waited a moment, perhaps hoping she'd give up and leave, but when she stood firm and silent in front of him, he finally sighed and jutted his chin at the door leading to the rooms in the back of the building. "Third room."