January Black

Chapter 1 - Part 1

A folded sheet of paper lay on Matty’s pillow. Eighteen-year-old Iris Lockecursed and kicked off the covers. She didn’t bother reading the note. She knew what it would say.

I’m sorry. I love you. Someone has to do it.

Fearing she had lost him again, this time maybe forever, she pulled on the clothes nearest to her—his shirt and boxers—and tore barefoot through the hallways of his building.

The contractors’ campus blurred as she raced through errant sprinklers. Wet concrete. Sharp breeze. Her teeth clenched tight to hold the chill out and tears in, but it was only reflex. Her thoughts and prayers were a half-mile up The Hill.

Passing a pair of open gates, she cut across the August Garden’s lawn. Her leg muscles burned. Her breath caught in her chest. She thought about giving up because she was already too late. Instead, she pushed herself harder towards the garden’s exit and the road beyond.

Crowds gathered. Fingers pointed. Disembodied voices asked what she was doing. Iris didn’t have the time for their nonsense. She flew past them all.

At the corner of the palace’s delivery drive, a sharp pain in her side forced her to stop. She pressed on the spot as hard as she could with the heel of her palm. Damn you, Matty. She hated running. After forcing a deep breath, she skipped into a jog.

Three gray Kitsune stood guard outside the doors of the palace’s main service entrance. The contractors on duty were wearing white, same as the shirt Iris wore. She slowed to a walk and pulled her tangled hair over her shoulder. Fixing her gaze straight ahead, she slipped into the middle of a group of housekeepers returning from a trash dump.

Iris kept the Kitsune in the corners of her vision, looking for hints they had noticed her. She thought she caught one’s eye, but he continued to pan the crowd. Passing him, she felt very uneasy. She shook off the suspicion that he saw her and let her go, then entered the doorway into the rear maintenance corridor.

It didn’t matter how much planning went into King Hadrian’s parties. Behind the scenes, they were always organized chaos. Just inside the door, there were a hundred people it seemed, some coming, some going, all walking quickly and with a purpose. Beyond them were the double doors that led into the Grand Corridor.

Iris dove into the crowd. She shoved past a woman with a mop and then ran into the back of a man with a fire extinguisher. Each push earned her a scolding. Voices all around her spoke her name until it was the one word that could be made out above the din.

She didn’t apologize or even acknowledge any of them. She just wished they’d take the hint and get out of her way.

Finally, Iris reached the doors and jerked them open.