Wraith(7)

I stumbled to my front door and gazed blearily through the spyhole. No one was there. Frowning, and still disorientated, I undid the flimsy lock but kept the door on the chain and peered out. When I saw Becky, my pint-sized neighbour from the flat upstairs, my confusion cleared. ‘Hey,’ I said, with the best smile I could muster. ‘What’s up?’

She gazed up at me, unable to speak, while my eyes refocused. That’s when I saw that her hair was unkempt, her cheeks were tear stained and there was a trail of half-dried blood leading from her ear to her cheek. My stomach flip-flopped with fear and my chest tightened. Becky wasn’t the type to get herself into a daft fight with another kid. She didn’t cry easily either. Something was very wrong. ‘What’s happened?’

Her eyes darted from side to side as if she were afraid of being overheard. There might have been no one in the corridor behind her but I got the message loud and clear. I gently gestured her in and closed the door before trying again. ‘What’s happened, Becky? What’s wrong?’

She hiccupped, trying to catch her breath. ‘My mum,’ she said with a ragged sob. ‘They took her.’

I did my best to quash my growing alarm. ‘Who?’

‘The goblins. They kicked in our door and dragged her away. When I tried to stop them…’ Her voice trailed away. The blood smudged on her skin was answer enough. ‘I ran away and hid in the caretaker’s closet before they caught me too. Now I don’t know where to go.’

I ignored the furious roaring in my ears. ‘Why, Becky? Did they say why they were arresting your mum?’

‘She broke the law.’ She gave a helpless shrug. ‘That’s all they said. They didn’t say what law.’ She blinked at me. ‘She was screaming the whole way out. Didn’t you hear her?’

I grimaced. The stairs leading out of the building were at the other end of the corridor. It didn’t matter how loud a noise was; when my shadow consciousness was in play, only the sounds in my immediate vicinity ever registered. Every goblin in Stirling could hold a rave in this very building but unless they were within twenty feet of me I wouldn’t hear them. ‘I must have been sleeping.’ It was a pathetic excuse but with any luck Becky wouldn’t question it. I quickly moved on, changing the subject as best as I could. ‘When did all this happen?’

‘Maybe fifteen minutes ago.’ She twisted her fingers together. ‘They’re still outside. There are three goblins. I tried to go out to follow them so I knew where they were taking Mum but I didn’t know how to get past without them noticing me.’ Two large tears squeezed out and rolled down her cheeks, mingling with the blood and grime.

I nodded. Whatever sick game the goblins were playing, Becky had done the right thing. It was typical for entire families to be arrested so the more vulnerable members could be used as collateral. But Ange did all that she could to remain on the right side of Filit-imposed martial law so why they’d arrested her made no sense.

‘You have to help her, Saiya.’ Becky clutched at my sleeve and I had to resist the urge not to pull away. ‘You have to tell them they’ve made a mistake!’ Her panic was rising. ‘Tell them!’

I swallowed. That was all very well but I couldn’t just get up and wander out the door. My shadow was currently trapped in a dark corner of Kanji; while physically I could manage for a full day without it, if anyone turned on the lights and noticed it hanging there – or indeed if anyone noticed my physical form happened to be shadowless – then my number would be well and truly up. I was a wraith. I knew very well how much the world hated my kind – and usually with good reason. In the event of my unmasking it wouldn’t just be the goblins I’d have to worry about; even Becky could turn on me.

‘I’ll do everything I can,’ I said, telling her the truth. ‘But I need to act smart. If we go after your mum like a bull in a china shop, the Filits might hurt her for the hell of it.’ There was no point in shielding Becky from the truth; kid or not, she knew as well as I did what petty crap the goblins were capable of. ‘First of all, we need to know exactly why they’ve taken her.’

‘She’s a good person!’ Becky burst out. ‘She’s not done anything wrong!’

I forced a reassuring smile onto my face to soothe her. It helped, if only momentarily. ‘I know,’ I said. ‘Maybe they’re rounding up people like her for the hell of it. Maybe it’s a case of mistaken identity. Maybe she did something they don’t like without realising it. I’ll have more chance of success in getting her freed if I know as much as possible.’

This wasn’t just a delaying tactic to give myself time to retrieve my shadow. No one petitioned the goblins blind, not if they wanted to walk away unscathed. Holding my breath, I placed a hand under Becky’s chin and gently tilted her face up towards mine. It was the least I could do. I rarely touched others if I could help it but sometimes there were circumstances where tactile reassurance was required.

‘Go back to your flat. Make sure you’re not seen. If you think there’s anyone inside, come back here. If it’s clear, I need you to search it as quietly, quickly and as thoroughly as you can. You’re looking for anything new or anything out of the ordinary. If you see something you’ve not seen before, bring it to me. Just because it doesn’t look important doesn’t mean it isn’t important.’