Daygo's Fury (20 page)

******

As Liam left the whorehouse, he started to feel the effects of the alcohol take hold. He burped, striding out onto Dame Street.

He was tired of being angry and depressed. He wanted to have some fun. He took his bearings and decided to go towards Baker’s Corner. The sun was still over the buildings; it was earlier than he normally called over.

He wandered through the streets, looking at the inhabitants in muddled thought as he went. Eventually, he took a right onto Fenrow Street and a left onto Baker’s Lane which ended in Baker’s Corner. The street became shrouded in shadow as a cloud rolled over the sun. It was getting cloudier day on day as the summer came to an end. Soon the autumnal rains would come, scouring the slums clean.

He winced as his bare foot fell on the sharp side of a stone and frowned as he hopped on one foot for a moment. He normally had a natural instinct for where to place his feet.

The bakery was just up ahead to his right. He normally waited for Racquel to appear at the intersection between Fenrow Street and Baker’s Lane, but right then he didn’t feel like waiting. He walked right up to the baker’s, pressing himself flat against the wall beside the doorway. He crouched down low. Putting his hands to the edge of the entrance, he popped his head out quickly, peeping into the room. There was no one there. He pulled his head back once more, looking around to see if there was anyone watching his strange behaviour. A few passers-by looked at him quizzically but kept walking. He giggled, feeling lightheaded.

He popped his head out again. This time he saw Racquel walk into the bakery from the back room. She looked taller when he looked up at her from that height. He stifled a laugh, trying to focus his sideways vision. He tsked at her and she looked over sharply.

“Racquel!” he whispered. Her eyes opened wide as she saw his head floating above the ground.

“What—” she began.

“Come on, come on outside.”

“What are you doing?” she whispered back, looking behind her nervously.

“Come on, let’s go to the well.”

“I … it’s too early, I still have to …”

“Come on, forget about that, do it later.” She looked at him sceptically, his head still peeping from between his fingertips.

“What are you doing?”

“Come on,” he repeated, nodding his head away from the doorway. She raised her eyebrows at him, gasping in exasperation. She looked back and forth between him and the back room. “Come on, let’s go!”

“Hold on a second!” she said, turning around and hurrying back into the other room. Liam withdrew his head and rested his back against the wall, waiting. He was about to pop his head back around when Racquel appeared at the doorway.

“Come on,” she whispered, grabbing his arm, “before Galo sees you.” Liam laughed as she pulled him away.

“I don’t care what Galo sees!” he said.

Racquel looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Are you drunk?”

“What if I am?” he laughed.

“Come on.” She pulled at his arm, dragging him from the street. Liam glanced backwards as he was led around Baker’s Corner onto Cowper Street. He thought he caught a glimpse of Galo looking out after them from the front door but they were around the corner and out of sight before he could be sure. He grinned and lifted his arm in the air, waving his middle finger in the bakery’s direction. Racquel looked at him.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” he said, dropping his arm and looking back at her. He put his right arm around her shoulders happily. She laughed at him.

“How much have you drunk?”

“This much,” he said, holding his hands wide apart. She laughed again.

“Where are we going?”

“The Great Road!” Liam gestured extravagantly with his left arm, leaning heavily on Racquel as he did so. She stumbled and started to giggle. “We’ll go make our fortune! And then travel the world.” The Great Road to Darwin was only a fifteen minute walk from the bakery.

“I’ll show you how the gang makes the big money!” he said as they went. Racquel looked across at him curiously.

They could hear the bustle of activity as the Great Road came into sight. Liam loved going there; it was when all of his greatest ambitions came to the forefront of his mind. It was the only place in the slums where he could see wealth and prosperity. The streets became busier as they neared.

They walked out onto the side of the cobblestoned road, and Liam inhaled deeply, feeling free in the wide open space. To either side of the road were ten feet of the hardened clay and dirt of the slums. No buildings were allowed to breach this space. Traffic was not allowed to stop on the road. Wagons were kept moving in a constant stream, but there was space aplenty for them to pull up and for their inhabitants to take advantage of the businesses that set up each day on the road front, offering wheel repairs or food and water for animals and men. The wagons’ drivers often used the slums as their point of stop, where they could rest before performing their trade within the inner city.

Liam looked to one side and pointed. In the far distance were the tops of tall, green trees, the great forest that lay to the east of Teruel.

“I love seeing the forest,” he said. Turning to look far in the other direction, he could see the walls of the inner city of Teruel. “And the walls,” he added. “Makes you feel like there’s more than the slums.” He could see Racquel looking at him and he looked back at her, taking in the delicate features of her face.

“It feels like you can breathe better out here,” he said. She nodded.

“Follow me,” said Liam, taking Racquel’s hand. He walked her up the Great Road. There was a large warehouse at the opposite side of the road. Many wagons had pulled up and were queuing for entry. Two men were deep in discussion, standing just off the entrance.

“This is where the gang picks up all of its supplies from,” said Liam. He pointed at the two men. “That’s Lollan,” he said, indicating the taller one. He looked up as Liam pointed, frowning, but Liam paid him no mind. “He’s second in command this side of the road. There’s only three men ahead of him in the whole gang.”

It was six months ago since he had kissed a girl, the second kiss of his lifetime. It was great fun both times. But it felt different with Racquel. He wanted to do it but it wasn’t just for the fun. It was a different feeling, strange to him. He took her hand once more.

“Come on,” he said, spotting a wagon parked to the side of the warehouse. He dragged her across the road. She squealed as they ran in front of a wagon, just getting across before being trampled by the snorting horses. They slowed to a walk once they made it to the other side.

“Where are we going?” she asked breathlessly. There was no one behind the wagon, and it offered protection from the road. He turned back to her. He glanced at her lips, open slightly as she breathed through her mouth. She seemed to sense something of what he was about to do, he felt her go still in his hand. He stepped towards her and kissed her. Their lips touched and held in place. He could feel the breath from her nose on his cheek. He opened his mouth and pressed his tongue gently against her lips. She opened her mouth in response and their tongues met, tentatively at first and then finding more rhythm. He could taste her, a strange mix that wasn’t unpleasant. He wondered idly what he tasted like and hoped that it was okay. After a moment, Liam was unsure of what to do with his hands. His right hand still held her left softly. He moved his left to her waist and marvelled at the curve from there to her hip. He dared to move his hand down her side, feeling the curvature. It was intoxicating to touch her so intimately, far different to how he touched anyone else. Similar actions, yet worlds apart.

She felt so tantalizingly soft. So delicate and pure.

He felt her hand rest softly against his chest, and a thrill shot through him. He could feel his heartbeat quicken. He felt at home in this gentle embrace, felt the world grow distant. It was just him and her, with a shared caring that transcended words. He didn’t really understand it, but at the same time he just knew it from deep within.

They stayed there for minutes. He breathed in her scent, smelling vaguely of flour and dough. After a moment, she made a slight movement backwards and he responded, lips parting. They looked in each other’s eyes for a moment. He saw into the depths of hers; the blue irises, the whites so white. Her eyelashes were long and delicate, the ones below curled softly to rest against her skin. He felt a little pressure on his hand as she squeezed. His body flooded with warmth and he squeezed back.

“What are ye doin’ back there?” Liam looked up to see the wagon’s owner stride around the side of it, holding the whip for his horse.

“Nothin’,” said Liam. Racquel laughed and they turned and ran back around the wagon onto the side of the Great Road. They walked hand in hand down the road for a while, glancing back and forth at one another and smiling.

On the way back home, he gave her an example of how he stole. He asked her to make a slight distraction and, when she did, he swiped a pie from a stall, running around the corner with it quickly. When she followed and found him waiting, she clapped her hands in appreciation.

It was nearly dark by the time they reached Baker’s Corner again. Liam didn’t want it to end, and Racquel seemed reluctant to go as well. Their approach was slow. When they finally arrived at the corner, Racquel kissed him on the lips quickly and turned to go. He watched her jog to the door of the bakery and wave back at him as she entered. He lifted his hand in farewell before turning to return to the flat.

******

Racquel felt as though she was walking on air as she waved Liam goodbye. The feel of his lips on hers lingered as though they had left a vague imprint upon her. She had seen the desire within him as he had stared longingly towards the great forest. Racquel had never thought about leaving the city before. The idea had surprised her when Liam told her of it. She had thought about what she would do when she grew up, but her musings had always been limited to within the slums.

Liam seemed fearless in everything that he did. She thought back to when he had pointed out the matis boss, uncaring of the frowned attention that he received as a result. He was not scared of the big men. Racquel thought of herself and Galo. Liam wouldn’t fear him. Perhaps she needed to learn some of his courage.

She was deep in thought as she walked into the bakery, bolted the door behind her and climbed the stairs. She was surprised to hear the clatter of cutlery as she reached for the door to the living room. It was early for supper, and Cara would normally wait for her.

Stepping into the room, she saw Galo and Cara sitting down opposite one another. Racquel did not at first notice the warning signs as she walked over to kiss Cara on the cheek. She thought fleetingly how much different that kiss was to the one she had shared with Liam. She picked up her bowl from her place at the table and walked over to the pot that hung above the embers of the fire to fill it with her aunt’s stew.

As she picked up the ladle, some of it began to dawn on her and her hand slowed. The room had gone silent. Her aunt hadn’t said a word at her entrance. Her hand had been shaking slightly, her eyes downcast as she accepted the kiss. Galo had sat back at her entrance, watching her movements instead of tucking into his food. Normally at dinner he would scarcely lift up his head until he was finished eating.
What was wrong?

Suddenly, Racquel was afraid to turn around. She was certain something was wrong. She filled the bowl as slowly as she could. She braced her shoulders, trying to be strong. Her bowl was full. She was finished with the ladle. Her hand shook as she hooked it back on the edge of the pot with the curved end of the handle. She put it underneath the cup. Holding it with both hands, she stole herself and turned, walking slowly back to the table, her head down. She sat. Afraid to look up, she kept her eyes on the bowl’s contents as she picked up her spoon and began to eat. She had to force her jaw to chew the large chunks of vegetables and potatoes. Her stomach was in knots as she swallowed it down.

The silence stretched, and Racquel became more and more nervous until her hand was visibly shaking every time she lifted the spoon.

“Where have you been?” asked her uncle. Racquel jumped a little at his voice. She put down her spoon.

“I went out by the Great Road,” she said, looking straight ahead.
Galo nodded all too reasonably.

“Why did you go out there?”

“I …” Racquel tried to shrug nonchalantly, but it was a jerky motion. “Just to look at the wagons.”
Did he see us?
she wondered, nervously reliving her earlier exit.

“To look at the wagons?”

“Yeah.” She found it hard to speak. Her heart was beating frantically.

“Who were you there with?”

“I …” Racquel could feel a cold bead of sweat trail down her spine.
He knew. He had to know.
“I was there with a friend of Alison’s.”

“Who?”

Racquel was panicked now, and her whole body shook as she searched her mind for a name. “Ra … Rachel,” she stuttered after a moment. Her eyes blurred from the tears she was trying to hold from falling.

“Rachel? Hmm,” Galo murmured. “Rachel.” Racquel risked a glance up at him and saw his fist slam down on the table violently. She jumped, screaming, the tears dropped from her eyes, catching her cheeks on their journey down. Cara’s hands flew to her mouth, muffling her gasp.