Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Ebony and Taylor walked through the fence and onto the familiar streets of the halfling district. The scents of outdoor fires and the river drifted on the wind, pulling Ebony to the here and now.

"Looks like Jimmy is hosting a party," Taylor pointed out.

"Well, we'd better not miss that," Ebony said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, which wasn't a lot.

Jimmy was an older halfling who worked at a bar stocking liquor and doing some prep in the kitchen. Sometimes his boss would send him home with near empty bottles as a tip and he'd hold a party when he acquired enough to get a few people drunk.

Ebony grabbed Taylor's arm and pulled her along faster. "I think I could use a drink. Don't tell anyone where we were."

"Duh, secrets come to me to die, remember?" Taylor said with a wide grin.

Ebony loved this redheaded ball of energy. "Thanks."

By the time they joined the party, it was already hopping, the alcohol was almost gone, and quite a few people were drunk.

"Ebony and Taylor!" Jimmy yelled when they entered the light of the small bonfire. "Hurry before there's nothing left to drink." Jimmy was about fifty and he looked closer to seventy. Gray hair, wrinkles and a sadness in his eyes that comes early to the halflings. Ebony knew he hadn't expected to live this long and was enjoying what he could of life while he had it.

"Thanks, Jimmy," Ebony said when he handed her an empty cup and poured in a shot of vodka.

"We already ran out of mixers so it's straight shots, sorry."

Ebony laughed and slammed the liquor, enjoying the harsh burn and cleared her throat. "I think straight shots is exactly what I need tonight," she said, holding her cup out for another.

"Of course, my dear," Jimmy said. He didn't ask why, it didn't matter. They all knew life was hard and sometimes you just needed to forget it.

"I didn't think you two were going to show up," Maralynn said as she walked over with a huge smile. Her short brown hair was newly-shaved up one side and she'd styled it so it swept over to the other side. She was about the same age as Taylor and Ebony, but she'd grown up in an orphanage and it gave her a harder edge.

"We wouldn't miss a Jimmy party," Taylor said, coming up and putting an arm around Maralynn's shoulder.

"You wouldn't miss a party. Period," Maralynn teased.

"Of course I wouldn't," Taylor agreed enthusiastically, then dragged Maralynn into a conversation about a new arrival. A boy had just turned eighteen and was kicked out of the orphanage. On an orphan's eighteenth birthday they got a bus ticket to the halfling district and a garbage bag for their things. Maralynn was the resident caretaker of the newly aged out. But everyone in the district tried to pitch in where they could and support a newcomer.

"I think there's an opening at the hotel in maintenance. If he knows the difference between a screwdriver and a plunger, I bet they'd give him a shot at least," Taylor offered.

"Great, his name's Peter. I'll have him ready at your door in the morning. He can bus in with you two."

"Of course," Ebony said, and Maralynn sauntered off to deliver the good news.

The halfling district was a tight community, they watched out for each other. Ebony thought maybe if she told them what she needed, they'd come through for her. Maybe she could have the eight within six months if everyone pitched in.

It was something to consider, at least. Ebony rubbed absently at a spot high on her chest where a familiar dull ache was pushing through the haze of the alcohol, the buzz from the two shots was fading with the pressure of reality and she decided she didn't really want to party after all. She looked around, no one was paying attention at the moment, so she snuck away.

Tomorrow was supposed to be the start of her final adventure but instead, it was going to be just another day.

Ebony's one-bedroom home was comfortable, it was her safe place, full of memories of her mother and her happy childhood. She touched the afghan that still hung over the back of the floral print couch. Her mother used to throw it over their laps as they'd cuddled. They'd spent many a night staring out the window and talking about the stars. Her mother had known a lot about the stars and constellations. She probably would have gone to school for an astronomy degree if she hadn't become pregnant with Ebony. She could have found a job at an observatory perhaps, talking about stars for hours every day. She would have been so happy. She would have been able to afford proper healthcare.

Tears stung Ebony's eyes as she moved past the couch and into the tiny bedroom. She had one bookshelf here that held every book she'd ever owned, a few she'd borrowed but hadn't yet returned, and a picture of her mother as a young woman. Her mother was standing in the desert wearing hiking gear and a huge smile. That girl hadn't a care in the world. That girl hadn't lost her parents yet, hadn't become pregnant yet. Hadn't fled to a community that would accept a fullsoul who was pregnant with a halfling.

Ebony picked up the small image next to it, it was herself at about three, held in her mother's arms. Her mother smiled in this picture too, but it wasn't as bright. It was the smile of someone who knew what the world could do to those who didn't conform. It was the only image she had of herself and her mother. Cameras and photographs were a luxury they'd not spent money on, which made this one even more special.

Ebony carried the photograph to the bed she'd once shared with her mother. Now that it was just her, the small home felt too big, too empty. She couldn't imagine spending the next forty or more years here by herself. At least she could be thankful that wasn't the fate she was looking forward to. She pressed a hand against her chest where a near constant ache served as a reminder that she was living the end of her life.

She stripped down to her underwear and crawled under the covers, falling into an emotionally exhausted sleep.

That night Ebony's dreams were full of Lark. She dreamt of his large hands covered in tattoos and flashing silver rings, and his sinister lips that sneered at her while begging to be caressed. She dreamt of his intense green eyes staring at her and she swore he was looking directly into her soul. She wanted to cover herself, hide from his scrutiny and at the same time she wanted to rip herself open and reveal everything for him, beg him to really see her and accept her as she was.

He only stared, eyes narrow and lips turned down. "You're not enough," he hissed in her dream.

Ebony woke up before the sun, devastated and aroused. She slipped a hand under the blankets and arched to meet her fingers. It wasn't unusual for her to wake from a dream and feel this need, but the intensity was unlike anything she'd ever experienced and the very real person who had instigated it was definitely new. She bit her lip and arched her back as Lark's face filled her mind and she shivered at the memory of the spark that had shot through her when they'd shaken hands. She gasped as her body exploded, feeling it all over again.

She settled back into her blankets and drifted back to sleep wondering what it had been, why there had been that spark, why was he invading her dreams and why her body reacted to him with such eagerness?

Mostly she wondered why he had sent her away with so much anger.