TSC - Chapter 7: Shattered (4) - Confusion

The balcony she now found herself on overlooked the city. The spires were starting to cast their shadows as the sun began to set. She had hoped there was nobody out here but unfortunately for her, one of the cooks was outside smoking. It was the same woman who had brought in the guards food earlier but seemed utterly disinterested in Chloe. She, on the other hand was more than interested in this woman, who in-between the puffs of smoke was humming the same song Chloe had heard a little earlier.  The woman's face was so familiar yet out of place, her voice comforted her yet the words scorned her. In no uncertain terms the woman told Chloe to leave before she would get caught. The said that there was a staircase that would lead her out around the bend of the balcony. Chloe wanted more answers but footsteps coming from inside and heated arguing, stopped her from asking. She ran as quick as she could, the woman's face still in her mind. Why had she helped her? what reason did she have?As she turned the corner, a confusing realisation dawned on her. The moments before Chloe was imprisoned, she had been attacked by an unknown man, and was saved by her handmaiden. Both died in the process and Chloe was blamed for their deaths. The woman was her handmaiden, she had to be. She had cooked her meal, hummed her song and made sure she escaped. Chloe looked back, desperately hoping the woman would be there to embrace her but she had gone. Chloe dried her eyes and left.

The searing pain inside Chloe's head, that of the crystal voice reappeared. It questioned why Chloe was now able to transmute more than just amethyst. Her explanation pained her, her emotions still raw but it pleased the voice. It told her that it could fix her broken physical form, if she so desired. She hastily agreed. It told her to follow the chiming noise that it could hear, and slowly through the dissipating evening crowds she could hear it to. However the sound was marred by that of Valma to the point she no longer heard the chime and instead followed its voice down to the bottom of the city.

***

Night had fallen. Chloe's search for Valma had lead her back down near the Undercroft. It was dim down here now, only the market had had any real light. Valma's voice was not carried on the wind, it was almost as if it was a vibration within her, a recording only she could play. Chloe stopped for a moment to gather herself. The rubbish pit she stood over at bottom of the city could overpower the senses and being this close to it, was making her nauseous. She steadied herself on a wall only to be knocked into by a man running. As she and the man collided, he dropped what he was carrying, a severed head of a Neave clone. His grumbled apology was in a familiar tone, Styenbeck. It was possible he had given her over to the Aeon Priests. Confused and angry, she tried  to stop him. She fired a bolt of amethyst at the ground in front of him, causing the platform to give way. Instead of stopping, he stumbled and fell into the refuse. Styenbeck shouted for help but it fell on deaf ears. His garbled screams were the last things he would ever say. Chloe peered into the hole she had made and where Styenbeck had been pulled under. It wasn't what she had intended but she had never fully trusted him, and what he was carrying to her, gave him a death sentence regardless of the truth.

She picked up the head and walked back in the direction Styenbeck had come from. He had been running for a reason and she wanted to know why. The way he had come from was a dead end, jutting out into the debris. Just below the wooden walkway was presumably the body to go with the severed head of the Neave she was holding. It was at that point she saw two men in the distance shouting at her. Their voices and words were not clear but they seemed angry and in the dark she couldn't tell who they were. There was the distinct possibility they were Aeon Priests coming to get her  and so she ran.

She passed a few drunks applauding a contortionist who was putting on an elaborate display, utilising all she could in the now empty market place. Chloe's blind running had taken her to the Pale Spine and she didn't hesitate to run through. As she made her way out the back, she was hemmed in by the patrons observing a fight that had spilled out into the back alley. There were shouts from the inside, whoever was after he was getting close. Panicked, she looked around but her small stature made it impossible in the crowd. The only thing she could easily make out was a crate on the floor above and without hesitation jumped up in hope of landing on it.  In her panic, the jump was clumsy  and, as she lost her footing, she crashed into crate she had wanted to get to.

She had torn the Priest's robe as she landed but to her relief a roll of material that had been on top of the crate had now masked her escape. She lay as still as possible, listening to the unhappy shouts of the revellers below. She could hear a grappling hook whistle in the air as it latched onto the floor above her. Her breaths became shallow as she scrunched her eyes. As she waited for her fate, she could hear Valma but not in her head. It's voice was coming from below her, not only Valma's but also Xera's. She let out a sigh of relief, she peered down to see Xera and Valma aside from the crowd. She jumped down with haste and to Xera's surprise, she thanked him for finding her. She asked if they had chased the Aeon Priests off and asked if they too had been captured by whatever had taken her. Xera was a little confused and looked towards Eryn who had descended  from above.  Both were out of breath, with Eryn hunched with his hands on his thighs. She asked again if the Aeon Priests were gone and Eryn gestured to Xera to nod, while putting a finger to his lips.