Noir Read Free

finest.
    “Yeah, well, tell it to the warden,” the guard says. “I was just told to come get’chu. Not my business what for.” He shows his teeth. Most of which are missing. Boozy breath seeps in through the rusty bars.
    Turbines clank, gears grind, the lock rolls slowly open. Chains rattle like tin snakes through the bars as he drops them to the floor. “Let’s go.” The guard jerks his head to one side.
    My stink-dumping cellmate wakes. He pops an eye open and laughs at me. “I say yuh make ’em come in an get’chu.” He twists a tight fist into his palm.
    “No thanks.” I stand and tuck my flour-sack pillow under my arm. “I’ll go peacefully.” I’d rather not dance another round with Mr. Filed-His-Teeth-Into-Spikes over there, even if it does mean a chance to overthrow the guard. I’m still nursing black eyes from the last whupping the brute gave me. I don’t fancy going to the gallows a battered wreck.
    Besides, I’m relieved to be leaving his chamber pot behind.
    “Ah-ah-ah,” the guard tsks and signals for me to drop the pillow. “Won’t be needin’ that where yer goin’.”
    I stare at him, confused.
    Mr. Spike-Toothed throws his head back into a hearty laugh. “I know wheres that tis,” he sings.
    “Move,” the guard says without expression.
    I toss the pillow away and take a step. My eyes fall to my overcoat, lying rumpled on the floor. I swoop to pick it up, but the brute beats me to it.
    “Won’t be needin’ this, either.” He rubs the sleeve against his filthy beard, sporting a sharp-toothed smile. My mind flashes back to the gadgets hidden in the seams of the lining. I’m going to need those if there’s any chance of me getting out of here.
    I lunge for the coat, and the brute flings it back.
    “Get movin’!” the guard barks.
    I glare into my cellmate’s eyes. “I’ll be back for that,” I say, trying to sound a lot more confident than I really am. Truth be known, I doubt I’ll see it again.
    Shuffling toward the door, my feet in chains, I glance back at the window where I last heard from Eyelet. I wonder where she is. It’s been two days since Pan brought me her Ladybird message and I returned one.
    There’s been no word since.
    My heart sears at the thought of having to tell her I’ve lost the vial, the one thing that was truly important in all this. I’ll just have to get it back. We’ve no other choice. But first I need to get out of here.
    A smile comes to my lips, remembering Pan pecking on the noggin of my cellmate to keep him busy as I hurriedly contrived the message to send back to Eyelet, stamping out the words and rewrapping the foil around the cylinder as fast as I could. We both took equal beatings for that. But it was worth it.
    Pan’s a tough old creature, she is.
    I rather admire that bird.
    “What are you smilin’ about?” The guard sneers. He grabs my arm and flings me out of the cell, cuffing me and slamming the cell door shut behind. The lock tumbles into place before my cellmate has had the chance to get his smelly arse out of bed.
    “Better luck next time,” I say.
    The guard pushes me down a long, narrow corridor. My heart picks up speed as we round the corner. “Where are we going? There are no cells past here.” He says nothing, just flings open a door to a set of stairs and shoves me down them in the dark. The soles of our boots echo noisily off the walls as we spiral down the steel-tread steps.
    “Where are you taking me?” I glance back over my shoulder.
    The guard won’t answer. It’s as if he’s made of stone.
    With every step, I get further away from Eyelet ever being able to find me.
    If she’s able to make it here at all.
    I go cold at the thought of never seeing her again. Never being able to look into her eyes and tell her just how much I love her. Hot tears press at my lids. I flip my hair from my face and blink hard, trying to clear the sensation, as we reach the room at the bottom of the stairs.
    It’s dark