Rebel Children

The longer they stayed in Brimsey, the more Tobias started to get angsty. At some point Eli had to go back to work, but he had already done his part in leading them to Patrick and finding Edgar. They really didn’t need him anymore. Though as he spent the night digging graves, he couldn’t help but think about Rose and how he’d actually miss her when they left. He had never met anyone so kind to him.

It was getting harder to see her since he worked through the night and they were going about their business during the day, but she still gave him a smile and chatted with him when she could. It made it a little hard to focus on what he was doing, and he suddenly snapped into reality when he heard his boss call his name. Eli lifted his lamp to see Willis walking towards him in the night, looking a little uneasy.

“Don’t see you here at night very often,” Eli remarked.

“Yeah,” Willis said. “Actually, I was looking for you.”

“Oh.”

“Look, I’ll just get to the point,” the man said. “You’re a good kid… but I have to let you go.”

“What?” Eli frowned. “Why? If this is about the last few days, then I can explain. Charlie ran off and-“

“It’s not that,” Willis said. “Well, partially. These people you brought back with you seem to have caught Patrick’s interest. He likes them. Now they’re talking about you in these rebel meetings again, and I just want no part of this rebellion.”

“You didn’t care so much before,” Eli said. “Why does it matter now?”

“There wasn’t so much attention on you before,” he shrugged. “Really, it’s nothing personal. I’m just protecting myself. I’ll give you your pay for the next month, but you need to go home.”

Eli watched in disbelief as Willis handed him a pouch of coin for the next month, though it would hardly last him and Charlie a week with the current tax situation. He wasn’t sure what Patrick was saying about him, but as he walked home he had a terrible feeling that Patrick had told Tobias all about the nasty work Eli was sent to do. It was framing him as a dark murderer again.

The sun was just starting to rise as he got home and washed up before he went inside. He quietly put the coin away in a safe drawer while Tobias, Maria, Philip, and Rose talked in the living room. None of them paid him much attention, but Rose gave him a smile. He forced a smile in return, though he had a feeling Rose could sense something was wrong.

“We made breakfast if you’re hungry,” Rose said, pointing to the table.

“Fuck,” Philip said. “I didn’t even hear him come in.”

“Yeah, I don’t have much of a presence,” Eli mumbled. “Thanks, Rose.”

“I had my first lesson yesterday,” she told him.

“Oh yeah?” Eli said, leaning against the wall. “How’d it go?”

“He’s a drunk fool,” Tobias said. “But he knows what he’s doing. I think it’ll work just fine for Rose. It helps that he agreed to come with us wherever we go.”

“Good.”

“We’re meeting with Patrick alone tomorrow evening,” Tobias told him. “All of us. After that, we’ll likely be on our way and out of your hair. Though your hospitality has been appreciated.”

“Oh,” Eli said, trying not to sound disappointed. “That’s great. I’m glad things are moving along. Excuse me.”

He nodded to them politely before slipping out the back door. There was a grassy hill behind the house, so he climbed up to the top and laid down in the soft grass. He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes to let the sun warm him up a bit. Rose was moving on from Brimsey to do bigger and better things, and Eli’s life was on the downhill.

He had been fired from the shittiest job he could possibly have, and now he had no other options but to go back to fighting for Patrick. Regardless of what he thought of it. He’d probably have to put Charlie to work too, if they didn’t want to end up on the street.

“Everything okay?”

He cracked an eye open to see Rose standing over him with her hands held behind her back.

“Yeah,” he lied. “Everything is fine. Just laying here, that’s all.”

“Mind if I join you?”

“Sure.”

She sat on the grass next to him and laid back, resting her hands on her stomach. She turned her head to look at Eli, but he kept his eyes closed.

“I don’t think everything is okay,” she said.

“It will be,” he said. “Eventually. I’m happy things are working out for you though. I’m not sure where you’re headed, but I know you’ll get there.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I know you’re not just another rebel trying to pitch into a lost cause,” Eli said. “You and your little family here… you’re all too focused for that. And Tobias does a lot to protect you. You don’t need to tell me what you guys are really up to. I get that some things need to be left unsaid. I just hope everything works out for you.”

She was quiet for a little while, then turned on her side to face him.

“Do you want to stay here forever?” she asked. “In Brimsey.”

“Does anyone want to stay in Brimsey forever?”

“I’m being serious,” she said.

“So am I,” he shrugged. “Sure, I’d go somewhere else. I don’t know where. I have nowhere to go. And I have to consider Charlie, too.”

“What if you could both leave?”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind,” she said softly. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just sad about how they treat you here. I hate to leave it like that.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he said, giving her a reassuring smile. “I get through it. I’ll be fine.”

“What was it like?” she asked. “The possession. I’ve heard, but I’ve never seen it.”

“Charlie remembers better than I do,” Eli said. “He had to live with me while it was happening. And he was only ten at the time. The dark energy latched on to me in the graveyard. It was attached to a traveling merchant I was burying, who must have picked it up from one of the big cities and brought it here. And I guess it killed him. It started out with this weird discomfort. Like I was uncomfortable in my own skin. Then the smallest things started to make me angry, and I couldn’t do anything but rage out. Then I must have lost complete control, because I don’t remember anything after that. Suddenly it felt like I was waking up from a long nightmare.”

“Who woke you up?”

“It’s actually kind of funny,” Eli chuckled. “It was Edgar. Charlie started getting scared, so he went and found him. That’s how I knew him, and how I know he’s a powerful enough mage to teach you. Removing a dark spirit from a human soul isn’t easy. Usually they leave you soulless. Mine took a piece of my soul with it too, but Edgar managed to save most of it.”

“You’re missing a piece of your soul?”

“That’s why I say I have no presence,” Eli said. “You know when you can feel another person in a room with you, even if you don’t see them? I don’t have that. And sometimes I have a hard time making connections with others. People don’t trust me. That sort of thing.”

“Do you feel a connection with me?”

The question surprised Eli, but she seemed serious about it.

“Yeah,” he said. “I feel something.”

“Me too.”

They lay there in the grass for a minute just staring at each other, until Tobias called out to Rose from the house.

“We’re going to pick up some supplies for the journey,” Tobias called out. “Are you coming or staying?”

Surprisingly, he gave Rose the option this time instead of telling her what to do. Maybe because he was relieved they’d be leaving Eli in a couple days.

“I’ll stay with Eli,” she said. “I was hoping to explore a little bit.”

“Fine, just-“

“Be safe and smart, I know,” she said, rolling her eyes.

She sat up straight and stretched out her back with a sigh as Tobias left. She then looked back at Eli.

“Any good spots in Brimsey we can see?” she asked. “You won’t tell me what’s wrong, but maybe it’ll cheer you up.”

“The pub isn’t so bad,” he said. “It gets sort of seedy late at night, but during the day it’s nice. I know the owner, Leon. I borrowed his horse to find Charlie. He makes this really great potato soup for lunch. I think you’ll like it.”

“Soup it is, then,” she grinned. “Come on, let’s go exploring.”

Eli was still a little worried about losing his job, but Rose’s excitement was infectious. Brimsey wasn’t as bad during the day and Rose flittered around the marketplace from booth to booth, looking at all the things for sale. Eli kept an eye on her, but let her have a little freedom. He didn’t want her feeling like he was trying to keep her boxed in.

However, there was a shift when she accidentally bumped into a large thug of a man. She apologized with a squeak, but he glared at her.

“Watch where you’re going,” he grunted. “Stupid bitch.”

Rose scoffed but brushed it off. Eli, however, felt a rage bubble up at seeing someone so kind be called a bitch. Before he could stop himself he found himself grabbing the front of the man’s shirt. Thuggish as he was, Eli was still reigning champion in being the most menacing person around.

“Eli!” he said, startled. “Sorry, didn’t see you there-“

“Don’t apologize to me,” Eli said. “Apologize to her.”

He thrust the man towards her and he stammered out an apology. Rose seemed surprised, but not necessarily frightened.

“I apologized,” he grumbled. “Now let me the fuck go.”

Eli glared at him and grabbed his hair, slamming his face into a wall. The man groaned in pain and held his bleeding nose.

“Don’t be fucking rude,” Eli snapped.

The man staggered away, and Eli suddenly realized what a brute he must have looked like in front of Rose. He gave her an apologetic look, but she had an amused grin on her face.

“Sorry,” he said. “I lost it. That was stupid.”

She shook her head and linked her arm around his.

“Let’s go get some good soup.”