Skyfall by Anthony Eaton

two!’ the man shouted, but his voice was quickly lost in the clamour of noise along the alley.
    â€˜Kes!’ Lari shouted, but she’d gone, swallowed up in the crowd, which seemed to suddenly thicken around him. ‘KES!’
    â€˜â€™Ere!’ A heavy hand clamped around his forearm, almost jerking him off his feet. ‘What’s the hurry, lad?’ The speaker loomed out of the press of people. A woman, her head shaved and painted with some kind of glowing substance, glowered down at him.
    â€˜Let go!’ Lari struggled, but the woman laughed and dug her fingers deeper into his flesh. ‘You’re a pretty one.’ She leaned down into his face. Her pupils were dilated so widely that the black emptiness of them filled her entire eyes. ‘Don’t often get pretty little fillies like yourself down here.’
    â€˜Kes!’ Lari yelled, but his friend had vanished.
    â€˜Settle!’ The woman shook him so hard he bit down on his tongue, a warm spurt of blood gushing into the back of his throat. ‘I don’t wanna hurt you, it’s never a good idea to damage the merchandise, but I will if you make me.’
    She was dragging him to one of the utility buildings, straight towards a darkened doorway.
    â€˜Help me! Someone!’ The crowd simply parted before them and closed up again right behind. ‘Please!’ Nobody would make eye contact, and the more he struggled the tighter the woman’s grip became, until she stopped and leered at him again.
    â€˜You can either come freely, kid, or I got ways of quieting you down, eh? I got customers’ll pay a good sum for a pretty young’un like you.’
    â€˜Now, what’ve you got there, Syla?’ A man materialised out of the crowd beside them as if from nowhere. He wore a long hooded cloak that cast a deep shadow around his face. At the sight of him, the woman froze, straightened and shuffled her feet.
    â€˜Gregor! I …’
    â€˜This youngling doesn’t look like one of your usual clientele.’ The man stepped closer. His voice was deep, calm and smooth.
    He sounds like my father. The thought flitted across Lari’s mind.
    â€˜Fair’s fair, Gregor. I spotted him first.’ Syla’s voice took on a pleading, whining quality. ‘Anyway, who’s gonna miss a runty little shi like this? Come on, Gregor …’
    â€˜Let him go, Syla.’
    â€˜You got no right to—’
    In a blur, the man’s hand came out from under his cloak, pressed a round, smooth object against her arm, a flat ‘crack’ rent the air, and Syla folded to the ground. For a second everything went silent. Those standing nearby glanced across, taking in the scene, before quickly continuing about their business. The cloaked man prodded the prone woman with his foot.
    â€˜Are you all right?’
    It took Lari a moment to realise the man was speaking to him and not Syla.
    â€˜I … think so.’ He couldn’t tear his gaze from the woman on the ground. ‘Is she …’
    â€˜She’ll be fine. She’ll wake up with quite a headache, but perhaps she’ll learn something from the experience.’ The man turned towards Lari, but his face remained hidden under the hood. ‘Now, what are you doing all the way down here on your own, young man?’
    â€˜I wasn’t alone. I was with my friend Kesra and—’
    â€˜A girl?’ The man’s voice was suddenly sharp.
    â€˜Yes. We got separated and—’
    â€˜Is she your age?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    The man gave a sharp, loud whistle and two enormous men materialised from out of the crowd.
    â€˜There’s another. A girl. Get her.’
    The men vanished without a word and the man turned back to Lari.
    â€˜What’s your name?’
    â€˜Larinan.’
    â€˜And how did you get yourself into this hellhole, Larinan? From the look of you I don’t imagine your