Now that Thorne's men knew of my existence, and that I was within their grasp, they would be swarming the city. That much I was sure of.
The boy needed to get moving. And we needed to find a place for him to hide.
But where could he go so that he wouldn't be found?
The boy clutched at his chest and rested his head up against the wall. His breath came in shallow, weak pulls, like each inhale scraped against broken ribs. But he hadn't been that injured.
No, this was the result of something else.
"I feel sick," he whispered. His eyes were starting to shut. "My head is…spinning."
Of course it was. This wasn't the first time I'd seen these symptoms. I should've known better than to use him to exact my will. It took too much of a toll on my wielder. But it was the only reason he'd survived.
"It's Aether exhaustion," I muttered. "You've drained almost all the energy you have."
The boy looked pale, and his body was starting to go limp.
"HEY!" I shouted, reaching deep into his mind. His eyes snapped back open. "If you stay here, they will find you. You have to move, understand?"
The boy mumbled something and slowly got to his feet, using me as a makeshift cane. Usually, I would have something to say about this, but in this situation, I didn't care much. I just wanted the boy to survive.
I urged him past the dead bodies of the two hunters and the shopkeeper. He nearly fell out the doorway and stumbled out into the alley, where he pressed up against the wall of the building for support.
I scanned our surroundings, looking for any danger. It was strangely quiet, though I could hear the bustling of crowds on either end of the alleyway.
A window creaked above us, and a figure dropped down a full story, landing in a crouch.
The boy blinked in surprise, but was too weak to even raise me in defense.
So this is how he's going to die, huh? I wondered. I couldn't save him this time.
The girl looked up at us, green eyes narrowed. Her black hair was tied back with a strip of cloth, and her face was caked with dirt and grime. Her clothes were simple, a black cloak over a black shirt and pants. In the night, she would be nothing more than a shadow.
Was she a hunter? Did she work for Thorne? I wanted to ask, but there was no way she'd be able to hear me.
"You," she said sharply, glaring at the boy.
The boy held tight against me, trying to stand up straight. "Do…do I know you?"
"No, but I know you."
Oh great, here we go.
The boy stumbled and she was beside him in a moment. One arm under his, she hauled him upright with surprising strength.
"At least, I know your kind," she said, quieter now. "I saw what you did in there. Thorne's dogs will be hunting you. We have to move. Now."
She's going to…help us? I would breathe a sigh of relief if I had lungs. This girl was not what she seemed.
"What's your…name?" The boy mumbled as we made our way down to the end of the alley.
"Aris," she said. "And you?"
"Boy. And this is Sword," he said, nodding down at me.
Aris looked down at me. "Okay…."
"He talks to me," the boy said, his speech slurred now. "We're a team."
"You're more out of it than I thought," Aris said, pulling the boy along faster.
We merged with the crowd in the street. There were so many people here of all shapes and sizes. It would be nearly impossible to spot us even from a bird's eye view.
The boy was struggling to breathe. Sweat dripped from his face as the sun shot out from behind the clouds.
Aris pulled off to the side and nearly had to drag the boy down a set of stairs.
"Where are…where are you taking me?" He asked Aris as we reached a landing platform. It was much darker and quieter down here. The buildings formed an endless alley like a maze.
Somehow, Aris seemed confident in where she was headed.
"This place is officially known as the Lower Ward," she explained. "But I call it the Slums. It also happens to be my home."
"Will Thorne's men not find us down here?" I asked, more to the boy than Aris.
"S-sword wants to know if anyone can find us here."
Aris glanced down at me again and chuckled. She still didn't believe I was alive. I doubt we could convince her without her hearing my voice. And that was impossible. Only someone I'm bonded with can hear me.
"I've never seen them around in all my years here," Aris continued. "They're too scared to scuff and dirty their pretty boots. You should be safe, as long as they don't change their ways."
We passed groups huddled together for warmth around a fire made of garbage. The walkway, if it could even be called that, was covered in filth. Every now and then, I saw a rat the size of a toddler dart past.
This had to be, without a doubt, the most disgusting place I've ever been. Some human part of me really wanted a bath.
It was the type of place where disease was rampant, famine was natural, and death was a comfort.
"She lives down here?" I asked, my hilt shuddering.
The boy didn't respond, instead focusing on his steps as he followed Aris.
We watched an old man stumble past us, wearing nothing but rags over his impossibly thin frame. He'd lost all of his hair and there was no color to his skin. He raised a hand to his mouth and coughed, wiping away a splatter of blood.
"These people need help," the boy said. I could tell he was feeling guilty. Maybe his life, and even mine, weren't so bad after all.
"There's no helping them," Aris said. "This is where people go to die. When life has beaten you down, over and over, this is where you end up."
"What a sad way to go out," I thought aloud. Ever since I'd become immortal, I'd decided that if I ever found a way to die, it would be in the most epic fashion. Like sacrificing myself for those I love, or stopping the world from ending.
Seeing all these people down here was just…disappointing. How could they give up so easily?
Aris came to a stop and the boy nearly ran into her. It seemed he had been lost in thought as well.
"Here we are," she announced. "Home sweet home."
The building was one of the nicer ones I'd seen since entering the Slums. Made of mostly intact brick, it stood nearly thirty meters high.
"This entire place is yours?" The boy asked with surprise.
Aris burst out laughing. "Goodness no. That building is a…."
She stopped mid sentence, eyes darting around as if skeptical of anyone watching or listening. "It's an old hospital. Basically a ruin now. Ever since the fire, no one has dared go in."
As she spoke, I noticed the blackened areas around the broken windows, where flames had set their ferocious power against the brick.
"Everyone believes it's haunted by the souls of those trapped inside. Even I get uneasy about it. And I don't believe in ghosts."
She stepped forward and pushed aside what looked like a section of rotten plywood leaning against the wall. It scraped loudly, revealing a narrow gap leading downward.
"Follow me," she said.
She disappeared inside.
The boy hesitated.
"Move," I urged him. "Before you collapse."
The boy sighed and together we descended into the darkness.