Refuge In The Shadows

16.

"You are certain that no one saw him leave the premises and that he does not have anything in his possession that could possibly alert someone of his capture?" Carys asked James as the six of them swiftly made their way down to the cell where John Carraway's nephew was kept. James flinched when he heard the coolness of her tone, the absence of any acknowledgement of what conspired between the two last night. Admittedly, he did make a stupid, ill-conceived decision to make advances on Carys who clearly told him she was not interested. Hiding his hurt expression, he stared intently on the stone beneath their booted feet. "Rest assured, we took every precaution," he answered with what he hoped was the same amount of coolness.

James opened his mouth to say more when they stopped at the door leading to William's holdings. Carys stepped away from his side to open the door and let the boys file in one by one before closing it behind her.

At the sight of the hunters before him, William turned his head away. "And to think I would never involve myself in the Hunt affairs ever again," he said. "The Hunt remains with you until your last breath," Rhys said. James bent down to study the figure seated in the corner of the cell. "You were not from the London chapter," he murmured, not recognising the man wandering these halls in the past years, "Manchester?" William continued to stare at the floor but did not argue, thus confirming his suspicions.

Throughout the exchange, Carys watched as Cadeyrn regarded William with a thoughtful expression she knew as a visual indication of his own attentive assessment of the mysterious man. Under Cadeyrn's unwavering scrutiny, William sent him a wary look, "Have you figured it all out? Let us hear it."

"When you were thirteen, you heard word of the Phantom Hunt and were drawn to the sense of purpose it had given you. A few years without luxury comforts was difficult, but not impossible to adjust to. However, as your uncle suddenly amassed greater wealth and power, you realised you needed the money to start a new life with a certain someone." Cadeyrn relayed his suppositions in a matter of fact manner as if simply reading out loud a written biography of the man's life. He looked directly into William's eyes with a grave expression, silently waiting for his next move.

William blinked and averted his gaze to look at his dirt-smudged hands. He could not bear to meet the same expectant looks of the other five. Cadeyrn nodded to his tattoo on his right collarbone, the same place Carys had hers, "the ink is fresher than mine and my sister's–we got them when we were ten. Based on the dryness and roughness of the skin on and around it, you have been trying to scrub it off with some sort of soap, which to be honest, was foolish because surely you know tattoos cannot fade so easily," Cadeyrn rolled his eyes, "Your attempts to erase the Phantom Hunt from memory makes it easy to believe that you abandoned your service to return to civilian life with the woman you had fallen in love with and to get a share of your uncle's riches."

Bryn produced a dagger from his belt and held the dangerous knife lightly between his fingers. Carys and the others respectfully stepped back as Bryn and Cadeyrn initiated the second part of their 'discussion' with John Carraway's nephew. "Perhaps you could do one last thing for the Hunt. After all, the life of your lover might be endangered." William's rugged facial features twisted into one of absolute rage, the first real emotion it had shown. He started forward again to the bars but James and Cadeyrn had already backed away from the fuming man. "You keep her out of this. I swear to you, I will kill you all if so much as a hair on her head is touched," he snarled. Bryn held up his hands in mock surrender, his eyes dancing with mirth, "You chose to get her involved the moment you decided to bring that with you." Cadeyrn pointed to a cheaply made locket resting in the corner of the cell. The thin chain and looping script reading "A. Lockhart" etched into the pendant was undeniably feminine.

Cadeyrn looked over his shoulder to Rhys, "Track down an 'A. Lockhart' and have men watching her every move. One wrongdoing from Carraway and she is dead." Rhys nodded and left the room. Carys approached William, taking note of his growing distress. As much as she hated him for his involvement in sending thousands upon thousands of workers to their deaths, in that moment, she simply pitied him. She thought of the destruction and pain that lovers brought upon each other and shuddered at the thought of constantly fearing the loss of one's other half. To bow before one's very own enemies, to become their puppet, all to fiercely protect his or her beloved from harm.