The wall on their right stood about ten feet tall. When Matilda caught the top of it, Spike shook his head. But what else could he do? The guards on their heels, he felt the strength leave his legs.

  Up on the wall now, Matilda shouted down at him, “You can do it.”

  Spike leapt at the wall on his left and kicked off it, hitting the right a second later before going back to the left. Each kick felt like it would be the one where his foot slipped, but he found a protruding piece of rock or brickwork every time, lifting as he ran.

  On his final leap, Spike reached for the top, his hands burning from where the rough brickwork tore cuts into his palms. Gassed, he fought against his heaving diaphragm and scrabbled to get to the top before he flopped over the wall, gasping as he looked down on the textiles district on the other side.

  It took a few seconds, but when Spike looked at Matilda, her eyes showed him she was smiling. “You’ve done that before, haven’t you?”

  Before Matilda responded, the guards charged around the corner. Spike wiped his brow to keep the sweat from his eyes.

  The one whom Matilda had shoved over led the team again. While pointing an angry finger up at them, he spoke through gritted teeth. “Get down now.”

  “Or what?” Matilda said.

  “Or I’ll climb up there and drag you down.”

  “Go on, then.”

  An already red face turned redder and the guard stamped his foot. “Someone get me a ladder!”

  The fourth and final guard had only just rounded the corner. Not as in shape as the others, she looked at the three staring at her, rolled her eyes, and ran back in the direction she’d come from.

  “So you want us to wait here while you go and get a ladder?” Matilda said.

  The guard didn’t reply to her, pacing back and forth like an angry dog.

  “Do you want us to lock ourselves up when you catch us too? Maybe we can chase ourselves for you as well and give ourselves a beating?” She reached down. “Throw your sticks up and I’ll make a start.”

  It happened so quickly Spike missed it. Fortunately Matilda didn’t. The guard launched his billy club straight at her, the baton spinning as it flew through the air.

  Matilda ducked, the club sailing over her head into the textiles district behind them. “How am I supposed to catch that?” She then threw one of her legs over the side of the wall, turned so she hung down into the textiles district, and dropped to the ground.

  The guards looked at Spike, who shrugged before following her over.

  When he landed, Spike shook his head at her. “You’re nuts.”

  She smiled, but just before she could pull her shirt down to expose her face again, the sound of more guards called through the streets. “It ain’t over yet,” she said while tugging on his sleeve. “Come on.”

  As much as Spike needed to rest, when she took off, he ran after her.

  Chapter 20

  Although they were yet to see them, it sounded like more guards chased them than before. The tighter streets in the textiles district amplified the stampede on their tail. Matilda opened up a lead on Spike again. Like in the ceramics district, his lungs felt like they’d burst just from trying to keep up. It was on her to decide where they were heading.

  Not only were the streets tighter, but they zigzagged, making Matilda vanish from his sight and then reappear every few seconds. For now, he could follow her sound, but the guards were getting closer and it wouldn’t be long before they drowned her out.

  When Spike ran around the next corner, he saw Matilda waiting for him. Not that he would have ever asked her to, but thank god she had. He didn’t fancy finding his own way out of there. Although nowhere near as breathless as him, she stood panting. The steps continued closing down on them. Then he saw why she’d stopped. Guards blocked the way ahead.

  The alley they were in stretched wider than the one they’d escaped from earlier. Too wide to kick off against the walls to get out of there.

  Before Spike could react, Matilda leaned her back against one of the walls and linked her hands together to give him a foot up.

  “What about you?”

  The guards in front of them screamed and charged. The ones behind would be on them soon. “Just do it,” Matilda yelled.

  They’d done it before. Spike ran at Matilda, stepped onto her hand and jumped when she lifted. It gave him the extra foot he needed and he stretched up to catch the top of the wall like he’d done to get out of the ceramics district. None of the walls in Edin had smooth tops to them, this one tearing at his palms much like the previous wall had. But Spike moved quickly, pulling himself up and then throwing his legs over the other side before leaning down for Matilda.

  While looking from one side to the other, both sets of guards closing in, Spike felt Matilda’s hands in his and slipped off the wall backwards, using his weight to drag her up.

  Just before Spike dropped over the other side, he saw Matilda lift her right leg and catch the top of the wall with it. He let go, landing on the other side. She nodded down at him. She’d made it, but they needed to get out of there before the guards found another way around.

  When Matilda landed next to him, Spike—still fighting for breath—said, “Which way?”

  “The plaza.”

  Spike frowned at her. “We’ll be sitting ducks in there.”

  Matilda turned her head as if listening for something. It helped him hear it too. The running footsteps of guards came at them from every direction. “It sounds like half the city are chasing us,” he said. “They’re going to beat the crap out of us when they catch us.”

  “We’ll need to make sure they don’t catch us, then. We’re going to the plaza. You need to trust me. Come on.”

  Not the time to raise the issue of trust, Spike dragged air into his tight lungs as they set off again.

  When they got to the plaza, it suddenly made sense. The textiles district made sheets and fabrics for all of Edin. On sunny days like the one drawing to a close, they hung the fabrics out to dry. It turned the plaza into a giant multicoloured maze.

  Matilda dodged and batted the fabric away. Spike followed her as she led him into the centre. They stopped again and Matilda said, “I can hear them coming. They’ll know we’re in here. We’re going to have to use the sheets to our advantage.”

  “But where shall we go?”

  The shout and heavy boots of the approaching guards closed in from every side. It looked like Matilda had most of her attention fixed on that. Surrounded by the shimmering sheets, they had to rely on their ears. “You need to work that out for yourself, Spike.”

  “Huh?”

  “We’re going to have to split up.”

  The first guards entered the plaza. “Where are they?” one of them shouted.

  A female voice answered back, “They have to be in here somewhere.”

  The sounds of more guards came in from other sides.

  “We need to close in on them,” one shouted.

  “We’re screwed,” Spike said.

  Using her right hand, Matilda silently counted down. Five, four, three, two, one. On one she ran at a light blue sheet close to them, letting out a shrill and undulating scream as she went.

  Spike watched the sheet settle, covering her path, and for a moment he remained frozen. But he had to move. He had to get out of there and hope Matilda would do the same. A red sheet next to him, he sprinted through it and headed in what he hoped to be the least guarded section of the square.

  As he ran, Spike listened to Matilda. She continued to scream, drawing the sounds of the guards with her.

  The damp fabric felt cold to the touch as it dragged along Spike on his way to the edge. He’d gone through five or six on his way in. After smashing through a fourth one, he saw an exit.

  Just before Spike made a break for it, one of the sheets on his right burst to life, wrapped him in a tight grip, lifted him from his feet, and slammed him down against the cobblestone ground.

  Chapter 21

  Before Spike could scream for Matilda, the damp sheet smothered him, two hard fingers shoving it into his mouth. He fought against his need to heave and bit down, but the fingers were out before he’d clamped onto them.

  A balled fist, his teeth still gritted, Spike swung for the guard on top of him. Again he missed, and before he could throw another punch, the sheet smothering him got ripped away, giving him sight of her. “Tilly?”

  Matilda reached down and put her hand over his mouth. With her other hand, she pressed a finger to her lips to motion for him to be quiet. She then reached down to help him up.

  It took a few seconds for Spike to untangle himself from the damp wrap of the sheet.

  After pointing in the direction she intended them to go, Matilda nodded at Spike, looking for his acknowledgement. He nodded back and they set off again.

  No sign of the guards, they left their shouting and screaming behind in the square, hopeful they’d be long gone by the time the guards realised it. Matilda moved at an easier pace, Spike able to catch his breath and keep up with her.

  Matilda turned right down the next street. Like many in Edin, it had cobblestones and was penned in by the walls of one-storey, canted buildings. No bricks from the kiln here, this street looked as old as Edin itself.

  When they turned into another alley, Matilda stopped again, the sky growing darker with the onset of night. The cooler temperature came as a relief against Spike’s sweating skin, but no doubt he’d feel the bite of the evening if they stopped for longer. To look at Matilda made him shake his head. After he’d pulled the front of his shirt down to uncover his face, he said, “You’re insane, you know that?”

  She shrugged.

  “I didn’t think you had that in you. You’ve always toed the line.”

  “Maybe I’m fed up with toeing the line.”

  “Clearly.”

  The two of them were smiling as they stood in the alley, and before Spike could say anything else, Matilda pointed at the large building close to them: the main factory in the textiles district. “Do you remember when we used to climb on the roof of that thing?”

  It made Spike smile to think about it. “And how many times we were chased away because of it.”

  “And the time we didn’t make it home for dinner.”

  Spike laughed. “Our parents went apeshit, eh?”

  A moment of sobriety, Matilda looked at the ground. He’d forgotten about the bruises she came to school with the next day. But she looked up again with steel in her eyes. “That was the last time he beat me. The next time he tried, I fought back. I think it was important for that reason.”

  “My mum thought I’d been eaten by a diseased,” Spike said. “Not that I could have gotten out of the city.”

  “I dunno.” Matilda took several settling breaths. “There’s always a way out if you really want to find it.”

  “And you want to find it?”

  “Maybe.”

  “You know what? The wall at the edge of our largest field looks like it could be climbed. Every time I see it, I plot a route to the top.”

  Despite the size of the large square building—the second largest structure in Edin after the arena—it looked much smaller than Spike remembered. It had been a few years since he’d walked down this street. With what they had coming tomorrow, everything looked smaller, almost as if the approaching national service forced Spike to view the world through the eyes of a man for the first time in his life. Tomorrow would change everything.

  When Matilda walked away from him, Spike said, “Where are you going?”

  Another tight alleyway ran along the side of the factory. It probably only existed so the large structure could collapse without taking down the neighbouring buildings. It served no other purpose because it led to a dead end. Even a small gap could mean the difference between just one building falling instead of an entire street going down like dominoes.

  Matilda stopped to look up and down the road—the sounds of the guards still in the air. They were far away for now, but they’d get closer. She moved towards the alleyway again.

  A similar check to be sure they weren’t being watched, Spike followed her.

  By the time Spike entered the alley, Matilda’s feet were as high as his head. She’d made a star with her body, her left foot and hand against the left wall, her right foot and hand against the right. Alternating between using the press of her feet against the walls on either side of her while she moved her hands higher, and then her hands while she lifted her feet, she moved up.

  Only about fifteen feet high, Matilda reached the top, grabbed onto the ledge, and pulled herself up onto the roof. She then disappeared from sight as she walked away from Spike.

  One final check, Spike followed her up, bracing against the close walls as he too shuffled to the top and onto the roof in the same way she had, though much slower than she had.

  The slightest slope to the wooden roof allowed for drainage. Spike walked up it over to where Matilda now sat. He plunked down next to her, let his feet hang over the edge, and looked at the fenced-in courtyard below. On days when they had fine weather, many of the workers preferred to be in the sunshine. The mess of tools still scattered around showed today had been one of those days. Several large sheets flapped in the gentle breeze like they had in the square.

  For a few seconds, neither of them spoke, both taking in the city around them. Most buildings were so small, they could see over the tops of them all the way to the walls on every side. They could even see the large wooden gates that led to the national service area. Yesterday, it wouldn’t have bothered Spike to look at them. But now, with national service so close and Matilda’s insistence he take it seriously, his heart fluttered at the sight of them.

  “Edin seemed a whole lot bigger the last time we were on this roof,” Matilda said.

  “A lot’s happened since then.”

  “How old were we when we last climbed up here?”

  Spike shrugged. “Thirteen.”

  “Thirteen? You seem pretty certain of that. How do you remember it so clearly?”

  A flush of heat smothered Spike’s face and he turned away. Because they were slightly higher up, the breeze lifted his hair. “I remember every day we’ve spent together.”

  “Every day?”

  It was too much to look at her, so Spike continued to stare out over the city. His gaze settled on the agricultural section, the place he’d called home for his entire life. He nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Okay, what was I wearing on my thirteenth birthday?”

  Even as the wind picked up, the heat in Spike’s cheeks grew hotter. “Don’t do this, Tilly.”

  Jabbing his arm with a playful punch, she laughed. “I knew you couldn’t remember.”

  “In the same way I used to think this factory was huge, I used to think the fields in the agricultural district stretched for miles. But they look so small from up here. The walls look so close. We’re one bad harvest away from starvation.”

  “Like the famine just before we were born,” Matilda said. “I pray we never have to see that in our lifetime.”

  Although Matilda drew a breath to say something else, Spike cut her off. “You were wearing a blue polka-dot dress. You seemed really awkward in it because you were turning into a young woman and trying to deal with your changing body. But you had nothing to feel self-conscious about. We ate at Mr. P’s. He even found you a chocolate cake for dessert. Then we climbed up here.”

  Slack-jawed, Matilda continued to stare at him. “You remember all that?”

  Spike nodded. “You got upset with me because I didn’t compliment you on how beautiful you looked.”

  “God, I was a bossy cow.”

  “But you did look beautiful. You looked amazing.” Turning away, Spike faced the arena. “You always look amazing.” He kept his focus directed out over the rooftops. “You mentioned you wanted to run away. If you decide to, please tell me.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ll come with you. I’ll come with you and Artan if that’s what you really want.”

  “What about your dream to become a protector?”

  “I do want to be one, but my dream’s ultimately about freedom. Freedom to go where I please and not live the life of a slave. I could have that outside these walls.”

  “But at what cost?”

  “I’m not sure. We don’t know what’s out there. But I’ll risk it if it means spending the rest of my life with you.” Spike sighed. “It’s not my first choice, but I just wanted to say if it’s something you need to do, then come and get me, okay? The carriage is picking us up in the morning for national service. If you come to me before then and say you want to go, I’ll come with you. I’ll take you to the wall I think we can climb.” Spike stood up before Matilda could say anything else. “I need to go and spend a bit of time with my parents before tomorrow. Whatever happens, I’ll see you soon, okay?”

  Matilda nodded.

  “Just promise me you’ll come and get me if you decide to leave?”

  She nodded again. “You’re one of the kindest people I know, Spike.”

  After leaning down and stroking her long brown hair from her face, Spike looked into the dark eyes he knew so well and said, “If I don’t see you tonight, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Again, Matilda nodded. Before Spike could turn and leave, she stood up and grabbed both of his hands in hers. She looked into his eyes. “I promised myself I’d never do this.” She leaned towards him.

  Despite all the exercise they’d done that evening, Spike’s heart beat harder than ever when they kissed. After they’d pulled away, he said, “What was that for? I thought we needed to hold back and not fall in love.”

  A slight wince, Matilda said, “Have you not fallen in love?”

 

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