"Why the hell can't we get out of here Kali? It drains the life out of people. Like, seriously. You just need to look at Old Nerin to see it. That poor guy is hanging on by the skin of his teeth"

"Nerin isn’t even that old, Kaje, and he’s not ‘hanging on by the skin of his teeth’. He's sick." Kali was exasperated. They had been having this conversation almost every day for the last five years. "You're always using him as an example of why you should get out of here but you never leave. It's just empty words. You know that just as much as I do, Kaje." She hated reminding him that he was as stuck here as the rest of the Dellmead folk, but the topic was tedious. In Kaje's eyes, Dellmead was a sinkhole, filled with people who refused to progress. It wasn’t just the city of Dellmead that refused to accept change, it was the whole of Leamiya and no amount of hope was changing that.

"Kali, listen to me. I use Old Nerin because he's a prime example. When was the last time you saw him in the shop? When was the last time he said anything that made sense? His poor wife, Hilda, keeps him under lock and key while his son runs the store. She can’t let him out because he's convinced a Nethernine is going to kill him." Kaje stifled a yawn and shifted himself to sit upright. 'A bloody Nether, Kali. They've been gone over two hundred years and the idiot thinks there's one coming for him.”

Kali stretched herself out on the grass and gazed at the stars. It was a clear night, with a full moon almost at its peak. She wouldn't normally be in the woods so late at night but being seen in the ward was out of the question. Her parents would be keeping her under lock and key if they knew she had been with Kaje, after promising, for the one hundredth time, that she wouldn't see him again. Most people in the ward disliked him and not for anything that he had done. "Kal, you're my best friend and I'm telling you now, I'm getting out of here and taking you with me. There’s no way that I’m sticking around here any longer than I have too.” Kali sighed and rubbed her left ear lobe. “Think about it Kal. What have we got to look forward too, if we stay here?”

He knew neither of them had anything to gain by staying. Kali had her father’s book store but a store wasn’t enough to keep her here in Dellmead and Kaje, he had nothing at all. It was all well and good being right, but being right didn’t change anything. "Kaje, I'm your only friend and I've already told you, it's empty words. Look, don’t get me wrong, if there was a chance, I would take it but who do you know that got out? Nobody. We just don’t. Even if we did get out of Dellmead, we would still be stuck in Leamiya and would probably end up even worse. Who knows what Raydon does with the rest of the country?” Kaje rubbed his stubbly chin then tapped his right temple twice with his forefinger, before rubbing his chin again. Kali smirked while watching him perform his thinking ritual. It always reminded her of the first time they met. He had been sitting at a desk in the library – a dark-skinned, blue-eyed man, with golden brown dreadlocks, hunched over a book, stroking his chin with his forefinger and thumb and then tapping his right temple twice. Kali had watched him do it a few times, going from stroking to tapping, back to stroking and had decided to ask him about it. “I rub my chin because it helps me think and if I’m struggling to figure something out, tapping my temple puts the answers in my head, eventually. Sometimes it takes a while and I look like I’m tapping out brain cells but hey ho.”

“Got your answer yet?” she asked, tapping his temple with her forefinger. “No, not yet, but I will soon. I’m sure of it.” Kali smiled as he looked at her. If she was any other woman, her heart would have stopped and her face would have been crimson, she was sure of it. He had that magic smile on his face, his special smile for those who meant something to him, which of course meant Kali was the only one who saw it. “Seven years ago, you came to me, spoke to me and stayed with me the entire day. Seven years ago, you showed me that life is worth living because there are special people who are meant to share it with you. You saved me Kali and now it’s my turn to save you, after I’ve figured out how, of course.”

How many times do I have to tell him I didn’t save him? It was pointless trying to make him see sense. It was another exhaustive argument that Kali never seemed to win. "I have to go,” she sighed and stifled a yawn. “Mother will have kittens if I'm out much longer. She already thinks I've found her a son in law and that's why I stay out so late at night." Kali stood and dusted the dry leaves and dirt from the rump of her trousers. Kaje burst into laughter and Kali raised an eyebrow, which made Kaje laugh even more. "Kal, you're the only person in the ward who is over twenty and runs home so they don’t upset the mother. Hell, you're twenty bloody three for goodness’ sake and yet, you still insist we hide in the woods so your mother doesn’t know that we meet."

"I know Kaje. It's ridiculous, but. It’s just.” She stopped herself from saying it. You have to tell him one day. You can’t keep hiding in the woods forever. Just tell him your parents and everyone else knows he’s the spawn of evil. She hated keeping things from him but she had never been able to find the right way to tell him. They had always been honest and open with each other, with everything else, anyway but with this? What was she supposed to do, jump up and shout “Everyone in town thinks you’re the son of a murdering scumbag and so you’re guilty by association.”

"It's okay Kal. I know what people think of me. What, with my father and what he did and then mother, too. It's not surprising, really. Is it?" He said with a smile. Despite the smile, he shuffled his feet slightly which, Kali knew, meant he was uncomfortable. "They're expecting me to hurt someone because he did or hurt myself the way mother did." It was strange that Kaje, who was two heads taller than Kali and as wide and as strong as a buffalo, was visibly uncomfortable. He usually hid his feelings, even from Kali. “Has something happened?” she asked, reaching for his arm. It always pained her to think of how he must have felt when the ward discovered his father had killed that man, or when they shunned his mother, refusing to let her enter their shops until she and Kaje were practically starved and wearing rags. Not to mention him having to cope with his father being executed by the Watch, and then two years later, finding his mother hanging from the tree in their garden, while people on the street crowded around, staring. Nobody even tried to help her or wanted to take care of Kaje. They believed his mother was tainted by evil and he, by descent, was evil too. "You were twelve when your father killed that man, Kaje, and only fourteen when the ward watched your mother swing. What those idiots think is nothing but ridiculous and anyone with half a brain can see that you're not your father."

To kali, being guilty by association just didn’t make sense. Sure, people did horrible things to other people but to decide someone would do something horrible just because someone in the family had done so, was completely insane. "No. Nothing has happened, I’m just tired and you're right,” he said with a knowing smirk. “I'm nothing like my father. I’m much better looking" he continued, flexing his arm to show off his very impressive bicep. Kali couldn't help but laugh. He knew she was easily fired up, especially when people were being absolute birdbrains. That was one of the reasons she was so comfortable with him - he knew how to make her laugh, even when she was angry. "Come on, I'll walk you a little way. We don’t want your mother calling the Watch." Kali shivered and Kaje gave another one of his knowing smirks.

Next time, I’m going to tell you how I feel about you and exactly what I am, she promised herself, taking his outstretched hand