Spark of Chaos

Tang Hall was one of the less desirable areas of the city, full of council estates and working-class people feeling the impact of Thatcher's legacy through the past decade and doing little better under John Major.

The area was suffering from unemployment and low wages, along with cuts to benefits and government funding. The people abandoned and forgotten.

A perfect place to hide.

There was a group of feral kids by the converted flats, one kicked a ball against the wall while another tossed a crisp packet into the gutter. I ignored their jeers and unlocked the door, slipping inside before they could start something.

I looked back as I closed the door and caught the flash of crimson in the eyes of the crisp eater, and paused, forcing back my own automatic response.

The last thing I needed was to be seen and worse, recognised for what I was. Not without the protection of a powerful family that had sheltered me for so many years.

My flat was on the top floor, and I climbed the bare wooden stairs wearily. It had been a long day of rejection, only saved at the end. Which had then led to several hours of tedious work filing which left me covered in dust that stuck to my clothes and aching feet from a day of walking around in heels which I kicked off as soon as I was through my door.

The flat wasn't much to look at. Painted walls and varnished floorboards with a worn rug that had been put in by the landlord. That was accompanied by equally aged and worn furnishings that just six months ago I would have laughed at the idea of having.

What the hell had happened to my life?

A question I didn't really know that answer to. Not really. One minute I had been the least welcomed family member, attending university and readying for a job at my father's company, and the next… well, everything had come to an end.

Those family members who had been distant but polite had descended like vultures to pick apart the remains of my father's life. His accounts emptied, his properties and businesses folded into the family holdings and everything other than what I had with me at Uni was taken.

Then they had turned their attentions on me.

A shiver ran through me at the memory, and I slumped onto the sofa and stared at the empty fireplace. Unwelcome memories spinning in my mind as I sought to quiet the feelings of loss and betrayal that came with them.

I was brought out of them by a knock on the door and I reached into my purse for the small knife I kept there before I padded over on bare feet to peer through the peephole. A sigh escaped me, and I slipped the knife into the back of my skirt before I pulled open the door.

"Hey, neighbour," she said brightly, leaning against the doorframe. Her curves were unapologetically on display in a cropped white top, and her smile was so genuine it set my teeth on edge.

She was young, similar in age to me, with raven black hair that hung in thick curls past her shoulders, shining in the early evening light. Her eyes were hazel and stared into mine without that flash of colour to announce she wasn't human.

"Hi?"

"I'm Tilly." She hooked a thumb at the door opposite my own. "From across the hall."

"Okay, do you need something?"

Her face fell and she looked uncertain for a moment, glancing back at her door as if reconsidering her decision to come knock on mine.

"Ah… there's a band at the pub later, and I thought you might want to come."

After paying rent and buying a few groceries, along with petrol for my car, I had about twenty pound left to my name. Hardly enough to waste on beer. At least that is what the rational part of my head was telling me.

But, then again, I'd just gained employment and had a roof over my head and enough groceries in to feed me until payday. I was young and very much in need of some fun.

"Sure," I said. "What type of music is it?"

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not. Let me get changed and…"

"That's okay, I can wait."

There was a pause that was almost uncomfortable, and I stepped back, opening the door wider and waving her in. "Okay, let me just grab a shower and a change of clothes."

"No worries." She wrinkled her nose. "Mind if I open the window?"

She didn't wait for a response, and I exhaled a soft sigh and closed the door while she opened the window to let some air in. I left her to it and headed for my bedroom.

I lingered under the hot water, washing away the day's grime before towelling off. I dressed quickly in faded blue jeans and a plain white top, cut high enough that it hinted at rather than exposed what little cleavage I had.

A light application of makeup and then I brushed my hair, letting it hang loose around my shoulders. A dab of perfume at wrists and behind my ears, and I was done. There was no jewellery other than the thin gold chain and pendant that had been the last present I'd received from my father.

Tilly was seated on the sofa leafing through the pages of one of the books that were all that remained of my once extensive collection. She looked up as I entered, watching me as I pulled on the low-heeled ankle boots.

"Ready?" she asked, smiling.

"As I'll ever be."

It was a short walk to the local pub, and I grimaced as I followed her through the doors. The place was exactly as I would have expected it to be. The furniture was decades old and in much need of repair, while the polished wooden bar was scratched and gouged.

The walls were stained, and smoke filled the air, while the patrons clustered in groups, laughing and talking. Some wore work clothes, having stopped in for a pint after work, while others were dressed in casual but clean clothing and were clearly out for the night. In the corner, gathered around the pool table, were the young men and women in their going out clothes, ready to head into town after a few drinks at the local.

There was no sign of a band.

"What're you drinking?" Tilly asked, elbowing her way through the crowd to the bar. She had to almost shout to be heard.

"JD's and coke."

We were receiving a lot of attention, and I wasn't sure if that was due to Tilly's ample attributes or my novelty of being new. Either way, I had to fight the urge to hunch my shoulders and shy away from it.

When she returned with drinks, we moved through the crowded bar and out through the back door to the beer garden. It was almost as busy as the inside had been but there were a few tables free, and we found one in the corner with a little bit of shade and settled in.

"Band starts after eight," Tilly said, sipping her vodka.

"Sounds good."

It actually did. Once I was outside, away from the scrutiny of the crowd, I could allow myself to relax a little bit and enjoy a Friday night drink with someone who could be a friend. One of the first I would have in my new life.

One who wasn't aware of what I was.

Who wasn't scared of me.

I sipped my drink and swallowed past the lump in my throat.

"Where you from?"

I almost choked on my drink!

Sure, I should have expected the question, but it still took me by surprise.

"London," I said, which was close enough to the truth.

"You don't sound like a southerner." She paused. "Or a northerner. You sound posh."

"Thanks, I guess."

She giggled and eyed the guy who made a show of checking her out as he walked past our table. Not an easy task considering we were in the corner and away from pub doorway.

"You working?"

"Yes, I've just found employment." I couldn't help my smile. Things had been looking rather bleak. "Working for a private detective of all things."

A faint line marred her brow as she narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice, leaning in. "Keep that to yourself," she said, looking around. "Folk round her will just hear the 'detective' bit and think you're Old Bill."

"I'm not," I assured her, raising my eyebrows in surprise. "I can promise you that."

"Yeah, well, just be careful who you tell that to."

Great, another secret to keep from people. Just what I needed.

"How about you?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I work at a nursing home," she said shrugging. "It's alright. The old dears are lovely but the pay's shit."

The talk turned to generalities, and I let myself relax a little being back onto safer subjects. Tilly was happy to talk about her day-to-day life, and she spoke at length about the York nightlife. In short time, we were on our second drink and laughing together as she recounted how and why her last relationship had ended.

For a short time, I actually felt normal. Just like any other girl, sitting with a friend, in a warm beer garden, enjoying a drink. Doing the sort of thing that girls up and down the country were doing.

Not hiding from the people who were supposed to be family.

My drink suddenly tasted bitter at that thought and I silently cursed myself for spoiling my own good mood.

I looked away from Tilly, making a show of scanning the crowd as I hid the shimmer in my eyes.

"Anyone you fancy?" Tilly asked, giggling, and I shrugged. I'd not really been thinking about the guys. "He's hot. Been watching you all night."

I glanced back at her to see who she was looking towards and followed her gaze. There was a man, mid-twenties with the build of someone who worked a trade. His muscles were not gym made, I was sure of that, and he had the square jawed face that many would consider handsome.

He leaned casually against a lamp post, sipping his pint as his friends talked and laughed around him, but his gaze never wavered from me.

As soon as I met his eyes, they flashed violet, the colour sharp and unnatural; gone in an instant. It was a purposeful act to show who and what he was and expecting the same in return. My response was instinctive and automatic, and it happened so quickly that I couldn't stop it.

I hurriedly dropped my gaze praying to a god I didn't believe in that he didn't see.

With an indrawn breath I forced my eyes to return to their normal pale blue before I looked up again, holding myself rigidly under control.

The man was gone.

"You, okay?" Tilly asked, leaning in as I turned back to her. "Christ! You're pale."

My hand trembled as I lifted my glass and swallowed it back. Another look around but there was no sign of the guy.

I'd been quick! Surely, he hadn't seen. He couldn't know.

My eyes brimmed and I pushed myself up from the table as a concerned Tilly rose with me. "I need to go," I said.

"I'll come with you."

"No!"

She recoiled from me and several of the nearby people turned around at the shrill sound of my raised voice. I forced a smile of apology and shook my head.

"Sorry, not used to drinking. I'll be fine. Just need a bit of space."

"I can't leave you alone."

"It's fine," I insisted. "We live a couple of streets away. I'll just head home, and the walk will do me good."

She was unsure but she didn't want to leave. The band would soon be starting, and it was still light and wouldn't be dark until well after nine. There was no reason for her to think there would be any danger for me.

Even in the shitty area we lived.

Tilly gave in and I left with a weak smile. Any friendship we might have been building was likely lost but that was the last thing on my mind as I pushed through the crowd inside the pub. I kept my head turning, looking for the guy but there was no sign of him, and I slipped out through the front door, unable to shake the feeling that I'd been seen.

Worse.

That I'd been recognised.