Chapter 14
Where to Look
The moon shown bright in the dark sky like a beacon in a storm. There was no storm tonight though; only a few clouds lazily drifted across the star-speckled sky and barely a breeze stirred the air in the city. Everything was calm, but Kortin could feel the tension brimming just under the surface, just out of sight from all those who didn’t know where to look. Kortin, however, knew where to look. But I wish I didn’t.
Kortin had been following his brother around all day, thinking about the change that had come over Tareth. There was definitely something different; Kortin could no longer think that maybe it was just his imagination. The attack on the bullies had proved that without a shadow of a doubt.
The evening after that incident, Kortin had been afraid the City Patrol would knock on their door, and Tareth would be thrown back in the Keep for nearly killing Loris and Prulk. But no one had shown up. The next morning, Kortin then began to worry that the bullies would try to take their own revenge and be waiting for Tareth right outside their living quarters, but again, nothing had happened. In fact, Tareth even seemed to be in a good mood and not worried at all that he’d have to watch his back for the rest of his life. Unless… those bullies aren’t afraid of Tareth now, are they?
Kortin knew he was afraid of Tareth. He didn’t want to be and he knew he shouldn’t, but Kortin didn’t even recognize his brother anymore. Instead, all he saw was a violent, malicious criminal who was planning something that wouldn’t be good for anyone. The real Tareth might be buried somewhere deep inside this kid who resembled Tareth, but Kortin didn’t know how to get his brother back.
So for now, all Kortin could do was wait and watch until he found some kind of solution. If there was a solution. There has to be, right?
Throughout the day, Kortin followed Tareth around without his brother knowing. It was the first time Tareth had left their living quarters since getting back from the Keep, and Kortin wanted to know what he was up to. Tareth had never minded Kortin tagging along in the past; Kortin didn’t even have to ask because Tareth usually wanted him to come along and share in whatever mischievous deed he had in mind. But today was different.
Tareth told their mother he and Kortin were off to school, but as soon as they had gotten outside the building, Tareth turned away from the direction they took to school.
“Where are you going?” Kortin asked.
Tareth didn’t even look back and just said over his shoulder. “I have a few things I need to take care of.”
Kortin felt unnerved by the answer, for his brother, though an adept liar, had always been straight with him. But not this time. And that maybe was the reason, for the first time, Kortin asked, “Can I come with you?”
“Not today, little brother,” Tareth called out before disappearing into the crowds of the morning traffic.
Kortin hadn’t even wanted to go with Tareth, but of course, now that Tareth said he couldn’t, Kortin immediately set off after his brother.
As the sun climbed into the sky, Kortin followed Tareth through the city, wondering where they were going. Tareth took them down back alleys and side streets, turning this way and that, which made it hard for Kortin to keep up and stay out of sight. Being bigger and taller, Tareth moved faster than Kortin, but Kortin could get through the crowds better, being as young and small as he was.
Then abruptly, after having wandered through the city with such purpose and speed, Tareth stopped. Kortin did as well, ducking into a doorway where he could still watch without being seen. They were were in the shadows of an alley, and at first, Kortin couldn’t tell why his brother had stopped. But then Tareth kneeled down near the wall, and Kortin saw the boy sitting there. The boy was probably older than Tareth, but he was dressed in rags and his face and skin were covered in dirt.
Kortin tried to hear what Tareth said to the boy in rags, but he talked in a whisper. Kortin did see Tareth pull a piece of bread from his pocket and hand the food to this boy, who took it greedily and ate it quickly. The rest of their conversation didn’t last long, and soon, Tareth was on the move once more. But now, the boy in rags was following on his heels.
Tareth didn’t seem to notice, but like a starving dog, the boy trailed Tareth obediently, waiting for scraps. The only acknowledgement Kortin could see that Tareth knew he had company was he didn’t move quite as quickly through the streets as he had before. Good.
They walked for another few minutes before entering another alley, but this one was a dead end and instead of having only a single kid, there were four and they were closer to Kortin’s age than Tareth’s. They had on rags as well, but they were on their feet; two were even wrestling each other. But as soon as Tareth walked into the alley, all four boys turned their attention suspiciously on the newcomer. Please, don’t tell me Tareth has another pipe hidden somewhere.
Keeping his distance, Kortin watched this encounter from across the street, since the boy in rags hadn’t even entered the alley and waited for Tareth just outside. There was definitely an anxious few moments as Tareth approached the four kids. Kortin could see that Tareth was talking to the kids, and though he didn’t pull out a piece of bread this time, the kids were just as intent listening to what Kortin had to say. What is he telling them?
Then the moment was over, and Tareth left the alley with the boy in rags again in tow. The four kids didn’t follow, but Kortin watched them huddle together in a serious conversation, obviously discussing what Tareth had said to them. Kortin considered going to ask the boys about the details of their encounter with his brother, but these kids looked like they might strip him of his belongings before he even got the question out of his mouth. Maybe Tareth picked up a reputation by beating up those bullies. I wonder if that was his intention all along.
Kortin watched his brother talk to several more groups of kids, as well as a couple more individuals, living in the shadows and side streets of the city. None followed him like the first kid had, but none chased him away either. By the afternoon, Kortin had lost track of how many people Tareth had talked to, and he was no closer to finding out what his brother was up to.
Finally, Kortin left Tareth and returned to their living quarters as if he had just gotten done with school. When his mother asked, Kortin responded truthfully and told her he didn’t know why Tareth wasn’t back yet. He did, however, remain silent on the fact that neither of them had attended school that day.
It didn’t help, though, that Tareth didn’t come home until supper time. By then their mother was quite upset and gave Tareth an earful about staying out without letting her know where he had gone. Tareth took the scolding silently and then sat down to the dinner table as if nothing had happened. Their mother threatened to not feed him, but Kortin didn’t think that was much of a punishment, considering their supper was only a small bowlful of watery soup and one loaf of bread split between the five of them.
After dinner, one minute Tareth was in his room, casually lying on his bed, the next minute he was gone. He had somehow disappeared from the apartment entirely. Before his mother had finished tucking in his younger sisters and noticed Tareth’s absence, Kortin slipped out the door as well with a pretty good idea where he’d find his brother.
Only a few minutes later, Kortin was once again climbing the ladder to the roof. He remembered Tareth’s words to the bullies the day before and could only assume the purpose of Tareth’s outing today had been to recruit kids to this new group he was forming. Kortin still didn’t know what his brother had told these kids, so he wondered if anyone would show up. He almost hoped no one did, even if it meant Tareth would be vulnerable to the bullies revenge as he would be all alone. That might actually be better than whatever the alternative is.
But then Kortin reached the roof and saw that some of the kids had indeed shown up. There were perhaps a dozen boys gathered in a disjointed group in front of a fire burning brightly from an empty metal box laid on the rooftop. Tareth stood on the far sid
e of the fire, his face lit ghastly from underneath. Some of the kids were talking among themselves in hushed voices as they stood in separate groups of two or three. Kortin recognized some of them from earlier in the day, including the boy in rags. Kortin also saw the bullies standing off to one side in the shadows; Prulk had a bandage wrapped around his head but neither looked like they wanted revenge. Maybe they are afraid.
Then, as if Kortin’s presence was all Tareth had been waiting on, his eyes rose from the flames, and he began, bringing the rest of the boys to silence.
“Welcome, my friends.”
Almost immediately, a small boy at the front spit on the ground. “I ain’t your friend.”
“No?” Tareth answered. “Why not?” He looked over everyone, waiting for a reply.
“Cause we don’t know you,” an older boy said.
“Yes, you do,” Tareth returned. “You know me very well because I’m just like you. We’re all the same. Whether living on the streets or in some squalor living quarters or under a crate, we’re all struggling to survive.”
“I ain’t struggling,” the small boy spoke up again.
Tareth now moved around to the side of the fire and spoke to the boy directly. “If you’re not struggling then why did I find you in a filthy alley, fighting off rats for the last remains of someone else’s garbage? If you’re not struggling, why are you here tonight? Why are any of you here tonight?” he finished, raising his voice.
“Because you told us you could give us more,” another kid said.
“No, I promised you. I promised you food and protection and safety and some kind of comfort in your lives for the first time. And you showed up because you want those things.”
“But how can you give us that?” the older boy asked.
“I’m not. You are going to give it to yourselves.” Tareth looked at each of them. “There are fourteen of us here. Fourteen. When I came to you today, I found you alone or maybe with one or two others to share in your plight. All of you are fighting for survival by yourselves. Fighting against each other because you want it all for yourselves. And yet at the end of the day you wind up with nothing. You wind up with the same ache in your belly. But what if we joined together? What if we could take what we want when we want it? What if we could become a force to be reckoned with?”
“But the grownups would never let that happen. The soldiers would stop us,” someone voiced their concern.
“Will they? Who knows the streets better than us? Who knows this city better than the ones who actually live in its shadows? We will be like wisps of smoke. The soldiers won’t be able to stop what they can not capture.”
Some of the boys glanced at one another, mulling over what Tareth was proposing. And Kortin noticed, the kids weren’t just looking at the ones they had come with; they were looking at everyone, trying to decide if they really could be one force together.
Then Tareth pulled a long dagger from the folds of his coat. The weapon gleamed in the light and a few boys even stepped away from it. “If you join me, you won’t have to be afraid any longer. You don’t have to be afraid because whoever has the power doesn’t have to be afraid.”
He held the dagger out over the flames, letting the blade turn red in the heat. “If you don’t join me,” Tareth started. As he did, Prulk and Loris stepped into the light, and Tareth pulled the dagger away from the flames, holding it up in the light. “Then all you will have is your fear.”
The rooftops fell silent as everyone waited for someone else to make the first move. Only the crackling of the fire made any noise in the night. Kortin felt the tension and anticipation and turned his head up towards the sky, noticing the pale moon sitting peacefully in the darkness above. Everything seems calm, unless you know where to look.