Eutopia (First version)

Chapter 4

I often wonder whether we left you there too long...

‘It wasn’t your fault. It was my destiny.’

You never had a destiny. You had a duty. Sighed with soft sadness.

‘Everything happens for a reason. Your own words, I believe?’

 What a cliché.

‘This is my reason now. I can see that it always was.’

Then you must find a map. A blessing. Almost.

‘Noli me tangere, noli me tangere!’ Eutopia mumbled, frowning as she tossed uncomfortably on the sofa. A light, warm touch on her forehead made her eyes snap open and she gasped at finding Jinn’s face just inches from her own. His feline-like eyes were narrowed slightly and his striking face was creased with concern.

‘Are you alright?’ he asked gently, pulling his hand away as Eutopia sat up, shoving the hair from her eyes with one hand.

‘Yes, I think so... I don’t know what happened. I just feel so tired. I haven’t eaten in a while, maybe it’s that.’ She gave him a small smile, feeling confused at his worry. As quickly as she had noticed it, the look hardened and his indigo eyes darkened. He sat back on the floor, having been crouched in front of her.

‘I told you not to touch anything.’ Jinn’s words were terse.

‘I didn’t, I... oh.’ Eutopia remembered and glanced up at the mantle where the gleaming silver sword rested once more, replaced on its stand. She frowned again. ‘You really shouldn’t keep faulty electrical items on display. I might sue you next time.’ She rubbed her palms together with a little shiver, remembering the blue sparking light, the heat on her hand. ‘That thing is dangerous. What is it anyway? Some sort of novelty lamp? If I were you, I’d take it back. It must be wired up wrong or something.’

‘Alastor,’ Jinn muttered, his eyes catching and holding Eutopia’s own to watch a glimmer of emotion, a flicker of something as the girl tilted her head at the strange word. ‘It isn’t a lamp, and it isn’t a toy. You shouldn’t have touched it. It isn’t polite to go around touching other people’s things. Are you hurt?’

‘Umm... no. I don’t think so.’ Jinn took both of Eutopia’s hands in his, looking intently at her for a moment before he tore his eyes from her face and examined her palms to find them unharmed. Eutopia visibly flinched at his touch, but didn’t pull away.

‘I don’t think you’ll be suing anyone just at the moment, anyway,’ he said quietly, jerking his head at the television that was still on behind him, the sound evidently on mute. ‘I doubt you’ll want to go anywhere near the courts just now.’

Eutopia looked up at the big screen to find that the news channel was re-running the murder story. The grey sketched face, so similar yet so different to Eutopia’s own, glared down at them both as the Crimestoppers telephone number slid along the bottom of the picture.

‘Shit!’ she cried, jumping up from where she was sat and almost landing in Jinn’s lap as she tripped over him. He reached one arm out to steady her automatically and watched as she made it to the door to grab her backpack that still lay there. ‘I have to go, I have to go,’ she was intoning, still barefoot as she flipped the latch and pulled on the front door. It was locked. She turned to Jinn wildly. ‘I have to go!’ she begged as Jinn came to stand before her, his thickly muscled arms crossed over his chest.

‘Where will you go?’ he asked, simply. Eutopia shook her head, cascading the tangles of her hair into her eyes. She tugged at it, hopelessly, running a hand through it in an attempt to pull it back from her face. ‘If you return home, that will be the first place they look. Someone who knows you is bound to recognise that picture and give the police your details.’ She knew he was right, but what else could she do?