Exigent

(6) False Pretenses

Chapter Six
False Pretenses

Olivia counted her steps as they walked, the silence between her and Torin making her feel uncomfortable. It was the sort of silence that felt so strong, it even made Olivia feel awkward to try and break it. She wondered if Torin felt it too.
     
She snuck a peak in his direction. He was looking straight ahead, his facial expression thoughtful. Olivia wondered what he was thinking about, surely it was something important, since it seemed to be taking all of his attention.

      Olivia looked back in front of her. It was an hour past dusk and all the street lights were illuminating the road. There was a surprising amount of pedestrians walking around, all of them laughing and chatting amongst their friends. Olivia felt a pang of jealousy. She had never been able to just stroll around with a group of friends; she didn’t even have any friends. Except for Carlos. But he was gone.

      She felt a pang in her chest at the thought of Carlos. He was an Alchemist like her, who delved into the Old Ways, which was a way of practicing Alchemy that was highly outlawed, and dangerous. It was what allowed Olivia to create Yuri’s arm and what allowed her to use pure Manos. Carlos was the one who introduced her to the Old Ways, after her parents died. At first Olivia had been skeptical. She didn’t believe that using old Arcane magic would do her any sort of good; all the stories she heard about the Old Ways were horror stories, but so far Olivia had yet to witness any sort of repercussions from it.

      Carlos was imprisoned by the Pursuants after they found out about him practicing the Old Ways. Olivia remembered being terrified when she found out. She had thought that Carlos would expose her. She spent weeks being scared of her own doorbell. But no one ever came to get her. It had been three months since Carlos’ imprisonment and she had no idea if he was even alive or not. The thought to try and break him out crossed her mind but she couldn’t risk leaving Sera on her own.

      “Can I ask you something?” Torin asked suddenly, his voice surprising her.

      Olivia blinked. She pushed all thoughts of Carlos out of her head. “Sure. What is it?”

      Torin kept his gaze straight ahead. “How long have you been practicing the Old Ways?”

      Olivia bit her lip. She knew he was going to ask her one day or another. After all, she had told him the night they met, which she constantly berated herself for. Why did she tell him? Why? She knew why. It was the only way to get him to believe she could actually save Yuri. He had looked so broken, she had to give him hope.

      “Since my parents died.” She said quietly. “A year and three months.”

      Torin nodded. He glanced over at her. “I saw your Ameliorate in the basement.”

      Olivia inhaled sharply. Fear washed over her. Fear over being turned in. When she spoke she was surprised at how steady her voice was. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

      Now Torin really looked at her. He shook his head. “I’m not going to do anything about it.” His eyes found hers. “If it wasn’t for you Yuri would be dead. I’m not going to turn you in.”

      Olivia felt the tightness in her chest disappear. She let out a breath. “Not everyone would have the same thought process as you,” she said. “Some people would turn me in even after I helped them.”

      Torin kicked a stray rock. “I could never do that. I’ve seen what betraying someone who helped you can do. It’s not pretty. Much less, I couldn’t imagine betraying someone who is adept at the Old Ways of Alchemy,” he looked over at her and smiled, “I’d much rather keep my head.”