Free Perfectly Reflected by S. C. Ransom

could feel a strange blackness creeping into the edges of my mind as the relentless noise continued, and my knees buckled. As I fell I managed to throw my weight forwards on to the landing and for the briefest of seconds the noise let up and I could hear a distant voice.
    “Take it off, Alex; it’s your only chance. Take off the amulet and you won’t be able to hear him…”
    I reached for the band on my wrist as the onslaught resumed. The voice was right; without it on I wouldn’t be able to hear any of them. I had my finger under the silver and was starting to pull, desperate to make it stop, when I realised what I was doing. I couldn’t – mustn’t – take off the amulet!
    “Callum!” I shouted as loudly as I could manage. “Help me! I’m being attacked!”
    There was a blur of movement, and almost as if a switch had been thrown in my head, the noise stopped. The silence was shocking and I fell sideways towards the iron railings. Thedark-haired Dirge was backing along the landing with Callum advancing towards him. Then, faster than I could see, they were fighting, cloaks whirling. I pressed myself as far as I could into the corner, unable to keep a track of who had the upper hand. For a brief second they were still; I saw Callum’s blond hair and the face of the other Dirge, a face showing naked fury. I couldn’t help tightening my grip on the ironwork and my stomach churned at the thought of what he might be capable of doing. Suddenly Callum caught his arm, wrenched it up behind his back and threw him over the railings. Before I could react he had jumped after him into the void. Horrified, I leapt up and ran to the edge. Below me I could see them wrestling on the curved surface of the dome, rolling over and over and heading towards the shadows.
    I jumped when another strange tingle suddenly appeared in my arm. Looking round I saw Olivia, her face a picture of horror, watching the fight below.
    “Who is he?” I gasped as the fighting got more and more intense. But before Olivia could answer, a crowd of misty cloaked figures swarmed in from all directions and joined the fray. It was eerie, watching such a vicious fight in complete silence, and with everyone wearing an identical cloak it was impossible to tell what was going on. Suddenly everything became still, and the crowd parted. I could see the greasy-haired Dirge was being dragged away.
    All I could hear was the pounding of my own heart. I released my vice-like grip on the railings and slumped back towards the steps, sitting down before my legs gave way. Olivia stayed with me.
    “That was Lucas. He’s, well, he’s really scary. I try to keep out of his way,” she finally answered.
    “I think he was trying to kill me.”
    “He’s one of the most desperate people here. He’d do anything to be gone.”
    I watched as the dark shapes below became more distinct. Callum and Matthew were deep in a heated discussion, punctuated by gestures towards me. I gulped; it didn’t look like my day was about to improve.
    “What will they do to him?” I whispered to Olivia as we both watched.
    “I’m not really sure. I don’t remember anyone needing to be punished before. None of us have anything to take, so there don’t tend to be any fights.”
    I was considering that fact as Matthew and Callum finally stopped talking, and Callum started to make his way up the stairs towards me.
    Olivia murmured, “I think I’d better get out of the way,” and before I could respond she was gone and Callum was back in her place.
    “What was all that about?” I asked.
    He sighed, running his free hand through his hair. “Olivia’s right, Lucas is desperate. He decided to take a chance, see if he could get you to remove the amulet.”
    “I nearly did. The noise he made was awful.”
    He grabbed my free hand with his, and this far up the dome I could feel it quite clearly. “You mustn’t, Alex! If you take it off, even for a second, with someone like Lucas around