Read Online The Disappearances by Gemma Malley - Free Book Online Page B

her features. She was unmistakably from the City; her clothes were those created in the cloth district, her shoes clearly the current style. Her hair was long and dark, her body, or what was left of it, strong and athletic.
    It was Gabrielle. It was one of the Disappeared.
    For a few seconds, Lucas was unable to move, unable to process what was in front of him. Her body, rotting on the ground, her skull dented, her mouth open as though crying out in pain. He felt sick, angry, desperate.
    He turned around to check on Clara; she was sitting on the ground, staring at them blankly. He lifted his hand, caught her eye, motioned for her to turn away. He and Rab walked together, silently, towards the large mound that lay just beyond Gabrielle and as they drew closer Lucas knew Rab was thinking the same as him because his pace slowed, his head shrunk back. The stench told him what they would find before they could see anything. But when they did, even though Lucas had tried to prepare himself, he still stood gripped to the spot, his mouth open in a contorted cry of anguish, fear and pain.
    They were there, the Disappeared, all six of them in a heap, half devoured by wild animals, tossed aside like refuse. Boys and girls, not much younger than Evie and Raffy, stolen from their families, murdered then left to rot.
    Rab took out a hip flask from his pocket, poured a thimbleful into the lid and handed it to Lucas, who hesitated, then took it and downed it in one. Rab refilled it, handed it back to Lucas, then took a swig from the bottle himself.
    ‘Who did this?’ Lucas heard himself say, first quietly to himself, then more loudly. He rounded on Rab. ‘Who did this?’ he demanded. ‘Don’t tell me you don’t know. They’re here. Outside the gate that you’re meant to watch. Tell me how they got here. Tell me what happened to them.’
    Rab stared at him sullenly. ‘I don’t know anything,’ he said, but Lucas saw something in his eye: disgust and betrayal. Rab was human: it was clear from the look on his face that he did not believe that these young people deserved to be murdered and cast aside, like rubbish.
    ‘They were left outside your gate,’ Lucas said, his voice low, bitter. ‘You don’t think that’s relevant? You don’t think they were trying to point the finger at you? Why here? Why now? Tell me, Rab. Tell me what you know. Tell me now.’
    Rab looked at him uncomfortably. ‘You think I know something?’ His tone was accusatory. ‘You think I know something about these bodies? Because you’re wrong. I don’t. I wanted rid of the flies, that’s all. Think I’d have sent a message if I knew what they were doing here?’
    ‘You have to know something,’ Lucas said, looking straight ahead. He downed the rest of his whisky, welcoming the heat in his mouth, the taste that pushed out the stench of decomposing bodies. ‘You are the gate patrol, even if you’re too drunk to do much about it any more. People are dead outside the gate you patrol, and I am being led to believe that there are strangers in the City committing these murders when it is supposed to be secure. Tell me what you know and I guarantee that you won’t be punished for your involvement. Otherwise … otherwise, you will be blamed when the parents of the dead come to visit them. Because they
will
visit them. We are going to bury them. Every single one.’
    Rab appeared to consider this. He took a deep breath, then his eyes darted over towards Lucas. ‘I do what I’m told,’ he said cautiously. ‘I monitor. I keep an eye. I let the Brother know what’s going on.’
    ‘And did you let the Brother know about the bodies?’
    Rab shook his head vehemently. ‘I didn’t know about any bodies. I only saw the flies a few days ago,’ he said tentatively. He was getting defensive, his tone more agitated.
    Lucas leant forward. ‘But Rab, how did the bodies get there? How did they get through your gate without you knowing?’
    Rab didn’t answer