Pinned to the wall, out of sight, she listened. She could hear them talking, their voices low but not so low that she couldn't pick out what they were saying. Their hushed words were wrapped in an argument of some kind but she couldn't fathom what. Had she been able to identify both voices the mystery may have dissolved but she knew only one voice and it was the dominant one, her mother's.
There was no mistaking those sharp tones, the voice almost like a hiss when used in its purest form, at other times its almost musical rhythms captivated the attention of its listener, almost hypnotising them as she spoke with her velvet poison. The other voice was almost beaten down by hers, it struggled to make itself heard without breaking out into a shout but there were times when she could hear it. In those short snatches of uninterrupted speech from the owner she had tried to work out who owned the voice but they were a stranger to her, a stranger that seemed to be losing the battle and pushing himself into very dangerous territory.
His voice was coarse and spoken in an accent that was unfamiliar to her. From his use of language she could also tell that he was easily frustrated but there were some words he used that she couldn't understand. They were in English but were jumbled somehow and didn't make sense. Even though she was confused by the man's strange words he intrigued her, by his strength and seeming will to be the dominant force in his argument with her mother.
She had to see what he looked like.
Shuffling carefully against the wall she moved herself closer to the door. The closer she got to it the more she could hear but still the nature of the argument was unclear and it seemed that her mother's well held in anger had reached boiling point. She could hear the change in her mother's voice and something told her to back away before something happened but she had to know what was going on.
Robyn leant forward very slightly, her eyes becoming level with the crack left by the partly closed door. She could see quite clearly with one eye closed and watched the proceedings intently, always ready to pull herself away if she needed to. Such a time unfolded with stark quickness.
Her mother had virtually lost her temper.
Lily snarled at her interlocutor as he continued to refuse to listen. He had been treading on thin ice since his arrival but now he had dived right through it. No longer able to just use her voice to try to reason with him she moved to take physical action.
"I don't think you're hearing me." Lily hissed vehemently.
Before the man could stop her he felt her hand grasp his groin area tightly with one hand. She squeezed the contents of her palm, digging her nails in until she head a satisfying yelp of pain but she didn't let go.
There was more to say.
"Let me make myself perfectly clear," Lily squeezed harder, "You will do as I tell you. When you have gotten the food I've asked for you will get your money and not before. Are we agreed?"
The man couldn't answer; the pain in his groin was too great. He felt as if he would burst, he was trying desperately to hold his breath. The pressure of Lily's hand refused to cease and it grew greater with every second of silence. When she squeezed again, much harder than before, he had to stop his legs from buckling from underneath him lest his genitals should be ripped from his body.
Lily smiled at the fear in the man's face but it faded when she asked him once more, "Are we agreed?"
"Yes! Yes, we're bloody agreed! I'll do what you want, anyfing you want, just let me goolies go!" The man screamed unable to contain his pain any longer.
This display satisfied Lily and she let the man go, literally. He landed in an agonised heap on the floor but that wasn't the end of his torture. Before he could cradle his soreness and protect them from another attack instigated by that wicked hand, Lily landed a violent kick on the same area she had attacked before. The pain blistered through his body and he wailed miserably like an injured child. With tear filled eyes he looked up at her, asking her why.
"Just so you don't forget our agreement. Now, get out before I give you something to whine about." Lily threatened.
There was no need for Lily to say any more, her victim began to attempt to get up without any other persuasion. She would have watched him with pleasure but something else had caught her attention, there was someone watching them. Quickly, before the spy had any chance of escape she ran to the door, throwing it open she looked out, ready to pounce on they who dared to watch her behind a closed door.
But there was no one there. Frowning, Lily shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, she could have sworn that she'd heard someone moving outside. Putting the noise down to her companion she left her place at the door and walked back into the room.
Robyn leant against the wall of the alcove breathing heavily. She had just made it in time without being seen but it had been too close. Just a second more and her mother would have spotted her moving as quickly as she could down the corridor. Now, hidden from sight, she had time to gain her breath in safety.
Or so she thought.
"What are you doing in there?" A voice asked her, making her jump.
Whirling round, Robyn came face to face with Morgan. He was standing on the threshold of the room built behind the alcove, almost behind her. She could clearly detect a slight hint of amusement on his face, his chiselled features softened by the emotion. Poking her head out of the alcove she looked in the direction of the front room.
"Lily has a visitor," Robyn explained nodding her head towards the open door.
Morgan followed Robyn's glance and nodded, "I heard. He's been making quite a commotion."
"It's hardly surprising considering what she did to him."
"What she did to him? Do you mean to tell me you were spying on mother? I'm impressed. I always thought you were the good one."
Robyn looked at Morgan with mock outrage, "I am. And besides, I wasn't spying, not really. I was just-"
"Spying," Morgan interrupted with a smile, "Don't worry, I won't tell. If she asks I'll say it was me keeping an eye out for her personal safety. I'm not sure how she'd react if she knew it was you."
"Thanks. Who is that guy anyway?"
Morgan thought for a moment, "I think he's called Larry. He's who we get our food from. It's too dangerous for me and mother to leave the house for long what with your friends from the Network looking for you. If we're seen it could cause trouble, not so much for me but for mother. Now, speaking of food, I'm going to make myself some lunch."
Robyn watched as Morgan walked past her, out of the alcove, and down the corridor to the kitchen. She would have walked with him but something stopped her. It had been the first time she'd seen him smile, the first time they'd properly spoken and it intrigued her. There was something more to him than she had seen before, something that she couldn't take the risk to explore. If she got too caught up in the side of him she had seen there was a very real chance that she would forget the killer in him and that was something she mustn't do.
So wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't notice the man staring at her from the entrance of the alcove, her eyes fixed on the wall ahead of her. It was only when he spoke that she realised that he was there.
"Well, well, well, what 'ave we 'ere then?" The man asked all and none; he smiled a nearly toothless smile when Robyn looked up at him in surprise. "Aren't you a pretty one? What 'as Lily been doin' hidin' a little treasure like you? Why don't you come an say 'ello to Larry?"
There was something very wrong about Larry. Robyn could sense his intentions despite his injuries and it frightened her. She tried to back away but he was much faster than she was. He grabbed her before she could escape into the room that Morgan had left and pulled her to him. His breath was pungent as it tickled her cheek. Most of his teeth were missing and those that were left were like black stumps.
She tried to squirm out of his grasp as he tilted his head to kiss her but something stopped him. As if from nowhere a blade sliced its way between them, coming close enough to slice her throat and almost close enough to cutting off Larry's bottom lip. The latter stopped what he was doing immediately and looked at Robyn, eyes wide with fear. There was someone behind him that he couldn't see, someone who was holding the knife.
"Let her go before I kill you where you're standing." Morgan ordered, it was he behind Larry.
Nodding his head, Larry quickly let Robyn go and made to back away. He was allowed to leave with his life and he did so quickly, vowing never to touch the girl he had seen again.
Shaken by what had happened and reliving memories of Cain all over again, Robyn burst into tears. Doing what came naturally to anyone in need of comfort and not thinking she walked over to Morgan and put her arms around him. He didn't know how to react at first but slowly he put his arms around her and pulled her tightly to him.
Placing one hand on the back of her head he smoothed her hair as he rested his chin on top of it, trying to work out the feelings that had been awakened in him.
