Chapter Text
Rathmines was a cluttered mess of pubs, theaters, and pleasure houses; constantly bright and constantly busy. And constantly noisy. It was crowded with all sorts of artsy types—university students, musicians, poets, and other performers—which turned the streets into a chaos of strange-looking people dressed to the nines with colorful faces of make up and strong perfumes.
In short, it was one of the most overwhelming places in the entirety of Dublin, Upper and Lower combined. Unfortunately, it was also one of the best places to get information. This was largely due to the excited chatter of the crowd, either talking with the person next to them or yelling to those they recognized across the street, as well as the tipsy patrons that stumbled out of the pubs with a little too much freedom of speech. Also to the general…everything of the place. It dripped with overindulgence and extravagance.
In Abolish’s experience, those two things contributed to the perfect environment for gathering secrets. This was both a good and a bad thing. On the one hand, more information faster, and almost nobody would remember one more face in the crowd. On the other hand, going to Rathmines.
He neatly sidestepped two women standing on the street, one of them smoking an elaborate gold pipe that was puffing blue clouds out into the air. Her fingertips were stained the same sapphire hue, and she waved her pipe through the air, scattering the smoke around her as she talked with her friend. Abolish tucked his nose into his jacket with a scrunched face of disgust and tried very hard to avoid the sickly-sweet fumes as he continued past them.
“And that’s what I’ve been telling Eloise,” the woman continued without taking notice of him. “Seeing some lower city urchin! Why, I never heard anything of it—you know, she claims this girl’s name is Becky and she’s very sweet, but I ask you, Raz, what kind of a name is Becky? It’s just what you’d expect from those tramps below—and Eloise is very affluential, very acclaimed, I’ve been trying to warn her—I just don’t want her heart to be broken, you know! I mean, what if—”
It was interesting, but it wasn’t useful, and Abolish didn’t really care for gossip. The woman’s words were lost in the bustle of Rathmines as he continued down the street, hands tucked into the pockets of his suit jacket. On the balcony above his head, beauties called down to passersby, hoping to lure in business, and a hawker was giving out flyers for a new performance troupe on the corner. He was tired out by all of it.
Passing by the entrance to an alleyway, it was filled with a jostling queue as well, although the marquee wasn’t as bold as the ones lining the main roads. The rope keeping the line in place was the same rough quality workers used down at the docks, no soft velvet, and the entrance was a plain wooden door painted in chipping black. A green neon sign above it proclaimed a merrow singing tonight; most likely the reason for the tucked away nature. Merrow performers were frowned upon by the broader public, out of fear they could misuse the enchanting powers of their voices. Tucked away and hidden from the bright lights of bigger venues, they could advertise their shows.
Abolish made a note of the alley’s location, and the way the buildings were positioned to hide the secret music hall that the merrow performed in, and continued on his way, keeping his senses alert. The only people that would actually care would be the peelers, and he wasn’t about to go running to them—he had standards and dignity, thank you—but it was useful. And somewhat of a habit, to memorize things like that. He’d have to blame his upbringing for that.
“Coo-ee, look at ‘im!” a voice called down to the street. “Pretty-lookin’, ‘e is—young man! Young man in the dapper suit!” Abolish stopped and spun on his heel, looking up at another pleasure house’s balcony, where about thirteen or so beauties had gathered, leaning over and around each other to look at him. The one who spoke was a tall girl with electric blue ringlets dancing around her shoulders every time she moved her head. She giggled at his attention. “Wot’s your name, love?”
“Abolish,” he answered. “Apologies, but I’m running late for a play.”
“Ooh, whatcha seein’?” another beauty asked, his honey-brown curls giving him a sweet, youthful look. “Maybe I’d like to see it too.” His comment was followed by a handful of laughter from those around him.
The first girl who’d spoken lightly hit him on the arm. “Didn’t you ‘ear wot ‘e said? ‘E’s got somewhere to be, and we ain’t gonna be the ones ‘olding ‘im up.” She fluttered her eyes down at Abolish. “Run along, love, and make sure to come back and tell us if it was any good.” She blew him a kiss, which he politely nodded at as he continued down the street, followed by titters from the balcony.
It wasn’t the first time Abolish had been stopped by the beauties on the balconies. It was their job to flirt with everyone, and he had the unnatural, otherworldly beauty of his kind. ‘Running late for a play’ was the usual excuse he gave, and it worked most of the time, although occasionally they wanted to know what play he was seeing, and with whom, and where. In those rare instances, Abolish just guessed the first performance that came to mind and hoped none of them would bother to fact check him. And why would they? It didn’t matter if he was lying or not. None of them had a real interest in him; just his looks and his money.
It wasn’t like Abolish had any interest in them, either. He’d only ever had sights for one person, and he hadn’t seen them in nearly four years. Three years and nine months, not that he was counting, not that it mattered. He was unlikely to ever see them again.
Still, any time he was forced to talk with the beauties, it stirred the remnants of old wants in his heart, the ones he’d long since buried. It was just another reason to dislike Rathmines.
Abolish quickened his pace, keeping his gaze sharp as he scanned the crowd around him. He didn’t have a current mission, so this was largely just to keep up to date. An insurance of sorts for when he was reassigned. He had a finger on the pulse of the city, and he was loath to give it up by slacking off. It was probably about time to return to the apothecary, though.
Bringing out an extremely battered silver pocketwatch, Abolish checked the time. He’d already been in Rathmines for over two hours, which explained the tension building behind his eyes. Too long surrounded by the noise and lights gave him a headache. He’d collected a fair amount of details, even if most of it was mindless gossip, and he could sort through them later tonight, marking the ones that may be useful down the line.
Approaching an alleyway between a music hall and a neon-lit pub, Abolish ducked around the corner. Though it was less crowded than the main roads, the narrow path was far from empty, and Abolish was forced to sidestep two men in matching pink and yellow suits. As in, one half of the suit was pink and one half was yellow.
The fashion choices some people made were certainly…interesting.
He knew the path that would take him down into Lower Dublin, and eventually to the apothecary. There were many routes between the Upper and Lower parts of the city, most blocked by tolls or guarded by peelers who did an extensive background check on anyone looking to cross. No one used those unless they were looking to go slumming in the nicer parts of the Lower City, to get a sanitized taste of the more dangerous life. Abolish had his own routes.
Turning down more and more side streets, eventually he left the crowds and bustle of Rathmines far behind, making his way into the filthy underbelly of the city. Brick walls blackened by fire and grime rose up around him and rats scurried through the piles of trash at his feet. Despite those things, Abolish felt the knot in his shoulders loosening and his posture relaxing ever so slightly the further he got from the chaos of the theatre district. The closer he got to Lower Dublin and the apothecary.
For many years, Abolish had resisted forming permanent attachments to any specific place. It was somewhat terrifying, after all this time, to have somewhere to call home. A safe haven where he could lower his guard.
And yet, it was also comforting, to know that there was a place he could always return to. A place he would always be welcomed. As much as the idea scared him, Abolish was glad for it.
Finally, the cobblestones became cracked underfoot, sticking up from the street at odd angles. The ground itself was uneven, dipping and rolling like a rumpled tablecloth. The air carried a faint metallic scent. Abolish was nearing the area of Upper Dublin that bordered the River Liffey, populated by those either lucky enough to be on the right side of the river when half of the city sank or unfortunate enough to be unable to afford better accommodations.
Abolish imagined the so-called “poor housing” of Upper Dublin would look fancy to someone from the Lower City, where families were crammed three to a room and most buildings had boarded up windows to keep out the draft. Hell, most people from Lower Dublin had never even seen sunlight. Even here, in the worst district of the Upper City, they still had the sun.
Counting the storm drains along the street, one every fifty or so feet, he stopped when he came to the seventh one. Kneeling down and working quickly but quietly, so as to avoid detection from the residents who were probably mostly asleep, he pried the drain cover up and peered down into the deep hole. The metal rungs of a ladder lined one side, descending into pitch black.
Abolish wrinkled his nose, bracing himself for what was to come next. It was his least favorite part, but unfortunately, it was the closest route from the apothecary to Upper Dublin without paying a toll. He could take a nicer one, but he wanted to get home as soon as possible.
He had many reasons for that, some of which he didn’t care to dwell on at that moment.
The rungs were cold and slippery, gritty under his hands. Abolish made sure his feet were securely braced on the slick metal before he pulled the storm drain’s cover back over the hole, encasing himself in darkness. Carefully, he began his descent, unable to see where he was going.
Not that it really mattered. Abolish had done harder things than scale a slippery ladder in complete and total darkness, and he knew the city with the innate knowledge of his kind—instrinsic, built into him from a young age. He couldn’t get lost in it any more than he could get lost in an open field.
Slowly, the air around him grew danker, carrying a faint chill. Abolish’s ears popped once, then twice. The metallic smell from the street was nearly overpowering. It filled the tunnel around him, as if it had a physical weight to it.
Abolish dropped down into ankle high water with a splash. It soaked through his shoes immediately, getting his socks wet, which was an entirely unpleasant feeling. He’d known this was coming, but it didn’t make it any nicer.
The water he stood in, he knew, was a thin trickle that flowed through a large, round tunnel, interspersed with chutes much like the one he’d climbed down. It emptied into the River Liffey, which was where Abolish needed to follow it, from a point roughly thirty feet up a wall covered in river slime. The drop was barely survivable for a human.
Luckily, Abolish wasn’t exactly human.
The sewers of Dublin were one of his least favorite ways to get around, given that they were dingy, damp, and provided the opportunity to get several new bacteria or diseases. Not to mention that whatever he stood in, it wasn’t just water. Abolish preferred not to think of that, honestly. It was called compartmentalizing.
His footsteps were silent as he made his way down the tunnel, the gentle murmur of running water his only companion. He kept his ears pricked for the rustle or squelch of movement that would mean he wasn’t alone. The sewers were used by rats, alpuachra, and luchorpain alike, as well as just about anyone else who had use for them. Like with most things in the city, only about half of the strangers one met could be considered not dangerous.
He made it to the tunnel’s exit without incident, thankfully. A large grate covered the opening, water rushing between the bars to pour into the River Liffey far below. The river moved sluggishly, murky and dark. Abolish had long since left the open sky of Upper Dublin, and now all he could see when he peered up from behind the grate was the hazy cover of clouds and fog. The only light came from the artificial glow of the bonelamps interspersed along the wall, their ghostly green shine reflected faintly by the water.
The bars hadn’t really been made to keep people in or out, and it was no trouble for Abolish to wriggle between them, as he had many times before. One foot braced on the floor of the tunnel, one hand gripping rusted metal, the rest of his body dangling over a thirty foot drop, Abolish took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he was about to do. Then he jumped.
The impact stole the air from his lungs, but he fought the urge to gasp, keeping his mouth firmly shut. Swallowing water from the River Liffey was a colossally stupid idea, no matter the reason. The cold set in quickly after, shocking him into motion. Abolish struggled upwards and broke the surface of the water, taking in a quick gulp of air.
His skin was stinging where it had hit the water, and the back of his head throbbed dully. It wouldn’t be good to stay in the water for longer than he had to, lest he want to get sick. Abolish began to swim for the opposite shore, hoping the river would stay calm tonight. He didn’t want to get into any fights that could be avoided, not when he had a place to be and his day had already been a long one.
Unfortunately, no such luck. Maybe it was because he was a familiar figure, or maybe it was just because they were curious by nature. Within a few minutes, a face popped above the water, pale as bone and shimmering strangely despite the lack of light.
“Hi, Abolish,” she hummed, her voice carrying an oddly musical quality to it. Her words sounded unnatural and somewhat clunky, as if she wasn’t used to speaking like a human. “What are you doing? You haven’t visited in a while. I was wondering if you’d forgotten about us.”
“Hello, Ivory. I’ve just been busy,” Abolish said, forced to stop swimming to talk with her. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to stay away.”
“It’s alright.” She swam in a wide circle around him, her body leaving no ripples as she moved through the water. “What have you been busy with?”
That was a loaded question. “Just apothecary stuff. Helping out in the shop and such.” He felt bad about lying to her, even if it wasn’t technically a lie. Abolish couldn’t lie by nature, but he could exploit loopholes in phrasing, and technically speaking he had been busy with apothecary stuff. It was just of a different nature than his sentence implied.
Maybe the fact that he was weaponizing Ivory’s wording instead of simply lying made him feel worse. Most people were carefuller when talking to those like him. Then again, most people didn’t know what he really was.
“That’s boring,” she said, blowing bubbles in the water. “Sorry about it.” She perked up suddenly, eyes sparkling like starlight. “Does that mean you’ll visit more now?”
Abolish fought his smile. He really did like the asrai; they were shy and timid, unfamiliar with the way the world works. The first time he’d actually talked to this one in particular, she’d been amazed to see a land creature, as she put it, able to stay afloat in the water. Even now, when he’d been visiting them for over a year, Ivory was still the only one brave enough to come up to him without coaxing, and they all had the same childlike wonder at the simplest of things. As far as water spirits went, they were harmless.
“Maybe,” he said, careful not to promise anything. “I’ll try to get away soon.”
She beamed, swimming in quick, excited circles before him. “Good luck!” She hesitated before adding, “I like talking to you.”
“And I you,” Abolish replied, touched. He preferred keeping his friends few, but she was so earnest, it was hard not to be endeared. “Although I can’t stay long today, I’m afraid. I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
“You are?” she asked, curious. At his nod, she hummed a little one-note and said, “I can help you.”
Abolish frowned. “How?” he asked warily.
“It’ll be easier to show you,” she said. “Take a deep breath and go under.”
Abolish did as she said with only a minute of debate, deciding that even if she meant to hurt him, he could probably fight her off. He’d fought with eauisce before, after all, and they were one of the strongest water spirits. Besides, he doubted she meant him any true harm.
A hard grip wrapped around his arm, searing into his skin with a heat that surprised him. Before Abolish could struggle out of the hold, he was being pulled along at a breathtaking speed, the water pushing against him in a somewhat unpleasant way. His eyes were closed to the grit of the River Liffey, but he presumed Ivory was bringing him to the opposite bank.
Almost as quickly as it had begun, it stopped, and Abolish found he could touch the muddy silt of the riverbed. He pushed his head above the water, blinking droplets out of his eyes and pushing his sopping hair back to see properly. Ivory was before him, smiling in a shy but pleased way. “There you are,” she said.
“Thank you,” Abolish said. “I’ll be sure to visit as soon as I can.”
Her smile grew, shining from her face like a constellation. “I’ll be waiting,” she promised. Abolish felt it settle into his soul, the weight behind that statement, and was oddly touched by it. “See you later, Abolish.”
“Goodbye, Ivory.”
With a final twirl in the water, she dived back under and disappeared. Abolish made his slow way to shore, wading out and grimacing at the wet feeling of his clothes. He was soaked through, which he had only himself to blame for. He hoped Legs would have a fire already burning in the stove when he arrived at the apothecary. Perhaps a cup of tea as well; Abolish needed something to help him think as he categorized the information he’d picked up in Rathmines, still clear in his mind.
He tried not to think about the other person waiting for him at the apothecary, whom he prayed he wouldn’t run into before he had a chance to dry off. He didn’t want them to see him so disheveled. He wouldn’t think about the reasons for that too hard.
Abolish ran a hand through his hair again, grimacing at the way his clothes clung to him uncomfortably, and then made his way deeper into the twisted maze of Lower Dublin, headed for the crooked building with glowing golden windows that awaited him somewhere within the web of its streets.