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Lucy Carlyle sighed as she sat with her friends. She stared at the cup of tea that was slowly going cold, the look in her eyes distant.
“You’ll find them soon,” Kat Godwin promised. “I’m sure they work at Fittes or Rotwell.”
“I’m not so sure.” Lucy glanced up at her frustratedly. “It’s been three years since I’ve come to London, Kat. I still haven’t met my soulmate yet and at this point I’m wondering if I ever will.”
“You’ve got to be patient, Lucy.” Kat’s gaze was sympathetic. “It took Holly two years to find Sienna.”
“I know. But you guys are always talking about what you see. It’s pretty gloomy to be devoid of colour.”
“You’re not devoid of colour,” Holly interjected. “You just can’t see it yet. Trust me, you’ll find them eventually, love.”
Lucy nodded glumly and stared out the window. She couldn’t even imagine a world with colour; she was nearing eighteen and she still hadn’t met her soulmate. From what the stories said once you meet your soulmate, you’ll gain colour. It’s not a big flash of colour, it’s more of a gradual change that occurs when you spend time with them.
Kat met Kipps when she was placed on his team a little under three years ago. Around the time Lucy had run away from home and arrived in London. Kat told her she didn’t even realise Kipps was her soulmate at first; she said that the world remained grey until she spent more time with him, but she admitted it was because she harboured a grudge at first. It was difficult for Kat or Holly to explain what colour was to Lucy. All around Lucy was grey. They gave up trying to explain and Lucy was grateful for that. She didn’t mean to be a killjoy, but she couldn’t feel a little morose considering she still hadn’t met them.
A throat cleared and the three girls looked up from their food and drinks. Quill Kipps stood there with little Bobby Vernon and big Ned Shaw behind him.
“Hi,” Kat said brightly, a grin on her face.
Kipps gave her a smile that he reserved for her only. “Are you ready to go? We’ve got to make sure everything’s ready before the job tonight.”
“Yeah,” Lucy said as she began to stand.
“I’ll see you two later,” Holly promised as she picked up her bag. “Sienna planned a date night.”
“Enjoy your night,” Kat said, giving her a quick hug. “Give Sienna my love.”
“I will.” And with another round of goodbyes, Holly was out the door of the cafe.
The group walked back to Fittes and Lucy began to check their kit bags. She made sure they had enough iron chains, silver nets, and filings. Kat sat next to her, focused on polishing their rapiers. She could hear Kipps ordering Bobby and Ned around and she returned to her checklist. Once that was done, her and Kat returned to the room where the other three were.
“What’s up?” Kat questioned as she slipped past Bobby and took a seat next to Kipps.
Kipps shook his head and from the look on his face, Lucy had a feeling he wasn’t happy.
Bobby cleared his throat. “Barnes has just informed us that we’ll be working with another agency to deal with the Sources.”
“That’s good, right?” Lucy asked, tilting her head. “The job will get done quicker and we’ll be back before dawn, hopefully.”
“That’s not the problem,” Ned informed her. “It’s the team we’ll be working with.”
“Oh. Well, come on, out with it. Who’s the other agency?”
“Lockwood and Co.”
It was like all of the air was sucked out of the room; it was so silent, you could hear a pin drop. Lucy wracked her brain until she realised who they meant. It was the smallest outfit in London, consisting of two permanent people– Anthony Lockwood and George Karim– and sometimes a third, whatever unlucky person needed employment at the time. Lucy never had the pleasure– or should she say displeasure, if what Kipps has to say is anything to go by– to meet them. She’d been sick the first time the two groups had run into each other and the second time, she’d been visiting her older sister, Mary.
Occasionally, she’d hear stories about how reckless and irritating he was when Kipps went out on a job with someone other than her. Yes, now that she thought about it, she must be lucky to not know them.
“It’ll be fine, Kipps,” Kat reassured, placing her hand on his arm. “We can just split up and divide the work between us.”
“You’re right.”
A little while later, the quintet was standing outside of a looming house. Lucy briefly considered it– in her opinion, it was more of a mansion than a house. There was a sprawling estate that surrounded the mansion and she glanced at the iron gates that led up a gravel path to the house. It looked like the grounds hadn’t been kept up; the weeds were up to their knees and Lucy stumbled when her foot caught a hole. She let out a slew of curse words and proceeded to punch Ned in the gut when he made a comment– (“You don’t need a soulmate, Carlyle. Your vocabulary’s colourful enough.”). Kipps had quickly shut down the argument he sensed was brewing after that exchange.
“It looks cheery,” Kat said, failing miserably at an attempt of humour.
“I can’t see colour, but even I know this place is dreary,” said Lucy, a sigh of exhaustion passing through her. From the looks of this house, she had a sinking feeling the night wasn’t going to go well.
They waited on the porch. The sun outside was beginning to set and the group waited impatiently for Lockwood and Co. to arrive. About twenty minutes later, they watched as three people loped their way up the gravel. They could hear the cursing that was coming from one of them– a boy with specs– and the warning coming from the taller man.
“You’re late.” Kipps’ tone was harsh.
“Sorry about that,” the taller man said. He gave the group a grin paired with an appraising look. “George couldn’t find his file.”
The girl who was with the group looked exhausted already and Lucy felt sympathy for her. How difficult it must be to work with two idiots.
“Right, so we’ll split into groups.” Kipps took charge once George finally stepped onto the porch. “Bobby will go with Ned, I’ll go with–”
“If you don’t mind,” Lockwood interjected. “I’d like to partner with Ms. Carlyle. I hear that she has strong Talent, and I must say I’m intrigued to see her in action.”
Lucy raised an eyebrow and glanced at Kipps, who looked like he just swallowed something sour. Yes, this was going to be a wonderful night.
“Are you okay with that, Lucy?” Kipps asked, glancing at her.
“Sure,” she shrugged. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
Lockwood grinned at that comment and Lucy began to regret agreeing to be his partner.
Kipps split up the rest: himself and Sophie, the newest member of Lockwood and Co. and George and Kat.
“Ready for this?” Lockwood asked Lucy, his body practically humming with excitement.
“Not as ready as you apparently are,” Lucy answered before entering the house.
Her and Lockwood were told to search the basement and Lucy closed her eyes when they reached the door. All she could hear was silence, but the tightening in her gut told her to be ready.
“I don’t see any death glows,” Lockwood said as he looked around. “But let’s do a routine check.”
They went down the stairs and were in the middle of checking the temperature when they heard a loud thud. The two shared a look before running up the stairs to see that the door to the basement was shut. Lucy pounded on it and cursed loudly. If Lockwood was offended or impressed by her language, he didn’t show it.
“It’s probably unlocked,” Lockwood said as he twisted the golden knob.
Lucy crossed her arms to glare at him. “Obviously, it’s not.”
He gave her a sheepish grin and the two reluctantly turned back to the basement. They slowly went down the steps and Lucy noticed the way the handle of his rapier glinted in the light. She frowned, but continued to take temperature readings.
She jumped when light suddenly flooded her vision. Lockwood must’ve found the switch. Pale yellow light flickered from the ancient light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Lucy blinked.
“All good, Ms. Carlyle?” Lockwood appeared, his dark eyes flecked with hints of gold.
The colour drained from her face and she was sure Lockwood noticed. Why were there hues of yellow? She looked around again– the gold in his eyes, the yellow light, a box covered by a yellow blanket. Lucy’s eyes landed on Lockwood. He was staring at her worriedly.
“Are you okay? You look like you’re gonna be sick.” He moved over and pressed a hand to her forehead.
The room was suddenly several degrees warmer. She had closed her eyes when he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead and when she opened her eyes, there was more.
Hues of orange shone in her vision. The tapestry that looked like it had seen better days, a child’s toy on the ground. She could feel the blood running through her veins, the searing heat warming her from the inside.
“Y-yeah. I’m fine,” Lucy stuttered, quickly stepping away from Lockwood. He frowned, but said nothing.
They began to make an iron circle and Lucy ignored the looks he kept giving her. He was trying to read her, she thought. Figure out what the hell was going on in her mind.
The clock was nearing eight. The sun had finally set and Lockwood and her sat outside the circle, enjoying some tea as they waited. She studied the thermos he had given her. It was pink. There were little stickers of cats dotting the surface. Lucy looked up and studied him. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts and her gaze rested on his lips. They were a rosy pink colour and looked chapped. She quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head and continued to scrutinise him. Her eyes landed on his pink socks and then returned to staring at the thermos.
“You’re looking at that pretty intensely,” Lockwood noted, his words cutting through the silence.
“Yeah, it’s… pretty.”
He smiled and they lapsed into silence again. The temperature slowly began to drop and the two quickly put away the thermoses. Lucy pulled out her rapier, the light glinting off of it as Lockwood turned off the light.
The room was shrouded in an inky blackness. Lucy suppressed a shudder and tightened her grip on her rapier. She felt Lockwood stiffen beside her.
“What?” She hissed, eyes slowly adjusting to the dark.
“A very bright death glow in the corner,” he whispered, slipping on his sunglasses.
The temperature dropped even more noticeably and Lucy could see her breath pluming in the air. Her breath was white, she noticed. And so was the Visitor that was materialising just beyond the iron circle. It hadn’t noticed them yet, but Lucy’s grip on her rapier slackened as she stared at the floating white figure. It was freezing and Lucy fumbled to zip up her jacket.
Finally, the ghost noticed them. Lucy stared at her. The ghost’s hair was black and straggly and her eyes would haunt Lucy in the future. There was nothing there, just sockets and blood that slowly snaked down her cheeks in rivulets. A metallic taste hung in the air and Lucy noticed the large red stain on the woman’s white dress. She glanced at Lockwood out of the corner of her eye and he seemed to be just as frozen.
She turned back to the Visitor and closed her eyes. She felt the psychic pressure against her mind and she opened it. Lucy stumbled back as the ghost’s emotions flooded over her.
“No! No! Please, I’m sorry!”
Lucy gulped.
“Let go of me! Let me go!”
“Lucy!” A distant voice called to her, it sounded like she was submerged in water. She opened her eyes and found Lockwood beside her.
“Sorry. What?”
“Did you hear anything?” He glanced at her, his rapier drawn. The spirit hadn’t made any movement, but continued to stare at them.
“She was begging for her life.” Lucy blinked away the gnawing fear that was creeping up.
Lockwood nodded. “How about I hold her off and you look for the Source? Even though she hasn’t moved, I’d rather do it before she gets angry.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Lockwood quickly moved towards the spirit, his rapier raised and Lucy moved around the iron circle. He succeeded in getting the ghost to chase him and Lucy quickly dropped to her knees, searching for the spirit’s Source. She could feel the anger rolling off the Visitor in waves and she glanced back at Lockwood. He looked elegant as he weaved wards to protect himself.
Lucy continued to dig. She felt along the cracks of the wall and along the ground. A powerful wave of energy crashed against her mind and she fell to the ground. She must be close.
“Have you found it?” Lockwood shouted as he slashed through the spirit.
“Not yet!”
“Please, hurry.”
She finally felt something and the world slowly faded away. When she opened her eyes, she was in the basement, but it was brighter. She could see a bookcase housing many encyclopaedias and novels. In the centre of the room, a man stood with his back to her. She was curled up in the corner, her body shaking and her breath coming out in gasps. Her stomach hurt and Lucy was terrified to see the colour red soaking her nightie. What the hell?
“You should’ve listened to me.” The man’s voice was gruff and deep and Lucy shuddered.
He turned towards her, a malicious glint in his eyes. He held a dagger in his hand, the other resting against his hip. Lucy noticed the purple ring, sparkling in the pale light. The man exuded aristocracy and elegance; his clothes looked custom-made and she noticed a purple brooch attached to his shirt.
The man slowly walked towards her and Lucy felt a flash of fear. He raised the dagger and Lucy closed her eyes, tears running down her cheeks.
“No! No! Please, I’m sorry!”
As the dagger came down, the world disappeared and Lucy blinked. She was in the basement again and Lockwood was crouched in front of her, worry evident on his face. He had a silver net wrapped around an object– a golden ring with an emerald in the centre.
“Are you okay?” He touched her cheek and brushed away a tear.
Lucy swallowed and shook her head. Lockwood frowned and put the ring in a silver-glass case. He set it on the ground and pulled Lucy into his arms. She clung to him and let out the sobs she’d been holding in. He murmured soothing words and reassurances into her ear as he rubbed her back.
Once she calmed down, he pulled away. And Lucy noticed that another colour had appeared. Blue. The light was on and Lucy realised she was wearing blue. She then looked at Lockwood.
“Do you see it?” Her voice was soft.
“Yes.” He gave her a small smile. “You’re wearing blue.”
She gave him a shaky smile as he helped her stand. They stood there looking at each other and Lucy felt herself relax.
They made their way up the stairs and pounded on the door until Kat opened it. She stared at the two of them.
“What the hell?”
“I can see colour,” Lucy blurted. “You’re wearing a purple hair tie.”
Kat touched her ponytail and her eyes widened. “You and Lockwood?”
“Yeah.” Lockwood smiled and squeezed Lucy’s arm. “I better go check on George and Sophie.”
“A good idea,” Lucy agreed and he walked away.
“Tell me all about it.”
“I will when we get to the dorm.”
Her time spent with Lockwood was marvellous. When they had free days, they spent their time wandering around London telling each other stories about previous jobs or their childhood.
She was happy. Being with Lockwood felt right . And now the world was filled with colour. She could see if her clothing clashed or how red Kipps’ face got when the group teased him. She saw how ugly their uniforms were.
Everything was going fine. For once, Lucy felt like she didn’t have a care in the world.
Her world came crashing down.
She had been enjoying time with Holly and Kat. The three were outside, spending the day in a park near the Fittes building. She had taken up painting after meeting Lockwood, determined to capture all of the colour she could. It was a way to make up for all the years that she didn’t have colour.
The sky had been blue and the sun beat down on the three. Lucy had been in the middle of painting when she frowned. She swore she had dipped her brush in blue, so why was it grey?
She had glanced at the palette and froze. The colours that she’d been able to distinctly tell apart not even a moment ago were slowly losing their hues. She had sat there and watched, in a paralyzed terror, as her bright colourful world returned to a dull grey.
Lucy had sprinted back to the Fittes building, accosting Kipps the second she saw him. She had forced him to find out where Lockwood was. When she had learned he was in the hospital, her heart had stopped beating. Then she was there– an endless wait. She sat numbly next to George. Sophie disappeared to get the three of them something to eat. Lucy didn’t remember how long they waited– it felt like days. The people walking around them a hazy blur and she finally realised she was crying. She sobbed until she couldn’t, slumping against her seat when her tears dried up. And still not a single word about his condition.
A doctor appeared and called out for his family.
One look at his face and Lucy knew. She just knew. The last slivers of colour left her. She let out a strangled cry and sunk to her knees, desperate, heart-wrenching cries leaving her chest. She felt arms wrap around her and smelled the familiar scent of Sophie.
The colour that had painted her life for the past several months was now gone.