Eternal Dawn

I

Sin brought shadows.

All of Thomas' life, he was taught that simple truth. His homeland had been enveloped by the darkness that swathed the world, snuffing out all light and life in an instant. The priests swore that sin had summoned it and only following the doctrine of the Eternal Light would keep it at bay. He should have no reason to doubt the priesthood. They were the only people in the world who could illuminate the unnatural dark and keep pockets of humanity alive in the world. No reasonable man would defy them.

"The priests must burn!"

Of course, the world was filled with a surplus of unreasonable people and Thomas was the worst of them. But while he hid his views, doing a job he hated so he could assist the resistance as a double agent, others proclaimed their defiance to the world. He struggled to conceal his frustration at the crowd surrounding the small, white sacred sanctuary. The building shone with holy light, illuminating the edge of the city that laid too close to the wall of darkness. Because of its light, the gray autumn sky was visible instead of the ebony that canopied most of the world. That didn't matter to the demonstrators, fanatics who would condemn them all to eternal shadows if they had their way.

Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"Do you intend to arrest them?"

A jolt of surprise struck Thomas. Sometimes he forgot that he was seen as an Eternal Guard, an officer sworn to protect the Eternal Light at any cost. Most days, he still felt like a fifteen-year-old struggling to survive, instead of a twenty-five-year-old in a position of authority. It didn't help that he despised his position and wished his rebellious work wasn't being undercover in an oppressive force.

He cleared his throat, never forgetting the part that he had to play. "Not unless I receive orders or the crowd becomes uncontrollable."

"What would you consider uncontrollable?"

He tore his attention away from the loud demonstrators to focus on the person addressing him. She didn't look like one of the reckless heretics. Modest and ordinary, she wore a burgundy cloche hat that looked like it had seen better days, a slightly frayed blue plaid overcoat and shoes that were in need of a cobbler. But her curly chestnut hair was bobbed and her skirts went over ankles, defying how the Sacred State decreed women were supposed to dress.

A half-smile crept on her face as he stared. "Am I breaking laws? Should you fine me for indecency?"

"I would do no such thing," he said, aware that others in his position would do it as there were incentives for fining heretics.

"Perhaps someone of your rank wouldn't... Lieutenant," she said, her gaze falling on his uniform's emblem. "But you were staring."

The coquettish tone seemed off to him. Since joining the Eternal Guard, people often teased or flirted with him to avoid trouble. But there was a different quality to her. It felt like a deliberate attempt to put him on edge.

"I suppose I was staring, ma'am." He nodded. "It's just... your eyes."

"What about them?"

"I can't remember the last time I saw such sad eyes," he said.

Now his words seemed to throw her. She let out a nervous laugh. "Lieutenant, you ought to visit the Edge of the Dark or a hospice. You'd find much sadder eyes."

Thomas clenched his jaw, forcing back the horrors in his head. "I'm sure."

She fidgeted. "What would your superiors consider an uncontrollable crowd? The last demonstration by the Purist sect was peaceful, but they were seized by the Eternal Guard, and most are still missing."