Black Dawn by Peter J. Evans

Author:Peter J. Evans
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: Abaddon Books

The air outside was still bitterly cold and full of snow. It hit Red in the face as soon as she tugged the door open, and almost stopped her as the heat had done inside. She forced herself into it, through the shock and out into the street.

The sounds of the brawl, punctuated with the dry shattering of wooden furniture, muffled as Godolkin took the door and slammed it closed.

They began to hurry away. Red refastened her robes, shutting out some of the chill and then reached under her hood and tugged the scarf from her head. It was beginning to itch. In fact, she was starting to itch all over. It had been a while since she had been able to shower, or in fact do anything more than splash a little cold water on her face and hands at a public washhouse, but that shouldn't have bothered her. In the lives she had led - street-scavenger, bounty hunter, fugitive - there had always been times when cleanliness wasn't an option.

On the other hand, she was beginning to realise that the robes she'd found were carrying a sizeable population of local wildlife. Whatever was living in the fabric was starting to bite.

There was a certain irony in that. Something was drawing her blood, which made a change.

Godolkin's strides were long. Red was trying to walk normally, for the benefit of any passers-by who might take an interest, but it was impossible. She had to break into a run every few steps just to keep up. "Slow down, you big oaf!"

"The brawl will attract marshals. Do you really want me to slow down?"

"No." she peeked back over her shoulder, but didn't see anyone watching. "Yes. I don't know. Just shut up and let me think."

It was a hard fact to face up to, but her expedition to the lower city had achieved little. She had confirmed a few facts about Daedalus and the Endura, but other than that she had gotten into a fight, learned nothing that had gotten her any closer to finding Harrow, and she hadn't even managed to sample the ale that Raulin had bought for her.

Now she was hungry. She was so hungry that she had forgotten what not feeling hungry was like.

Was the lack of blood affecting her mind, she wondered? Maybe she was running around like a headless bird because the weeks of blood-substitute had done her serious harm. Her concentration seemed to be failing and her senses weren't as acute as they should have been. She hadn't even noticed that Godolkin had been following her. In fact...

She slowed for a second, almost stumbled and then hurried to catch the Iconoclast up. "Hey, Godolkin?"

"Have you finished thinking?"

"Hard to say but I was wondering..."

"What?"

"Are we being followed?"

The Iconoclast made no outward sign that he was considering her question, just kept striding forwards with the same inward-looking frown that he normally wore. For a moment Red thought that he might not have heard her question, or that she was getting so addled that she had only imagined herself asking it.

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