Bloody Aria by Lorraine Ulrich

Author:Lorraine Ulrich [Ulrich, Lorraine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2015-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

EVENTUALLY THE pain of his injuries overrode everything else. Carefully Antoine shifted so that he was not kneeling then moving slowly until he was sitting up. His gloves were still intact, but his palms burned. His knees were worse—the coveralls were torn and blood had seeped out around the edges. There was a fair amount of gravel that clung to the scrapes, making it difficult to see how bad they were. Antoine tried to brush the worst of it off, but all it did was change the pain from dull to sharp.

Antoine let out a sigh, finally starting to take in his surroundings. Evidently in his blind running he had worked his way through the abandoned town all the way to the mouth of the mine. There was debris from the mountain scattered around him, not just rocks but carts and tools. An acrid stench drifted up from the mine, the familiar smell of burning coal almost comforting if not for the reminder that he was next to a burning coal mine. Carefully Antoine scooted backward until he could lean against one of the boulders, letting out a slow breath to combat the pain.

Once he was standing again, Antoine was left wondering what he would do now. He knew that someone, most likely Rivas, would come looking for him. Even if there was nowhere for him to go, there were enough ways for him to get injured without proper supervision. Which Antoine sheepishly realized he had just proven. So the question became should he leave now, or stay and wait for Rivas to find him? Eventually it was the ache in his knees that decided it. Antoine was going to stay put for the moment.

Mercifully he didn’t have to wait very long before he heard the sound of boots crunching over the ground in his direction. Antoine refused to look up, though, even when he saw the boots walk in front of him, stopping short of him. It was petty, but Antoine decided he wouldn’t be the first to break the silence. Also given the amount of ugliness he had spewed out earlier, Antoine really thought it would be better if he stayed quiet this time.

“You do not make things easy, do you, Antoine?” Rivas’s voice was a mixture of fond and frustrated.

Antoine didn’t feel like a reply was really needed, so he didn’t offer one. Instead he tilted his head back to take in more of the looming figure. When Rivas shifted and crouched in front of him, it made them eye level with each other.

“Well, since it seems like you’re not going to say anything for once, I guess it’s my turn to speak.” Rivas pulled a canteen off his belt. He set it aside, reaching out and grasping Antoine’s knee in a warm grip. “You’re right, I did plan ultimately to show you this place. I wanted to show you what it is like for those that work to make the Suva Coal Company successful. But honestly, I didn’t do it out of cruelty, not intentionally.

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