Hour of the Wolf (Steam and Stone Saga) by Tapinas Andrius B

Author:Tapinas, Andrius B. [Tapinas, Andrius B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter XXIII

Vilnius, Late afternoon

24 04 1905

Vilnius Vitamancer financier Tomash Ujeiskiy was pacing the room and munching on a piece of bread and sausage, taking one last look around his dilapidated but cosy common-house room. The wait was making him restless. The suitcase was waiting by the door, while neatly placed in his jacket pocket were two tickets for the overnight dirigible The Moonlight Sonata. They would greet the morning in Berlin, from where the world would be their oyster – from the land of promises, America, to the ever-sunny beaches of Rio. This thought was enough to put Tomash on cloud nine, and he happily closed his eyes. He was so thrilled that once in his life he had gathered his courage and allowed Felix to drag him into this reckless enterprise.

A few days after that crucial evening when, sipping champagne in bed, he had confided to his lover Felix Porcijanka that he had seen some top-secret drawings at work, the accountant of the Guild of Mechanics Felix, amidst sighs and moans, had admitted to being blackmailed, and at the same time outlined a plan for how to get rid of his tormentor and even strike it rich. Tomash initially became apoplectic. However, the prospect of dropping everything and just the two of them living in some gorgeous little heavenly corner of the earth was impossible to resist, and he decided to take the risk. It later appeared that his worries had been unfounded – copying the drawings was a simple matter and he managed to do it without being detected. By now they should be in St Petersburg, Kiev or Moscow. Actually, Ujeiskiy didn’t care a fig about where they were, as he was much too preoccupied being happy about the two tickets warming his side and the thought that as soon as Felix came back, he would embark on an exhilarating new period of his life.

There was a knock at the door.

“At last,” Ujeiskiy gave a sigh of relief and made his way into the hall.

“How long is it taking you...” he opened the door with mouth open ready to reproach his lover – then he froze.

It was not his companion Felix Porcijanka, but a tall man in a grey suit and a hat. Tomash was no doubt surprised but he wasn’t scared, as the man was Gustav Schacht, or simply brother Schacht – the always cheerful lawyer of the Vitamancer Lodge. His colleagues knew that Ujeiskiy was leaving on a well-deserved holiday, and pedantic Gustav must have felt the need to clarify something.

“I do apologise for my last-minute call,” Gustav said jauntily. “As I can see you are all ready for the journey.” He stepped into the hall and, without any invitation, hung his hat on the intricate deer antler hanger on the wall. “I noticed that I don’t have copies of your travel documents, so here I am.”

Ujeiskiy, his mind more at ease than a moment ago, reached for the documents in his raincoat pocket. Meanwhile,

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