In Twilight's Shadow by Patti O'Shea

Author:Patti O'Shea
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2008-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

14

CHAPTER

Maia walked alongside Creed to the entrance of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. He’d been pensive since his return from the call-out, and though she knew better than to ask, she was curious about what had happened.

“I’ve got the admission fee covered,” he said as he opened the door for her.

“It’s free, but thanks.”

“Free? Every Wednesday?”

“No, every day,” she said. The dedication to the arts, and the belief that they should be available to everyone, was one of her favorite things about living in the Twin Cities, although she rarely took advantage of it. Maia tried to remember the last time she’d been to the museum, but drew a blank. More than a year, though, easy.

Going to places like this was a bittersweet experience for her; maybe that was why she didn’t put herself through it too often. She loved art, could lose herself in it for hours, but it hurt to know that she’d never be part of it, not as anything more than an observer.

If she’d been smart, she would have gone to college while she’d been working as a troubleshooter, but back then, Maia hadn’t seen the point. What good was a degree in art when she’d spend her life working as one of the council’s enforcers? It had been simpler to read on her own, and she didn’t have to worry about tests that way. Now, of course, she fervently wished she had that little piece of paper.

Creed stopped by the information desk and picked up a map of the museum. They moved out of the flow of traffic before he opened it. “Second floor,” he said, tapping a square on one of the three maps. “Egypt and Ancient Near East.”

They went up the stairs side by side, their hands brushing a couple of times. The third time it happened, Creed reached for her and linked their fingers. Maia was taken so off-guard that she nearly tripped and had to grab the railing to steady herself. Surreptitiously, she cast a glance at him, but his face gave nothing away.

Something had definitely happened today, because Creed wasn’t a hold-your-hand kind of guy. The way that he was hanging on to her, though, made her think he needed comfort or maybe to be anchored to another person. For the first time, she wondered if he felt alone like she did. Sure, he had friends, but how often could he see them when he was working? The council kept the rovers busy, they always had. In the five days he’d been with her, Creed had taken two assignments, and from what she could see, neither job had been easy for him. She remained quiet until they reached the next level, however, then with as much nonchalance as she could muster, Maia said, “You were gone on the call-out for a long time.”

His hand tightened around hers. “I had to go see a healer afterward.”

“You were hurt?” He hadn’t told her that.

“Old injury.” Creed’s left hand came up and rubbed his side—about the area where the zortir had wounded him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.