The Hour of Dust and Ashes by Kelly Gay

Author:Kelly Gay [Gay, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Contemporary, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adventure
ISBN: 9781451625479
Google: 4CPUgi9wML8C
Amazon: 1451625472
Barnesnoble: 1451625472
Publisher: Pocket
Published: 2010-12-31T05:00:00+00:00

After a quick pit stop in the ladies’ room, I headed into the basement level, which contained our med units, cold cells, holding areas, and the morgue.

The holding area consisted of twenty cells, ten running down each side of the hallway. They were eight-byten, the back wall made of concrete blocks painted gray, and the sides and front made from a clear plastic as hard as steel. The only privacy consisted of a half wall that hid a small toilet. Everything else could easily be viewed by the cameras mounted in each corner, the other inmates, and the guards regularly walking the hall.

Granted, these cells were for criminals, not innocent people, but right now this was the best way possible to protect the ash victims.

After I showed my ID and headed down the hallway with one of the guards, nine happy faces greeted me. Most of those faces were familiar: known drug users who I’d seen on the streets in Underground or had arrested myself once or twice.

When ash hit the market, the jinn who’d been passing out the drug had targeted the users in Underground first. The only reason it had made it to Amanda was because of her father’s involvement in the manufacturing process, and the only reason my sister was now an addict was because she’d been exposed to the drug during our fight to destroy the ash farm. Otherwise every ash victim, even Casey and Mike, had been users before.

“Hey, Madigan.” A twenty-something former meth user named Kyle, if I remembered correctly, stood as I passed. “How long are we supposed to stay in here?” I really wanted to tell him that if he hadn’t been a drug user looking for his next fix, he wouldn’t even be here, but instead I said, “Until we know it’s safe.”

“Fucking cops,” he mumbled, going back to flop down on the small cot pushed against the wall.

Bryn was in the last cell on the left, sitting on the cot, back against the plastic wall, one knee drawn up and her fingers toying with the ends of her long purple skirt. Her hair was down, hanging over one shoulder in a mass of auburn brown waves. Seeing my sister sitting in a holding cell was beyond strange.

I drew in a deep preparatory breath as the guard unlocked the door. Inside, I pulled the small stool from beneath the table along the opposite wall, and sat down in front of my sister. My posture slumped a bit. I rubbed my face and then gathered my hair back into a very tiny ponytail, using the band around my wrists to tie it.

“Sorry about all this.”

“It is what it is,” she said, eyeing me in an enigmatic way. “How’s Amanda doing?”

“Got a text a little while ago. She’s the same. Have you taken your ash dose today?”

She nodded. “A little while ago.”

“Good. Has Aaron been by?”

Her gaze darted back to her skirt. “No.”

I managed to keep the frustration from showing. Their relationship was none of my business, but damn, I wanted to give Aaron an earful.

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