Ascension Day: Ageless Mysteries - Book 6 by Vanessa Nelson

Author:Vanessa Nelson [Nelson, Vanessa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-10-13T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

By the time Thea arrived back at the station, she had a headache blooming behind her eyes and her throat was sore. More effects from the smoke, she supposed.

For the first time she could remember, there was no Watchman on duty at the front desk. But she could hear Watchman Hobbs’ familiar tones coming from the main room. She paused, swaying slightly, before making her way to the doorway.

There were a few Watchmen and Watchwomen in the room, along with one of the station’s officers. They were conferring around the map on the wall.

“Is there something wrong?” Thea asked, her voice rasping slightly.

“Ma’am.” Watchman Hobbs turned away from the map, a welcoming smile on his face that faded as he looked at her. “Are you alright, ma’am?”

“It’s been a long day,” Thea replied, and had to put a hand on the door frame to steady herself. “Is anything wrong?” she asked.

“No, ma’am. We were just working out some patrol routes,” Hobbs assured her, coming across the room. “I’ll send out for some food for you, ma’am. I’ll wager that you didn’t stop for any lunch.”

“No, I didn’t. Thank you,” Thea said, stepping back to let him pass. As she was moving already, she kept going, heading up the stairs. She thought she saw Hobbs turning, as if there was something more he wanted to say, but she was too focused on making it up the stairs without falling over. If he had something to tell her, she would know it soon enough.

She arrived at the top of the stairs without falling over, her body heavy, stomach hollow, feeling out of breath and embarrassed, Reardon and Niath matching her slow pace.

She was brought up short by the sight of Senior Sergeant Sutter, moving even more slowly than she had been, making his way from his office to the captain’s, a walking stick in one hand.

The Sergeant was out of uniform, dressed in plain, loose clothing, the side of his face that she could see a fierce red colour, as was the hand at the end of his sleeve. But it was Sutter. There was no doubt.

“Sir,” she said, taking a step forward.

He stopped, swaying a little, and turned, movements stiff and careful. It looked as if someone had drawn a line down his face. One half was ordinary, the same pale skin, close-cropped blond hair and blue eye that she was used to seeing. The other half was swollen, trails of bright, angry red along his skin along with the mottled purple of bruising.

“Thea. It’s good to see you. Although you look as bad as I feel,” he added, a lopsided smile crossing his face. The red side of his face was barely moving.

“Shouldn’t you still be at the infirmary?” Thea asked.

“Yes, he should,” Dina’s voice sounded from the stairs behind Thea. She turned, startled, to find the examiner coming up the stairs two at a time. “He’d left before I could stop him. Luckily for him, he’s promised to go back there as soon as he’s finished looking through the reports.

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