Broken Veil (Harbinger) by Jeff Wheeler

Author:Jeff Wheeler [Wheeler, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-10T16:00:00+00:00

When they arrived at their destination, the sudden horrible smell was overpowering. Sera remembered this stench from her time in the house on Kelper Street. Some days, especially after it had rained, she would get a whiff of it while walking past the vents that led to the cesspits below the houses. The smell of sewage and trash had a strange, sickly sweet stench, one that instinctively made her want to gag and cover her nose with a handkerchief. In other parts of the City, she knew, the smell was unbearable.

This—this was so much worse.

They were standing on a little narrow square of wood at the bottom of a set of stairs. Lanterns hung from hooks on the walls, casting light on the support timbers and floorboards above their heads. The sound of rakes scraping through sludge sent shivers down Sera’s back. Human filth covered the ground, which created such a noxious vapor the air was almost unbreathable. Sera felt her gorge rising but couldn’t cover her mouth with the bonds and gag.

There were grunts from a man, followed by the loud bark of an order, then a slap and the cry of a child.

“What is this awful place?” Joanna said, a look of horror and disgust on her face. She turned to Lady Corinne in surprise.

Sera looked at her as well and did a double take. A different woman was standing there. Gone was the prim and composed look of Lady Corinne of Pavenham Sky. This woman, though still handsome, was quite a bit older, with silver in her hair and wrinkled skin around her eyes.

“Ack! Visituhs!” shouted a grimy man as he approached them, dragging a shovel or rake behind him.

“Mr. Trimble,” Corinne said with a slight bow.

The man was filthy from head to foot. Muck was splattered on his pants, his boots. He wore gloves, but they were the working kind, not the velvet sort favored by the upper classes. His long beard was caked with the filth, and as he extended his arms wide, he showed them a grin that was missing at least one tooth.

“It can’t be her!” he bellowed with a nasty look. The right part of his head was shaved, and his long dark hair and beard were riddled with gray. His eyes had a cunning look. “Thar she is! My precious Tyna has returned home! Look how fancy you are! Is this a social call?” He leered at them.

Sera felt her skin crawl.

“I need to use the lockroom, Trimble,” Corinne said. “Just for a day or two.”

“What? Only a day or two? You haven’t brought me more workers?” He ambled up the few steps to the landing and leaned his rake against the wall. His boots were oily in addition to being filthy. He looked over Sera with a sneer and grabbed her chin with his befouled gloves. “Who is this pretty little bird, eh? All trussed up and gagged. Look at her face. Did her father carve her up like this?” He laughed, and Sera felt a hideous sensation swell in the room, more powerful even than the stench.

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