Lights (Flicker #3) by Kaye Thornbrugh

Author:Kaye Thornbrugh [Thornbrugh, Kaye]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-11-13T06:00:00+00:00

* * *

“That was some stunt you pulled,” Clementine said, sounding half-amused and half-impressed.

Nasser looked up to see her standing over him, flanked by Henry and Davis. He was more than a little surprised to be approached by anyone; since the assembly yesterday morning, hardly anyone would look him in the eye. Even Quentin and Ramona seemed to be dodging him. He tried not to be stung by that—or at least not to let it show.

Privately, Amelia had warned him that any flak he caught for his outburst wouldn’t come as formal discipline. It would be little things here and there, small annoyances that gradually progressed into big ones, such as Nasser mysteriously failing his journeyman exam in a couple of years, possibly more than once. He didn’t relish the thought, but given the chance, he wouldn’t do anything differently.

Clementine was holding an enamel mug in each hand. “Coffee,” she said, offering him one. “It’s not stellar, but it’s hot.”

“I’m not picky,” Nasser said. He hesitated for just a moment, then gestured for the three of them to sit. They did, slowly, looking about as uncertain as he felt.

The good thing about his newfound pariah status was that it meant he had a small table to himself in the overcrowded cafeteria. Nobody was keen to venture out into the blizzard, and practically everywhere was closed anyway, so the Guildhall teemed with apprentices, journeymen and even masters. Most of them were eating a late dinner, jostling for space. Alice and Jason were supposed to be on their way over from Ironwood right now.

“Listen,” Nasser said, after a moment. “What you did yesterday, in the assembly—”

“Don’t thank us,” Henry said, shaking his head. “Seriously. We don’t get any brownie points for doing what everyone else in that room should’ve done.”

Nasser shrugged. “Maybe not. But you didn’t have to do anything at all.”

“Yeah,” Davis said, his eyes dark and serious. “We did.”

“Have you heard anything?” Henry asked, almost sheepishly. He looked anxious and sleep-deprived, with dark circles under his eyes.

“Only about twenty different rumors,” Nasser said with a sigh. “But there’s been no official word. Amelia says they’re probably locked in the holding cells below the Guildhall, but she doubts we’ll know anything for sure until the council decides what to do with them. Whatever happens, it’ll almost definitely be decided behind closed doors.”

“No more open meetings for you, that’s for sure,” Clementine said. She glanced at him over the rim of her mug. “I still can’t believe you yelled at the council. Didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Yeah, well—” Nasser shrugged and took a long swallow. She was right: The coffee wasn’t great, but it was hot, as advertised, so he kept drinking it. “It’s like you said before. Whatever it takes.”

Clementine’s eyes widened slightly, like he had surprised her by saying that. Honestly, he had surprised himself. A few months ago, he never would’ve thought he’d willingly compare the two of them. He liked to think of himself as the better person, morally superior—but when it came down to it, Clementine was right.

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.