The Black Saint by Timo Burnham

Author:Timo Burnham [Burnham, Timo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-23T22:00:00+00:00

Theo stepped up to the small house. It looked like every other house in the slums—rundown and mud-splattered, whatever paint had been used on the walls long since faded or peeled away. He stopped at the front door and knocked out the code Gin had given him. Two knocks, thump with his fist, then rattle the door handle twice. He felt like a disgruntled drunk who’d locked himself out of his own house. Maybe that’s the idea. He waited, feeling one of the two bodies inside slowly moved to the door.

“Who is it?”

“You know who it is, don’t make me knock the door down.” It was the code phrase Gin had told him to use but Theo felt silly saying it. Unlike Jayson, acting did not come naturally to him. He heard the latch click and the door opened, revealing the woman, looking much less pale than the night she had been rescued. He glanced behind her to see her daughter seated at a worn table. She looked much better as well, perhaps even better than her mother.

The woman looked surprised for a moment but quickly recovered. “Oh, thought it’d be the old man,” she flushed as if she’d said something offensive, quickly beckoning him inside.

“He had business to deal with tonight. I’ll be here instead,” Theo said, stepping into the sparse living space. The house was built with the same two-room layout as the one he’d snuck into a month back. Theo glanced into the back room and saw two sleeping rolls laid out next to each other on the floor. Other than that, it was completely empty. Theo felt a flash of guilt. Compared to this, Jayson's apartment was a noble’s manor.

“Ain’t much, but it keeps us warm and dry at night,” the woman said, seeing him glancing around. “Please,” she offered him the only other chair.

Theo accepted it, sitting down across from the girl, dropping his pack on the floor next to him. “You both seem to be recovering well,” Theo paused, realizing that he’d never asked their names.

The woman seemed to understand. “I’m Lanni, and this is ma daughter, Tess.”

“Lanni, Tess. Nice to meet you both. I’m Theo.” Tess gave him a timid smile. She looked to be maybe thirteen or fourteen, though Theo always had trouble telling girls’ ages. Some that he thought were teenagers turned out to be almost his own age.

Theo reached into his pack and pulled out a rice wrap. He’d paid for an extra one when Gin had sent him to the market. The day had been so busy that there hadn’t been time to stop and eat. He would need something in his stomach if he was going to make it through the night. Theo removed the leaf wrapping and was about to take a bite when he noticed Tess’s hungry stare.

Has Gin been feeding them?

“Tess, leave the man be. Ain’t polite to stare,” Lanni scolded. She turned to Theo and smiled again. “Don’t worry about her, she’s had plenty to eat.

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.