The Seer by Jordan Reece

Author:Jordan Reece [Reece, Jordan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-07-09T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

The city of Somentra was tucked away out of sight in the quiet green hills to the west. There was a lot of traffic on the main road from Cantercaster, and it only grew worse when they reached the foot of the hills. Scoth rerouted the autohorse to another road that wound through the trees. It was narrow and unpaved, at times running alongside deep slopes that ran down to a riverbed that was nearly dry. The river itself had been redirected. Now only trickles of water slipped between the rocks in the bed’s lowest point. Bright yellow birds splashed in the little puddles far below the road.

With the fall of industry in Wattling, some of it had moved to Somentra. Plumes of smoke rose into the air from the factories, dissipating in the wind. Those plumes were all the evidence of civilization that Jesco had until the road suddenly emerged from its green cover. Down in a valley was a sprawling city. The factories formed a necklace around the many lines of homes and shops, and the air was hazy from the swells of smoke. Chemical scents seeped into the carriage.

“I would not want to live here,” Jesco said.

“Nor I,” Scoth said. It had been a friendly ride between them, although most of what they spoke about was the case. “They don’t ever stop. Three shifts a day, each eight hours long. The factory doors never close and they breathe that smoke night and day.”

Cable Holding was a business center at the very heart of the city. It had two wings connected by a second floor walkway suspended over a garden and fountain. Carriages swung by the curb to release well-dressed men and women, all of them carrying briefcases and making beelines to the doors at either wing. A trolley full of window washers with brushes and buckets lifted into the air on one side, and when it reached the second floor, they got to work with swift, even strokes.

The directory guided them to the right wing and up a flight of stairs to a closed door labeled AGREA. Flowers in vases were everywhere, their sweet scents warring with the pungent chemical odors. Entering the office, they stopped at the secretary where Scoth requested an audience with Torrus Kodolli. The flabbergasted woman went through a door behind her desk and soon returned, saying coldly, “You must make an appointment. He has an opening next week.”

“That will not do,” Scoth said, keeping his badge out. “He can meet with us now, or I can involve a judge.”

She went away again and was gone for fifteen minutes. Then she beckoned them through to a hallway. They walked past many offices with people hard at work inside. A courier burst from one office and almost ran into them, his satchel overflowing with ledgers and letters. Spinning aside at the last second, he raced away.

When they passed the office that was marked T. Kodolli, President, Scoth said, “Where are you taking us?”

“Mr. Kodolli will be meeting you in the conference room,” the secretary said frostily.

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.