Unhallowed (Rath and Rune #1) - Jordan L. Hawk Page 0,30
watching for the trolley. But it’s more likely their lookout is at the apartment building itself.” Ves considered. “We could…hmm. In the extreme, we could rent a cart and horse, and return after dark pretending to deliver a package. You could hide inside a large crate…”
He trailed off, realizing Sebastian was looking at him oddly. It was a trick he’d used to smuggle Noct in and out of apartments in the past, but Sebastian would become suspicious if he realized Ves could easily tote around a crate with a full-grown man inside.
“That may not be practical,” he added.
“Probably not,” Sebastian agreed with a grin. “There’s a fire escape around back, in the alley. It’s not visible from the front of the building, but I made note of it while I was there.”
His grin faded as he spoke, and for a moment he looked haunted. Ves wondered at it…but he was already too entangled to risk further involvement in Sebastian’s life. “Then we’ll take it to the roof, then enter the building and take the stairs down from there. We’ll exit the same way, if we can.”
They rode the trolley to the second stop, then climbed out. Near the stop, a man in a ridiculously tall hat had set up an open case packed with glass bottles. “Protect yourself from the poisonous gases of the comet’s tail!” he shouted, gesticulating at his wares. “One pill an hour until the comet passes will guarantee your safety! Only five cents a bottle to save yourself and your family!”
Sebastian shook his head. “People do let their imaginations run away from them.”
“Yes.”
Something about his tone seemed to catch Sebastian’s attention. “You don’t believe the comet will wipe out all life on earth, do you?”
“No. Of course not.” Ves felt his shoulders grow tense. “My mother and grandfather thought the world was going to end. They spent their whole lives preparing for it.”
He locked his teeth together. He shouldn’t have given away even that much of the truth.
“Oh,” Sebastian said, startled. “Were they in some sort of cult?”
Why had he been so foolish as to say anything? “Yes. I ran away when I was seventeen.” Ves gestured vaguely to the world around them. “As you can see, nothing came of their prophecies. So no, I don’t put much store in the comet heralding doomsday.”
They walked the rest of the way in companionable silence. Sebastian led them in a circuitous route, so they approached the apartments via the alley running between the backs of two rows of buildings. Lines of laundry flapped overhead, and a group of children ran past, chasing a hoop.
The black iron of the fire escape hung against the fresh brick of the apartments. Sebastian stopped with a curse at the sight. “Damn it. The ladder is up. I should have realized it would be.”
Ves eyed the bottom level of the fire escape, the ladder drawn up and secured to its railing. It was a good ten feet off the ground—in other words, nothing for him.
“I’ll take care of it,” he said. “You go and stand watch at the end of the alley.”
“How are you going to get up there?” Sebastian asked with a frown.
Ves shrugged, his face closed off once again. “I’ll find something to stand on and jump.”
It would take quite a jump…but Sebastian didn’t have any better ideas at the moment. “I’ll help you look for a crate or a rock.”
Ves shook his head. “I’ll take care of it. You go stand lookout. I don’t want to have to explain what we’re doing back here to the police.”
“All right.” Sebastian reluctantly turned away and headed a short distance down the alley. The rear entrance to a restaurant was propped open, and men unloaded boxes of vegetables from the back of a wagon. Steam billowed out, accompanied by a burst of Mandarin, followed by laughter.
How long had the apartment building been watched? Kelly had disappeared two months ago. Surely the men hadn’t been following every single person to go in and out of the place.
They hadn’t followed him until his second visit. Had Mrs. Pickman been paid to send word if someone came around asking questions about Kelly? He hated to think it of the woman, but he couldn’t rule out the possibility.
A clang of iron-on-iron came from behind him. He hurried back, past the flapping maze of laundry. The fire escape was down, and Ves stood on the lowest platform, buttoning his coat, as if he’d removed it for the exercise.