Red Smoke Rising. Rick Psy.D. Anthony

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      MIA

      The two men lurking in the shadows of the alley stopped their transaction and craned in Mia’s direction. Their junkie eyes tracked her as she walked. She lowered her head to avoid their stares, continuing past them without making a sound. Her pace quickened; her heart thumped. Mia fixed her eyes on the ground until she was content the men were far behind her and sure no footsteps followed. It wasn’t until she left the alley for the main road that she allowed herself to look up and exhale a long, slow breath of air.

      You’re too paranoid, she thought with a nervous chuckle.

      The crisp, morning air worked its way into her bones as she continued along the cobblestone street and left the alley behind her.

      She quickened her pace to work out the chill but slowed abruptly when she saw a man approaching from the end of the narrow road.

      The Empire Myrmidon looked tired as he walked. The soldier stood almost eight feet tall. His beige uniform was so soiled from whatever tasks he had been performing that the red Empire emblem adorning his chest was barely distinguishable. The stain looked like blood. It probably was.

      The augment’s oversized, muscular arms swung lazily in time with his sword as he plodded in Mia’s direction. His square jaw matched his massive, square physique. Even from a distance, Mia could see the deep creases that lined the man’s face. His profession was taking a toll on him.

      She walked across the street to avoid crossing paths with the hulking soldier. The trouble his kind could bring was worse than she might have found in the alley. Fortunately, his cold eyes remained fixed on the ground; he paid no attention as she passed.

      Mia let out another sigh. Paranoid. She tried to relax as she drew nearer to the campus.

      The ground was damp and clouds loomed overhead. The late fall cold had begun to set in. Mia pulled her long, black coat around her slender frame and up under her chin, trying to keep out the chill. She shivered as she walked past another row of narrow houses springing up from the cobblestone. The tall, brick structures cast cold shadows all around her. She hated the cold, the province, too, but the city of Ipswal most of all. She couldn’t wait until her studies were complete; only then could she leave the dirty, dangerous place behind.

      She carefully skirted a man sleeping on the road and hurried on. She glanced backward to make sure he hadn’t followed—just to be sure.

      Ipswal wasn’t any worse than other Empire cities. Most were ugly places diseased by crime and corruption despite the heavy-handed Myrmidons policing them. If she had a choice, Mia preferred places on the outskirts of the Empire’s control. Unfortunately, universities like Ipsamesh didn’t exist outside of that control and for the time it was where she needed to be.

      A hard life had driven the young woman down an unlikely path to the university. She had spent six years there and could boast of amazing accomplishments, though she went to great lengths to keep them secret. It was safer that way.

      Mia entered the school grounds and left the city behind, running her fingers over the smooth surface of the arch at the entrance. She looked up. The pinnacle of the arch stood more than eighty feet high. It appeared to be made of pure glass, transparent to light despite its solid steel construction. It was an architectural masterpiece made possible by techniques taught at the university.

      Not far from the archway stood the equally impressive Master Studies building. Mia walked between the huge stone gargoyles on either side of the entrance and reached for the front door. As her fingers made contact, a strange noise escaped from behind it.

      She paused. Her attention snapped back to her surroundings. Her brow furrowed; she squinted her grey-blue eyes as she cocked her head to listen. The sound emerged a second time, louder than the first.

      A scream? Her stomach sank.

      She wrenched open the massive door and slipped inside in search of the sound, listening for another. Her delicate fingers stroked the fur band around her left forearm as she crept down the ornate marble corridors.

      What she heard next was not a scream, but the sound of an argument somewhere down a distant hall. She broke into a jog, tracking the sound to one of the classrooms further down a side hallway. Onlookers had gathered around the room’s open doorway. Their murmuring grew louder as she neared.

      “Let us go!” The words rang down the hall. It was Vi. Mia’s heart skipped when she heard the shrill panic in her friend’s voice. They were as close as sisters and Mia knew something was terribly wrong.

      “Back off! Let her go!” Vi’s brother, Kale, growled.

      “Sit down,” a third voice boomed. The crowd hushed. “We’re under orders. Your sister needs to answer some questions. She isn’t cooperating, so she’s coming with us—simple as that.”

      “Let her go!” Kale snapped back. “We’ve done nothing wrong!”

      “Bring him too,” the voice ordered.

      Mia ran as fast as she could. She tried to process what she heard as she pushed her way through the onlookers. By the time she shoved her way through to the classroom door, the situation СКАЧАТЬ