Chapter Three #3
The main structure of the Mission seemed to have been fully constructed, but the supporting buildings and machinery appeared months from completion.
Scores of workers ferried heavy stones to a pylon where an aqueduct was half-finished.
The tangy smell of hot pitch assaulted my nostrils.
I found it hard to believe that it could be completed before winter blanketed Frostbrook in snow and the river froze.
A slim figure in black made his way through the bustle of workers, moving as smoothly as a leaf carried along the gutter after a heavy rain. My heartbeat became a thudding presence, as loud as mallets against stone, when I realized he was approaching me and Henry.
This thin young man, dressed so sleekly and appearing so out of place, could only be Frostbrook Mission’s Senior Conductor, but my Senior should have been years older than me. It took most apprentices the better part of a decade to earn the right to run a Mission.
An avalanche formed within me as my initial confusion gave way to fear.
Would he already know that I’d been trouble at the House of Industry? That this assignment was a punishment to drive me as far from home as duty could take me? My vision went spotty as my stomach considered upending itself onto his gleaming boots.
“Apprentice Haven?” he asked in an impatient way that further soured my stomach. How long had I stood there, numb with anxiety, while he’d waited for me to introduce myself?
“Yes,” I managed, letting go of Henry. I set my bag down and extended my hand.
“Julian Gray,” he said, shaking my hand firmly. I was surprised to find it warm, and not as cold as granite in the winter. His gaze, on the other hand, offered no warmth.
Everyone knew who Julian Gray was. After finding an error on Professor Dunn’s final practical exam, he’d become a legend at the House of Industry.
He’d gotten the best post in his graduating class, a high-level apprenticeship at a prestigious Mission in a prosperous town north of Sterling City.
He was only three years older than I was.
And he carried himself with the bored sort of confidence of a man who had no doubt he would succeed at whatever he set his mind to.
“Where—How are you?” The words stumbled out of me. I fought the urge to snatch my hand back and tuck it into the sensible pockets of my skirt.
“Perfectly fine. Quite busy,” he said, releasing my hand with a thin smile that made me feel like he’d evaluated me and already found me to be an incompetent child.
For lack of a better word, he was lovely—with hazel eyes that stood out like jewels against his light-brown skin.
Thick, wavy black hair fell over his eyes, but the rest was cut short—in the fashion the young men wore in Sterling City.
“I’m still familiarizing myself with Frostbrook, of course. ”
There was nothing travel worn about his black trousers and finely tailored waistcoat or the impeccable shine of his boots. I felt like an urchin beside him, my skirts dusty, my dress stuck to my back.
“Why are you here?” I asked gracelessly, having utterly lost my balance. I’d never done well with expecting one thing and experiencing something else entirely.
“I’m afraid the former Senior of this Mission passed away. She was quite old. I’m not sure why word did not reach you before you began your travels. I was transferred here earlier this spring.”
Once the news of who my Senior was did reach the House of Industry, it would be the talk of the rising class. The gossip might even make its way to some of the Missions where my classmates had landed.
His words were slow to settle in my bones. A flush crept up my neck as I realized I’d focused on the prospect of gossip before the reality of why he was here. “The former Senior … she’s dead?”
“Yes. I believe I said that quite clearly.”
“She was grouchy,” Henry said in a small voice. “And really, really old.”
Julian looked down, briefly appearing surprised—and then fond—before his expression steeled once more. “Your services are appreciated as always, Henry. I’ve left a basket of eggs for you outside the hutch.”
I gave Henry a small encouraging smile. He nodded at me, wobbling something like a bow, and dashed off around the side of the Mission to where warbling chickens could be heard.
“I’m sure you know we aren’t meant to bond with the population of Frostbrook.”
The light reprimand caused the blush at my neck to rise. “You’re the one who hired him to show me the way,” I argued before I could control my tongue.
Julian’s eyes widened a fraction.
Here I was, steps from the door to the Mission, and I’d already corrected my Senior. But who was he to deserve my contrition? Barely older than I was. Nearly as new to Frostbrook.
At once, the radiance in me threatened to challenge his. I drew in a sharp breath and willed it back, but not before sparks danced along my fingertips.
He was watching me with a strange expression. “They’ve sent me a Conductor, correct?”
“Yes, Senior.”
The silence that stretched between us was worse than a lecture.
I was behaving like an untamed Transistor. Like a child unable to control her emotions. I was proving to be exactly what had placed me in this terrible Mission at the edge of civilization.
But why was Julian Gray here, when he could work anywhere?
My mouth opened to form a question, but he spoke before me.
“You must be exhausted from your travels,” he said with little sympathy.
If he’d been anyone else, I would have agreed or begun to tell him about the train robbery. Instead, I shrugged, hope draining out of me like water seeping into dry dirt. How could I ever impress the House of Industry’s most talented graduate?
“Well,” I said, biting back a sigh and hefting my bag, “are you going to show me around?”