7. Tobias
Chapter seven
Tobias
T obias shivered. For a Thursday evening in mid-April, the temperature still hovered far too close to freezing for his tastes.
Readjusting his feet on the table, he pulled his coat a little tighter.
If it wasn’t for Captain Javen on the other side of the room, he’d have dug a blanket out of the precinct’s storage.
If he saw Tobias bundled up, he’d no doubt grumble about his lack of professionalism.
Javen remained engrossed in reading a report, one of his ever-present cigarettes half forgotten in hand.
Would Javen notice? Knowing him, probably. So, Tobias would just have to freeze, unless something happened that would merit both of them leaving the station.
Other soldiers always teased Tobias, saying that being from the Karsic province in the far south made his blood too watery for the weather here.
One had told Tobias he was lucky to have been too young to be in the war.
“You’d have done the isle-dweller’s work for them,” he’d commented.
“Froze yourself right to death on your first night patrol.”
Tobias was sure that if he had served in the war, he’d have fought through the cold to protect the border villages, just like his father had.
Maybe once whatever mission Javen had planned was underway, the other soldiers would finally realize he was serious.
They saw him as a jokester, a flirt, but he didn’t see why a man couldn’t play a few tricks, court a few girls, and still defend the nation he loved.
Granted, tonight, he was mainly concerned with filling his rumbling stomach. “I’m making cheese toast!” he announced. The potbelly stove in the corner served as an excellent toaster. No answer. Not like he expected one. “Want me to make you one, Captain?”
“I’ll pass.”
“You haven’t eaten all day.”
“I see your powers of perception were not impacted by your injury.”
When Javen fired off a comment like that to others, they’d do one of two things. Either they’d cower, stammering out an apology, or worse, they’d bluster, challenging Captain Javen in the boxing ring or shooting range, where they’d always lose.
Tobias, though, let the comment roll off, like water off a duck. “Nope. Hearty and healthy, that’s what I am.”
No answer. Tobias shrugged. He’d talk to the walls, if he had to.
“Snacks make life better.” Tobias got to work making the toast, whistling. “Night shift is long, you know?”
Granted, any time spent with Captain Javen felt longer than it should. With other officers, they’d pass the time with cards or some lively gossip. Not him. Most nights, Captain Javen read and chain-smoked cigarettes, glaring at the city skyline like he could personally fight every skyscraper.
Just as Tobias set the bread on top of the stove, Javen slammed the leather-bound notebook down. Startled, Tobias smacked his hand against the stove. He cursed, loudly, shaking his red-marked hand. “Hey! Give a guy a scare, doin’ that.”
Javen stood, raking his hands through his usually perfect hair. Dark strands tumbled loose, falling over his ears. “Do you hear anything, Lieutenant?”
“Like what?” Tobias asked, even as he strained his ears. The crackle of the fire, the dim hum of traffic outside… Nothing sounded worthy of note.
“Music,” Javen said, through gritted teeth. “There’s music. ”
Shoving his way past, Javen moved as if the building was on fire. He grabbed his coat, pulling it on without bothering to button it. His hand dropped, checking the sword at his hip, and then, he swung the front door open.
Only then did the actions register to Tobias. “Hey! Where are you going?” Tobias scrambled to grab his own gear, though his pistol, belt, and coat were all in opposite corners, and his hat was nowhere in sight.
By the time he got outside, Javen was glaring at a young woman whose dark brown curls bobbed as she argued back. She stamped a foot, clearly frustrated with the conversation.
As Tobias drew closer, he realized the woman speaking was none other than Zari Ankmetta, the nurse from the hospital. She’d played chess with him on her breaks, helping the long days of recovery pass a little faster. Tobias had appreciated her company, even if she’d beaten him every game.
Now, he saw the same intelligence in her eyes as she stared down Javen. Though much shorter than him, she clearly wasn’t intimidated by him. “You insufferable man, I need you to listen to me.”
“Is that not what I’m doing?” Javen drawled. “I believe you meant to say, I need you to do as I say , which I assure you, I will not.”
Zari glared at him. “My friend has gone missing.”
“My condolences.” There wasn’t a trace of sympathy in his tone.
“I suspect the fae are involved.” She brandished a small piece of thick, off-white paper. “You were so helpful with the silverbane, I thought you might—”
“Might what?” Javen cut her off. “Have something to do with this missing acquaintance of yours?”
“No! I thought you’d help! She’s clearly in danger, and—” Zari didn’t finish her sentence.
The words were snatched away by the howling of a sudden gale of wind.
It knocked her backward, and Tobias sprang forward to support her.
The gust carried an unmistakable hint of seaweed and salt, reminding Tobias of the shift in weather that would precede a hurricane back home.
They were far, far, from any shoreline here in the capital .
“You alright?” he asked Zari, who stood, frozen, staring instead at Javen. The captain seemed to have been mostly unaffected by the current of wind, though his cigarette had fallen from his hand, and his usually perfectly held back black hair tumbled over his ears and face.
The dark strands did nothing to hide the fury in his glare.
“Don’t let the girl leave your sight,” Javen snarled. “And tell no one else of her message.” Javen turned up the collar of his jacket, as if to block the wind’s chill from his exposed neck. The gale had already died down, as quickly as it began.
Tobias stared. Perhaps the stress was getting to him, because he was sure he’d seen something glowing on Javen’s skin. “Captain,” he began.
Javen ignored him. He cut past them both, despite Zari’s shouted complaints, to where the motorbikes were parked. With a roar of the engine, it took off, and Javen disappeared down the road.
As Zari pulled away, she said, “Did you see his eyes?”
“See what, exactly?” Tobias cleared his throat and decided not to mention what he thought he’d seen, either. Giving voice to something made it real. “The captain’s always like that. Not really the warm and fuzzy type.”
“No,” she said. “Didn’t you see…” but she trailed off, shaking her head. “Forget it.”
“Hold on just a minute.” Tobias tried his best to sound like he was in control, rather than completely lost. “Maybe you should come in and have a seat, miss. A glass of water and some food, before we—”
“No.” Zari shook her head. Her brown eyes were wide, but he saw no other signs of fear in her, only stubborn conviction. “I’m going to go after my friend.”
“But Captain Javen said—”
“Do you have a better idea?”
Tobias pulled at the collar of his uniform. No, he had no better ideas at all. “The cathedral is close by. I pass it on my way here.” He turned, hoping he might see a trace of Javen’s motorbike on the road, but there was nothing, not even another car .
The roar of another engine made him leap in shock. There had been no one else stationed here tonight, no one with keys for a motorbike. When he saw who had revved the engine, he cursed with every word he knew.
Zari was astride the second motorbike, her hand turning the key he’d stupidly left in the ignition. She didn’t hesitate. Instead, she took off, the bike wobbling unsteadily as it moved. Tobias leapt out of the way before she ran him over.
“Stop!” Tobias cried, which was pointless, because she’d already ridden out of earshot. In other words, he’d managed to completely fail at the one task Javen had ever given him.