Toy
Elias arrived in Russia just as it was starting to snow. It was daytime and the sky was crisp and white. The air smelled like metal, smoke, and wood, and he took a moment to breathe it in, grinning.
Russian people did not like his smiles, he learned immediately.
This was a place where people smiled only for a reason.
Elias walked from the train station to an inn.
He was a bit underdressed and could see it was drawing attention, but he already knew he could not freeze to death. This was merely uncomfortable.
He booked a room to stay for a month. He wasn’t sure how long it would take for Victor to find his way here, and he was staying put until he knew.
He had enough money left to get back to Germany afterward and maybe a little more to stay for a week in lodgings there if he needed to, then he would be on his own.
Jaan’s generosity had carried him just as far as it was meant to.
Elias had spent almost all his paper money; now he had just coin from various regions and the gold brick. It was more than halfway gone.
He ate in a Russian restaurant and found he liked this food a lot.
No one bothered him for only eating meat and they gave it to him raw, sliced thin and cold.
He asked after Yaroslav Voronof, but the people who recognized that name did not speak German and the people who spoke German did not know him.
The best Elias could do was find out that he was at the edge of town.
He set off on a walk and found a house on a hill that smelled of blood from far away. Elias grimaced. Was this how he’d smelled to the other alchemists this whole time? Disgusting and dangerous.
He bought a carriage ride and eventually accepted the warm cloak that the carriage driver forced him to buy as well. But when he reached Yaroslav’s door and knocked, it did not open.
Elias waited for an hour knocking before he gave up. He was irritated but went back down to town on foot.
He was here for a week before Victor turned up. He could feel him coming when he opened his eyes, feel that he was miles away but close and getting closer.