Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 231
August blinked at him. Despite the warm red light of the
have come," he said.
A series of scraping thuds sounded overhead, like the
foosteps of a bewildered giant. The crowd grew suddenly
silent; their gleaming eyes rolled and glanced to and fro.
Jordan felt curiously detached. He knew he would be in
Heaven hooks wanted. But they wanted him; knowing that
made his mind wonderfully clear. He was sure he was as
afraid as anyone here, but his fear was focussed and sharp. He
knew the thudding steps above were the gropings of a god
which was determined to take the manor apart stone by stone
until it found him.
August stammered. "Last I saw, she was being held by
"Killing Yuri? That makes no sense!"
A giant roaring collapse took place somewhere above. It
shook dust from the ceiling. People had begun to talk again,
and this silenced them.
Jordan strove to compose himself. It seemed everything
that went wrong in his life did so when he lost control. He
folded his arms across his chest, closed his eyes, and tried his
breathing exercises. With an effort he began mentally reciting
one of the nonsense mantras Calandria had taught him.
He would have to leave the building. The Heaven hooks
would get him for sure, but it sounded like it was just a matter
of minutes anyway before they dug down to where he was
now.
Once he came to this decision, he felt calmer. He opened
his eyes.