Page 51 of The Sinner and the Scholar
It remembers how nice it was to touch her.
But I’m not her savior. I’m her Judas. It would do me well to remember that.
Eighteen
Thea
We spend the remaining cab ride to Cardinal City in silence. Something seismic has changed between us.
The imprint of his touch on my back still makes me shiver. Why I didn’t pull away, I can’t explain. Why I leaned into him is also a mystery. Getting close to someone is not something we Sinners do. Even with each other, we don’t get close, for we know death waits around every corner, beneath every bed, and now, in the very air itself.
Enjoying the rideis a hellova lot different than losing someone we love on the way.
Wesley’s suffered. He’s struggled. He’s clawed his way from ridicule and loneliness to be where he is. I respect that. He’s kind when he’s not reacting to my taunts.
Now I know why I didn’t pull away. When I felt his touch on me, I wanted something good to erase the mark’s dirty memory… even the guilt and scars from the flog felt inconsequential. Now, when I think of that shoulder, I think of him. His cologne and fresh male scent. His scruffy hair. His puppy dog eyes. His crisp British accent. Long legs. Mysterious tattoos on his hands and forearms. The dangerous mystery beneath the nerdish scholar.
Dawn is only a few hours away as we coast into the city’s center.
The city is a blend of neo-gothic architecture and old slums. The south side is the worst, but we’re headed for the Quadrant, the luxurious heart of the city. The Deadly Seven live in a privately owned apartment building between a restaurant called Heaven and a nightclub called Hell. But turning up at their doorstep isn’t ideal. If I bring a stranger, they’ll be angry… plus, I’m not sure if their home is being watched. I don’t want anyone to discover me, so it’s best I do this off the books.
I pay the cab driver cash and motion for Wes to follow me out to the sidewalk.
The cab drives off, and I readjust my bag as I take in our surroundings. Wesley does the same. Seeing him in a hoodie instead of a crumpled three-piece is still odd, but I can’t say I’m opposed to the casual look.
Wes moves confidently with his body. Maybe I was wrong, and he could handle himself in a fight. The way he pushed me against that bookshelf was admirable. Anyone who witnessed their uncle being dragged to hell would have learned to defend himself.
Cardinal City has a population of millions. It’s after midnight, yet random people still walk about. And they’re not just clubbers on the way home or workers finishing a shift. A lone figure with a sign board over their head walks up and down an intersection next to a Seven-Eleven.
“We’ll take the back streets,” I say to Wes as he fits his backpack over his shoulder. “Away from the people.”
We start moving, but a hoarse voice halts me.
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone!”
I frown.
“The fabric of society has been torn asunder!”
My heart stops.
“And let us question what others call sin, question what others say purely to hold us down.”
“Thea?” Wesley falters. “What’s wrong?”
“That sounds like something in the pro—” I stop myself before revealing too much.
“In what?” he prompts, attentive eyes on me.
I glance over my shoulder at the religious hawker. They wear a beanie over long, matted hair. I can’t see their face, but the message on the back of the board brings a shiver to my spine:Judgement is coming. Open your hearts.
“Let’s keep going.” I pull Wesley away.
It’s odd. Weird. Those lines sounded straight from the gospel, almost like they were a message made for my ears. Or a warning. I speed up my steps, wanting to escape the late-night city dwellers. I’d forgotten how busy it is here. We need to find a dark, empty place, but someone else pops up whenever I think we’ve found it.
Further up the street, a young couple walks a black Labrador puppy on the sidewalk. They have no control over it as it sniffs and pisses on every street light pole. Their conversation floats down to us.
“I blame you,” the man groans as the puppy stops at another pole, its tail wagging.
