Dedication (The Medicean Stars Saga Book 1) by McCullough Crawford Read Free Book Online

looking woman seems to be interested in him, though even he can’t convince himself that it is not a major factor.
    Soon the train begins its journey west, and it is not long before the gentle rocking and swaying of his carriage lulls him into a peaceful dream of mysterious women possessing finely crafted bodies and large assault rifles.

Chapter 9
    Foothills of the Western Mountains
    A University Campus
     
    The mountains framing the University soar into the sky, shredding any clouds unlucky enough to attempt to cross over into the hills beyond. As Jon pushes open the door, the clouds are just beginning to turn pink along their undersides, almost as if their blood is spilling as they are gutted, but he cannot see the panorama yet as he is still caged by the building that he has spent the last several weeks of his life cooped up in. The courtyard he steps out into is ringed on all four sides by sheer cliffs of unfinished concrete, the shortest of which rises over two stories above him. Knowing there is nothing more exciting to look at than the ground, Jon hunkers down and pulls his coat collar up to protect his neck against the crisp autumn breeze that swirls across the gravel-filled courtyard.
    Walking briskly, he hurries across the open area towards a set of covered stairs that lead up to ground level and the rest of campus. When he reaches the first step, he stumbles slightly as a gust of wind howls down the dark stairwell, bringing with it an assortment of flyers torn loose from the walls and light posts around campus and the smell of an impending rain storm. Ducking his head lower, he charges up the stairs, challenging the weather to do its worst. Today he doesn’t even feel the cold bite of the wind. Today he gets some time off. Behind him in a nondescript room, behind a double-locked door, lies a stack of graded midterms and a rough draft of a journal article for his advisor to review when she returns to campus the following morning. Tonight, however, Jon has nothing except the prospect of a few beers with which to fill his night, and somewhere across campus in the depths of some greasy bar sits Ryan, already a few beers in and most certainly making eyes at every pretty girl in the place, but waiting for Jon to find him before he really starts the night. His friend has been bugging him since the semester started to join him for some sort of adventure or another, but the opportunities that had sounded so exciting to Jon’s innocent ears the year before have piled up and buried him.
    Once he is out of the wind tunnel formed by the stairs, the breeze subsides to a light caress, and Jon allows himself to relax a little as he contemplates the long walk before him. No amount of joy from this brief interlude of freedom can help him shake the feeling that everyone he passes has it better than he does. This feeling only grows as he heads through campus and away from the ugly monolith he calls home. Each building that he passes seems to be beautifully sculpted to not only complement those around it but also to embrace the open spaces between; each one is named for some prestigious alumnus who wanted to have his or her name be forever synonymous with the topic taught within.
    Jon is halfway through this gauntlet of architectural hubris when the collective clocks in each building signal the end of class. The previously deserted paths now find themselves inundated by a throng of younger students, all chattering away about the test they just sat through or the papers they just turned in.
    Trying to distance himself from their worry and speculation, he slows down and edges towards the left side of the path as it widens to pass a fountain. Unfortunately, the throng of students begins to splinter into smaller groups as the conversations shift toward their evening plans and how best to forget the last hour and a half of their lives. Resigning himself to his loss of solitude, Jon lets his mind wander and contemplates his own plans for