"Is no one going to speak?" Horn's gaze swept over the cardinals and the relevant senior engineers present as he lightly tapped the table with his knuckles. "I've even made an exception to allow you to smoke in the meeting room."
The Stag Chamber at the Holy Seat Mansion was filled with a choking mix of scents.
The burnt smell of tobacco, the rust of the brass heating pipes, and the damp autumn air wafting in through the window.
The September rain carried a faint chill, slanting against the transparent glass and flowing like a spider's web.
The pale gray sky hung low, pressing down on the spire of the Holy Seat Mansion, making it hard to breathe.
Chief Cardinal Madlan held an extinguished pipe between his fingers, his gaze fixed intently on the motorcycle design sprawled open on the table.
Sitting on both sides of the long table were rows of high monks from the Holy Alliance, from the Saint Vault Master to the Exorcist Leader, they had all come.
