Cursed Witch by September Stone

Author:September Stone [Stone, September]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-09-16T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Silas

To say I woke with the sun would imply I slept, which I’m not sure I managed.

I don’t know what it is about this place, but I’m more on edge than usual—which is saying something. I’ve been in more sketchy situations than most gangbangers will see in a lifetime. Sure, some of the people who bound me to them over the years were harmless and hapless, but the vast majority were straight up bad people who needed someone who was both infallibly loyal and entirely expendable. To survive as long as I have, I needed to develop a sense for when things aren’t right.

And while I’m not saying this place is downright dangerous, there’s something about it that won’t let me relax.

When I leave my room, I’m careful to keep my steps as quiet as possible. I don’t know what time the priests and priestesses and whatnot around here wake up, and I don’t want to either be the one to rouse them or to interrupt them from their morning mediations or whatever.

The less I can do to draw attention to myself, the better.

What I need is to figure out whether there’s a back way out of the vault. I didn’t find anything promising on yesterday’s walk around the grounds, but I was storing away information in broad strokes then—how many buildings, how far away, how many doors and windows on each wall. Now it’s time to put everything together and search for the micro details that could mean the difference between success and failure.

I take a lap around the interior of the temple before making my way toward the basement hallway from yesterday. The last thing I want is for it to look like I’m unduly curious about any one area of the building. I keep my pace slow, taking care not to stare at any one feature too long.

When I reach the stairwell that leads to the dark corridor, I don’t take it. Instead, I follow along the upper hall, looking for any hint of another way down.

Sunlight is just beginning to stream through the high windows when the soft echo of footsteps makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. In these corridors, it’s hard to figure out where a sound is coming from until it’s too late. My heart starts hammering in my chest, but I fight to keep my breathing low and even as it has been. I’m just a guy on a stroll. I’m not up to anything nefarious.

Perception is everything. If I pretend it’s true, it may as well be.

A robed figure appears from around the corner just ahead, and my hands go clammy when the footsteps slow to a stop.

“Silas? What’s got you up so early?”

Sister Kari pushes back her hood to reveal the same friendly smile she had plastered to her face all yesterday. The expression does nothing to put me at ease. No one’s that happy all the time. Give me Poe’s scowls any day. People who grin twenty-four-seven are straight up psychopaths, and nothing will convince me otherwise.

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