Echoes of the Storm: Book Two of the Kraven Kronicles by Cam Sinclair

Author:Cam Sinclair [Sinclair, Cam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Camhammer Books
Published: 2023-09-09T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-ONE

The Learning

August worked hard to stifle a yawn with the back of her hand. She had been concentrating hard for hours now, doing her very best to keep up with the words and ideas that tumbled from the lecturer’s mouth like fat drops of rain in a deluge. The man did not seem to have an end to his ability to talk, speaking now with every bit of energy and pace as when he had started.

Not for the first time this morning, August found herself doubting whether she possessed the right mental fortitude for this type of learning, and this was only the ‘getting-to-know-you’ class, as the lecturer had put it.

Her day had started well before dawn, with Lydia gently waking her from a night of fitful sleep. In truth August had been very nervous about what was to follow on her first day of class learning and it had taken her far longer than the normal to find slumber.

On Lydia’s insistence, she had consumed a breakfast of cold, salt-laced porridge by the light of a flicking candle. She had not been hungry in the slightest, her stomach feeling as though it were trying to knot itself, but the older woman had assured her that her morning would prove very taxing, and she would be thankful later for a full belly. So, she had sat by the dancing flame of the candle, ate and tried to concentrate on something other than her worry for the coming day.

Before she knew it, Lydia had ushered her out the door to begin her schooling. Together, they made their way through a series of connected rooms and down a series of old wooden stairways. Obviously the place was much larger than what August had assumed it to be. There seemed to be no end to the warren-like complex of stairs, hallways, and rooms of all sizes. It did not take long before August became lost. If it weren’t for Lydia unfailingly guiding the way, the girl felt she would never have been able to return to their room, let alone find the lecture hall she was due to attend.

When they finally reached the place, August was shocked by what she saw. They had travelled down many flights of peculiar stairs, the kind that twist back upon themselves like a snake biting its own tail, until she guessed they must have been many stories below the street level. The air had grown chill as they descended. Gooseflesh appeared over her exposed flesh and the girl had to fight hard to repress the shivers. Finally, Lydia held a door open, and August entered what was to be her classroom.

It was an ancient tomb.

August was just about to voice her unease when Lydia indicated she should move fully into the crypt. As she did, August noticed someone had carved chairs into the tops and sides of the many large stone sarcophagi that littered the space. Not wanting to upset the older woman, August had quickly selected a seat and held her tongue.

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