Ruins by Joshua Winning

Author:Joshua Winning [Joshua Winning]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peridot Press
Published: 2015-05-18T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Ashes

THERE WAS NO SIGN OF ISABEL in the Abbey Gardens. Nicholas and Dawn searched the whole park, but she was nowhere to be found. Nicholas’s shoulder twinged and he hissed through his teeth. He was still getting used to the sling. It dug into his flesh and he swore he’d get rid of it as soon as the throbbing in his arm subsided. There were far more pressing matters for now.

The last time he’d seen Isabel was when the gargoyle hurled her from the air. She’d crashed into a tree and vanished. Nicholas steeled himself against the possibility that she was dead. The memory of her body toppling limply made his stomach flip.

She’s got to be okay, he thought. When has death ever stopped her?

They scoured the area for an hour before they gave up. It was useless. Nicholas kicked a tree and cursed.

“If she’s not here, that means we have a limited number of possibilities,” Dawn reasoned softly.

“What do you mean?”

“If she died, either somebody found her body or an animal took it.”

“Took it. Ate it, you mean.”

“If she’s alive,” Dawn continued in a more optimistic tone, “she’s either crawled off somewhere or been discovered by somebody and taken.”

A trio of shrieking under-fives bowled past and Nicholas jumped. He massaged his aching shoulder. What had Laurent been doing in the park that day? Had he followed Nicholas? Or had he already been there when Nicholas turned up? A very unfortunate coincidence?

The school had been desecrated for something and was being guarded by Sentinels to make sure nothing came out. Laurent had been there. How did it all fit together? And was Laurent really intent on raising the Dark Prophets?

“Laurent,” he murmured, knowing what he had to do. “Come on.”

They hurried back to Aileen’s. On the way to his room, they came across the landlady in the kitchen. She was wearing her usual flowery dress and pinny. She had one foot braced against a chair and was polishing a long sword, which rested on her generous thigh.

“Oh, it’s you, dears!”

Nicholas stared blankly at the strange sight. The Sentinels were full of surprises.

“Hey Aileen. Can’t stop,” he said, pushing into the pantry with Dawn behind him.

“You have fun, dears!” Aileen called after them.

In his room, Nicholas drew the curtains and set the seeing glass out on the carpet, which was considerably more difficult with only one working arm. Dawn folded herself up in the chair in the corner and watched, chewing on her sleeve.

Nicholas tried to remember what Isabel had said. Deep breaths and follow the amethyst. It shouldn’t be too difficult. Sitting cross-legged, he tapped the crystal and it began to swing. It caught the light and flashed intermittently.

He tried to conjure an image of Laurent, then held it in his mind in the hope that he could force the glass to show him what he wanted.

“Laurent,” he commanded.

The floor fell away beneath him. The walls evaporated and darkness clouded his vision.

The girl sits dazed and covered in ash.

The image changed.

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