The Queen of England_Ascension by Courtney Brandt

Author:Courtney Brandt [Brandt, Courtney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-01-29T05:00:00+00:00

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CHAPTER 12: Underground Events

We rose above London, which was eerily quiet—perhaps still reeling from the surprises which had been sent through the metropolis in the past week. Maybe my citizens were scared of what might come out after dark, and for that, I couldn’t blame them. Lost in my thoughts, I was surprised at how quickly we reached Camden Town. Ella settled us in the somewhat public location of St. Martin’s Gardens, but given the late hour, I hoped we would not be disturbed.

“Allegedly, there is an underground space, part of an abandoned subterranean project, now used for storage,” Ella said quietly, as we walked toward the building. Not wanting to give our position away to anyone who was present, I kept Excalibur’s glow to a minimum.

We easily snuck by the two security men posted outside the gates, making me wonder if it was possible we were in the wrong location. I didn’t recognize their uniforms, and they appeared to be two common street folk. If the Empress was hiding something here, why would she not have more of a force on hand?

“Perhaps you managed to pull most of her henchmen away,” Ella commented as we cautiously made our way downstairs.

“Do you feel any residual connection?” I asked Riya.

“No.”

I wasn’t sure if Riya had anything else to say, but at the front of our group, Ella asked, “Juliette, a bit more light if you can manage it.”

There were some flickering gas lamps, but the enhanced glow of Excalibur guided us safely through the space, which smelled musty and stale. The subterranean space was apparently used to store omnibuses and other outdated equipment. While it was a veritable wonderland of materials I would love to explore, now was definitely not the time.

“What are we even looking for?” Riya asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I’m afraid we’ll know it when we see it,” I responded.

“Look at that door over there,” Ella hissed. I focused the light of Excalibur to an entrance which appeared to be new construction which did not match the style of the rest of the space. There was no window, so we had no idea what to expect was on the other side. With nods from both Riya and myself, Ella, with a determined look on her face, gently twisted the handle only to let loose an expletive.

Riya bit back a laugh. “Did you honestly expect it to be open? We’re dealing with a highly clever sociopath.”

Ella rummaged in the brace on her wrist and pulled forth a small lock pick and began trying to open the door. After a short moment, she shouted another expletive, this one far worse than before, and exclaimed, “Damn thing shocked me.”

Riya and I looked at each other, and I said, “It must be spelled.”

“Fortunately, we have something of a curse breaker, do we not?” Ella asked, waving her hand in pain.

Can you do it?

Let’s try.

A small strike of black lightning shot forward from the sword and directly into the lock.

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