Phoenix Descending by Dorothy Dreyer

Author:Dorothy Dreyer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Snowy Wings Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

TAKUMI WAS CURLED UP by the fireplace as Tori adjusted her black mask. It was well past midnight, and she needed to make sure no one would recognize her as the High Priestess. The black outfit Goran provided for her was snug against her body, and the black, waist-length cloak swayed behind her. There was a section of her trousers to tuck her shuriken into and another section for her kunai.

She studied the leaf-shaped blades, each with a ring on the pommel. With her weapons hidden in their appropriate spots, she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and studied herself in the mirror. The sturdy but soft mask covered the upper portion of her face, an intricate design of curving stitch-work marking the material. Since it would be easy to identify her if anyone saw her eyes, she checked that the eyeholes were small enough to hide the slant of her eyes but big enough to see through. She had to hand it to the Khadulians: they were experts at design.

Slipping out onto her balcony, she lowered the rope Goran had also provided over her railing. It was tied tightly so not to slip. Her experience climbing trees gave her the strength and the know-how to lower herself down to the castle courtyard. At this hour, the main generator for electricity was off, leaving only the watermills to keep the outside lights on. Here in the courtyard, it was dark.

Finja had been helpful in singling out which building Hettie lived in, and she had also gone to the trouble of locating her room and tying a thin, dark ribbon to her door handle for Tori to find. As long as no one had removed the ribbon, she would be able to find Hettie. It was easy enough to make her way through the maze of bushes and columns and pavilions in the courtyard, but when she arrived at Hettie’s building, she needed to be more resourceful. As one of the duke’s personal handmaids, Hettie’s rooms were nearby the part of the castle the duke occupied, and there was bound to be at least one guard keeping watch in that section of the castle.

She kept silent as she approached, crouching low behind some bushes, and watched as the guard on duty made his rounds. The guard paced down the arched walkway, and Tori waited until he was out of sight to leave her hiding spot. She made her way to the door of the building and slipped out her tiny tool pouch. This lock was manageable, and Tori quickly snuck inside the building, quietly and undetected.

Her next challenge was to find the servants’ rooms. She worked her way up the stairs, careful with each step she took, and found herself at the end of a hall of doors. She passed each door, studying their knobs, as silent as the night. Halfway down the hall, she found Finja’s ribbon. Her hand wrapped around the doorknob, and she turned it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.