The church bells ring in the new day and I take out the apple I've been saving in my breeches for this very moment. I take a bite and out wriggles a worm, now missing his head. I spit the apple back out and fling away the worm. If I were to swallow even the smallest piece it could spell death. In caution I take out my carving knife and cut the apple into pieces before proceeding to eat it. My job now: to wait.
I jump at the sound of Notre Dame ringing the new hour, losing my footing and taking a stomach churning drop, realizing too late that I must have fallen asleep. The scream I let out is silent, as I'd rather die than be found out. My shoulder catches on the roof causing my legs to fishtail around, slamming into a stone carving below. I let out a sharp cry of pain but manage to grab onto the spear of a gargoyle and hoist myself up. Assessing my leg and shoulder, I ascertain that nothing's broken or dislocated, just bruised. And it's then that I realize someone is watching me. Just standing in the church courtyard and staring up.
I scramble back into the shadows but I fear they've already seen me. By the build I would guess it's a man, no older than twenty, no younger than sixteen. Which puts him in the perfect age range to be-
But suddenly he's moving and I realize he's the one I'm supposed to be watching for and all at once I'm flying down the side of the building just as he's opening the cathedral doors. "Don't let them get to the altar." That is the only order Shae gave me. I, in my foolish pride, affirmed they'd be dead before they reached the door but as that's already slipped through my fingers I don't plan to let anything else fall through.
Then a curious thought pops into my head. The cathedral is open at all times for those who seek shelter inside it, but The Circle paid off the archdiocese to keep all but one door locked. The main entrance remains uninhibited, but the one the figure entered into is a side door. How did he get it open? As I approach the door I see scorch marks on the ancient wood and on the steps, but there is no fire and nothing else has been damaged. What kind of hellish magic is this?
With that chilling thought seeping into my bones, I slip inside, pulling the door shut behind me. I've no time to waste and whoever this is, they will not leave the cathedral alive.
I jump at the sound of Notre Dame ringing the new hour, losing my footing and taking a stomach churning drop, realizing too late that I must have fallen asleep. The scream I let out is silent, as I'd rather die than be found out. My shoulder catches on the roof causing my legs to fishtail around, slamming into a stone carving below. I let out a sharp cry of pain but manage to grab onto the spear of a gargoyle and hoist myself up. Assessing my leg and shoulder, I ascertain that nothing's broken or dislocated, just bruised. And it's then that I realize someone is watching me. Just standing in the church courtyard and staring up.
I scramble back into the shadows but I fear they've already seen me. By the build I would guess it's a man, no older than twenty, no younger than sixteen. Which puts him in the perfect age range to be-
But suddenly he's moving and I realize he's the one I'm supposed to be watching for and all at once I'm flying down the side of the building just as he's opening the cathedral doors. "Don't let them get to the altar." That is the only order Shae gave me. I, in my foolish pride, affirmed they'd be dead before they reached the door but as that's already slipped through my fingers I don't plan to let anything else fall through.
Then a curious thought pops into my head. The cathedral is open at all times for those who seek shelter inside it, but The Circle paid off the archdiocese to keep all but one door locked. The main entrance remains uninhibited, but the one the figure entered into is a side door. How did he get it open? As I approach the door I see scorch marks on the ancient wood and on the steps, but there is no fire and nothing else has been damaged. What kind of hellish magic is this?
With that chilling thought seeping into my bones, I slip inside, pulling the door shut behind me. I've no time to waste and whoever this is, they will not leave the cathedral alive.
