Page 75 of Reap & Sow

Behind them, a woman roared in outrage. Tenelle stormed into the room with a fury like fire.

“Close it!” Lawrie cried.

The mechanism was easier to find on this side of the door. The door eased across with a rough groan. Tenelle rammed against it, her sword stabbing through the shrinking gap. Someone pulled Eda out of range.

She stared, panting, as Martine Tenelle’s venomous gaze disappeared behind shadowed stone.

Twenty

The darkness was absolute. Eda’s memory wavered in the narrow passage. All sense of direction was lost. She knew they were trapped in the wall space between the keep and the templehouse, knew it veered right and led to a staircase, but they only discovered it when she stumbled over the first step.

“Found it,” she joked weakly.

Kit took over after that. Tripp had disappeared, his part done, so Eda took his place at the demon’s back. He bade her hold on to his doublet as they ascended. He could see well enough, or so he claimed. He certainly never stumbled as the Shaws did.

Kit had to be in pain. His arm was skewered nearly through. Eda caught sight of bubbled skin around a dripping wound. Was it broken? Tenelle might get the door open and come after them any minute to finish the job.

Ben’s silent judgment was a brand upon her back. No doubt he was itching to interrogate her. She’d come for him and Lawrie—a foolhardy endeavor at best—but with a demon in tow? It was a miracle he hadn’t already begun raving about it.

A gray light appeared ahead, seeping through the cracks of a door.

She knew when Kit transformed by the sound alone: a hissing sigh like vapor rushing over stone. His little body squeezed itself through the gap near the floor. A moment later the handle squeaked open.

They entered a circular roofed turret built on the corner of the templehouse. It was small and seemingly disused, covered in dust and cobwebs as big as blankets. Through the arrow-slit windows, Eda spied the edge of the glazed tile roof and the street below. Dewy ivy swallowed the Botanic Gardens, mist clinging to the cobblestones.

Blackbridge was beautiful. And terrible. Perhaps both could be true.

Kit tested the only other door. It groaned but opened easily. Somewhere far below, a voice echoed.

“Where does that lead?”

“The gallery.”

Lawrie’s throat bobbed. “There are people out there.”

“Then you’d better hope those uniforms serve their purpose and disguise you.” Kit sagged against the wall, left arm bent like a broken wing. The sleeve hung wet and heavy with blood. It ran down his hand and fingers, stark against ashen skin. Ben and Lawrie gave him a wide berth. They’d never seen a demon’s true face before.

Eda stepped closer. “Your arm.”

“It’s fine. Could have been worse, but…” Kit appeared equal parts perplexed and enchanted. “You came back.”

The intensity of his regard made her self-conscious. Ben bristled as though he were about to get between them.

Eda cleared her throat. “Let’s get out of here before Tenelle alerts the whole congregation.”

“Go now, then,” Kit said, “and do not rush. Remain calm.”

“Where are you going?” Ben asked.

“I can’t enter the templehouse without setting off further enchantments. Follow your sister. Cross the gallery and take the stairs down to the main entrance. I’ll meet you at the gates.”

“We’re meant to just walk out the front door?”

“You’re Blades, remember? What’s strange about that?” Kit looked at Eda again—at the naked trepidation that must have lined her face. He moved toward her. Stopped. Set his jaw and turned away.

It took him a strained moment to transform. Eda swallowed her concern as he swept clumsily out the window on dark wings; he would not be able to fly far. She braced herself before leading Ben and Lawrie into the vestibule.

In the gallery beyond, the entire majesty of the Great Templehouse opened up before them like a gilded cavern. The ceiling consisted of undulating cross vaults, pale and trimmed in gold cornice. Windows of colored glass lined the gray-washed stone. The gallery balcony ran around three sides of the templehouse, offering a clear view of the nave below. This area was reserved for visiting dignitaries and wealthy patrons, but today the commonfolk had been permitted access too.