Page 291 of Mayhem and Minnie

“Maybe you remember it wrong?” I say to Minnie.

She frowns. “I don’t know…”

“You said you’re only marginally familiar with the work of the priestesses. Perhaps they use it for defense too.”

“I’d never do anything to harm either of you,” Katrina interjects. “It is my duty to make sure you get where you’re meant to be.”

“I suppose so,” Minnie relents. “Fine. Go ahead.”

Katrina finishes the design, and once she lifts the tip of the pen off my skin, the etching sears itself into my flesh. There’s a pricking sensation followed by a light hum before the symbol disappears as it gets absorbed into my skin.

“Thank you.” I incline my head.

Minnie grabs my arm and inspects it thoroughly, her eyes narrowed. She traces her fingers along the area where Katrina tattooed the design onto my skin.

“Does it meet your approval?” I ask jokingly.

She makes a deep sound in her throat, but her attention is still on my arm.

“It’s similar to what I saw at the Temple, but there’s something different. I cannot tell,” she adds in annoyance.

Katrina brings out a map of the area and hands it to us.

“I’ve marked the spot where the portal is as well as the path you should take to avoid detection. It’s in the marshes, so the environment isn’t the most welcoming. But I trust that you’ll manage just fine.”

“Thank you,” Minnie says absentmindedly as she takes the map to study it.

There’s an X where the portal is located, and a red line that leads from our current location to the portal.

“This is very helpful.”

We take the food bag and the map, and we head to the exit. Katrina follows behind, a gentle smile on her face.

“May you find what you seek,” she says as she waves goodbye.

We wave back and set out on our journey.

It’s early in the morning. The air is humid and the temperature is in the high fifties. Not bad.

We take a cab to the marshes after which we rent out a boat to follow on the path Katrina outlined.

All the while, though, Minnie has a troubled expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I ask after I pay for our boat rental and we get inside.

She purses her lips.

“I don’t know. I should be happy we got all this information but?—”

“You can’t help but feel it’s too fortuitous?”

She nods. “Last night I got too excited when I heard about the location of the sanctuary. But the more I think about it, the more I question it. Who could have written these letters?” She muses as she takes out the sealed envelope from her pocket. “And who would have known we’d come here? That we’d be looking for the sanctuary or the tincture? It all seems too…convenient.”

“You think it’s a trap?”

“I don’t know. I’m itching to open this, but there’s also a part of me that wants to wait and see—the part of me that still hopes this is all real and not a ruse. I mean, vanquishing Azerius? That’s just hard to imagine.”

“How come he’s so powerful?”

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