Page 45 of Shadow of Death

“I can’t count on her for anything. Talking about unreliable, do you know what happened to Jaysa? Where did she go off to?”

I’m afraid her situation might’ve beendemoted, if you know what I mean.

That was a tough break. Surprising? No.

I could hear steps heading this way. “Someone’s coming,” I said.

I’ll see you soon. Go handle your company.

There was the softest of knocks. “Piper, it’s Didi.”

“I’m coming,” I said, knowing how timid the girl was. She was probably more afraid that Iwouldanswer the door.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked as I opened the door, finding her standing there alone. No guard accompaniment? I guessed Didi was expendable. Maybe theywantedme to kill her? Easiest way to turn me into more of a villain for anyone who doubted I’d killed their father.

“Athena wanted to see you. She’s waiting for you in the kitchen.” She inched back when I leaned forward.

I hadn’t been able to put my finger on whether Athena was a problem or not yet. She clearly didn’t like me, if her glares meant anything. Getting summoned wasn’t sitting so well either. Still, was she going to be a real problem or an inconvenience? I had a feeling I was going to find out soon.

“Okay. Let’s go.” Widow Herbert did tell me to show my face, so there was that upside.

Didi walked twice as fast as me. Every time I threatened to close the gap, she walked even faster. I began walking extra slow so she wouldn’t be winded by the time we got downstairs. If I didn’t, everyone would assume I was chasing her.

Athena was in the kitchen, talking to some other younger girls, when we walked in.

The second she saw me, her movements grew jittery. She swallowed hard and her chest rose and fell rapidly as she walked over. Whatever she was about, it wasn’t good, and it was iffy as to whether she could pull it off. She certainly didn’t look eager to see me, even though it was at her request.

“Hello,” I said, trying to at least keep things polite on the surface.

There was a tremble in her hands before she crossed her arms in front of her. Her eyes narrowed. “Varic said you would probably want to make yourself helpful around here, since you’ll be here for a while.” She spoke as if I were mildew that she couldn’t get off her grout.

“I’d love to help out around here. What did you need done?” What was Varic up to now? A little bit of torture for me? Pushing my buttons? Testing me? Either way, I’d take the bait if only out of curiosity.

“We have some bathrooms on the first floor that need tidying up.” She smirked. It wasn’t a good look.

Bathrooms? She wanted me to clean up after them? If I had my powers, I’d be more likely to roll over and do whatever they asked. Problem was that I didn’t, so I had to portray strength. I was pretty sure some very smart, historical tactical guy who’d won a bunch of shit said that. I didn’t remember who, but it seemed like sound advice.

“No. That’s not going to work, but I do want to help, since I’m staying here. What else do you have?”

Someone might’ve thought there was a gun held to her head with the way her eyes bulged, as if the idea of pushback from me was startling.

“Um, I guess…” She wrung her hands and glanced around. I guessed Varic hadn’t instructed her on what to do if I declined.

“Why don’t I dust some of the paintings I saw in the halls?” I said. What a better way of getting to know every nook and cranny of this place to plot my escape? It would be like a free pass to snoop and get the lay of the land.

“Um…” She bit her lip, looking at the other girls, who shrugged.

I didn’t plan on letting her figure something else out. “Where’s your duster? I’ll get started.”

“Uh… I don’t know…” She went into full-on fidget mode.

“Where is it?” I started looking around the room.

One of the girls’ eyes darted to a closet, then her lips parted on a silent gasp as she saw I’d been watching her.

“In there?” I walked over to the closet and found a duster and some rags. I grabbed some stuff, not really caring what I had. I wasn’t planning on doing anything anyway. “Great. I’ll start today. See you at dinner.”

They were all staring at each other as I walked out, no one wanting to take a chance of what would happen if they stopped me.

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