Page 1 of Road To Runes

Chapter 1

That bitch had my prophecy, and tonight I would take it from her.

I stuck to the shadows of the crumbling stone walls, careful to avoid the glare of the full moon with each step. A sudden breeze bit at my cheeks and flung a thick strand of purple hair across my eyes. I seized it and wrenched it out of the way, the roots prickling on the top of my head.

The retreating back of Romilda Abagnale remained in my sights, half a street ahead in the tiny Italian village I had tracked her to. I had spent years attempting to corner her and confront her about the prophecy she had seen the day I was born; the prophecy that had caused my family to lock me up in the family home for most of my life. But Romilda had done everything in her power to avoid me, which was an easy task for someone who could see the future.

Whatever she had seen in my future, whether good, bad, orhideous, I had to know. Not just to ensure I lived out my best-case scenario, but to figure out why the people I had once calledfamily had kept me as a prisoner and a slave for twenty long years.

I stepped over a cracked slab on the ancient pavement and pressed my hand to the gritty wall to steady myself. I had come close to confronting Romilda before, but often she disappeared in the time it took me to look over my shoulder and back again. This time, she wouldn't escape.

Romilda ducked underneath a low archway which cast a shadow over her for just a moment. My heart sputtered and I jerked into a quiet jog to quicken my pace. But the moonlight beamed down on her again as she emerged the other side. I breathed an annoyed sigh through my nose and reached for the cigarette packet wedged into my jacket pocket. Before I could slide it out, I curled my fingers into a fist and dropped my hands to my sides. Why could I never have a smoke when Ireallyneeded one?

I blinked furiously as I reached the archway and stopped in my tracks to scour the empty plaza. In the split second my mind had wandered to cigarettes, Romilda had vanished.

"No," I muttered through gritted teeth.

Not again. Not after howlongit had taken me to find her again.

The vintage-style electric street lights cast dim beams of light across the square; even the candles burning outside the church outshone them. A row of pillars ran along the outside of the plaza, holding up a stone roof that covered a long passageway. I dashed toward it, my footsteps silent thanks to the runic enchantment I had cobbled together earlier that day.

Sneaking up on Romilda required utter silence, but even that had done me no favours, apparently.

My foot caught on the small step between two of the pillars, and I stumbled against the opposite wall, throwing my hands out to catch myself.

"You must stop following me."

I turned my head and scraped yet more purple hair out of my face. Romilda stood at the end of the stone passage, her hands folded over a stomach more swollen than the last time I had seen her. She was pregnant? Since when?

I moved with deliberate caution as I straightened up and brought my hands to my sides. Romilda had the disposition of a fox; sly and likely to disappear if someone stepped on a twig too forcefully. The fact she could have fled without me noticing but had stayed behind was a rare opportunity I couldn't squander.

"You know I can't," I said.

"You don't understand the danger you're putting us both in. Usallin." Romilda rubbed a thumb up and down her stomach.

What didthatmean? What harm could telling me my prophecy possibly do?

"You owe me an explanation." I took a cautious step toward her, taking so long to complete the action that I hoped it wouldn't draw her attention. "My entirelifederailed because of the prophecyyousaw, and I need to know what it is."

"I won't tell you," Romilda said, her tone frustratingly certain. "And you cannot know. Not now, anyway."

"Orwhat? At least tell me that!" I took another, more sudden step toward her and immediately regretted it, as she took one back. "You can't control my future by keeping it from me."

She couldn't hide the truth from me. Whatever Romilda had seen had affected my life from day one. I deserved to know what future she had seen that had turned me into a prisoner for all those years.

The corners of Romilda's mouth tightened and something flashed behind her eyes. Something I knew well: anger.

"I am not responsible for what the Bishops did to you," she said. "But I am responsible for..." She silenced, swallowing whatever she had planned to say to me.

"Romilda,please." I took another step closer, but this time she didn't move. "If I promise not to act on anything you tell me, or even acknowledge that I know...will you please reveal my prophecy? You can get rid of me for good if you justtellme. I'll never come near you again."

And I meant it. I would hold myself to whatever promises I made her if only she would finally speak the words I had dreamed of hearing.

Romilda's shoulders sagged and she gazed between the pillars at the church, her eyes glistening. "I will never be rid of you."

A flurry of white lights engulfed her and before I could take two strides toward her, Romilda vanished.

I cursed, loudly, hoping that whatever human god that watched over this place heard me. Romilda had never even set foot here, at least not tonight; she had only projected her image here. To think, I actually thought I had gotten close to the real Romilda to speak to her. But she had only placed her likeness in my path so she could try and convince me to stop following her.

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