Page 17 of The Storm of the Empire

I stepped into the dark, fingertips trailing over the walls to keep myself oriented in the pitch black. It was like the shadows had swallowed me whole, making me very disoriented.

Where the fuck had he gone?

I almost slammed face-first into a wall, only caught by the tip of my boot hitting it right before my forehead. I turned, pressing my back into the marble. The light had cut off like it was done magically at the opening to the passage. It had to be on purpose.

This passage was concealing something.

I felt my way to the corner, running my hands over the cool stone. I searched the entire wall, finding nothing.

Fuck.

I took a few awkward steps to the other wall and felt my way to the back, again nothing.

There had to be something here. The priest just vanished—I saw it happen. I re-examined the back wall, pushing against the stones and found small holes. I froze. They fit my fingers perfectly, and I pressed.

Nothing happened.

I pushed harder, and at last, the wall shifted to the left, opening a passageway.

Bingo.

Edging forward, I found a drop down.

I couldn’t see a thing. Were they stairs or a hole to catch intruders? I wouldn’t put it past them knowing what I did.

Slowly, I lowered my foot, looking for any kind of platform.

I found a stair and then another, and another. Keeping my hands on the narrow walls, I spiraled down.

Light returned slowly, revealing another passageway. It was almost dungeon-like with only torches on the walls, leading to another dead end.

But this one I was ready for. I pressed my palms to the stone, searching it until I found similar finger holes. The wall shifted out of the way, easier since I knew how it worked, and opened up into another passage, but this one was well-lit with magic, and there were doorways. I’d found something here, but I didn’t venture further because I didn’t want to get caught.

I stuck out too much.I needed a plan.

I was drawn to the first door and found it unlocked. A sense of urgency came over me, and I quickly closed the door behind me. I was in some sort of storage room with nothing useful. Just odds and ends. Candles and cloth. Plaster repair tools and brooms. I sat on one of the barrels of wine, rubbing my forehead, trying to think.

I needed a disguise. At least that was the start of a plan.

What the fuck was I doing?

I needed to get my hands on some of the priest’s robes, and I could only think of one way to get them. I scanned through the vials on my belt, finding the one I needed, and ripped apart a cloth I found, dumping some of the fluid from the bottle on it. I’d either find what I was looking for or end up in the guard’s custody by the end of the day, and at this point, I didn’t know which was more likely. Maybe I was chasing ghosts.

I stepped back through the door, immediately coming face to face with a priest.

SEVEN

LUKA

It was do or get thrown in lockup, and the last thing I wanted to do is explain to Nyx why I’d been locked up by the guard. So I grabbed the priest, putting the rag over his face. He dug his fingers into any part of me he could reach, and he managed to get a hand around my throat while his other found pressure points in my shoulder, sending shooting pain down my arm. It almost made me lose my grip on him.

I ground my teeth against the pain. I only needed to hold on for a couple more seconds.

My breathing came in rough staggering draws, and I started to wonder if he was doing more than just nerve damage with his grip.

I was struggling and felt I couldn’t hold out another second, and then the corners of my vision started to go black.

My arm went numb, and my hand fell away from his face, and I realized what a huge mistake I’d made as I braced for his attack. But he slumped to the ground.

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