Page 16 of Reine's Salvation

He nodded, impressed by her quick comeback.

“Nor would I have spoken to you in the first place,” she continued. “You’re intimidating.”

Reine laughed. “Agreed, and I do think you are pretty brave.”

“More than you think,” she said so quietly he had to strain to hear. “Anyhow, this back here is the cinema.”

Reine tore his gaze from her and stared at the old building before him.

“We have a few blockbuster films to keep the citizens happy, but the highlight of our cinema is the festival we prepare in late November. We get the best indie films and display them at a reduced price. Plus, we have a short film competition for anyone in town or in a few associate towns that want to participate.”

“The cinema is not haunted?”

Mystique laughed. “No, only the hotel. We’re almost there.”

They walked in silence for a bit more, the streets of the town slowly becoming alive as the citizens walked or drove to do their shopping or to run errands. He glanced at Mystique who walked at his side. A feeling of unease began to curl in his stomach. It was the same kind of feeling he got when something was off. He looked ahead again, recognizing the tower from earlier.

Was that what was making his skin crawl?

“Here it is.”

Reine stared at the building before him. It was a three-story rectangular building made out of brick and stone. Each room seemed to have large elliptical windows. Reine’s gaze fell on the tower that stuck to the side of the building as if someone had tried to fit a puzzle piece in the wrong place. It had clearly been restored. The masonry was impeccable and both the windows and arrow-slits had been fitted with glass.

“As you can imagine, the place has been renovated,” Mystique said. “The main entrance is now through the tower itself. Come.”

She led him around the house and to the side. Large glass sliding doors welcomed them to the Tower Hotel, though the engravings on the stone over them piqued Reine’s interest. He recognized the designs. Crosses, arrows, half-moons and suns, and runes. They were symbols and words of protection used by the Guardians.

However, an eerie sensation surrounded the building, almost as if something dark lived within its walls. He shivered.

“It gives me goosebumps, too,” Mystique said. “I don’t know what it is about it, but every time I stand here and look up at it, it feels … as if something is wrong.” She glanced at him, smiling ruefully. “Stupid, right?”

Reine shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Some places, just like some people, make our skin crawl.” He glanced at the building again. “Perhaps it is due to the suffering that once lived within its walls, or maybe it’s something about the symbols,” he suggested.

Mystique shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I think it means something related to protection.”

Reine frowned.

“Why do you think that?”

“I don’t know. It’s a gut feeling. I can’t quite explain it.” She looked up at him. “Plus, you have the same symbol as that one on your arm.” She pointed to the one that looked like a half moon braided through with tree vines and crossed over by an arrow.

Reine feigned nonchalance.

“I saw it in a magazine. Who knows what it means, right?”

Mystique nodded, though by the look in her eye she didn’t seem entirely convinced. “Sure.”

“You’re very observant, though,” he said quietly. He took a step toward her. “What else have you noticed?”

Mystique took a step back. “Nothing,” she said too quickly for it to be true. “Anyhow, we can see the brewery on the way to the trails as it’s a bit out.” She looked him up and down, not without blushing profusely. “You didn’t bring anything with you, did you?”

Reine shook his head. “Was I supposed to?”

“I guess I should have told you. If we’re going hiking we have to at least have some water.”

She began walking back in the direction they’d come from.

“I didn’t think about it.”

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