Page 23 of Wicked Love
There were candles all throughout the room. In alcoves, I could see chests made of glass and gold, relics, and vials of all shapes and sizes.
The man walked through the doors, and I drifted behind. He stopped, shook himself almost like a dog coming out of the water, and looked around. I ducked behind the edge of the doorway.
After a moment, I heard his footsteps again. He moved slowly, like… like he was looking for something.
Then I heard an intake of breath, and the scrape of glass against stone. The footsteps quickened, and I ducked around the edge of the door again, hoping not to be discovered. He came out of the room, and after looking around, walked away, nearly running. He was tucking something into his coat pocket.
The heavy doors of the crypt remained open. I waited for what seemed an eternity and then walked through them. I could see the glitter of the relics throughout the crypt.
“No,chéri,come over here.”
I went to the glass box that sat at the far end of the room.
“Take this one with you,” I heard.
Nodding, I tucked the box under my arm, and turned and left the room.
I sat up, heart pounding, feeling the sweat from my—dream?—on my neck and chest. “Zelda!” I hissed.
She didn’t respond.
“Zelda!” I said, louder this time.
“What?”
“You told me to take you,” I said.
“What?” She was awake now.
“You told me to take you.”
“You remember?”
“I do,” I said, not wanting to admit I’d seen it in a dream. And I’d seen a man, who’d gone in and stolen something from the crypt before me. I didn’t know him. It wasn’t Jasper, or any of the men from the coven.
Then I pushed him aside. He wasn’t my problem at this point.
She sighed. “I did. I was tired of being in there.”
“Why didn’t you ask the man to take you with him?”
“He wasn’t looking for me,” she said.
“How could you tell?”
“You can tell these things.”
“Does that mean I was looking for you?”
“You were searching for something, Melasina. I decided that it might as well be me.”
“What if it was something else?” I asked, feeling frustration rise within me. What if it was something that explained what the hell was going on with me?
“If it was something in the crypt, you would have never been allowed access to it. The things stored in the crypt are not for common usage. They are to be used only with the permission and guidance of the coven leaders, or the elders.”
“Hmmph,” I used the same sort of noise she’d used on me earlier.
“Nothing in there would be of use to you,” Zelda said, her voice firm. “Trust me on this.”
