Page 17 of Samhain Savior
Over his shoulder I could see that Mal had arrived, eyes narrowed in my direction.
Ignoring them both, I turned my gaze back to the witch, searching her eyes for any sign that she was planning something, but all I could see was the brilliant blue of a clear sky.
“What do you know about Phips?” I pressed, needing to understand just how deeply she was entangled with the Order. If she wasn’t bound, she must one of their most trusted members.
“What doyouknow about Phips?” she countered, and I couldn’t help the shocked laugh that escaped me.
“Bold, aren’t you, little witch?”
“I just know a priest wouldn’t be caught dead associating with the likes ofyou.” The hatred in her wordsshouldn’t have surprised me, but it did, and for some unknown fucking reason, I was disappointed.
“I think you’ll find the world is much more complicated than you witches like to pretend it is.”
“Archer,” Corson snapped impatiently, drawing my gaze from the beautiful little liar still kneeling at my feet. “Just grab her and let’s go.”
“Archer? That’s your name?”
“For now,” I answered coolly.
“Well, goodbye, Archer,” she quipped.
There was a gentle click sound, then a part of the marble reredos swung open behind her, and before I could stop her, she tumbled backward into the hidden door and disappeared.
“What the fuck?” Vine cursed, kneeling at my side as the marble slab closed up again, the seam disappearing into the meticulously carved piece. “What the fuck was that?”
“She got away?” Corson deadpanned as he strode up to stand over us. “I can’t believe you let her get away.”
“Shut up and help me look,” I snapped. “There has to be a catch.”
“Just force it open,” Vine suggested unhelpfully.
“I’m not desecrating one of the most historic churches in the country, you imbecile.” Running my fingertips over the surface, I tried to picture where her hands would havebeen. Tricky little witch. If I weren’t so pissed I might have been impressed.
“Here,” I said, finally finding the hidden trigger, cleverly carved into a bunch of grapes. Pressing it, the panel swung open again, revealing a hidden passageway beneath the reredos, a set of steep stairs that descended into the dark below the church. “Well, well. Clever girl.” Ducking into the hole, I immediately started down the stairs, crouching to avoid hitting my head on the low roof.
When I reached the bottom, I looked around, taking in the new development with an assessing eye. I noted the rough brick walls and the branching tunnels leading away from the stairs, a network of tunnels that held dozens of ancient crypts. Many churches held deep catacombs, but there weren’t many of them on this continent, and I definitely hadn’t known about this one.
Secrets upon secrets, as Vine would have said.
The others joined me, clamoring down the rickety stairs behind me and taking in the scene.
“What the fuck is this and how long has it been here?” Vine asked, his annoyance plain.
“Since the beginning, if the burn marks on the support beams are any indication,” Corson offered, running his hands over the scorched wood. “I bet these are from whenthe first church building burned down in the Great Fire of New York.”
“You’re telling me that these tunnels have been here for more than two hundred years, and we didn't know it?” Vine looked baffled.
“And somehow, the witch did,” Mal offered, his head tilting just so.
I considered Mal’s statement, but didn’t comment. There would be time to find out just how this beguiling woman knew more about the history and secrets of Phip’s church than we did, but I needed to get my hands on her first.
Then she’d tell me everything.
Turning my head, I looked around the dank, darkened space and wondered just how much more had been hidden from us. Phips had been a Guardian of the Brotherhood, and my friend. I didn’t like the idea that he had secrets he hadn’t trusted me enough to share. “It would appear that we have even more questions for the slippery little witch than we did before.” Turning, I sniffed the chilled, damp air, sorting through the myriad of scents until I found her, the gentle sage drifting along one of the passages to the right. Smiling, I started in that direction, my heart beating heavily in my chest. “I think it’s time we got some answers.”
Chapter seven
Delilah
