The Eastern clock tower in the distance rang out eleven times when Zanzibar and I finished searching the perimeter of the temple. We took cover under a line of shrubbery by the priestesses’ living quarters. Most of the priestesses had gone to bed, but several still paced the grounds, making sure everything was secure.
Zanzibar shuddered and turned brown. “They’re definitely worried about something…Aion above, are we really going to break into a temple?”
I didn’t like the idea either, but if there was a Plague inside the temple and we allowed it to fester, it could poison the priestesses and starve the goddess’s presence. The risk was too great to ignore. Zanzibar knew that as well as I did.
“If we want to get in without too much fuss, we’d better get going,” he said.
“Let’s just wait a little longer, Zanzibar. I’m sure Lei’ll show up.”
“Kyrce, if we don’t go soon…”
“I know, but I’m sure she’ll come,” I lied. I couldn’t let him know that I had no idea if she was coming or not, and I was jeopardizing our mission because of blind faith. He was already miffed because he couldn’t get any leads on the master Plague, and I could feel that he was beginning to think I was being paranoid and wasting our time. The last thing I needed was to make him doubt me further.
After another ten minutes, not wanting to keep Zanzibar stewing, I offered up a suggestion on how to get in. “If we’re quick and careful, we could sneak in through the chapel.” The priestesses kept it open for as long as possible. They wanted everyone to be able to be near the goddess. Except for thieves, of course.
“You mean the main entrance? Bah! It’s probably been locked up already. That’s the first place they’d check.”
“Got any better ideas?”
“Fine, fine. We can check it out if it will kill your curiosity.”
We crawled through the bushes until we were in front of the chapel doors. While they were always wide open during the day for worship, now they were shut tight. Various scenes from the scriptures were carved into the heavy wood with great detail: the Creation, the Goddess’s Descent, the Blessing of the First King, and others. Whether they were actually locked or not remained a mystery. There didn’t appear to be anyone guarding them, so I crept up the marble stairs and tried to open them. I pulled as hard as I could, but to no avail. Someone had gotten here before us.
“Now do you believe me?” Zanzibar said smugly. “We’re not getting in this way.”
“Alright, fine. We’ll find another way. Don’t act so proud of yourself.” I didn’t know why I even suggested it in the first place. It was a stupid plan.
“Whoa now, who’s acting proud?” He scoffed. “You’re the one who suggested we should go on this wild goose chase when we should be focusing on that other wild goose chase…that you also suggested.”
“Can we not do this now please? If we’re going to talk about my failings, we’ll be here all night.”
“Alright, alright. Jeez, you take everything so personally.”
“How am I not supposed to take that personally?!” I almost-yelled, stamping my foot for good measure.
“Quiet down, will ya? The patrol will hear you.”
I took a deep breath, struggling to keep calm. “Look, I’m going to be twenty in a few weeks. Would it kill you to stop treating me like a child and just trust me for once?”
“I do trust you, kiddo. But...”
“But what?” I glared at him.
He backed away, turning a shade of purple. “Well…never mind.”
YOU ARE READING
Grave (Work in Progress)
Teen FictionTo say the city of Celeste is in trouble would be an understatement. Demons known as Plagues are polluting the town and devouring human souls. Worst of all, they're invisible to all but a select few, those that possess the Sight. Kyrce Sirula is one...
