The charm grew cold, and my mother’s warning throbbed in my memory.
Don’t trust the pretty doors.
The door in front of me was undeniably pretty. Delicate carvings appeared along the edges as the opening widened.
I turned slowly and walked back to the bookcase, holding the charm near the shelves. It warmed steadily when I reached for a second book, a brown leather book wedged between two larger volumes. I pulled it free, and behind it, tucked into the back of the shelf, was a narrow black latch.
There were no intricate carvings or whimsical pulls.
I tugged it, and the entire bookcase gave a tiny click and opened inward.
A strip of darkness appeared behind it as my pulse went wild.
I glanced once more at the pretty door by the fireplace, which waited innocently with all the charm and none of the warnings.
No, thank you.
I slipped through the gap behind the bookcase and pulled it gently shut behind me.
The passage beyond was narrow and dark, but the charm in my hand gave off a soft green glow that reminded me of fireflies. Dust coated the floor, and my boots left tracks immediately.
That probably wasn’t great, but I couldn’t exactly sweep behind me as I went.
And then I realized I had a few spells up my sleeve for those moments I didn’t feel like cleaning.
“Cover what has stepped, hide what has passed. Let dust forget, and shadows move fast,” I whispered as the dust shivered.
My footprints blurred before fading completely.
Finally, I was becoming a Hedge Witch with a sprinkle of domestication on the side.
I moved forward as the passage sloped downward and curved behind the walls of the quarters. I kept one hand against the stone, counting turns and steps as I went.
I was hoping it wasn’t a direct route back to the Priestess.
The mark felt different without the pendant, more awake.
I didn’t like that thought, but there it was.
The passage ended, and I leaned closer, realizing where I was as the gallery of glass cases the Priestess had shown me earlier appeared. The artifacts sat silent behind the glass.
No one stood in the hall.
I found a small ladder carved directly into the stone wall, leading from the passage to a lower opening near the floor. I tucked the charm into my pocket and climbed down as quietly as possible.
The moment my boots touched the floor, a book flipped open, and I froze while trying to look for the Priestess. Was she controlling this without me knowing?
One page lifted slowly, followed by another as a line appeared across the blank page. Silver ink bloomed across the page, and my heart rate sped up.
She walks where she should not.
My stomach dropped.
I reached for the charm, and it warmed quickly, pulling me away from the glass cases and toward the far end of the hall.
The gallery felt longer without the Priestess beside me. I wasn’t as on edge and found myself connecting with the contents in the cases more easily.
And that’s when I noticed the bowl of water again. At first glance, it reflected the ceiling, next the floor, and for one alarming second, a room filled with people standing completely still in darkness.
