Chapter 4
Sage’s stomach dropped,and her world careened on its axis.
“No. Let her go,” Nicolas commanded from behind her. “She can’t read it. She will be of no help to you.”
Sage swallowed and shifted her gaze to the empty doorway. Where were her sisters?
Marcus stepped in a semi-circle around Sage, keeping the sword tip to her throat until he was within a hand’s grasp of Brother Nicolas’s desk...and the book.
He was too close to the book. She had to do something. “What kind of monk has a sword?” she wondered aloud.
“A false one,” Brother Nicolas accused.
Marcus reached for the book. Before Marcus could touch it, Nicolas rose and lunged forward, his old fingers stretching for the book. Marcus whirled toward Nicolas, bringing his sword around.
With the sword gone from her throat, Sage backed away and drew her weapon in one fluid movement.
For a moment, no one moved. Nicolas’s splayed hand covered the book on the desk. Marcus leaned into Nicolas, and his arm bent with the old monk’s weight as Nicolas sagged against him. Marcus had been too quick turning his sword toward Nicolas. The sword had pierced Nicolas’s stomach.
Sage stared in horror as she realized what had happened, gasping, “No.”
Marcus stepped back, pulling his sword from Nicolas’s stomach. “I’m sorry, old friend,” he whispered. “But you know how important this is.”
Nicolas slumped forward onto the desk and slid into his seat, holding his stomach. A large stain of blood blossomed from beneath his brown robe.
Furious and horrified, Sage raised her blade to strike at Marcus.
In one swift movement, he seized the book and intercepted her blow, locking swords with her. A ting echoed through the small room as the weapons connected.
“Run,” Nicolas gasped to Sage as he clutched his stomach.
That was the last thing she planned to do. She had to know why—why Marcus wanted the book so badly, what secrets it held. Her eyes locked on the leather-bound tome Marcus held in his hand. “Give me the book, and I’ll let you live,” she stated.
A grin tugged the corners of his lips. “Lower your sword.”
Disbelief washed over her. “You have no chance of leaving here alive.”
Marcus’s eyes narrowed, assessing, and then he sighed. “Put your sword down, or I will destroy this book.” He held the book out toward the torch on the wall.
Anxiety speared Sage as he inched the book and all its secrets closer to the flickering flames.
A moment passed and then another.
She couldn’t move. If she put her sword down, he would escape with the book. If she didn’t, he would burn the book, destroying everything inside.
“He won’t. He won’t burn the book,” Brother Nicolas whispered, his voice resonating throughout the room.
Anguish filled Sage. She couldn’t take the chance he would destroy the book. She longed to know what secrets it held. Still, this Marcus had stabbed Brother Nicolas. If she lowered her sword, would she be next? She hesitated.
Marcus edged the parchment pages closer to the hungry flames.
“Wait!” she cried out, desperately.
Marcus halted his movement, gazing at her. He lowered his sword.
She quickly matched his movement.
“Give me the book,” Sage commanded, holding her palm out.
