Page 118 of House of Malice
“I will go with too,” Alecto said.
Blaze would have joined them. But he had other plans for tonight.
46
The girls walked through Darly Park and the abandoned streets of Old Darly in silence. Val was walking fast, her steps determined. Jolene looked lost in thoughts, dreamily looking around. So Alecto didn’t bother to start a conversation.
They turned into the narrow alley, and then Jolene opened the door, and they entered the Old Church.
“Are you sure you want to show Galia the Old Church?” Alecto asked. “It was hidden for a reason. And it is supposed to belong to our House.”
“It wasn’t always this way,” Jolene said. “Other Houses would visit and come for special celebrations and revels. She probably knows it exists.”
“She has sworn enough oaths that I’m not worried about it,” Val said.
Alecto searched her face and tone for any sort of indication that there was something happening between them. But Val hid things so well, it was almost impossible to read her.
And maybe there was nothing happening between them. Just because they had sex, it didn’t mean anything.
Val had sex with everyone all the time.
It would be crazy for two High Priestess from rival Houses to fall in love.
“Does she know how to get here?” Jolene asked.
“I gave her instructions,” Val said. “But, as you have noticed, Miss Rat Princess isn’t the most punctual witch.”
Alecto smirked at the nickname.
After they had been waiting for ten minutes, there was a knock on the door. Val went to open it. Galia stood on the other side. She looked Val up and down, and Val moved away from the door to let her in.
“Good,” Galia said when she noticed Jolene and Alecto. “You brought more people to work on this.”
Alecto didn’t realize that maybe it was supposed to be just the two of them. She glanced at Jolene, who was clueless, eyeing Galia with suspicion.
“Jolene and Alecto are both at the top of their class,” Val said. “We need all the help we can get.”
“Oh, I’m not complaining.” Galia smirked. “I am glad I don’t have to do all the work by myself.”
Val rolled her eyes.
“So, shall we begin?” Jolene asked. “Val said you know what sort of spells the Dean uses.”
Galia nodded. She went over to the altar and placed her bag there. From it, she took out a folded paper, which appeared to be an old map, and then a tiny notebook.
“He uses spells from our Book,” she said, turning to them. “I checked and double-checked.”
Val crossed her arms. “No surprise there. Do you have the copies of the spells so we can see?”
“I have better,” Galia said. “I brought the originals.”
Jolene and Alecto exchanged looks.
“You brought your Book with you? Here?” Alecto asked. “Just like that?”
“We only have one shot at this,” Galia said. “We have sworn oaths. I trust you will not try to steal it at this moment. Do you even have time to think about the Game right now?”
Alecto shook her head, smiling. “It’s not about the Game. It’s about trust. You are showing a lot of trust in us with this gesture. That’s all.”
