Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
I gritted my teeth, remembering those lines.
Pavel drew a cross on his left cheek. “Through the silence, hear our plea, bond unbroken, let it be.”
A tremor waved through my body.
The words tasted bitter with memories of my father and mother.
Pavel traced a cross on his other cheek. “From the depths to the stars above, carry our prayers, woven with love.”
Then, he kissed his fingertips.
Continuing to climb the stairs, the little girl glanced over her shoulder. “What is he doing?”
“It is something my mother would say. She called it a prayer to the dead.” I stiffened. “She would perform this ritual whenever my father went out to kill or seek vengeance. She believed it would protect and bring him back to us.”
“So, it’s magic,” she said simply, as if that one word explained everything, as if it bridged the gap between faith and reality.
I couldn’t help but smile. “In many ways, God is magic.”
The statement felt strange yet fitting here.
The little girl nodded and put her view back in front of her.
Pavel’s gaze met mine, right as we headed to the top of the stairs. “I will help you, cousin.”
“Damn right you will. That is clearly why you are with me.”
“You are also right about Paolo. He needs the best Emily he can get.” Pavel raised one finger. “However, I help you find a clue or two, and then we go.”
I nodded.
At the top of the stairs, the little girl waited for us.
My eyes narrowed as I spotted another set of stairs winding upwards. The steps—coated with dust and rust—spiraled into darkness above us.
I pointed that way. “Who lives up there?”
The little girl paused and looked in that direction. “There is no up there.”
“What do you mean?”
She appeared confused.
I gestured at the dusty steps. “Those stairs must lead to something.”
“But, there are no stairs.” She backed away from me like I was a crazy person, turned around, and headed off.
Where do those stairs go?
Pavel got to my side. “This place. . .it is beyond our understanding. If she says there is nothing up there, perhaps it is best we listen.”
My eyes lingered on the staircase, and I swore the call of the unknown whispered to me.
Tempting me to explore.
But, the little girl continued away and rounded the corner.
I gave up on that staircase and headed after her.
We walked down a dark, narrow hallway.
Here, the air carried a chill.
The little girl kept her voice low. “To get to the roof, we have to go through my apartment.”
“That is the only way to the roof?”
“Yes.” The stuffed lion bumped rhythmically against her hip with each measured step.
I assessed what she said. “So, M’s apartment has no way to the roof?”
“No way.”
“Interesting.”
She glanced over her shoulder and eyed me. “You are funny.”
I smiled at her.
Pavel shrugged. “I think that is a clue right there. Now we only need one more.”
“That was not a clue—”
“The apartment is the only way to the roof therefore something happened in that apartment—”
“My mouse already knows that. It is not a clue.”
Pavel groaned in annoyance.
On either side of us were doors, closed and forbidding. I noticed Pavel’s gaze sweeping over each one, his experienced eyes taking note of the smallest details.
I pointed at one door. “Can we enter these apartments?”
The little girl gazed at them. “They are all empty.”
“You all have looked in each of these?”
“Yes.”
Turning a corner, we came to a stop in front of a door different from the rest.
This one was marked with a brass number 2, worn but still gleaming faintly in the dim light of the hallway.
The little girl turned towards us, her wide eyes reflecting the dim light.
I stared at the number and then looked down at her. “In. . .real life, was your door number 2?”
She shook her head. “It was 4A.”
“Hmmm.” I put my gaze back on the number. “Amber was the first alter. You were the second. Could that be why there is a number 2 on the door?”
She chuckled. “You sound like M.”
“I very much want to meet M too—”
“No. No.” Pavel wagged his finger. “We said a clue or two and then—”
“I must also meet Emily’s alters to—”
“To what, Kazimir? To lose your mind? Or to further have your mouse lose her mind?”
“I will meet her alters, before leaving.”
The little girl shook her head. “Amber will never let you see her.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re a man. She barely let’s M talk to her. Once, he walked inside the sewer and she urinated on herself.”
This odd sadness washed over me. “Then, I will not bother Amber.”
Granted, I wanted to meet all of them, but not if it would harm any of their minds.
“Smart.” The little girl turned around, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.
Pavel and I followed.
The space was dimly lit by the glow of the city seeping through the worn, half-drawn curtains.