Dark Quest Read Free Page A

wall. He hoisted himself to the top with a cat-like grace and peered into the courtyard below. He signaled for the others to follow and soundlessly jumped into the courtyard. The only light visible was from a candle near a second story window.
    The first figure extracted a long, thin piece of metal from his clothing and went to work on the rear door of the temple. The board holding the door shut hit the floor with a loud thud and the figures froze. Hurried footsteps could be heard approaching the door from the inside and the black figures melded with the shadows. An elderly priest flung the door open. He looked around the courtyard in confusion. He stepped through the doorway for a better look and one of the shadows stepped forward and seized him from behind, slicing his throat with a small, sharpened dagger. The shadow propped the body against the wall and crept into the temple. Down the corridor was an open doorway with candlelight flickering patterns on the floor of the hallway. The shadows crept down the hall and peered into the room. The room was deserted and the black figures stealthily approached the staircase.
    Aurora knew that the temple’s acolytes lived in a building alongside the temple. There should have been no one in the temple except a priest to guard the library. The other priest must have had some unfinished work to be in the temple at night. She followed Dalgar and the other Black Devil up the stairs. The three figures stood in an alcove outside the doorway to the library, barely breathing.
    Aurora stripped off her garments, knocked on the door and stepped back five paces. The priest opened the door and peered into the hall. The candlelight flickered off Aurora’s pale, naked skin and the priest was speechless and confused. He took a couple of steps forward and shook his head as if trying to clear his vision. Dalgar wasted no time. He stepped out of the alcove and looped a thin metal wire around the priest’s neck. He viciously tightened the wire and the priest frantically tried to claw at the restriction around his throat. In just moments the priest’s struggles ceased and Dalgar lowered the body to the floor. Aurora hastily dressed and dragged the body into the library.
    The library was small and the three Black Devils would have no problem emptying it long before morning. They carried the books downstairs and out the rear gate of the temple’s courtyard. Through the bushes they had a cart waiting in a clearing. It took many trips to completely strip the library and Dalgar made a mental note to have more Black Devils available for the larger libraries.
    Dalgar dragged the first priest’s body into the room he had been working in. He searched the room for more books. Aurora’s knowledge of the layout of this temple was very helpful in assuring the success of the raid. He pondered how they could get information on other temples while he closed the back door to the building.
    He secured the gate to the courtyard and scampered over the wall. When he arrived at the cart, Aurora and the other Black Devil were covering the books with the hay that was originally in the wagon. He jumped up on the wagon and started the horses moving.

Chapter 2
Doors
    The ship arrived off Atar’s Cove and was holding steady instead of anchoring in the cove. Oscar could hear shouting and raced up on deck to the helm. “What is it, Captain Hill?”
    “I’m not sure, Oscar. There are jagged rocks throughout the cove as if the sea bottom was jutting upward.”
    Oscar ran to the bow and gazed at the cove that he had seen several times before. There was no way a ship could enter the cove without ripping its hull on those jagged rocks. He became concerned for Jenneva. If some upheaval had occurred to destroy the cove, she might have been harmed, as well. He knew Egam could communicate with his former student and went below to wake him.
    Egam staggered onto the deck still half asleep. He silently looked at the cove and smiled.