The Priest Read Free Page B

majority of the
rooms in the facility, but it was filled from floor to ceiling with
an array of machinery. In the middle of the room, almost hidden by
the machinery, was a young woman lying on a bed.
    Mauricio shouldn’t have been surprised by
the girl’s presence. He knew a woman with a young voice had been
singing in that room. If he took the time to consider what he was
doing there, out of his designated room, he would have admitted
that his curiosity to see the girl had won over his reasoning.
Still, he was mesmerized by her. He had never looked twice at a
woman before. His guards were interchangeable. Younger, older,
fatter, slimmer, women all look the same to him: mean. The girl on
the bed looked different. She was small with long, chestnut hair
that trailed down the bed to the floor. Her face was minute with a
little nose that turned slightly up at the end. Mauricio wondered
what color her eyes were. Her skin was golden brown, while his was
olive, and she was wearing the same green gown he was wearing.
Somehow, she looked better in it than he did.
    Mauricio didn’t dare walk closer to the bed.
He stood at a distance, looking at her from the door. She moved a
finger of her outstretched hand and sighed while murmuring
something incoherent. He unwillingly smiled at the singsong quality
of her voice. Mauricio moved one timid step toward her. He raised
his hand and, with a sudden decision, passed it through the curtain
of her falling hair. He smiled again; this time he was fully
conscious of the happiness he was feeling. A strand of hair caught
between his fingers and he looked at it under the artificial white
light. The hair changed color as he moved it this way and that.
Mauricio let the hair fall through his fingers and bent lower to be
at the same level of the girl’s face. He could hear the breath
coming in and out of her mouth. He moved closer to smell her skin.
Mauricio inhaled her scent and smiled again. You smell of
something clean… and sweet . He fought the urge to taste
her.
    The distant sound of several hurried steps
froze him in midair. Mauricio sprang upright and to the door in one
single movement. He checked that the hallway was still clear and
ran away in the opposite direction from the approaching steps. He
flew back to the room he left and sat on the floor. For several
minutes, he could only hear his heart beating loudly against his
chest. Then he realized that he was shaking uncontrollably.
Finally, he saw that he had left the door open. Mauricio stretched
one trembling leg and gently pushed the door until he heard a
distinct click. When his heart slowed, he heard voices outside in
the hallway.
    “The Priestess said that the last deposit
was enough. You can take him back to his cell. The brat is being
treated right now.” One guard was standing just outside the
door.
    “I can’t wait to get rid of her. She's only
causing problems. We had to double the surveillance. And on top of
everything else, we are working two or three shifts per day,
because of Her-Royal-Pain-in-the-Ass’ presence,” another
guard commented.
    “Playtime is over,” one of the two guards
announced. The key turned in the lock, closing the door instead of
opening it. A second of hesitation and then the key turned the
other way.
    “Damn…” The guard immediately looked inside
the cell.
    “What is it?” the other asked with a
suspicious tone.
    “Nothing,” the plump guard said after
double-checking the slave was where she left him. She couldn’t help
but exhale rather loudly.
    Thank the Heavens for small favors .
Mauricio raised his eyes to the ceiling. If the guard who had
forgotten to lock the door had been alone, he would now be at the
receiving end of an unpleasant series of privileges that would
guarantee him retaliation by the hand of the other less-fortunate
slaves. As it was, the woman would never admit to the other guard
of having done something so stupid. Forgetting to secure a slave
meant losing their job.