A Spark Against the Shadows (Book Two) Fully Released

Chapter XIV - Demons Never Sleep

Lucinda jerked herself awake as she wrapped her hand around the blanket before turning to see Grace. Because of her movement, Grace adjusted herself under the blanket next to her. Sitting herself up, Lucinda looked around the room while seeing the shadows of objects around the place they were sleeping in. She took in a deep breath while moving to the edge of the bed before she reached up and with her palm as she rubbed her left eye. It must still be the middle of the night, she thought before holding her hands together, stretching her back as a few pops echoed out.

Moving the blanket off her legs, she fixed her white cloth shirt before putting her elbows on her lap. Placing her head down, she thought of Alexis and Sonya as a quick sharp pain appeared on her lower neck. Lucinda reached back and felt the curve of her spine before rubbing it. Standing to her feet, she moved across the room before reaching a small window. Unlatching the lock, she pushed it open as she watched the surrounding city. Various torches lined different areas that were commonly walked as she noticed some people walking openly in the lights before she focused on the dark corridors and areas around the city.

"This city is just like the rest," said Lucinda as she leaned out, placing her wrists on the window seal. "Looks good on the outside, but corruption is all throughout."

She stared at the streets below as she felt the cool air of the night on her face. Taking in a deep breath, she smiled before hearing the muffled sounds of voices to her left. Leaning out the window, she moved her head as far left as she could before she stood on her tiptoes. She shook her head as the voices were still too faint to understand. Lucinda looked straight down, looking at a thirty- or forty-foot drop before she glanced up, seeing wood placed a few feet apart as they held up the slanted roof above them. She hoisted herself onto the windowsill as she pulled on one of the wooden beams, feeling no give.

Lucinda looked back at Grace sleeping quietly on the bed. She turned as she boosted herself onto the windowsill before grabbing a beam with both hands. Letting herself hang out the window, she smiled as she reached for the next beam. She moved from beam to beam until she arrived at a closed window to her left. She shimmied her way closer to the window before placing her ear close to it. The voices were a little louder but lay muffled because of the glass.

Moving back to the middle of the beam, Lucinda continued to travel down the beams as the voices became clearer. "Why do you think Echo has us babysitting these two women and that studious man?" asked one man inside as Lucinda moved closer, stopping just on the outside of the window.

"Well, probably because one of them is Akar's daughter you twit," said a woman in a deep voice. "She is very protective of that boy, from what I hear. She broke into Asana Prison twice for him."

Lucinda tightened her grip on the beam as she repositioned her hands before the man answered, "If that isn't love, if I ever heard of it. The lady I am with now would never do that for me."

"Yeah, like you are ever seeing anyone," said the woman as Lucinda shook her head slightly at the man's comment. "Anyone who would do that for this Prince should not be aware of the handoff. One way to bring out Akar is to place the boy in the open. He just does not want to get her involved."

Lucinda felt a sudden jerk inside her chest as her left hand slipped before she placed her left foot against the wall to brace herself. As she grasped the beam again and clenched it, the voice of the woman boomed from inside. "What the hell was that?"

She looked back towards her room before hearing footsteps from the open window. Looking up, she saw a small space between the beams and the roof. Lucinda swiftly pulled her body up to the beam above her before squeezing tightly between the roof and the beams. As she laid herself across three of the beams, she held still before she noticed her skirt hanging down from. Using what space she had, Lucinda quickly reached down and pulled the fabric of her long shirt above the beams just as the woman peeked her head out the window.