Bronze Embers

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

~Ines~

I gazed down through the trapdoor where I'd hid just a few days before. Nothing out of the ordinary, nuns milling about. Sometimes I'd even see Peggy rushing around, at least I liked to think it was her. Hard to tell from so high up. I narrowed my gaze onto a dark blob. One of Ward's men. They were still here.

I rolled my eyes and shut the door. I sat for a moment, my frustration brewing in my stomach. Claiming sanctuary had been a desperate attempt for safety. It was beginning to look like all it really did was delay the inevitable.

The memory of Ward's wrath flooded my mind. All the 'creative' ways he could kill a person. I'd witnessed only a few. I shuddered. Ward was a prideful man, should you bruise his ego...there was a hefty price to pay. I'd done far more than just bruise it.

Dwelling on this wasn't helping anything. I took a deep breath and stood up. I stepped from around the statue and entered the main area. Quasi straddled a bench, he was hard at work carving into a hunk of wood. The skeletal remains of what may have been a piece of furniture scattered around him.

I plopped down into a seat by him. He was so focused on his carving he barely seemed to notice. I glanced over his shoulder and peered at his work. He was halfway through what appeared to be a fleur de lis design. Celtic inspired knots framed it, a perfect marriage between French and Gaelic art.

"That's looking great." I complimented him.

"Thanks." He mumbled. His brow was furrowed in concentration.

His hand groped for a tool. He stopped what he was doing and glanced around him. "Have you seen my fine chisel?" He asked.

"Uh this one?" I asked, holding up a tool.

"No, that's too thick, a really small one, for fine details." He continued on his search.

I turned to look again. "Never mind, here it is." He resumed his carving.

I picked up one of the finished pieces and marveled at his craftsmanship. "You're really good at this."

Quasimodo paused and glanced at the wood. "It's alright." He pointed to a spot. "I rushed it too much here."

"It looks just as good as the rest." I held it closer to my face.

"No see." He swung his leg around so he was sitting on his bench normally. "See how rough and calloused the wood is here." He ran his finger along the edge. "That didn't need to be that way.. I was impatient.

I ran my finger where he did. He was right, it wasn't quite as smooth as the rest of the design. "Well I still think it's incredible."I smiled reassuringly at him.

Quasi met my gaze and then quickly cast his eyes downward. He'd been doing that a lot. In fact, he hasn't really looked at me since the first day. When we spoke his gaze was always at the ground, or looking elsewhere. It was something I was used too I guess, my scarring wasn't pretty and people often couldn't bare to look at me. Still though, I had thought that he might be different. He might understand or something. It was silly, but for whatever reason it stung every time his gaze flinched away from mine.

"What all have you made?" I asked, standing up from my seat and gazing around the belltower.

He stood up too. "Well...I mostly do repairs. Mainly on the bells, but sometimes on their hardware. He gestured to the bronze behemoths above us. There's molten lead tucked away back here. He pointed to a door.

"Oh yeah! I spotted that yesterday." I paused. "The handle's hot, which makes sense now."

"I keep it locked for safety."