Free Soulstone by Katie Salidas Page B

areas of expertise. 
    The place didn’t give off the foreboding vibe it should have, given that the people inside were all bent on killing me and my kind. Wrought iron gates and low bushes surrounded the church. A heavy coating of snow covered them, reminding me of a Christmas-themed snow globe or a picture on a holiday greeting card.
    Beyond the borders of the tiny churchyard and protective fence was the city. Narrow streets in all directions converged at the entrance, each of them housing three- and four-story brick row houses, shops, and commercial buildings. Along these narrow streets were tightly packed parked cars. Lamps dotted the thin sidewalks, casting small circles of light below, but leaving plenty of shadowy areas too. There were plenty of places for someone to hide.
    “Wait,” Ariana whispered as we edged along the silent street, our feet crunching on the snowy ground. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a few silver chains. On each chain was a pendant of twin crescent moons with a circle between them. She held them up to us in her gloved hands. “This is a symbol of the goddess. Put these on, and she will protect us.”
    “No offense, but she didn’t do much protecting last night, did she?” Nicholas said in his snarkier-than-thou voice.
    “I’m trying to help,” Ariana grumbled, and held out the chains.
    While I felt much the same as Nicholas, untrusting of our witchy companion, I reached out and took one of the necklaces. “Better to be safe than sorry, I guess.”
    “Since when have you been concerned with safety, Little Warrior? Is someone beginning to grow up?” Nicholas asked.
    I caught the hint of a genuine smile in his otherwise stony face. If I wasn’t mistaken, it sounded like he’d attempted to praise me for my caution. However, as usual, it came out in a sarcastic and antagonistic way. I didn’t bother to respond and risk ruining the moment.
    Santino guided us around the building, which seemed surprisingly empty. “The chapel at the main entrance is small. It connects around back to the rectory and lower-level crypts. We’ll want to enter on the other side.”
    I reached out with all of my senses but came up with nothing. Other than the smell of bums sleeping in the alley ways and the crisp breeze blowing through the bare tree branches, there was little sound or smell to indicate anything or anyone else was around. On the ground, the snow had been trampled so many times it would be impossible to locate specific footprints, not that I knew how to track. To all apparent senses, there seemed no danger. That’s what I was afraid of. 
    “I thought you said there would be heightened security?” I whispered.
    “There should be,” Santino said gruffly. “This is very odd indeed.”
    “It’s the things you can’t see that you should worry about. There are many buildings around. Soldiers could be hidden inside,” Nicholas said, his tone wary.
    “He’s right.” Santino looked around in a small circle, then suddenly ducked and yanked Ariana down with him. “In the windows. Get down.”
    I crouched down low and slowly backed myself into a shadow created by the corner of a building. “Do you think they saw us?”
    Nicholas put a finger to his lips as he hunched down beside me.
    Santino turned to Ariana. “What magic can you do for us, witch?”
    Ariana crinkled her nose at the way he said the word, but didn’t respond with any anger in her voice. “What do you need, specifically?”
    “Cover. We need to get to the back of the chapel undetected.”
     “Give me a minute and let me see what I can come up with.” She dug into her coat pocket and pulled out a small moleskin notebook wrapped with a thick elastic band.
    I exchanged worried glances with both Nicholas and Santino as Ariana thumbed through the pages.
    “Got it,” she said and dropped to the ground, sitting cross-legged in the snow. I really hoped her snow pants were waterproof. She set the small notebook open in