Free Heir of Pendel (A Pandoran Novel, #4) by Barbara Kloss Page A

Can't? I think I would've remembered a detail like that…"
    Vera jabbed her elbow in his ribs.
    Judging by the dark and quiet, the cathedral was closed to the public. But it would open soon, and we needed to be out of here well before then.
    "We can't use magic here," I whispered as a reminder. Vera started pulling her blades free and I shook my head. "Keep them sheathed. There might be guards on the main floor."
    "Then shouldn't we keep them out?" she asked, confused.
    "Earth isn't like Gaia," I said. "People don't walk around carrying weapons, and doing so could get you in some serious trouble."
    She thought this over. "If that's true, then the people are idiots. How is a person supposed to defend herself?"
    This was a long discussion we didn't have time for right now. "Would you just do it, please?" I asked. "You'll have to trust me on this."
    She didn't look convinced, but she slid her blades back in their sheaths anyway. I nodded my thanks. I wasn't worried about our aegis attire. Fitted black leathers weren't cause for concern, and they certainly wouldn't stand out at night. Cloaks might have, but we'd left those back in Karth.
    I glanced sharply at Thaddeus. "And keep quiet."
    He gasped, all innocence and offense. I ascended the stairs, quiet and careful, my boots landing without sound. Before I reached the top I paused, crouching near the locked, waist-high gate. I listened, resting my shoulders against the thick marble balustrade. The cathedral was quiet—too quiet, and it made me uneasy.
    I crept up and swung my legs over the balustrade, landing swiftly and silently upon the main floor, and crouched low. A smattering of dim lights softened the darkness around me. I inched along the balustrade, pressing myself against the squat columns while scanning the shadows of the nave. Thaddeus and Vera followed, and I heard Thaddeus gasp again as he took in the enormity of the cathedral.
    St. Peter's Basilica was a magnificent sight. Deemed the largest cathedral on Earth, it had definitely earned its designation. It made a person feel dwarfish—minuscule—as if we'd stepped into the home of a god, and its grandeur demanded a moment of silent awe and admiration. But we didn't have time for admiration. We needed to get out of here. Now.
    I ushered them behind a marble plinth of one of the helical, bronze columns of the great ciborium marking St. Peter's burial chamber. Thaddeus didn't see my cue, distracted by the great heights above, and Vera tugged him after us before he wandered out in the open. The three of us slipped into the shadows of the back wall. There I waited, listening, my hand on the hilt of my sword. If we ran into cathedral guards, I wasn't sure how we'd explain ourselves, or our weapons.
    I slipped out of the main nave and off to the side, hugging the wall of niches, and the other two followed. We crept behind the massive columns and beneath the grand arches. It was a shame, walking through this prodigious structure without taking time for proper appreciation. Thaddeus, however, seemed to be appreciating it well enough. Vera grabbed hold of the end of his shirtsleeve and dragged him along. She didn't look very happy about it.
    I was snaking behind the next column when I heard a pin-drop of sound. I froze, and Thaddeus and Vera stopped beside the column behind me, looking puzzled. I held up two fingers, and then pointed in the direction of the sound, and we waited.
    I couldn't see anyone, but there were plenty of dark niches to hide inside. Thaddeus gestured all was clear and waved his hand to urge me forward. I shook my head. Not yet. I was predisposed to mistrust every new environment I was thrust inside, especially silent ones.
    Irritated, Thaddeus threw his hands down, palms open.
    I ignored him, scanning the nave—every shadow and every corner. I was raising my hand to the others to keep going when a shadow moved in my periphery.
    My eyes narrowed at the main exits.
    There you are.
    I pointed in the