Free Sorcerer Rising (A Virgil McDane Novel) by E. Nathan Sisk Page A

game?”
    His frown, though I doubt it could have deepened, certainly tried. “I am to escort you to the Mother Superior. Come with me.”
    It was my turn to frown. “I’ve been here a few times. I think I know how to get around by now.”
    “Be that as it may,” he replied shortly, “I am to escort you. And it would most likely go a good deal smoother if you refrained from speaking.”
    “Whatever,” I said, holding out my hand for him to lead the way. It was best not to argue with one of the priests of the Cathedral. I swear they were hired purely on how stubborn they were.
    He glared at my hand, and then led the way.
    As stated before, I knew my way to Sol’s office but I’d never fully explored the Cathedral. It was one of the oldest buildings in Mare. The entire complex was made up of several other building besides the sanctuary, with multiple floors and not just a few basements. And that didn’t even count the secret rooms and chambers, of which I only knew a few.
    After about three dozen twists and turns and at least two stairs, we finally arrived at Father Solomon’s library.
    Father Ignatius took a spot beside the door, unbuttoning his jacket and folding his hands once more, seemingly putting me out of his mind.
    I raised my hand to knock but the door swung open before I could touch it. Standing before me was the Mother Superior. Her eyes narrowed upon seeing me. Like I said, the respect I had for them wasn’t exactly mutual.
    Temperance Valentine, Mother Superior to the Sisters of His Eternal Truth, was a small woman. She was only five and a half feet tall, but somehow she managed to take up the entire space of the doorway. I wasn’t really sure how old she was, at least sixty, but she carried her age well. Her face was wrinkled and her hair was white except for a few streaks of faint black.
    She peered at me through half-moon glasses with clear intelligent eyes, the color of steel with flecks of red, blue, and purple. She wore the clothes of a nun, a silver cross hanging around her neck while a strand of prayer beads hung from her belt.
    If you were to see her in a grocery store you’d offer to carry her bags. She looked like someone’s grandmother, but she had more steel under her surface than a four-star general.
    Her thin lips were held in neither a frown nor a smile as she looked me over. She always did that whenever she saw me, like she was checking to see if anything had changed.
    Finally , she nodded to herself. “Hello, Virgil. I saw you coming.”
    I bowed my head. “Mother Superior. I figured as much.” I gestured to Father Ignatius, who was still standing at the door.
    Suddenly, she blinked and for a moment I caught a flash of color as her pupils changed shape, sliding into narrow slits. She closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. When she opened them, they were distant and exhausted.
    “You stupid boy,” she whispered. “What have you gotten yourself into? Chasing th e Arcus?”
    Damn, I hadn’t wanted her to know that. “Don’t go poking around, Mother Superior. My business is my own. I just want some information.”
    Her eyes focused, once again on myself. She gave a weary sigh, shaking her head. “Not long left either, Sorcerer. Please, come in. We have much to discuss.”
    Father Solomon’s library was one of the largest and most complete collections of arcane knowledge in the world. I was n’t exactly sure what Sol did before he became a man of the cloth, but I knew many of his volumes were rare, several illegal.
    It was divided into several rooms but the Mother Superior led me to his sitting room, nestled in the smallest room of the library.
    Father Solomon Bronner sat behind a large, book laden desk. At least eighty, he was frail but spirited. He kept his head shaved and a short, white beard covered his face. He wore thick wire-rimmed glasses perched low on his narrow, beak-like nose and they gave his eyes a large, watery look. His long frame was draped in the priest’s