Free A World of Ash: The Territory 3 by Justin Woolley Page B

it?”
    “I’m not here to kill you, Miss Hermannsburg. In fact, I’m here to do the opposite.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “You will soon enough,” the general said. “But I’m afraid we must take some necessary precautions.”
    He turned back to look out the cell door and gestured with one hand. He stepped aside as two men entered. Lynn had expected red-cloaks, but they weren’t wearing the uniform of Holy Order clergymen. In fact it was their distinct lack of any official attire that was their most noticeable feature. This wasn’t common in the cathedral, where most people walked the halls wearing the red cloak of a clergyman, the muted gray dress of an initiate or the white dress of a fully fledged Sister. These men wore clothes that wouldn’t have looked out of place in an Alice market or on builders or workmen, plain cuts and dull colors designed for utility rather than fashion. Lynn saw that each wore a tool belt around his waist and had bags slung over his shoulders.
    They entered the cell and the general looked back out into the hall, glancing left and right as if checking that no one else was around. He pulled the door closed, leaving it slightly ajar so that the room was dropped into the perpetual murk Lynn was used to.
    “Are you here to fix those pipes?” Lynn said, motioning up to the source of the moisture. “Because someone should do that.”
    The men ignored her, dropping their bags and removing their belts, letting them fall to the cell floor. Each of them slipped their work clothes off. They were both wearing underwear but Lynn instinctively dropped her eyes to the floor.
    “What are you doing?” she asked suspiciously, keeping her eyes fixed on the gray-green stones.
    “Necessary deception,” the general said.
    When Lynn looked up again the two men were dressing in the white uniforms of clergymen and pinning red cloaks around their necks. They stuffed the discarded work clothes and belts into the bags they had carried in with them and tossed them into a dark corner of the cell.
    “These two will be escorting you out of here,” Provost said.
    The men moved forward, each taking one of her arms. Initially she struggled but she knew her struggle was meek and half-hearted. There was a part of her that wanted to go with them, wanted to believe what the general had told her. Could they really be taking her somewhere safe? Was there anywhere left where the long fingernails of the High Priestess couldn’t dig in and pull her back?
    “Again,” Clergy-General Provost said, stepping toward Lynn, “apologies it must be this way.”
    The world around Lynn was plunged into darkness as the general lifted a black bag up and over her head. It was left loose so she could still breathe, but the feeling of being trapped caused her chest to tighten. As if he had noticed her reaction the general adjusted the bag, pulling the front further off her face.
    “I assure you this is only for transportation,” Provost said. “I shall have it removed as soon as we arrive at our destination, and when we do, you’ll know why we must keep the location secret.”
    “Why should I believe anything you tell me?” Lynn said, the heat of panic rising through her again. “The Church and I haven’t exactly seen eye to eye. How do I know you’re not taking me somewhere to kill me after all?”
    There was no answer for a moment but then the general spoke. “I suppose you don’t know that. But consider it this way, you don’t actually have a choice.”

CHAPTER 10
    As Clergy-General Provost and the two men who may or may not have been Holy Order clergymen dragged her through the weaving turns of the cathedral, Lynn quickly lost her bearings. They passed voices in the echoing hallways, voices that quieted as she went by. Being unable to see as she was pulled hurriedly through barely remembered corridors full of unknown enemies was simultaneously terrifying and disorientating.
    After some time the men either side