A dark red line was painted on the ground through the middle of the room, cutting right through the shallow pool. We’d seen a similar line painted through the hallway, as well. The paint was messier than the rest of the tidy temple. I pointed to it. “What’s that? It doesn’t look like it was built into the place but added later.”
“No idea. But I’ve seen them everywhere. If you hover your hand over it, you can feel magic.”
I ducked low and did as she said, feeling the buzz of magic. “Weird.”
We were nearing the door when a noise sounded from up ahead, the scrape of shoes on the floor.
I darted to the wall, tucking myself beside the door. Coraline hid on the other side. She held her dagger up, a bloodthirsty gleam in her eye.
18
Carrow
I pressed myself against the wall, silent and still, waiting.
Finally, a figure entered, the red cloak brilliant in the light. Coraline was fast, as if she’d been waiting for this moment a long time. She grabbed the figure and yanked it to her. He struggled, the hood falling back to reveal a squashed-looking face and black eyes.
Coraline sliced the dagger across his throat. Blood spurted, and she grinned with delight.
He slumped, but she kept the body clutched to her as she met my gaze. “We need to find a place to hide the body.”
I looked out into the hall, spotting a small door across the way. I darted across the empty hall and peeked into the room. It was small and dark. Empty. I turned back to Coraline. “This should do.”
We dragged the body in, then I tore off a piece of the red robe and did my best to wipe up the blood we’d spilled. It wasn’t a perfect job, but it was close enough. I tossed the dirty rag into the room with the body, then shut the door.
Coraline dusted off her hands. “One down, ninety-nine to go.”
“You look like you want to do them all yourself.”
“I wouldn’t hate it.” Her lip twisted in a grimace. “I’m not normally so bloodthirsty, but after seeing what those bastards plan . . . I’ll kill each of them with my bare hands if I have to.”
We started down the hall, and I asked. “What do they plan? Beside raising Anat.”
“That’s enough. It’s the version of Anat they want to raise that scares the crap out of me. Violent and vicious, she’ll see that war breaks out over the entirety of the Earth.”
I shuddered.
We passed a huge room, and something called to me, so strong I couldn’t resist. I stopped to peer in through the enormous doorway.
Awe filled me at the sight of the huge space dotted with columns and the giant statue of a woman. She held an ax and wore a broken crown. It was one of the Egyptian style ones I’d seen in illustrations—the kinds the Pharaohs wore, with two prongs, one on either side. One was broken off, however, the stone paler where it had been snapped away. The damage looked recent.
Anat.
She had been calling to me all along. All throughout this. Those crazy red and white visions were from her, but why?
“It’s the main temple,” Coraline said. “The rest of the rooms are like administrative spaces or something.”
The air felt weird—slimy, almost. Unbalanced, somehow. As if there were a constant draft sloping downward, giving the perception that the floor was tilted. It was incredibly strange, and strong enough to give me a sense of vertigo.
“There’s something wrong with that room,” I muttered. “With that statue.”
“It’s the cult’s influence, I think. All of them feel like that, and it’s spreading to the building itself.”
I caught the sound of approaching footsteps echoing from the other side of the large room. Coraline’s eyes brightened, and she perked up like a cat who’d heard the tuna can opening.
I dragged her away, vowing to return to the statue that called to me. “We can’t afford a fight that will alert more people. We need to keep looking for the lever.”
She nodded. “You’re right.”