The Inquisitor smiled without warmth. “Then you will be a very short-lived saint.”
“Locks are suggestions.” He nodded at the box. “That’s the original. The one the Church stole from the demon’s tomb. You planning to use it?”
Sasha did not smile back. She opened the box. Saint Sasha and the Scarlet Demon-s Stone -v1.0...
“Then I’m coming with you. Name’s Kael. I’ve stolen the Stone twice, buried it once, and watched it eat three fools from the inside out.” His smile turned sharp. “Someone ought to write your eulogy when you fail.”
Sasha met his eyes. For a moment, she saw something beneath the bravado: a flicker of old terror, deeply buried. The Inquisitor smiled without warmth
“Children’s tales don’t melt cathedral doors,” the Inquisitor replied. He dropped a scroll on the pew. Unfurled, it revealed a map marked with three locations: the sunken cloister of Saint Ilsa, the tooth of the Wyrm-Crag, and the heart of the Hissing Wood. “Find the three Seals. Break them. The Stone’s prison will hold for another century.”
“I’m planning to break the Seals.” The one the Church stole from the demon’s tomb
“You’re a fool, girl,” said a voice behind her.