Visions of the Witch - [Whispers 04]
Page 24
Jordan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Jeez, I really had to spend the night with this guy? And not even in the fun sense.
“I don’t know why this room is locked,” he said slowly, as if speaking to a two-year-old. “It’s just the rules. Now, if you’re done being a pain, we’ll continue.” He resumed his overly fast pace.
I trailed behind him, taking deep breaths to calm myself before I did something stupid like practice all my curse words on him. In permanent marker. Nobody had pushed my buttons quite so well since Macy was a pre-teen. It wouldn’t do to lose my job after only an hour.
I couldn’t believe the silence of the building. It was like being trapped in a vault: no sounds in, and surely no sounds going out. No breezes, just stagnant, albeit fragrant, air. “It smells like jasmine in here,” I observed.
Jordan nodded, gesturing to a dark corner of the temple. “We burn incense all day in honor of the Goddess. Part of your job is to keep the incense going. Generally every hour or so, head that way and light one up.”
I laughed at his wording, but he just gave me a dirty look. This guy had no sense of humor.
We came to a small steel door set in the west wall, where Jordan meticulously picked through the key ring before choosing the appropriate one. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. I felt a distinct change in temperature as I followed his broad shoulders into the room.
It was much warmer inside. There was a wall of ten television screens, all showing different parts of the temple, inside and out. One was trained on each of the three Goddesses, one on each of the four darkened corners of the interior, one on the tower, one on the single exterior door, and a semi-aerial view of the exterior temple. Very high tech and slightly intimidating. I noticed with extreme relief a computer with the lovely word GOOGLE across the screen, decorated in fine Google fashion for the fall, in colorful pencil-drawn leaves.
“The temple is kept at a steady sixty degrees to preserve the statues and the paint. If you wish to warm yourself, come in here. For no reason should you ever touch the thermostat.” He started off on a description of the various screens and computers, but I tuned him out.
I wasn’t sure what I’d gotten myself into. The place looked more like a high-security prison than an ancient place of goddess worship. There was no way a place so out-of-the-way and archaic could need all this equipment.
Jordan cleared his throat. I shook off my reverie and caught him staring at me in irritation. Great, he must have asked me a question. I shuffled my feet, raising an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“Do you think you understand?” he repeated through his teeth.
I smiled sheepishly. “Um.”
Jordan rolled his eyes. “You’ll likely remain in this room for the entirety of your shift. It stays warmer, and you’ll have access to entertainment. The computers are all capable of streaming.”
“Okay.” I put my hands on the back of the rolling chair and cleared my throat. “Jordan?”
He picked up a dog-eared paperback and opened his jacket to slide it into an interior pocket. “Yes?”
“What exactly is the purpose of all this?” I gestured with both hands, trying to somehow encompass the whole of the temple. “I…what, light incense and stare at security screens?”
He nodded, a short, sharp movement. “Yes.”
“Are the videos recording?”
He nodded. “Yes. Morning shift is in charge of swapping out memory for the recordings. It’s all digital, though the tapes are rarely watched. If something goes wrong in the temple, the tapes may be reviewed, but otherwise, they’re more incidental.”
I pursed my lips. “How is this important and not a waste of time?”
Jordan looked taken-aback. “It’s a temple to the goddess.”
“So?” What the hell was it with these people?
“Vale, a temple to the goddess cannot be left untended.” He sounded incredulous that I didn’t know this little snippet of goodness.
“So…waste of time, then,” I remarked. I mean really.
“Do you think you can handle this on your own?” he snapped.
I fought against an urge to whop him on the head Three Stooges-style. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“Then, I’m leaving.” He stepped through the office door in a flash of black clothing. I followed on his heels.
“Edward said you were staying all night!” I argued, my long legs matching stride with his as he crossed the marble floor. Our footsteps echoed in the cavernous room, bouncing back from the walls and giving the illusion we weren’t the only ones walking. The torches flickered eerily, casting shadows everywhere.
“There’s no reason for me to be here. I’m usually safe at home before midnight. I will not change that tonight.” At the exterior door, he turned the last key and pulled it open. Turning back once more, he regarded me with what could only be called arrogance. “Remember. Do not look outside. Do not open the doors no matter what you hear. Five minutes until midnight, turn off the exterior cameras in the office.” He put a hand to an odd-looking light switch beside the door. “After turning off the cameras, check the locks on this door and flick this switch. Immediately. Do you understand?”
If this man could make a grown woman feel like such a child, I pitied any children he might have. I glanced at his left hand and located the—gasp—wedding ring. Bless the soul that had married him.
“I’ve got it.”
“I need your car keys, please,” he said.
“Oh. Really?” I smirked, rocking back and forth on my heels. “Such a shame. I’ve lost them. Terrible situation. A fox ate them.”
A single blond eyebrow rose towards his hairline. “Excuse me?”
I wanted to give him more grief, but I just didn’t have it in me. Maybe he was having a bad night, and tomorrow, he wouldn’t be such a pretentious jerk. I dug my keys from my pocket and dropped them in his open palm. “I haven’t the faintest idea what the hell you’ve droned on about, but I think I can handle this.”
“After three, turn on the cameras and flick the switch the other way.” He passed me the temple key ring, and was gone.
Find out what happens in THE TEMPLE...
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About the Author
Heather Marie Adkins loves magick and words, but not necessarily in that order. She can often be found wrangling chickens in her backyard, cackling while she pulls weeds from her herb garden, and saving field mice from her cats—when she isn’t plotting her eventual move to Ireland.
A practicing witch, Heather is a columnist for the Correllian Times as well as the author of numerous published titles including The Temple and Abigail. She lives in north-central Kentucky with a house full of animals and the love of her life—all of whom drive her crazy.
Heather loves to hear from readers! She can be found daily (mostly) at her blog, heather.bishoffs.com, so visit and leave a comment!
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Books by Heather Marie Adkins
The Temple, Vale Avari Novels, Book One
Abigail, Witch Faery Trilogy Book One
Constant State of Disaster
Cause & Effect
Heaven Below
The House
Underneath
Eternal Youth, co-written with Julia Crane
The Darkest
Night, Prequel to the Hedgewitch Mysteries
Table of Contents
Visions of the Witch
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Afterword
Curse of the Ice Dragon
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Tara West
The Temple
Chapter One
Chapter Two
About the Author