“Don’t forget to take off your shoes and socks,” she added.
I stepped out from behind the screen, barefoot and wearing the garb—a plain white robe—that I had been given. I handed the attendant the rest of my clothes to put in the bag. She set down the bag of my possessions on the small couch and drew a black cloth from behind her back.
Motioning me to be still, she placed the cloth, which turned out to be more of a sack, over my head so I could no longer see in the dimly lit room. The folds of the sack covered my shoulders, and it felt soft where it touched my face.
I could hear her rustling around beside me, and I jolted a little as I felt something heavy placed around my neck as well. I reached up and felt coarse hemp twisted into a noose at my throat.
What was that for? I swallowed nervously.
The attendant put her hand on my shoulder and squared me in front of what I assumed was the other door. I had lost my sense of direction with my sight and had to rely only on the sounds I could hear in the room.
“There is a door in front of you. Knock three times if you would gain entrance,” she advised me.
I lifted my hand and knocked sharply, three times, on the heavy hardwood of the door. It made a loud rap, rap, rap in the small room, even from under the dark hood.
There was a long pause as we waited. I fretted. Would there be a response?
Finally, there were three loud answering raps on the far side of the door, and I could feel a slight gust of air and change of pressure as the door opened.
“Who comes here?” a deep stern voice intoned from the now open space in front of me, startling me slightly. I thought I recognized the voice as Richard Sonnac’s but couldn’t tell for sure. The sack on my head prevented me from confirming. I itched to pull it off to see what was happening.
“Blodwedd Mallory,” the attendant said formally in a clear voice from my right side. “A poor blind candidate who has long been desirous of having and receiving a part of the rights and benefits of this Grand Temple, dedicated to the Light and Faith, and held forth to the holy order of King Solomon, as all true followers have done who have gone this way before her.”
The voice that sounded like Sonnac said, “Blodwedd Mallory: Is it of your own free will and accord that you make this request?”
“It is,” I said as steadily as I could manage.
“Steward, is the candidate duly and truly prepared?”
“She is,” the attendant answered promptly.
“Is she worthy and well qualified?”
“She is.”
“Is she properly avouched for?”
“She is.”
“By what further rights does she expect to obtain this benefit?”
“By being chosen of Gaia, free and of lawful age, and under the tongue of good report.”
The deep stern voice responded, “Then, all these questions being answered in the affirmative, Blodwedd Mallory, you will wait with patience while I inform the Grand Master of your request and return to you her response.”
And with that, the door shut, and I waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Patience had never been my strong suit, but I tried to cultivate it here. Behind the door, I could hear low murmurs and the occasional footfall. However, the solid hardwood of the door and paneling on the walls of the small room, not to mention the dark sack over my head, obscured me learning anything useful, so I resigned myself again to be patient.
Eventually, the door opened, and I could feel the presence of the speaker once again, just shortly before I heard his voice.
“Blodwedd Mallory, it is the order of the Grand Master that you enter this Temple.”
Eagerly I took a step forward to enter the door. A sharp pain pierced my chest above my heart, and I stopped abruptly.
Ow! That hurt!
I waited anxiously, uncertain of what to do. I could feel the blade in my skin and a trickle of blood running down my chest inside of the garb. The sound of my breathing was loud inside the hood.
What was happening? Why was I being stabbed? Did I want to go through with this or yank off the hood and run? My thoughts spun through my head.
I reached a decision. I did want to go through with this. I was ready to become a Templar. I fought for calm and resolve, quelling my nerves, which were telling my body to flee, and decided to put my trust in whatever would come next.
After a moment’s pause, the stern voice continued, “and I receive you on the point of a sword, piercing your breast. This is a torture to your flesh. So may it ever be to your mind and conscience if ever you should attempt to reveal the secrets of the Temple unlawfully.”
And with that, I felt a pull on the back of my neck and the noose tighten around my throat, as I was led blindly into the inner Temple.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Return
June 24, 2012
“Congratulations on your novitiate, Wedd. I’m very proud of your progress.”
It was Monday morning, and the initiation ritual was complete, its secrets laid bare to me. My oaths were taken, and the obligations to those oaths spelled out. I was back in Richard Sonnac’s office, talking to him across his desk still filled with papers.
I smiled and thanked him for his support.
Inside, however, I contemplated how little of the hero worship for him that I’d had on my arrival to Ealdwic still remained. Oh, I was thrilled to have my initiation under my belt and be a Novice in the Order, but the events of the past week had opened my eyes as to the reality of what it meant to be a Templar. I moved over in front of the fireplace, gazing at the giant oil painting of St. George slaying the dragon. Things didn’t seem quite as black and white to me anymore.
“I called you here to discuss your next assignment,” Sonnac said, standing up from his desk and crossing the room to where I stood. He clasped his hands behind his back. “As you know, Solomon Island has been overwhelmed these past months, dealing with the aftermath of the incursion of sea draugr and the reanimation of its citizenry as zombies.”
“Yes. The events of last October have had a terrible impact on the island,” I agreed, soberly.
Sonnac looked at me for a long minute, as if trying to anticipate my reaction, then paced away across the carpet. “We’ve received word that the Sheriff’s Office in Kingsmouth could use assistance. We feel that you are uniquely positioned to be of help there. Sevenoir would be there to support you, of course.”
I considered what he was saying. It would be good to help out on Solomon Island for a while. I knew what I was getting into there, and I had been worried about Ms. Usher and Carter since I left. Not that I wasn’t concerned about Headmaster Montag, too, but they had been foremost in my thoughts.
It made sense that I was being offered this assignment. I knew that all the factions regularly assigned agents there to help out, hence how I had met Renee. I wondered if Gypcie might also be assigned back to the island when she finished her initiation.
“We must find the root of whatever doom has come to Solomon Island,” Sonnac said, his voice rising with emphasis, drawing my attention back to the conversation. “But let me stress that this is not a rescue operation. Our goal is the salvation of all mankind, not survivors on a case-by-case basis. I understand that may stick in your throat, but... well... halos are fading all over town, now that there is so much more at stake.”
My eyes narrowed. He was right. That stuck in my throat badly. I believed it was possible to do both at once.
I knew that Gaia was creating Bees in unprecedented numbers—Ealdwic was swarming with them at the moment. I also suspected that my so-called dreams of the Tokyo subway were nothing of the sort, and that was the root of where the problem lay—some massive global catastrophe was underway. Gaia herself was under attack by dark forces of an unknown origin. The sooner I got more experience under my belt as an agent, the sooner I could help the Templars get to the bottom of it.
And, a rebelliou
s voice whispered in my head, I was pretty sure I could help both my friends and humankind.
“When would I leave?” I asked.
“The assignment is relatively simple but urgent.”
I put my hands on my hips and turned to him. “So, pretty much immediately.”
“That’s correct. Leave as soon as you can. Your travel arrangements have already been made with the Station Master at the Ealdwic Underground. You’ll travel through Agartha,” Sonnac smiled wryly, “but you’ve made that trip before. Good hunting and I’ll be in touch.”
Legends of the Secret World Website, Mailing List, and More
First of all, thanks for reading London Underground!
If you enjoyed this novel and want to read more of Wedd’s adventures, stay tuned for the next installment of the Unofficial Legends of the Secret World in mid-2019. If you’d like to stay in the loop to learn about more book releases and other cool stuff as it develops, visit the webpage at http://www.blodweddmallory.com. Don’t forget to subscribe to the LotSW mailing list. I promise never to share your email address and to only send you emails on the stuff you want. You can unsubscribe at any time.
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Reviews and word-of-mouth are critical to the commercial success of any self-published novel and would-be novelist. I welcome your support should you choose to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads to help spread the word about this series of forthcoming books set in The Secret World and Secret World Legends universe.
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About the Author
Blodwedd Mallory is the Secret World alter ego of Amber McKee, a Utah-based writer, editor, and Jill-of-all-trades.
Over the course of her career, she’s been a newspaper reporter, movie reviewer, bartender, tarot reader, magazine editor, advocacy trainer, instructional designer, service delivery manager, and more. Now, she realizes what she really probably should have been all along was a video game developer. So, she assuages that pain by creating urban fantasy fiction books based on her in-game experiences of an urban fantasy/horror video game. Go figure.
She lives with her hubby and two rescue pups in a formerly haunted house.
London Underground: An Unofficial Legend of The Secret World (Unofficial Legends of The Secret World Book 2) Page 23