"Why? Why wouldn't the Church want to see Cheslan annexed?"
Julia asked as she brought a cup of hot tea to Briny.
"Because the Church is on the side of justice,"
Jenkins replied, turning the page of his newspaper.
"Of course, this has nothing to do with ."
As if afraid the young won wouldn't believe him, he emphasized his point.
"It has nothing to do with at all. I heard the Believers of Lies were the ones who reported Luther—the man who was originally eligible to compete for the throne—and that's how they got a lead on Tackwen. But that unlucky fellow, Luther, is dead now, killed by a group of cultists. Don't ask any more about it. It's a very deep affair, and the Church is still investigating."
"Are the Believers of Lies good people?"
Briny, who knew nothing of the matter, inquired. It was Hathaway who provided the answer.
"They're not exactly good, but they're not exactly evil either. In any case, it's best not to provoke them. They're a very peculiar bunch."
She glanced at Jenkins, who was hiding behind his newspaper.
"And they're also quite fond of cats."
It was Thursday, and the joint conference of the Twelve Orthodox Churches was drawing closer. The plan to invite the young ladies and Sigrid to his ho a few days ago had been disrupted, and the past few days had been hectic, so the matter had to be postponed until next week. But another issue could not be delayed: Papa Oliver wanted to speak with him. This was originally scheduled for Tuesday but was put off due to Tackwen's sudden death. Since Luther's demise and the report from the Believers of Lies had absolutely nothing to do with him, Jenkins's plan for the day was to visit Papa Oliver.
After breakfast, Jenkins bid farewell to the young won at ho. He had no idea what Papa Oliver wanted to discuss, only that his ntor had been in a foul mood recently. He suspected that Papa Oliver might have chanced upon Miss Stevel in Nolan.
The shopkeepers along Fifth Queen's Avenue had opened their doors early. While they didn't expect custors so soon, they had to at least maintain the appearance of diligence. It was highly unusual, but Papa Oliver hadn't opened his shop. Jenkins knocked, but there was no response. Just as he was about to head around back to see if his ntor was even there, a voice called out his na from within the thick fog.
He turned to see a travel-worn Old Jack approaching, suitcase in hand. Blinking, Jenkins confird it was indeed Papa Oliver's friend from Dullin, the old man skilled in concocting potions. The last ti he'd seen Papa Oliver in the Evergreen Forest, his ntor had ntioned that Old Jack would be coming to Nolan. He hadn't expected him to arrive so soon.
"Jenkins, I knew it was you."
He dropped his suitcase by the entrance and leaned against the door, catching his breath.
"That was exhausting. I couldn't find a carriage anywhere, so I had to walk. Didn't Oliver say he was going to pick up with you? Haven't you two left yet?"
"Hmm? Is it today?"
Jenkins asked, puzzled.
"Pops said he'd go with to the station to et you when you arrived, but he never sent a letter with the exact date. Is it today?"
"I know you've been busy lately. It's fine that you didn't co to pick up,"
Old Jack said understandingly, then glanced at the antique shop.
"But what's going on with Oliver? I specifically wrote to him with my train schedule. Has he gotten so old that he's forgotten?"
"I haven't seen Pops yet either."
Jenkins knocked on the door again, but still, no one answered. He walked over to the souvenir shop next door and asked the owner, Aunt Sally. She confird that Papa Oliver had opened his shop as usual the day before and should be inside now.
At night, the shop was locked from the inside, so they had to enter through the back. Jenkins picked up Old Jack's suitcase, but before he had taken more than a few steps, another voice called his na.
This ti, it was Miss Stevel. And yes, it was truly her. She approached from a carriage that had stopped in the distance, wearing a blue sumr dress and a wide-brimd white hat.
"Oh, Lena, it's been a long ti."
Old Jack saw her too, and after a mont's pause, he recognized her imdiately.
"It must have been ten years since I last saw you."
He smiled warmly, his genuine delight so infectious that even Jenkins felt it.
"Mr. Old Jack?"
Indeed, everyone called him Old Jack.
Miss Stevel recognized him as well. She quickened her pace and embraced the old man.
"Uncle Jack, it's been so long. It's truly been too long."
When Miss Stevel was an apprentice under Papa Oliver, Old Jack was not yet the owner of the apothecary in Dullin and was a frequent visitor to the shop. As a result, he was very familiar with Papa Oliver's apprentices.
"What are you doing here?"
Old Jack asked after they exchanged greetings. He smiled, adjusted his collar, and, despite Jenkins's protests, insisted on carrying his own suitcase.
"Jenkins asked to co."
"?"
Jenkins pointed at himself.
"No, I most certainly did not write to you. The last ti we t, you said you had an important mission in Nolan and that I shouldn't contact you without a good reason. I've respected that request."
He glanced at the cat on his shoulder.
"Chocolate, did I write a letter to this lady?"
The cat imdiately shook its head.
"There you have it,"
Jenkins said.
"Then who could it be?"
Miss Stevel's brows furrowed. Her current identity was sensitive; she was deep undercover among the Believers of Lies. Whoever sent that letter knew who she really was.
Of course, both she and Jenkins suspected it was most likely Papa Oliver. He must have sensed that Miss Stevel had returned to Nolan and, using Jenkins's na, invited her back to the antique shop.
"Let's go find Pops first,"
Jenkins suggested. Seeing Miss Stevel hesitate, he added,
"You have to see him sooner or later. Are you planning to avoid him forever? Even if things were a bit unpleasant when you left, and your work makes it inconvenient to see him, I think it should be all right this ti."
While at the front of the shop, Jenkins had observed the spiritual aura upstairs and determined that Papa Oliver was in his room. But after he used his key to open the back door and led Miss Stevel and Old Jack into the courtyard, Papa Oliver's aura had vanished.
Jenkins didn't ntion the strange phenonon he'd witnessed. Instead, he accompanied the two of them up the stairs to the second floor. They stopped in front of Papa Oliver's bedroom, but when he tried the handle, the door wouldn't budge.
"Don't tell Oliver locked himself in and then left? I don't rember him having a habit of locking his door."
As he spoke, Old Jack rapped his knuckles on the door, but again, there was no response. Jenkins frowned as he looked at the yellow spell aura emanating from the door. He told Old Jack and Miss Stevel to step back, placed Chocolate on the floor, took a deep breath, and slamd his shoulder into the door.
A loud bang echoed, startling them both, but the door remained motionless. Jenkins rubbed his shoulder and stood up straight. He glanced back, about to say he had a way, but Miss Stevel stepped forward. She pulled a hairpin from her hair, slid it into the keyhole, and with a soft click that seed to ring right in Jenkins's ear, he instinctively looked behind him. By the ti he looked back, the door was already being pushed open.
The gap widened with Miss Stevel's push, but no light spilled out from within. All that lay beyond was a darkness so thick it seed solid.
Jenkins's heart lurched. He wanted to shout, to stop her from opening the door, but he found he couldn't make a sound.
He started to reach out, but Old Jack behind him was even faster. However, Old Jack wasn't trying to stop Miss Stevel; he was yanking Jenkins away from the door with all his might.
Before they even had a chance to speak, the door swung wide open. A powerful suction force erupted from the abyss-like darkness. Miss Stevel, her hand still frozen on the doorknob, was the first to be pulled in like a shadow. Then, Old Jack shoved Jenkins aside once more with trendous force as he too was consud by the darkness within the room.
Jenkins's eyes widened. With no ti to think, he snatched his cat, which was already being lifted into the air by the force, and leaped toward the other end of the corridor.
He had felt the pull as he jumped, but by the ti he landed, the strange sensation was gone. When he looked back, Papa Oliver's bedroom door was tightly shut. Miss Stevel and Old Jack were nowhere to be seen.
"What now?"
Ever since returning to Nolan, such bizarre events had beco rare for Jenkins. This incident was a stark reminder of just how thrillingly dangerous his life in the city once was. But he didn't recklessly try the door again. Instead, he used his dagger to carve the holy symbol of the Sage into the floorboards, enclosing it within a ritual array.
He briefly described the situation on a triangular paper charm and dropped it into the center of the array. But the paper didn't ignite; it simply lay on the ground as if casually tossed aside.
"It failed?"
He wondered, pushing the curious cat's head back inside his coat before hurrying downstairs. Just as he suspected, both the front and back doors were now impossible to open. They seed to have fused with the walls.
He took out the key he had privately nad the "Key of Doors," an item he'd found thanks to a clue from Magic Miss, capable of opening barriers and magical mazes. He pressed it against the door, but a powerful repulsive force instantly flung the key from his hand. It went spinning toward the counter, landing with a loud clatter.
It wasn't that the Key of Doors had failed; it had never even made contact with the door, so its power couldn't be activated. Jenkins walked over and picked up his key, his eyes scanning the surroundings with suspicion.
The ground floor of the antique shop was utterly silent, so quiet that Jenkins could almost hear the heartbeat of the cat pressed against his chest. He held the Key of Doors, with its cylindrical bit, alongside another delicate, silver key—the Silver Spoon—intending to try them together. But the mont they touched, both keys began to vibrate violently, showing signs of wanting to rge.
Reviews
All reviews (0)