Read Online Archon by Sabrina Benulis - Free Book Online Page A

older peers, reciting the prayers with a tormented expression, and he glanced at Angela every once in a while, his amber eyes dull like the sunlight.
    She did little to acknowledge him, merely nodding and slumping deeper into the pew.
    Brendan, oddly enough, was nowhere to be found. For a person who adhered to rules like a fly to honey, he was behaving more than out of character.
    He probably did what you can’t and finally ended it all. Are these ceremonies supposed to be this boring?
    She leaned over toward Sophia. “Please tell me this is almost over.”
    “Five more minutes,” Sophia said. She was also watching Kim, maybe because he was watching Angela. She certainly didn’t have a lovesick glitter in her eye like some of the other students. “You should consider yourself lucky,” she said with a teasing smile. “The Masses tend to last two hours.”
    “They have Masses here?”
    “Oh no. Not here. Unless there is a special feast day to celebrate, this building isn’t used as an actual church anymore. It’s more like an auditorium or gathering hall. When it isn’t a holiday, daily Mass takes place in one of the chapels spread across the campus. There are about twenty of them. Those nearest to the Bell Tower are the most popular.”
    “You’re talking about normal Masses, right?”
    Sophia stared straight ahead as she spoke, her hands clasped delicately on her lap. “What would give you an impression otherwise?”
    “The rumors I’ve heard. The newspaper articles. The Bell Tower is in the Eastern District of the Academy, isn’t it? Where they’re finding the dead bodies? All this craziness about monsters, killers, and occult conspiracies—it really gives more weight to what people on the Continent say about this place. That it’s cursed. That all this ‘holier than thou’ stuff is an act.” Angela nodded at the altar, at the novices lined two by two in their orderly rows, like clones covered head to toe in black. At least Kim’s chunk of crimson hair added some color. “What are they saying right now, anyway?”
    “It’s a prayer meant to call down the blessing of God on the new students. And also, a petition for protection from the Ruin. Some believe, though, that their prayers are only making everything worse.” Sophia’s whisper was barely audible. “. . . they’re asking that the Ruin perish in the eternal flames reserved for the wicked in Hell . . .”
    “I always found it funny that they assume Hell is on fire.”
    “Only parts,” Sophia said, even less audibly.
    Then she remained silent for the duration of the ceremony, barely moving until the novices chanted in unison, giving the final blessing for everyone to leave. After the students stood, stretching and chatting, the novices filed away off the altar, entering a side room to the right, Kim lingering behind to glance back first at a window and then at Angela before following them into the shadows. Angela would either have to wait to speak with him, hoping that he might approach her in front of too many curious students, or she would have to confront him one-on-one in some dark little corner before he left the church. Neither option was ideal. But if she wanted to find Brendan—or pry into Stephanie’s secrets—she didn’t have much of a choice. The opportunity was slipping away fast.
    “Angela,” Sophia said, tapping her on the shoulder, “I’m going to go back to the dormitory.”
    “You don’t have any classes today?”
    “I never have any classes.”
    Angela stared back at her. “What—”
    “The punishment,” Sophia said, as if that could explain everything. She glared at someone standing behind Angela, a little to her left.
    Kim stepped out into the open, his hair streaked through with more color in the warm light of the window. His voice was smooth, the essence of a gentleman. “Have we met?” he was saying to Sophia. “I don’t remember saying anything to deserve that kind of look.”
    Sophia glared