Read Online Death of the Body (Crossing Death) by Rick Chiantaretto - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Rick Chiantaretto
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of them.
I stopped to estimate my position in the building. A hallway intersected with my current corridor, but this hallway was too slender to be the main one I had walked through with my father. The second was wide enough, but angled sharply after a few hundred feet; it didn’t extend all the way through the building to the northern lobby.
It wasn’t until the fifth intersection that I stopped, letting out a quiet sigh. This hallway had chandeliers that were larger than the rest. Their crystal facets cast brilliant rainbows. The largest of these chandeliers was down the hall, all the way on the other side of the building, where it was centered in the main lobby. People darted back and forth from room to room underneath it. From this distance, they looked as tall as my hand, but their voices echoed down the hall loudly. Most of the conversations sounded stressed.
I didn’t pause long. I continued east down the hallway, glad that my memory made the pathway familiar. My father’s office was now one… two… three mirrors down.
Again I found my reflection staring back at me. My face twisted in concentration. This mirror not only marked the entrance to my father’s office, but also because of the secrecy required by his position and work, it was the entrance. Self-doubt caused me to grimace. When father brought me here, he shattered the mirror to reveal a winding staircase behind it. He had the power to make the broken molecules lining the splintered shards piece themselves back together with seamless perfection. Even to the trained eye, the mirror appeared whole again.
My powers were not great at piecing together what was broken. That gift belonged solely to my father.
I saw the eyes in my reflection flicker with panic. I had come all this way without considering how I would get into my father’s office.
I don’t think you are SUPPOSED to be here! a sinister voice whispered so close to my ear that I jerked to get away from it and ended up off-balance , landing sideways onto the floor. I scrambled to regain my footing, but settled instead with my back against the opposite wall in a seated position. I wasn’t sure how my feet managed to push me so quickly to the other side of the hall. I glanced around nervously for the source of the voice, but the hallway was empty.
My heart was beating so fervently in my chest that I felt the pulse shake my entire body.
You must get out before they find you!
This time the voice was to my left. In my huddled position, all I could do was snap my head toward it and push in the opposite direction with my feet. My backward slide turned into a quick-paced crab-walk until my back hit something hard enough to stop me. Again, the hall was empty.
My ragged breathing grew steady and quick as I realized that, in fact, the hall was not empty. I twitched a little as the voice returned, this time above me.
Get up! You must escape!
I looked, this time with more clarity, and saw the geometric lines of a beautiful tree. My back pressed deeply against the curvature of one of the pots.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I stood and approached the tree nearest to the mirror, the first tree that had spoken.
Is my father in there? I asked, ignoring the whispered warnings going on all around me.
In where? the tree responded, obviously playing dumb.
How about in the secret room behind the mirror! My voice bordered on hysteria.
There is no room.
Trees are notoriously bad liars . If my father is down there, he is waiting for me. He would break the glass to get through the mirror, but my ability to repair the glass is… well… I couldn’t.
If your father is down there, couldn’t he repair the glass?
So now you are admitting there is a secret room?
No answer.
I continued, Is there another way into the room somewhere? One that wouldn’t require me to break anything?
I can only say this: your father may have broken the glass, but the patriarch would not.
Then how did he get
I stopped to estimate my position in the building. A hallway intersected with my current corridor, but this hallway was too slender to be the main one I had walked through with my father. The second was wide enough, but angled sharply after a few hundred feet; it didn’t extend all the way through the building to the northern lobby.
It wasn’t until the fifth intersection that I stopped, letting out a quiet sigh. This hallway had chandeliers that were larger than the rest. Their crystal facets cast brilliant rainbows. The largest of these chandeliers was down the hall, all the way on the other side of the building, where it was centered in the main lobby. People darted back and forth from room to room underneath it. From this distance, they looked as tall as my hand, but their voices echoed down the hall loudly. Most of the conversations sounded stressed.
I didn’t pause long. I continued east down the hallway, glad that my memory made the pathway familiar. My father’s office was now one… two… three mirrors down.
Again I found my reflection staring back at me. My face twisted in concentration. This mirror not only marked the entrance to my father’s office, but also because of the secrecy required by his position and work, it was the entrance. Self-doubt caused me to grimace. When father brought me here, he shattered the mirror to reveal a winding staircase behind it. He had the power to make the broken molecules lining the splintered shards piece themselves back together with seamless perfection. Even to the trained eye, the mirror appeared whole again.
My powers were not great at piecing together what was broken. That gift belonged solely to my father.
I saw the eyes in my reflection flicker with panic. I had come all this way without considering how I would get into my father’s office.
I don’t think you are SUPPOSED to be here! a sinister voice whispered so close to my ear that I jerked to get away from it and ended up off-balance , landing sideways onto the floor. I scrambled to regain my footing, but settled instead with my back against the opposite wall in a seated position. I wasn’t sure how my feet managed to push me so quickly to the other side of the hall. I glanced around nervously for the source of the voice, but the hallway was empty.
My heart was beating so fervently in my chest that I felt the pulse shake my entire body.
You must get out before they find you!
This time the voice was to my left. In my huddled position, all I could do was snap my head toward it and push in the opposite direction with my feet. My backward slide turned into a quick-paced crab-walk until my back hit something hard enough to stop me. Again, the hall was empty.
My ragged breathing grew steady and quick as I realized that, in fact, the hall was not empty. I twitched a little as the voice returned, this time above me.
Get up! You must escape!
I looked, this time with more clarity, and saw the geometric lines of a beautiful tree. My back pressed deeply against the curvature of one of the pots.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I stood and approached the tree nearest to the mirror, the first tree that had spoken.
Is my father in there? I asked, ignoring the whispered warnings going on all around me.
In where? the tree responded, obviously playing dumb.
How about in the secret room behind the mirror! My voice bordered on hysteria.
There is no room.
Trees are notoriously bad liars . If my father is down there, he is waiting for me. He would break the glass to get through the mirror, but my ability to repair the glass is… well… I couldn’t.
If your father is down there, couldn’t he repair the glass?
So now you are admitting there is a secret room?
No answer.
I continued, Is there another way into the room somewhere? One that wouldn’t require me to break anything?
I can only say this: your father may have broken the glass, but the patriarch would not.
Then how did he get
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