Chapter 2
The Hawke sisters had been travelingmost of the night. Sage had given Willow the book back, and her fingers itched to hold it again. To look at it. To turn each parchment page over carefully. What did the words inside reveal? What knowledge could she learn from having it read to her?
She led the way on horseback down the road toward the chateau, excitement churning inside of her.
“We should rest,” Raven called.
Reluctantly, Sage agreed. Her bottom was numb from riding for so long. She guided them to the side of the road, where a hill spread upwards to their right and flat land to their left. No place for robbers to hide. She wasn’t afraid of robbers or brigands; like her sisters, she was skilled at sword fighting. She just didn’t want to be delayed getting to the chateau.
They dismounted. Sage ran her hand over her steed’s bottom, and Achilles nickered and tossed his brown head. He was likely as tired as she was but not nearly as eager. She moved to his head and checked the bridle and reins.
Willow arched her stiff back before heading for the side of the road.
Raven bent over, stretching out her tired muscles.
When Sage was done inspecting Achilles, she heard the rustling of pages and glanced at Willow. Her sister sat cross-legged on the ground, holding the book and flipping through the pages. Sage approached her. She sat beside her and bumped her shoulder into Willow’s to get her attention. “Trying to read it?” she teased.
“I think I’ll leave that to Brother Nicolas. Or you. You’ve always wanted to read.”
Sage sighed. “I wish someone would teach me.”
Willow nodded and continued to turn the thick pages.
“Does it have pictures?” Raven asked, joining them. She stood over them, gazing down at the book.
“No,” Sage answered. “That’s why we’re taking it to Brother Nicolas. He can read it.”
“What do you expect to find?”
Sage shrugged. Just having a book was a treasure to her. A mystery. A puzzle. She was hoping that if Brother Nicolas read it, she could learn some of the words in it.
“The secret to the universe?” Raven mocked. “The fountain of youth?”
Sage rose quickly, annoyed. “You know it’s not always about gold and riches. What if it tells you a secret fighting method? A forgotten way to fight and win.”
“What would I do with that? I already know how to fight.”
“You can always be better,” Sage snapped and stalked away from her to her horse. Raven never understood her hunger for knowledge. She and her father weren’t like her. They didn’t have a mind like hers. She saw things differently than they did. She wanted to know why, and they were content never to wonder.
They arrived at the chateau by mid-morning and were escorted to Brother Nicolas in the keep’s catacombs. He was an old man, with hardly any hair on his head and weathered, wrinkled skin. His back was hunched beneath the brown monk’s robe he wore.
As they entered his chambers, he rose slowly and crossed the room to greet each of them with hearty embraces as if they were longtime friends.
In truth, Sage barely remembered him. She felt uneasy as she stood in his hug. He clung to her as he finished, using her shoulder as a brace to return to his chair behind a wooden desk. He sat down with a heavy sigh.
His blue eyes were wise, and intelligence radiated from them. The corners of his lips had deep laughter lines. His skin sagged around his chin, and strands of long white hair popped up from an otherwise smooth head. “It’s so good to see you girls, although I would never have recognized you.”
Sage glanced uncomfortably at Willow. Sage wasn’t good at talking to people. Willow was the friendliest out of the three of them.
Willow smiled warmly at Brother Nicolas.
“You were this big,” he held out a hand three feet from the floor, “when I last saw you three. And you were a rambunctious lot!” He chuckled.
“How long ago was that?” Willow asked.
He pursed his lips in thought. “Neigh on twelve summers.”
“Twelve?” Willow gasped.
