Covenant Read Online Free Page B

both.”
    Who? What did she mean by “who”?
    Angela sighed. “Well—come on. Out with it.”
    Sophia hesitated but finally walked across the room and grasped something dark sitting on Angela’s dresser. “I was the first to find you and Janna, so I thought it wise to take any incriminating evidence the priests didn’t need to see. I found these near both of you, where you’d been set down on the ground.”
    She returned to the bed and dropped two lengthy black feathers in Angela’s lap.
    They were more fitting for an eagle, not a crow, but Angela knew they didn’t belong to any normal bird. She picked them up, holding them to the candlelight, her hands shaking. Surprisingly, the feathers took on a slightly bluish sheen in the glow of the room.
    Like a blackbird’s feathers . . .
    Outside, the wind howled through the turrets.
    The hair stood on the back of Angela’s neck, and she realized she was holding her breath. In her mind, she pictured a black-winged devil that was also the perfect predator, watching her stealthily from the depths of the night.
    â€œTroy?” she whispered, directing the question at Sophia. “Do you think these belong to Troy? But why would she come back now?”
    Angela tried to suppress her shivers, but the horrid sensation stayed with her like it had in the classroom. Suddenly, it felt like foolishness to talk any louder.
    Sophia said nothing, letting Angela inspect the feathers while she tidied the dorm. At last, she returned and said very gently, “It’s impossible for two people to survive that kind of fall, Angela. Someone helped you. I doubt he or she was human. That’s all that I truly know for sure.”
    Angela struggled to breathe normally and think sensibly. She didn’t want to admit it, but the idea that Troy was still out there, bound to Angela and eager to find her again, struck her with real fear. If Troy searched for Angela, she would find her eventually without a doubt. And then—well, Angela often tried not to think about that.
    Angela coughed in her other hand and then set the feathers back down. “How did you manage to keep me here at the Emerald House instead of in the sick ward? You know how strict the superintendents are about—”
    â€œThey don’t need to see anything . . . important.” Sophia averted her gaze. A distinct sadness weighed down her voice. “I know why you went after Janna, Angela. Next time—it would be better if you didn’t keep things from me. Now, whenever you’re ready, you should come downstairs and I’ll call the Order and let them know. They’ve been clamoring to talk to you for days.”
    â€œFor days . . . I’ve been asleep that long?” Angela buried her face in her hands, groaning at the thought of dealing with the Order again. They were going to use Janna’s case to further their cause, and hopefully with Angela’s support. She knew it.
    â€œYes,” Sophia reiterated, “for days. You don’t know what it’s been like to deal with their scrutiny—not to mention the priests. When you come down, I’ll have a sandwich ready for you. All your uniforms are in the closet. Where you never leave them.”
    Sophia stepped out of the room and shut the door. The sound reverberated through Angela like thunder.
    She flashed back to her strange dream and nearly shouted Sophia’s name.
    Just as quickly, she slumped back in the bed with her arm over her eyes, letting out some shaky breaths. Sweat beaded her forehead. The wind sighed again, and Angela lifted her arm to peer out the window. The snow continued unceasingly, almost forebodingly, but the gargoyle statue near the gables glittered within the flurries, strange and beautiful in the Advent candlelight. Ice coated its arms and wings, hanging from their stone tips like glittering daggers.
    The stone devil wasn’t