In The Shadows of the Cavern of Death (Shadows of Death Book 1) by Angelique Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

following me, waiting for me to make a move. Terrified, I hide my emotions deep, letting nothing show until it seemed like I was another person than the one that walked in our world just a short time ago. My sisters were afraid for me and of me, speaking in whispered tones whenever I was around. Their worried gazes followed my every move. Ignoring them because I knew that I couldn’t allay their fears, I continued with the plan.
    Sneaking into the fabric factory was more difficult than I thought. There had been guards stationed there during the night and I had been almost caught more times than I cared to count. Taking the fabric to Crowley was just as difficult. The morning I went to take the fabric to him, soldiers had lined the streets doing random house searches, checking for contraband, and they almost caught me with it. Only quick thinking and a convenient alley filled with debris saved me from being caught. Luckily, when I went back later that night, the fabric I had stashed in the alley was still there waiting for me. Sneaking it in through Tristian’s window, I was afraid to be seen entering their home. Watching the doors and windows, I sat in the living room to find out if they had any new information. “Have your agents found out if the cavern is guarded on the other side?” I asked lowly, not wanting my voice to carry.
    Shaking his head, Crowley handed me a glass of water and sat down next to Tristian “No, they’ve been to the Loyalist cavern, but the house that they were taken to isn’t deep into the cavern, but very near the border,” he said, but the distracted look on his face told me that there was more. I didn’t have long to wait before he continued. “There is something strange. We don’t keep written reports because we are afraid of discovery, but I’ve been thinking a lot lately of the reports and have been speaking with the agents. Something that we have never connected before is now blatantly clear. They are never taken far into the Loyalist cavern, only near the edge and from what I’ve been able to put together, they are always taken to the same street.”
    “Maybe those houses are used as their meeting houses for when outsiders are brought in to control what they see and where they go,” I concluded, thinking that made perfect sense.
    “I was thinking the same thing, but as I spoke to the agents, they said that there were personal images of the party’s hosts and their family around the houses. No, they are definitely personal residences,” he said, taking a sip from his glass. “The other thing they noticed, now that I pointed it out, is that it isn’t alive there.” Seeing mine and Tristian’s confusion, he said, “Here there is always noise, a sense of life if you will, but there they say beyond the sounds that come from that house, they rarely hear anything, not a child’s cry, the sound of a footstep, nothing,” Crowley finished, clearly disturbed.
    Unfortunately, it disturbed me that the whole plan was to blend into the community, a community that should be alive and thriving without a care in the world. If the streets were empty, we would be spotted. How could a community as large as that one is supposed to be, be empty? It made absolutely no sense.
    “They have to be mistaken or there is some sort of sound buffer,” Tristian said, voicing my thoughts.
    “I know none of it makes sense, Tristian, and that’s the problem––even with a sound buffer, there would be some residual noise in a cavern that size,” Crowley responded, before changing the subject. “The clothing will be ready in two days. On the third day, I want you all gone from here. There is something not right going on around here––the soldiers were acting strangely, they’re targeting Elders’ homes. I think I was right about our new lottery winners and the government has become suspicious as to why we haven’t brought them into the fold yet.  Gillon was pushing for a meeting of the Elders