Keepers of the Cave by Gerri Hill Read Free Book Online

sign that Paige could see, and there didn’t appear to be posted hours on the door.
    “Where the hell is everyone?” CJ asked.
    “Let’s check it out,” Paige said, already opening the door.
    The parking lot was gravel, with only cement stepping stones at the entryway of the store. The afternoon heat was hot, but not unbearably so. They stood side by side, both frowning at what they saw.
    “Who has blinds on grocery store windows?” CJ asked quietly.
    “There aren’t any signs. No advertisements. No sales. Isn’t that odd?”
    CJ smiled at her. “Let’s take a bet on how many times we say the words odd, strange or weird.”
    Paige leaned closer. “Is it just me or do you feel people watching us?”
    “It’s not just you, baby.”
    Out of the corner of her eye, Paige saw movement. She nudged CJ. “The blinds just moved, far window,” she whispered.
    “This place is creepy.”
    “Yes. Let’s add that to the list of words we’ll use to describe Hoganville.”
    CJ turned, looking around the empty parking lot. “No noise,” she said. “No dogs barking, no cars. Nothing.” Behind the store—beyond the woods that nearly blocked her view—she had a glimpse of the neat, white houses of the Hogan clan.
    Paige took her hand and tugged her back to the car. “I vote we drive to San Augustine for groceries. This whole thing is just...eerie.”
    CJ smiled at her. “And another word to add to the list.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Ester Hogan ran her fingers over the deep purple robe, still amazed at its softness after all these years. It had been her mother’s, handed down to her thirty-some odd years ago when she took over the flock. It was predestined, she knew, and she had been prepared, but oh, how she had loved it the day her sickly mother gave her the robe. It was with pride that she admitted she was probably the most prepared mother of them all, even more than her beloved grandmother. She closed her eyes, making a mental note to go visit her grandmother later.
    She slipped the robe on, leaving the hood off. For now. The elders would be gathering in the chambers soon, but she would have time to dress fully. The summer heat was already upon them and she allowed herself that little indulgence. The meeting would be longer than they all anticipated, she knew. Fiona, the good sheep that she was, had alerted her to the strangers. Two new women were due at the school. That was why she had ordered the lockdown. She hadn’t had time to place her inquiries. This new director was proving hard to break.
    She smiled slightly, her gaze going to her fingers—her nails—and she brushed them softly against the robe. Perhaps Director Avery needed some persuasion. And that too could be fun, she thought. It would give Belden something to do. After all, he had broken the guard, the one they called Richard, in record time.
    The ancient grandfather clock chimed the hour, and she dutifully lifted the hood over her head, making her way to the stairway that would take her underground to the tunnels. She used to be afraid of the tunnels when she was young, but now she could find her way blindfolded through the maze and on to the cave and the chambers beyond.
    They awaited her—the elders. Then she stopped, smiling broadly. She’d come to love all this ritualistic rhetoric that her great-grandmother had started. She knew the history behind it, of course, but most of the flock did not. To them, this was all they’d ever known.
    And all they would ever know.
     
    ***
     
    Paige glanced away from the squash she was slicing, still wondering how she’d gotten saddled with fixing their dinner. CJ was on the phone, mostly listening, nodding occasionally. It was Howley, she knew that much, but most of their conversation was one-sided. When CJ put her phone down, Paige waited expectantly.
    “Nothing new, really. They’re doing some background checks. Or trying to. The café and grocery store, as well as the gas station, are all legally