Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 7
one else seemed to—especially Tennyson, since he was also a priest.
Crossing the room with no small amount of trepidation, Corin glanced at Tennyson. He was watching Corin as intently as he had everyone before Corin, but there was a bit of a smirk turning his lips that Corin didn't like. He bit his lip but started cleaning off the desk, shifting papers and books first. He left the apple for last, wiping down around it. He wanted to look at Rafferty, but there was no way Tennyson wouldn't see him do that.
He also couldn't not pick up the apple. That would be even more suspicious. Taking a deep breath, Corin reached out and wrapped his hand around the apple.
Nothing happened.
Corin almost dropped the apple in surprise, but managed to fumble into setting it down. He wiped the spot of desk under it and then looked up at Tennyson.
Tennyson wasn't looking at him anymore. He was glaring at Rafferty, who wasn't glowing any longer. Corin glanced between them and then glanced past them towards the girl who had cleaned the desk first. She shrugged, rolling her eyes before turning back to the bookcase she was working on. It was such a normal reaction that Corin almost laughed.
"Move everything to another desk and start again," Tennyson snapped, making Corin jump and drop his rag.
Corin nodded, not willing to argue with that tone of voice. Not that he would have argued in any case; it would have been suspicious to argue with a priest, even if he was asking Corin to do something stupid like clean a desk for the twentieth time that week.
Starting with the papers and books, Corin slowly moved everything from one desk to another, creating neat stacks and arranging everything just so, before finally turning back to the desk for the apple. Nothing had happened before, so nothing should happen again, right? Rafferty wasn't glowing anymore, though, and the queasy feeling Corin had felt before had come back.
He couldn't hesitate. If he hesitated, Tennyson would find it odd, and that could jeopardize Rafferty's plan. Corin didn't doubt that Tennyson would assume Rafferty had warned him, since he had to know Rafferty didn't approve of the sacrificing part of binding the demons.
Corin reached out and picked up the apple for the second time. He barely kept from gasping as a cold, unpleasant shock traveled up his arm. He fumbled the apple again, and it tumbled from his grasp. It rolled across the top of the desk to fall at Tennyson's feet. Corin's entire arm felt numb, and he shook it. His heart raced, and he looked up at Tennyson, unsurprised to see a look of smug satisfaction on Tennyson's face.
"Clean off the desk," Tennyson said, leaning down to pick up the apple. He didn't seem to suffer the same reaction Corin had, handling it as though it were nothing but a real apple. It was glowing faintly green again, and Corin really, really wanted to throw up and cut off his arm and be anywhere but standing in this room with Tennyson and who knew how many demons, all out for his blood.
Moving stiffly, Corin wiped down the surface of the desk, then stepped back, waiting for something more from Tennyson.
"Good enough," Tennyson said after a moment of inspection. Purely for show, Corin was sure of it. "You're all dismissed. Get back to your regular duties."
Corin hesitated before turning away from the desk and heading across the room to deposit his rag into the bucket where he'd gotten it. It tumbled from his nerveless fingers, falling in among the other rags, and Corin wanted to go find someplace to hide away, someplace bright and warm and quiet and alone. If he hadn't known about the apple, if it weren't for Rafferty, he seriously contemplate running away from the monastery, consequences be damned.
"Rafferty, a word," Tennyson said, his voice cutting through the chatter around Corin. He didn't sound happy, and Corin turned, unable not to. Rafferty was halfway to the door, and Tennyson was scowling at his back.
Corin hesitated, but there was nothing he could gain by staying, for either Rafferty or himself. Rafferty nodded sharply, turning back towards Tennyson. He caught Corin's eye as he turned, but he didn't pause, looking determined and not at all worried.
He could handle Tennyson, Corin decided, filing out of the room with the rest of the servants. Rafferty wasn't stupid; he had to know Tennyson wasn't happy, that whatever blocking he'd tried to do had been found out, that Tennyson knew Corin was the best one for a sacrifice.
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