Chapter ONE - Weebly

Ethan followed Troutbeck through an archway into
the vestry behind and to the left of the pulpit, and then
down a broad set of marble stairs.
The air grew colder and damper as they went down.
At the bottom of the stairs, they turned onto a broad
corridor lined on each side by stone walls. The
basement was poorly lit; a few candles burned in iron
sconces set in the corners, but there was no other
source of light, and after the brightness of the sanctuary
Ethan’s eyes were slow to adjust. He could tell, though,
that the walls of the corridor were marked regularly
with stone plaques, all carved with names and dates.
The crypts.
In the middle of the corridor stood a stone table. A
delicate figure lay upon it, her dark hair spilling over the
edge of the slab. She was covered to her neck with a
white cloth. A censer had been placed in a corner by
the stairway, and fragrant smoke rose from it, barely
masking the sickly smell of decay and the pungent scent
of the spermaceti candles.
Ethan started toward the corpse, walking slowly, his
boots clicking loudly on the stone floor. His vision was