Page 117 - DivineSparkRisingFinal

Nicholas Boothman
Chapter 16: Sintra
The safe-house in Sintra was swallowed in fog.
Pines bent under the weight of mist, their needles
dripping like clock ticks into the silence.
Somewhere in the hills a bell tolled once, the sound
warped and lonely. Henry stood at the window,
staring out as if he could hold the storm back with
his hands.
Carolina sat at the table, the spiral of the God
Word mapped across the wall before her, its arcs
traced in careful strokes of ink. Jinji paced, restless,
her phone in her palm like a live wire.
“We’ve reconstructed ten fragments,” Carolina
said. Her voice was steady, but her shoulders told
another story. “The architecture holds.”
Jinji lifted the carved Verdade token, turning it
over in her hand. “And the last two? ‘Initiation of
Self’ and ‘Silent Directive’? They don’t appear in
any Chorus data.”
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