Chapter 1: April 4

It was not long until he came to the site at the base of the hill where the assembly was gathering. The group congregated around a villa located between the eastern side of the mountain and the river. Its structure was no different from the others around it, yet all the people upon arriving got down on their knees in homage. They filled the street and most of the hillside in front of the abode’s entrance creating a half-circle of lights with the humble home in the center. The river flowed serenely behind the modest chalet. Everything about the scene evoked a touching tranquility.

The outsider wove through the clusters of people in the street and pressed his way into the courtyard. Then, instead of entering by the doorway packed with people, he made his way to one of the walls, pressed against it, and stepped through it as effortlessly as the one in the alley.

He found himself in a large room filled with people. Inside the tidy, clean room, the walls were a glistening white, and the only furniture was a simply constructed bed with a feather mattress and two plain, low-backed chairs. Any other objects the room originally might have contained were removed to make space for more people. The three small windows on the outside wall had translucent cloth screens rolled to the top and tied open with cords instead of hanging closed as they usually would at night. Everyone in the room kneeled except for two older men sitting in the chairs and a third older man reclining on the bed. The resting man had his back propped up on four white feather pillows stacked between him and the wall. Even in his weakness and ill-health there was a certain aura of strength flowing through him.

The entire first chapter of The Corruption – Book 1 in The Age of the Watchers – will be published on this blog throughout the month of April!