Chapter Nine: Chance MeetingThe church was deserted and, as before, the coldness struck him like a fist. Usually welcome due to the oppressive heat, the events of the morning changed his view of everything. Luis eased open the door as the first spattering of rain began to fall. In a land sucked dry of moisture, this too would have been welcomed, but not today. He peered into the interior and, for the second time that day, sensed something was wrong.
He took a deep breath, knowing he had to continue. His mind filled with apocalyptic images, of devils and demons prodding and stabbing with forks and firebrands. Señora Gomez dead, her body defiled, and now here, the terrible promise of something similar. He cursed his trepidation, fuelled by dread. Could Brialles also be dead? He stopped, wai
