“There might be puss, you’ll want to get rid of as much of that as possible. Once that is done, you must apply a warm compress three times a day. Or, in your circumstance, as often as you can.If you’re not allowed something like that, simply put rice in a wool sock, heat it up for two minutes, and use that.
“You should apply one of three things. Petroleum Jelly, aloe vera, or lavender oil directly onto the wound. I’m assuming you don’t have any antibiotic ointment, so those will have to do. Bandage it up, replace it once a day. I can’t have you dying before I get what I want from you. Understood?”
I lifted and dropped my finger.“Yes, I do.”That should surely help me. Azrael was smart, clear and intentional with his words. He was trying to help for his own gain, something I wasn’t unfamiliar with, but that was okay. I could help him.
“Very good, let go of the cane.”
I released it, lowering my hands to my sides.
He put the cane under my chin again and lifted it until my closed eyes were level with his. “Tick tock goes the clock, and all the souls will drown,” he hummed.
I could hear the raging sea in his words and my skin flooded with warmth because of it.
“In the blood they will be bathed, and the devil will be crowned.”
My heart thudded at his words, my lips threatening to part as the need to exhale came through me at full force.
“Until then, you do what I say and perhaps your head won’t be among theirs. Understood?”
I tapped my finger against my thigh.
“Good.” He released my chin, and I quickly dipped my head, opening my eyes for the first time just to see his shoes. His black leather shoes, handcrafted, everything in its place.
His shoes were pointed at me, his cane on his right side, beautiful and shining.
“Until next time, little sinner. We’ll find your power yet.”
19
Scarlett
January 15th, 2023
Idid exactly what he told me to do, and it hurt, but not more than choking did.
Despite the pain, it felt good too. I remembered every single word he had said. I followed his instructions without deviating, without hesitation. Because I knew there was no reason to doubt him. It was medical instructions. All the outcome brought was better healing for me, which was strange, I suppose, because nobody ever looked out for me.
Maybe I should have been more apprehensive, but why wouldn’t I believe someone with eyes as warm as his? With words so clear and concise? There was no need for my muscles to tense or my stomach to twist or my mind to question and whisper and wonder.
And it felt…I didn’t know how to describe the feeling. It gave me the same feeling I had felt when he had called me by my name. The same feeling I felt every time he looked at me. A feeling that told me that maybe I had finally done something right. That I deserved to be able to heal myself the right way.
When I was finally lying in bed at bedtime—7:30—I held my homemade rice pack against my chest and closed my eyes, allowing myself to imagine that the burning sensation was Azrael.
I never liked to imagine things just in case somehow, Thomas or one of the Leaders were suddenly able to read my mind, but tonight, I couldn’t help myself.
My mind lingered on the way he had told me of the blood that would drown the souls. It sounded like a prophecy straight from the bible. Revelation 16:4-6, to be exact.
“The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: ‘You are just in these judgements, O Holy One, you who are and who were; for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
The Seven Bowls of Gods Wrath.
What was he trying to say? Was he going to punish all those who deserved it? Was he going to kill everyone in that church?
I shivered again, the warmth spreading across my body, a strange flutter starting between my thighs. I allowed my mind to imagine him, the cracks in the stone around my heart growing wider.
The shadowed man with the smile that split his face in two, that cane gripped in his hand, blood flowing around him as if he were standing in an ocean of it, commanding it. It soaked his pants, his shoes. It flowed across the lands in waves.
I released a breath, my heart racing as an ache started between my thighs. It suddenly felt like I had a heartbeat down there. I had the overwhelming urge to touch it. Touch that heartbeat. Ease the ache.
