Auden shrugged, but I knew he had an answer, he was just too hesitant to say it.
I sighed and leaned forward, desperate to catch his gaze as I said, “I will always need you, okay? I know I’ve been busy with work and my studies, but I will never not need you. We’re in this together, always.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
With a satisfied smile, Auden selected a movie while I reached for the popcorn. It broke my heart to know that Auden thought I didn’t need him. I needed him more than he realised. He was the light anchoring me to my humanity, the salvation to my sin. Without him, I had no idea who I would be.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The House on North Lane was on fire.
Smoke crawled through every crack, smothering the rodents that lived in the walls, their cries of agony drowned out by the boy on his knees, trapped within a circle of flames. He gasped for air, choking, tears rolling down his cheeks as he kneeled over his brother, shielding him from the heat.
Flames engulfed the walls, the ceiling, devouring everything it touched.
A woman stood outside the circle, a crucifix in her trembling hands as she watched her children succumb to the flames. Tears dried her pale cheeks, one foot inching forward as though she’d walk through the fire to save her boys or die trying. But a man appeared at her side, strange words tumbling from his lips with a veracity empowered by his Holy book. He kept her in place without having to lift a finger, his power stronger than her desire to protect her children.
The older boy looked up at the man, defiance in his eyes. Too weak to stand, his breathing strained, he collapsed, arms still secured around his brother.
“Is it done?” the woman asked the man.
“I cannot be certain,” the man replied, “the Devil is too strong.”
“They’re dying!”
“And so too is the Devil!”
Timber snapped, the roof threatening to cave in.
The boy’s chest no longer rose and fell, his curls white with ash, smoke blackening his pale cheeks.
The woman broke free of her spell, throwing herself into the Devil’s cage, crouching down to gather her son in her arms. She shook him, called his name, sobbed over his lifeless corpse.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she said, the world collapsing around them. “I’m sorry. Wake up, just wake up. I’m sorry.”
She pulled him to her chest, rocking their bodies back and forth as a beam collapsed behind them, a loud snap that pulled the boy from Death’s slumber.
His eyelids fluttered open, but it was the Devil who looked through his eyes, who used his body to crawl his way out of the flames.
When he looked in the mirror, I looked back.
***
Browning Bookswas quiet, as it usually was on a Thursday morning. Edith was in the back room putting new stock into the system while I stood at the counter, re-pricing books that were going into our small ‘sale’ section.
A bell chimed as the door swung open, and an old lady with a walking frame and a service dog stepped inside. The dog was quite large—a white labrador wearing a blue vest—yet it did well not to knock into any shelves.
“Good morning, dear,” the lady greeted me, a smile on her thin lips as she approached the counter. She had short white haircombed neatly in gentle waves, a lavender cardigan draped over a plain white top and a long grey skirt. The dog followed beside her, attention focused on her small steps.
I lowered my pricing gun and returned the smile with a polite ‘good morning’ that sounded a little rough with disuse.
“Oh, darling, I’m looking for a book my grandson recently donated and I am hoping it hasn’t been sold yet,” the woman said, pulling out a receipt to place on the counter. “He gave you a rare special edition of Pride and Prejudice that has an inscription inside of it. It was a gift from my late husband, and I wasn’t meant to part with it. Is there any way I can re-purchase it?”
I glanced down at the receipt briefly before nodding my head. “Of course. Just give me one second. I think it may still be out the back.”
She thanked me profusely as I made my way to the back room and asked Edith about the recent acquisition. Since it was a donation, Edith told me to return the book free of charge. I did so, earning myself more praise.
