I frown and look between him and Cornelius, who’s nodding his agreement. “You’ll see.”
Zion turns, opens the door, and walks through, leaving me no choice but to follow.
FOURTEEN
WHAT IN THE HOLY MATRIX
Vivian
It appears as if we’ve officially entered the depths of Hell.
I don’t know if I’d necessarily describe it as fire and brimstone, but the severe contrast between the previous room we were in and this one is shocking.
Walking forward, it’s as if the air drags over me, a truly disconcerting feeling that has me turning and looking behind me in search of an explanation.
Finding none, I turn back to see Zion and Cornelius waiting for me rather impatiently. Zion looks annoyed, but Cornelius seems rather thoughtful as if he knows something he’s not gonna share. I narrow my eyes at him and ask, “What is it?”
“What do you mean?” he asks dismissively with a lift of his shoulder.
Pressing my lips together, I glance between them and can see that even if there’s something to be shared here, they’re not going to be bothered at this point. Then again, in the past, these types of situations meant the less I know, the better.
Without further conversation, the two men turn away from me and walk further into the dark room. So far, it’s rathernarrow, the jagged stone walls appearing damp and cold. But then, that jagged stone shifts into a smooth surface, and I slow my steps, watching my reflection in what must be a glass plate.
I stop walking, my hand reaches out, my fingers stretching toward the glass, and a sharp sting hits the back of my hand as Zion slaps it out of the air. And then he’s right in front of me, stooped over to stare me right in the face. “Don’t touch.”
I flinch back slightly. My hands come up between us, pressing both palms against his chest as I ask, “Why not?”
He shakes his head but says nothing else before turning and continuing in the direction he was walking. I fall into step beside Cornelius. His elbow in my side draws my attention to him, and he leans in and whispers, “You have to stay focused on the reason you’re here.”
I continue walking at a slow pace as I lean into him. “And why is that again?”
He makes a frustrated sound and shakes his head. “You need to answer for your sins and get the hell out of here in one piece.”
“You make that sound like a challenge.”
Now, he snorts and gives me an incredulous look. “Yeah, you’d think so.”
I don’t know why, but I grin. He grins back, but our grins are soon cut short as Zion stops abruptly in front of us. Once again, he’s giving us a rather disgruntled look. He looks between us with a heavy sigh, shakes his head, and motions to follow him as he pushes open a ridiculously large door.
The door creaks open ominously, and I find myself hesitating as I move to walk through it. Cornelius gives me a little shove, and I more fall through the doorway than step through it.
The room we enter is only slightly wider than the one we just left. The walls are still that jagged stone, glistening rather damply, with intermittent smooth glass placed along two walls, facing each other. The room is long and narrow, with a matchinglong and narrow table smack dab in the middle. There’s one man seated at the end, and then a line of men along each side, and I glance at them briefly as we slowly walk by, trepidation moving down my spine as one face blends into another.
I turn to Cornelius and open my mouth to speak, but he shushes me, and I immediately snap my mouth shut because every last one of these guys looks the same.
This can’t be good.
A vibration in the air draws my attention forward to where Zion has stopped ahead of me. His hand is extended back to me, and when I reach for him, that familiar zing of electricity zaps between us before I can grab it. Cornelius curses behind me, and I glance at him to find he’s staring where our hands are almost touching.
Zion snags my hand and yanks so I fall forward, then abruptly drops my hand and uses his new grip on the back of my neck to keep me from falling into him.
I give him a dirty look, ready to give him hell, but the slight shake of his head and pointed look once again has me snapping my mouth shut. He half-leads, half-drags me the rest of the way into the room until we’re standing at the far end of the table. This man looks similar to the rest, though maybe a bit older, with a slightly amused expression on his face as he says to Zion, “Is this the bitch everyone’s complaining about?”
Zion nods. “Yeah, she’s a real pain in the ass.”
Zion pushes me away from him, and I fall back into Cornelius, who holds me steadily as I halfheartedly struggle.
“Everyone said I should feed her to the dogs,” the man replies. He briefly eyes me up and down, then turns to Zion and continues, “But I probably have much better uses for her. Certainly, more lucrative ones.”
