Everyone walks through but Knots and I. I’m about to follow when he holds out his hand, barring the door from opening further. “We need to talk,” he tells me, his warning clear, but I roll my eyes anyway before looking at him.
“That’s great and all. If you want to stay barred to Hell, be my guest and stay out here. But I’m not going to stay with you out here and jeopardize my life for simply a talk,” I snap, yanking the door back and ducking under his arm.
I can hear his growl as he follows me into the church, and all I can think is,here it comes.
CHAPTER 16
With a Clear Head
Knots
Red encroaches my sight as Rez ducks below my arm and slips inside the church. Try as I might, a growl escapes me as I follow her inside. She’s begging for me to bend her over my knee and spank the brat out of her, especially after that last trick with Baron.
No more than two steps into our sanctuary, and suddenly, my head spins, causing me to steady myself against the door frame.
Well, that’s different.
Lynx’s parents had mentioned that their house, along with the safe houses, would alleviate the effects of Hell on my body. And so far, that has held true. But this one is different, more powerful. Maybe it’s the fact it’s a church and the first time I’ve been in one since…well…I was pushed out of heaven.
Blinking my eyes to clear my vision, I find Rez standing before me. Her hands are on her cocked hips, and I can practically feel her annoyance rolling off of her. “So, what did you want to talk about?” she says with a sarcastic tone.
There’s a part of me that wants to push her up against the wall and prove I can shut her smart mouth with my own, but I’m sure that’s the effect of the lust we just walked through. Instead, I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek until I taste blood and nod to the pews inside the sanctuary.
She lets out a sigh but follows me as I walk in and lean against one of the aisles, feeling the need to lean against a support. Rez hops up on the closest pew and stretches out so her feet reach the one before her. I arch an eyebrow in her direction, and she mimics the movement. Annoyed, I gently push her feet off the back of the pew. “It’s disrespectful,” I tell her as I fully turn to face her.
She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “You think I care after the way they treated you,” she says but doesn’t put them back up. “Then again,” she takes a moment to look me over from head to toe. “Maybe they knew something about you that I don’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I counter, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Never knew I had to be the one to spell it out for you, but you’re not yourself, Knots. You’ve changed. It’s?—”
“Is that why you felt like you had to trick me to help Zeke get out of there?” I can’t help but lean into her space and cut her off. It’s getting under my skin that she didn’t feel like she could ask me to do my fucking job.
“As a matter of fact, yes. If you’d stop being an asshole and listen, I’ll tell you. It’s as if this place”—she waves her hands wildly in the air before flinching slightly, successfully making me step back—“has changed you.”Did she get hurt, and I missed it?I quickly scan her body, but she stands up and steps up against my chest, blocking my view of her. “Is this a side effect of you being down here?” she asks, cocking her head and staring at me.
I clench my jaw and step away from her, my ears starting to ring. “Look, I’m sorry that you felt you needed to trick me to helpget Zeke to safety. Next time, just ask me. I’m still me…I haven’t changed. I just asked you to allow me to be me, that’s all,” I say, walking past her and back toward the front of the church.
“Where are you going?” she calls out.
She’s obviously okay if she’s still this feisty and up for a fight. I don’t want to get into it with her again, and talking right now while I’m still seething is only going to make things worse.
“To the belfry. Let me know how much time we have to rest when you find out…please,” I tell her as I point at my head, indicating our link. I walk out of the sanctuary and spot a small wooden door to the right.That has to be the entrance to the stairs.
I take the stairs in a huff but find myself slowing and sitting down on a step to grab a drink. Pulling out a water bottle from…what did Rez call it? A S.I.N. box? Taking a few swallows, I let my mind contemplate what Rez last said.
Am I having side effects being down here? Well, besides the physical effects I was experiencing in L.A.M.B.’s presence?
Finishing off my water, I continue up the stairs, needing a private room to just be myself and away from everyone. I trip as that thought hits me.Why? Why do I feel like I need to be alone?I’ve never felt like I needed to before.
As I slowly reach the top, I feel as if I’m at war with myself as I struggle to remember who I was versus who I am now. Have I always been this way, and it’s just now coming out since my memories have been released, or is Hell fucking with me?
What’s real?
As I walk into the dark gray room, I am drawn to the intricate bell system in the center. The two smaller silver bells are decorated with golden vines etched at the base, whereas the bigger one in the middle is a deep burgundy with etched vines and thorns wrapping around a broken heart in gold and black.
That’s an odd choice of decoration on bells.
A flash of light catches my attention, pulling my focus to the open archways, allowing me to see the prior level of Lust and our next, Rage. The next level looks uninhabitable from here. Red coats the dirt, making the land look as if blood is covering the ground, and lightning often streaks across the darkened sky, causing causal shrieks to ring out across the land. Growls rise, answering the thunderclaps from Rage’s level, proving that whatever we will find there isn’t easily scared.
