‘Is that Rez?’I ask Dusky, and his only answer is an image of him purring.
I open my eyes and turn to Zeke.
“I need you to guide me, like when we were kids, playing the trust game.” My eyes plead, saying all I need to say on the matter. His brow creases in confusion, but he nods, stepping behind me as I turn toward the sound of the faint heartbeat, and I close my eyes once again.
“You got it. I’ll make sure your beautiful face doesn’t smack into any walls,” he mocks, as he puts his hands on my shoulders. “Hopefully the payout is good.”
“The best if this is Rez I’m hearing,” I whisper, and there’s a slight squeeze of his fingers on my shoulders, but no comment. I wonder if he’s even breathing, hoping not to interfere with me finding Rez. “You can breathe, I promise.”
He lets out the breath he was holding and apologizes before breathing normally. Focusing once again, I begin to move, aiming for Rez’s heartbeat pinging along our link. I’m pulled to the right slightly.
“Wall,” Zeke informs me, and I stop for a moment as my head swivels.
‘Dusky? Help?’I plead as the sound becomes muddy.
‘Left.’
I turn left and take a few steps before Zeke stops me.
“Hey, man, are you sure you want to go out this way?”
I open my eyes, and to my horror, it’s the church's door to the outside. Fuck! Rez is outside in Death’s Window? I don’tquestion it, but open the door and step outside onto the church steps.
“Weren’t those gates closed when we came in earlier?” Zeke points out.
The sudden sensation of not being able to get enough oxygen hits me as I quickly scan the property. He’s right. Zissa closed those when we came in. I take a deep breath in and catch a hint of sulfur.
“Do you smell that?” I ask Zeke. He also takes a few deep breaths before he confirms my fear.
“It smells faint, though, so it might not be close?” he says, hopeful that it’s not as bad as it’s looking, but I hate to admit it, I’m not that optimistic about things like this. I want to be, but I’m more practical.
“Hold on,” I say, closing my eyes once again and trying to feel Rez. I can feel her more now that I’m outside, which is helpful, as her heartbeat is prominent and distinct now, but it’s hard to decide if I should go right or left.
‘It’s as if either would work,’Barron comments.
‘Fuck, she’s behind us,’It dawns on me as I open my eyes.
“She’s at the back of the church,” I call out and take off running. Zeke, knowing it’s best to stay together, keeps stride with me as we continue. I hear JP’s faint voice calling out for me, but I don’t have a moment to spare for him right now as we round to the back. We come to a screeching halt when we run into a few demons shuffling along and climbing out of the ground in front of us. Some are heading towards the very back of the church, and some are facing our direction as if they heard us coming. “Shit. Zeke, isn’t this your wheelhouse?” I nod at the undead creatures.
The unwashed and unwanted. There are different breeds, but these in front of us are ghoulish creatures that look like a cross between a flame-boiled human and a demented porcupine-mole mashup. They stay frozen in their respective places; their soulless, cloudy eyes unmoving and locked on JP, allowing us to take in the details of their bodies. Wispy hair, blood, and dirt cover their bare skin as their mole-like nose protrudes from their humanoid face. A few are as tall as six feet and as thin as a stalk of wheat, while two are under four feet tall and are as wide as a bulldog. As they shake off some dirt, porcupine quills pop up from their spine, sharp and four inches long.
Zeke pops his neck and raises his hands only to drop them a few seconds later and give me a sheepish smile.
“About that, it would be if they were dead. Apparently, they aren’t.” The frown on his face says everything.
“Great. Slayer, you want to play?”
‘Thought you would never ask,’he purrs as I feel my body morph.
“Stop!” JP’s voice yells out, and I stop mid shift with tentacles shooting out of my back with my tail, and black fur all over my body.
The demons on the ground all turn toward JP as he steps out in front of Zeke and me.
“Now that’s pretty cool and kinda hot.” Zeke licks his lips.
“You think?” JP asks, looking for confirmation.
‘I swear those two could make their own pheromone bottle and sell it,’Barron grumbles.
