by Peter Glenn
“But you’ll let me go, won’t you?”
I lowered my head in shame. “I’ll let you go.” The words cut at me like a knife.
“You can’t be serious!” Sheila exclaimed, shifting in her seat. “She’ll… she’ll be killed!”
“It’s okay, Sheila,” Allie said. She turned toward Sheila and put her hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. “I can do this. Look, when you read our futures, did you see death in there for me?”
“N-no, but my predictions aren’t always a hundred percent accurate. Things can happen, and… and I just met you, and…”
Allie touched one of Sheila’s cheeks with her hand and gingerly caressed it. She wiped away a tiny tear that had fallen there. “I’ll be okay. Promise. And if not, Damian will come in after me and save me anyway.” She gave Sheila a bright grin.
Sheila chuckled a little and finally nodded. “Very well, deary. But you’d better come back for me.”
“Oh, I will.” Allie turned to look at me. “Well, big boy, this is where we part. It’s been fun.”
“Pssh. More like a pain in my ass.”
She patted me on the cheek. “Isn’t that how you like it?”
A long string of very pointed insults formed on my lips, ready to lay deep into her, but just like that she had opened her car door and slipped out into the night, heading toward the iron grate.
I watched her leave, that nasty pit in my stomach never leaving me. After what felt like an hour, she slipped into the building, completely untouched. Somehow, she’d made it in safely. I could only hope the rest of her mission met with the same level of success.
14
An hour had passed. Maybe longer. Definitely longer. The pit in my stomach continued to gnaw at me as I stared with blank eyes at the door to the church.
Nothing had happened. The guard situation on the roof was the same—as far as we could tell, at least. It was fully dark now and nearing midnight. The front door of the church hadn’t budged an inch since Allie had gone through it. There had been no big noises or outcries. Nothing.
“Are you sure the guards are still there?” I asked Isaiah, peering through the darkness at the little pinpricks of metal on the roof. I counted them anyway while I waited for a response.
“They’re up there, all right,” Isaiah said, sighing. He didn’t seem much happier than me.
“We shouldn’t have let her go alone,” Sheila added from the back of the car.
I turned to look at her. Her face had paled even more than it normally was, and she had a distant, worried look in her eyes. I felt bad for her. She’d just found Allie and obviously liked her. Now Allie was in danger.
At least, my gut said she was in danger. If she’d been safe, she would have said something by now. I mean, she had a phone on her. She could have at least texted or something. I thought about texting her just to see if she’d reply, but I didn’t want to give anything away, in case she was fine and just taking her time.
So I sat here, slowly watching the time tick away, doing nothing. I didn’t know what else to do. Or why I even cared so much in the first place. Allie and I hadn’t really gotten along at all. So why was I so worried about her? Was it just because her and Sheila got along so well, or did I actually care about this girl’s welfare?
The sinking pit in my stomach told me all I needed to know.
I glanced at my phone for the hundredth time. It was after midnight. Too much time had passed with no updates and no sign of Allie. She was in trouble.
“We need to do something,” I told Isaiah.
He nodded. “Sure, but what? We have no idea what the situation is like in there or if she’s even alive.”
I heard Sheila whimper in the back seat.
“She’s alive,” I assured Sheila. “She has to be. We’d know if she’d been killed.”
Okay, we likely wouldn’t know. But my gut told me she was still alive in there. Injured, maybe. In danger, certainly. But still alive. There would have been some sign of movement or change if she’d died on us.
But time was still running out. Someone had to do something, and fast. My mind raced.
“I’m going in there,” I blurted out all of a sudden.
A collective gasp ushered out of the mouths of my companions. Heck, the words even surprised me, and I was the one who’d said them.
“No,” Isaiah said. His voice was stern and cold. “We can’t lose two people. It’s too risky.”
“Look. Someone needs to get in there and check on Allie. Make sure she’s safe. Might as well be the immortal in the group.”
Isaiah looked into my eyes for a moment, then turned away. “It’s a bad idea.”
“You’re right. But it’s all I’ve got.”
“Isaiah’s right,” Sheila added. She leaned forward a little. “I’m as worried about Allie as anyone, but we can’t have you go in there with no protection or backup. We—I—can’t afford to lose you, too.”
Aww. Sheila cared about me. Totally as a friend, of course, but it was still nice to hear.
The corners of my lips curled upward. “I appreciate the concern, really, but I’ve got a plan. Don’t worry so much.”
“Does your plan involve killing someone?” Isaiah asked.
My cheeks started to redden. “Maybe.”
He grinned back at me. “I like this plan. How can I help?”
“Can you still make me look like one of them for a few minutes?”
Isaiah looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. “You got it.”
He waved his hands about and uttered something I couldn’t comprehend, then I felt a wave of energy wash over me. It felt kind of like a blast of warmth from a heater on a cold day. I looked down at my own body and saw the folds of a rusty red robe covering my arms and hands.
The magic had worked. I looked like one of them. Even to me.
“All right, I’m going in. If you don’t hear from me in the next twenty minutes, get out of here, got it? Go somewhere safe.”
Sheila and Isaiah both nodded but said nothing.
Without further ado, I got out of the car, moving slowly so as not to bring any attention to myself. I headed over to the gate. I wasn’t sure how long the magic would hold, so I walked at a semi-brisk pace. I didn’t want to run and look like I was in a hurry, but I didn’t want my magic cloak to turn back into a t-shirt before I reached the entrance, either.
The gate opened easily, and I headed onto the church property, inhaling deeply. My heart raced in my chest as I took the first few steps.
Nothing happened. No bullets whizzed through the night air. My chest remained intact.
I let go of the breath I’d held on to. The deception was working.
From the gate, the path snaked slowly up to the front door of the church. There was a small pathway that opened up to the side as well. I figured it led to some sort of back entrance.
It probably would have been smarter to try it out and come in from the back, but I was in a hurry, and let’s face it, the whole thing was a big risk anyway. So I kept going, following in Allie’s footsteps.
I could feel the eyes of the riflemen on the roof boring into me, but at no point did I hear any sort of movement or see the tips of the rifles so much as dip toward me. I was safe for the moment.
As I approached the door, I pulled the hood of my fake cloak down to cover as much of my face as I could. I didn’t want to risk any of the cultists seeing my face and recognizing me from the airport in Mexico.
I pulled up to the door and rapped hard on it three times, ducking my head down even further.
The door creaked open, and a hooded face appeared in the crack. “Good evening, Brother…”
“Farthington,” I replied, using the first name I could come up with. I’d heard the name in a TV show recently about clergymen. Good show. Can’t wait for the next season to come out.
I hoped they didn’t know all the cultists by name. If they did, I would be shot right here a
nd now. My shoulders tensed as I waited for the cultist at the door to do something.
“Ah, Brother Farthington,” they said at last. “Glad you could make it.”
A bony hand appeared underneath the man’s head. I shook it. It was slimy and cold, and it made my skin crawl. I retracted my own hand as soon as I was able.
“Come in, come in,” the hooded guard said, throwing the door open wider.
“Thank you.”
I stepped inside the threshold and took a look at my new surroundings. The interior of the church was even creepier than the outside. There were crosses every few feet or so, and a thick, reddish substance—blood, I assumed, or something made to look like it—was dripping from several of them. The sight of them made my stomach churn. Was it Allie’s blood? It couldn’t be. She had to still be alive.
The room layout resembled a large foyer. There were several doors on the far end of the room, each made out of a thick iron material. Some sort of pattern was emblazoned on each of the doors. It closely resembled an upside-down pentagram, but with flared points and a giant disembodied eye in the middle of it.
Why couldn’t Rick have made it here? He would have eaten up all that symbology, and probably could have told me what the symbol meant. But he was safe back in Seattle. For the moment, at least.
There were two other guards in the foyer along with the man I’d just met. A smile crept onto my lips. Three guards meant three cloaks. Just what I needed. Now all I needed to do was cause some sort of distraction so I could get the jump on them.
“And where do you hail from this evening, Brother Farthington?” the first guard asked me.
I almost jumped. His words brought me back to reality. “Me? Uh… Pueblo.” It was the first name of a city in Colorado that came to mind. I figured the cult couldn’t be too wide-spread, or I would have heard of it before a few days ago.
The guard nodded. “Pueblo? And how is the weather down there?”
“Pfft. Total crap, as always.”
A bead of sweat formed on my brow, threatening to drip down into my eyes and blind me. It was all I could do not to touch it. Had to maintain the disguise. But if he asked me anything else, I’d be done for.
The guard chuckled. “Of course, of course,” he said, nodding. He clapped me on the shoulder. Hard. “Glad you could make it to see the end of the world. Come this way.”
Phew. I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but instead, I just nodded.
Hooded Guard turned and started toward one of the doors. One of the other guards followed suit, though the third one, the one on the far side of the room, stayed put.
Great. Just great. I wouldn’t get a chance to get all of them together. I’d need a different plan.
Hooded Guard took a big set of keys out of his pocket and started to place one into the lock on the door in front of him. I didn’t have much time. I needed to do something. Anything, before the ruse was up and I was caught, or more cultists burst onto the scene.
My hand slid down to Grax’thor’s hilt. She was hidden under the fake cloak. In one smooth motion, I picked her up and hurled her toward the guard at the far side of the room.
Without even watching to see where it landed, I pounced on the other two guards. I brought my hands together and sent them crashing down onto the back of Hooded Guard’s head. He grunted and crumpled to the ground before he even realized he’d been attacked.
In the same instant, I heard a grunt from the far guard. I spared him a quick glance. Grax’thor had buried herself deep in his throat. There’d be blood on his cloak now, but at least the guard wouldn’t have a chance to call for backup.
That left just me and one more guard. He spun around to face me, eyes bulging out of his head. He opened his mouth to shout, so I jabbed him in the throat with a knife hand.
Third Guard made a choking noise and grabbed at his throat as he fell to one knee. I brought my fist around and clobbered him on the side of the head, right on his temple. He toppled over onto the ground shortly after.
Panting, I surveyed the room. All three guards were down, and none of them had gotten a warning off to someone else.
Sometimes, my luck could be a wonderful thing.
With all three guards unconscious or dead, I got to work disrobing them. All the while, I wondered if someone was going to come into the room and spoil the fun, but it remained quiet and none of the doors budged. I was safe enough for the moment.
Once I had all three robes freed, I put one of them on myself and set the other two aside. The magic cloak had dissipated by this point anyway, so it was the safe bet.
Isaiah must have known the magic had run out by now. I wondered what he was thinking. How long had it been? Less than twenty minutes, certainly, but how much less? Did he know I was safe? I wanted to get word to him, but it would just have to wait a moment longer.
Pfft. What was I thinking? I could text him. I facepalmed and pulled out my phone. I’m just fine. Be out in a minute. Hold on tight, I texted him.
My phone buzzed a second later. Good. We were about to come in after you.
Crisis averted. Modern technology is a wonderful thing, kids.
I looked around for some sort of rope I could use to tie up the two living guards, but I didn’t see anything that would work. There were a couple chairs in the room and a small table near the entrance, but neither of those would be of much use.
Oh well. I’d just have to hope they stayed out cold for a little bit longer. I hadn’t been looking forward to lifting their dead weight and moving them around all by myself anyway, so it was a minor loss.
I grabbed the remaining cloaks and crept back out the front door. Once again, I briskly walked through the church grounds, thinking about all those guns that were no doubt pointed on me. But nothing came of it. They were looking for people without red cloaks, after all. Nonbelievers and all that.
Reaching the relative safety of Isaiah’s black SUV, I pulled the door open and ducked inside.
“What took you so long?” Isaiah asked, grinning at me.
“Oh, you know me. Ran into a bit of resistance is all.”
“Any sign of Allie?” Sheila asked. She looked even more worried than she had before.
“Sorry,” I told her. “Didn’t get to do much looking around. But we’ll find her soon enough.”
That seemed to mollify Sheila a little bit, and she nodded.
I shoved the spare cloaks at my companions. “Here. Put these on, and we’ll head in together this time.”
Sheila got to work right away, but Isaiah frowned at his own cloak, holding it out at arm’s length and sniffing it. “Did you get blood on this, Damian?”
“A little, maybe.” I shrugged. “Couldn’t be helped, just put it on anyway and stop complaining.”
“Sheila’s the blood mage!” Isaiah countered. “Make her wear it!”
Sheila scoffed. “My blood magic doesn’t work like that, deary!”
Isaiah opened his mouth to say something further, but I put out my hand to shush them both. “Just put the cloaks on. Use your magic to dry it out or something. If it’s that big a deal, you can get your own cloak once we’re in there!”
Both Isaiah and Sheila looked slightly circumspect. I knew tempers were short and nerves were frayed, so I gave them both the benefit of the doubt. “Sorry. I know you’re all worried. Let’s just get in there as soon as we can, okay?”
Nods greeted me.
“Great. Now, let’s go save Allie and stop the end of the world!”
It wasn’t much of a speech, but it got my own heart soaring. Isaiah and Sheila both got into their cloaks without further argument, and we piled out of the car. I motioned for them to follow me slowly, and we made our way back over to the main gate.
Several thoughts went through my head. Most of all, I wondered what the guards on the roof would think about my behavior—coming into the church, leaving a few minutes later, then coming back with two other people in tow.
Would t
hey think it odd? Would my cover finally be blown? There was only one way to find out.
I sucked in a deep breath and pushed open the wrought iron gate one more time. My first foot fell onto the pathway, and my whole body tensed, waiting for the guards to catch on. For my life to finally be forfeit.
But nothing happened. They didn’t budge. I had thought for sure this time would be my last bit of luck running out on me at last, but it didn’t. I was safe.
I put my other foot forward, still a bit in shock, and started up the path to the church proper. Isaiah and Sheila followed wordlessly behind me.
While I went along, I checked my phone screen quickly, trying to keep it mostly out of view. It was one in the morning. When was the moon completely full again? It wasn’t much longer; I was certain of that.
Once more, we were cutting things extremely close. But there was nothing to be done for it now. I just had to hope that we could get in there without causing a ruckus and find Allie before it grew too late to save her.
We made our way up to the church door, and I pressed my ear to it, straining to hear anything that might be happening in the room beyond. But there was no noise. Nothing but the eerie stillness of the night around us.
I pushed the door open gently, trying not to make a sound. It creaked open, and the light from the foyer room beyond filled my eyes, blinding me for a half second.
Everything was just how I’d left it, with three bodies strewn about in the middle of the floor.
Sheila was the first to step into the room proper, brushing past me in her rush. She took a glance at the downed guards. “Just a little resistance, eh, Damian?” I thought I heard her giggle.
“Yep, just a little bit. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
She shook her head and walked over to one of the unconscious guards. She pressed her hand to his forehead. “He won’t stay out for long like this, you know.”
I shrugged. “It somehow didn’t seem right just killing him when he was defenseless. Most cult members are just in over their head.”
Sheila nodded. “Well, it’s nothing a little magic won’t fix.” I saw a glint of metal in her hand and heard a quick clack, then she rubbed a droplet of blood on the man’s forehead and whispered a few words.