Page 269 of Mayhem and Minnie

“No. We’re not. We just have to get to the van and get the hell out of here.”

“If only it were that easy.” She takes a deep breath. “With this many demons in one place, Aperite soldiers are bound to show up too. It’s just a matter of time before?—”

“It’s either the demons or the gods,” I complete her sentence.

She nods.

“What about your brother?”

“I don’t want to put him in danger. They’d dispatch more than one soldier to deal with the demons and I don’t want anyone to suspect that he’s been helping me. That would brand him a traitor and he’d be arrested too.”

“Damn it,” I mutter.

As we reach the edge of the crowd, Minnie jumps out of my arms and scans the area for demons. Sure enough, three of them are heading toward us from the direction of the traffic.

Minnie’s eyes flash a light blue before a loud bang erupts from the direction of the demons. The police in charge of traffic safety step in, giving us enough time to make a run for the van.

Except…

We both stop in front of the empty parking lot.

There’s no van. At least not anymore. Either someone purposefully stole it, or we somehow got on the wrong side of the law. Of course I no longer believe in coincidences, so the former explanation makes more sense.

Either way, we’re trapped.

36

“They’re coming.” Minnie squeezes my hand. “They’re everywhere, Marlowe…”

“Fuck,” I mutter. “Any other ideas?”

The demons stopped by the police are once more advancing toward us. From the end of the boulevard, a few other demons approach, just in time for the ones who’d followed us through the crowd to emerge.

“Only one. A church. Doesn’t matter what denomination. As long as it’s hallowed ground, it should keep out the low levels and significantly weaken the higher ones.”

“A church it is then.”

I quickly take out my phone and search for the nearest church on the map.

“This way,” I say and grab Minnie’s hand, crossing the street haphazardly and heading down a narrow alleyway.

I take the most convoluted way to the church in hopes we can lose them.

“They’re following us,” she murmurs as she glances back. “How much farther is it?”

“There.” I point out to the church’s tower in the distance.

It’s about two or three minutes away.

We increase our pace.

The demons are not far behind. The possessed people all walk slowly behind us, which is odd.

I’ve seen firsthand what a demon can do. So why aren’t they striking? Why are they just following us? More importantly, why are they waiting for us to reach the church when they can attack beforehand.

We soon reach the church. It’s a 19th century Catholic building but also a historical landmark of the city.

The gates are vaulted and imposing. But also locked.

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