Page 55 of Frosted Torment

“Are you all right?”Baz asked, a tinge of worry in his voice.

I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands.“Yeah, just need to figure out where they imprisoned Vallen,”I replied.“I have a hit list of my own.”

Across the field, Dawson ran up the steps into the house and slammed the door. Nevaeh and Ena looked our way, then turned with heavy footsteps to join us.

“Are you able to sit up now, Noa?” Lex asked, regret filling his stare.

I nodded with a half-smile and lifted my hand for help. He grasped my forearm and lifted me to my feet. I dusted off my hands on my damp jeans and immediately craved a shower. What I needed was sleep, but that would have to come later.

I gestured toward the house with a nod of my head. “Where are they taking her?”

Ena’s eyes flitted to Father O’Neil as she avoided my gaze. “They’re going to gather Sasha for a cremation ceremony.”

“Oh.” My tone went flat. I looked down and started picking at my fingernails. “I thought I heard the word ‘pyre’ earlier, but it didn’t register.”

“Yes,” said Father O’Neil with a nod. “I should help them. Then we make our plans, which include scouring the books in the vault room.” He glanced at me and warned, “You’re the last one, Noa. I don’t know what that’s going to mean, but there might be more than fallen angels and demons after you now.”

My eyebrows rose. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Yeah, care to fill us in?” asked Lex, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He was still wearing his sweatshirt and pants from earlier, and I could tell he needed a shower and was starting to feel uncomfortable.

“This ought to be good, but I figured it was coming,”quipped Baz as he released a deep breath and lay next to me.

O’Neil released a long breath. “The Vatican,” he murmured.

I shook my head as the three of them surrounded O’Neil, hurling information back and forth. They lost me when I heard someone mention the Roman Curia. Lex threw up his hands, and I swore a vein bulged in his neck.

The Catholic Church was foreign to me other than the television shows I’d seen about secrets and conspiracy. Apparently, secrets were real. Maybe it wasn’t about conspiracy so much as it was about protecting humans, but I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t have the strength to listen to them argue.

Then, my grandmother’s wolf walked up next to me and lowered his head. I reached up, cupping one hand under his chin and stroking his snout with the other. It was a calming distraction from the group chaos.

Baz stood close as we watched Dawson, Nakoma, and Jossy wrap Sasha in white sheets. They tied pieces of rope around her to hold them in place. Then, the three of them hoisted her up and carried her to the funeral pyre at the foot of the totem pole.

They composed it of wooden boards, firewood, and branches of trees they found lying around the side of the house. They placed wildflowers they found on the edges of the trees on top of her, then tucked bundles of sage around her body. Asbeautiful a gesture as it was, I couldn’t watch, knowing my grandmother was in hell.

I looked back toward the house, then twisted around to scope the area of the field behind me. My grandmother’s wolf peered at me with his deep amber eyes and followed my movements. Studying him, my heart broke as I wondered if he would stay with us since Sasha died.

“Can he understand us?”I asked Baz.

“Yes, and the pack communicates through telepathy as well,”he informed me.

It dawned on me that this other wolf, a fallen guardian angel, had heard every agonizing word before I let my grandmother go. He had likely been comforting her somehow. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks again. I couldn’t bear to dwell on what I’d done. The taste of iron still coated my tongue.

“And he talked to Sasha.” It wasn’t a question. I stroked the wolf’s coarse fur to comfort us both.

When I glanced back at the altar, Jossy and Nakoma stood entwined, while Dawson doused the top with lighter fluid. Ena strode toward them, leaving Lex and Nevaeh embroiled in a heated debate with Father O’Neil. Dawson struck a match, and flames engulfed the pyre with a roar.

I let out a deep sigh and returned my gaze to the wolf. “What’s your name?”

“Callum,”Baz answered for him, his voice low.

My heart ached for all of us. Because of selfish angels who decided to rip away souls to hide ancient secrets within humans. So many lives were lost between the Veil and here. I wrapped my arms around Callum’s sturdy neck, embracing him, but he went limp and fell to the ground.

“What’s happening?” My breath shuddered, and I froze where I stood.

“He’s decided to leave.”Baz’s tone was oddly tranquil.

Lex halted mid-sentence, wheeling around to face me, eyes wide. “Callum, wait,” he pleaded.

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