Page 23 of Their Will be Done

When I don’t move, he dips his head a bit and then presses a quick peck to my slap-stained cheek. “There. All better now.”

Again he tugs at my wrist.

Somehow I stand.

He leads me out of the lair just as I hear the thump of flesh on flesh and hear Cass groan in pain.

What. The. Fuck?

* * *

Bright sunlight bathesmy face when we leave the crypt. Apollo hangs back at the doorway, his hair shifting as he checks left and right.

There’s no one in sight, but he still seems hesitant to leave the shadows and step into the light.

Vampire.

I laugh at the ridiculous thought, and Apollo throws a concerned look at me over his shoulder as he starts toward the dormitory.

“Okay there, pretty thing?”

I giggle at him.

“Sorry…it got a bit rough in there,” he says. We’re walking at a brisk pace, his fingers handcuffed around my wrist. “They’ll calm down. A few punches and they always do. Like Fight Club, right? And shit, how was that cinematography? Did you know Cronenweth deliberately underexposed the actors’ faces to force the audience to pay more attention in each shot?”

I say nothing, instead willing the world to stop bobbing up and down so hectically. I couldn’t have had more to drink than yesterday, but yesterday I’d had a good long nap before I’d attempted to walk anywhere.

Now I feel like everything I’ve consumed today has only just kicked in. I feel like I’m walking on a trampoline an inch off the ground. And every time I shift my eyes even a little, the world blurs.

“I’m drunk,” I announce.

“That’s the spirit,” Apollo replies without slowing. “Nice day for it, too.”

I finally find it in me to pull back. “No. I mean…reallydrunk.” I sway as soon as we come to a halt, and he steps forward to steady me by slinging an arm around my waist.

“Easy there,” he says and then starts walking again. “There’s nothing to it, see? You just keep your eyes on something that’s not moving. Like the bell tower. Can you see it?”

My head tilts back.

Fuck, that’s a big building.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Just keep looking at that. I’ll make sure you don’t step on any snakes.”

“Snakes?” My head bobs forward, and I stumble as the world takes a slow somersault. “Fuck.”

“Sorry, bad joke. No snakes.Holes. That’s what I’ll keep an eye out for. Just holes.”

“Holes,” I agree, tilting my head back again. “Who rings the bell?”

“Not a hunchback, that’s for sure.”

I giggle like a fucking idiot at that. Cool shadows replace the sun, and I sag in relief. “Made it.”

“Not yet, pretty thing. Should I carry you?”

I snort. “You can’t carry me.”

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