Page 36 of Unbinding the Demon
“You’re most welcome,” he responded; then he entered the other side and opened the little window between us. “Now, what is troubling you today, my child?” His voice was compassionate, reminding me of a loving father.
I reached down to twiddle with the hem of my dress, my hands trembling, but I realized I was still wearing spandex capris from my jog. So, I twiddled my thumbs instead. I thought I heard shuffling coming from the floorboards below. It just sounded like someone was moving around downstairs, though.
“Well, um... It’s kind of complicated. You see—”
With a loud click and a swoosh that had the little loose strands of my hair blowing in the breeze, the door to the booth was ripped open. I jumped and gasped, horrified at the sight before me. Ashton was standing in the doorway, and he lookedsuper fucking pissed. His golden eyes burned with smoldering rage, making him appear as if he were a malicious devil who had come to drag my soul down to the fiery pits of Hell.
What the fuck!? How did he know I was here? Where did he even come from?
“What the? Ashton?”Confusion and slight fear filled me.
“We need to goright now!”he stated through gritted teeth while grabbing my arm and yanking me out of the booth.
“What’s going on here!?” Adelstein demanded while bursting out of the booth.
He looked like he was about to go off on Ashton, but then he froze with a fear-stricken expression. His face grew pale, and his eyes widened as if there were an unholy specter standing before him. However, his look of apprehension only lasted a second, and he quickly regained his composure. Ashton spared him a brief derogatory glance, then turned his attention back to me.
“Come on. I’m taking you home,” he stated with zero room for argument.
“Excuse me, but Ms. Gallagher is free to choose where she spends her time.” Father Adelstein stepped in with a scowl, his frustration evident that Ashton was trying to swoop me away. “You cannot force her to leave.”
Ashton pulled me closer to him and squared his shoulders, looking like a gorilla ready to square off with a shrimp. Before he could respond, I cut him off. “It’s okay, Father, I don’t mind. We had plans this afternoon that I had forgotten about.” I forced a laugh, attempting to ease the tension in the room.
My attempt was in vain. Suffocating tension held the atmosphere in a chokehold, threatening to shatter into oblivion with one wrong word spoken. Adelstein was staring intently at Ashton as though he had seen him before, but couldn’t quite place him. His eyes teemed with suspicion as they lingered on the veiny tattoo peeking out from beneath the sleeve of Ashton’s black T-shirt.
“Let’s go,” Ashton said to me without taking his eyes off the priest. It was as though they were mortal enemies frothing at the mouth to sink their teeth into one another.
“Perhaps another time, Ms. Gallagher?” Father Adelstein’s gaze flickered back down to Ashton’s tattoo. “That’s quite a unique tattoo you have there. What did you say your name was again?”
“Ashton,” he replied in a sharp tone. “And we won’t be back.”
He pulled me by my hand to drag me out of there like a brute, slamming the double doors open as we burst back outside. He untied Belzar, and then we entered the car in silence. Ashton glanced back at Father Adelstein, who was staring at us like a seething creep from the church doorway. Then he took off like a madman. The tires spun rapidly, kicking up gravel with a loud screech.
Trying to remain inconspicuous, I shifted my eyes over to peek at him. With his hand firmly gripping the steering wheel, he clenched his jaw. The colorful autumn whizzed by outside the window behind him. He sat there with a detached expression, keeping his focus on the road as he drove. The silence had my anxiety building by the second, and I was thinking that there was something else going on here.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay away from that priest?” he finally asked in a flat and bitter tone.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted someone to talk to, that’s all. It’s really not a big deal.” I was shaken up by both what had just occurred and how menacing he sounded.
“What could you possibly have to talk to him about!?” he spat, his eyes blazing with fury.
“I don’t know.” I was reluctant to be honest with him considering how mad he was. My body slunk down further into the seat, wanting to disappear from this confrontation.
“I want you to promise me right now that you will never,evergo near him or enter that disgusting church again!”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was such a big deal! He’s just a priest, a man of god, for crying out loud!” I argued in frustration. The little sting of tears threatened to well up in my eyes. I had never seen him so angry before, and it was really painful and terrifying that he aimed it at me.
“A man of god,”he sneered as if the words were vile in his mouth. “Yes, surely you’re safe with a Machiavellian man who worships a tyrannical, supercilious being who has caused more blood sacrifice and genocide than any other deity.” His voice was filled with sarcasm.
“So what? He seems like a really nice guy.” I shook my head in sorrow and wiped away a stray tear that had slipped out.
“He is not a nice guy!”he growled. “I’m telling you right now, Adelstein’s true nature aligns with that of his sick and odious god! Now, promise me you’ll stay away from him!” He was extremely harsh, and I thought his reaction was excessive, but I didn’t want to fight anymore.
“Okay, I promise I’ll stay away from him from now on,” I replied softly while gazing out the window in defeat.
“Thank you.” He looked over and noticed how upset I was, which seemed to cool him off a bit. “Do you have any idea how precious you are to me? I don’t know how I could live on if something were to happen to you. Now again, what were you going to talk to him about?” His voice remained firm, but genuine concern was evident in his expression.
“I-I don’t know,” I lied, my voice trembling with uncertainty.
