Page 61 of Shadow

“And Dante?” She turned to Church, who got to his feet and approached. He stopped in front of her, and she looked up at him.

“I’d really like it if you could teach me how to better kill the wicked,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’d like to get started.”

The most sinister smile crossed Church’s face before he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. He kissed her deeply, his hands cradling her face as if she were the most precious thing in the world to him. Despite the moment, I didn’t look away. I couldn’t if I wanted to.

“Your wish is my command,” Church murmured as he broke the kiss off.

“What does this mean?” I asked Asylum without looking away from Sirena and Church.

“It means, my dear Shadow, that she’s just given the green light to tear this motherfucker down. Come. We have work to do.” And with those words, I followed him to the door. I cast a final look over my shoulder at her. She was back to hugging Cady.

It was Church who drew my attention away.

He stared back at me, a stony expression on his face.

I didn’t know what it meant, but it had to mean something. I only hoped he wasn’t plotting my death.

* * *

“Fucking hell,”I grunted as I helped drag one of the nuns from her room. She hadn't even had the chance to scream because Asylum descended on her like a violent storm. One moment, her mouth was opening to shout, and the next, his fist was smashing into her face.

She was knocked out easily enough.

“Bottom heavy. Sister Devon always did have a lot of junk in her trunk,” Asylum said as he stooped to lift her over his shoulder. “Lot of mouth. Lot of ass. Not a lot of fucking brains. Goes to show…” He winced as he adjusted her on his shoulder, “that you can’t have it all. I mean, unless you’re me.”

“You?” I mused, following him out the back door and into the forest.

“Yes. Me. I have a nice ass, a big, thick cock, and I’m a smart little fella. You know that, though. Plus, have you seen me? I’m fucking gorgeous. My eyes alone would fetch a good price. You know, if you were a collector.”

“You would know,” I said as we trudged through the snow. We’d left the Watchers’ house long ago and had plotted and planned which piece of human waste we would start with on campus first. Sister Devon had won because Asylum had her on a list from a time she’d beaten his hands with a ruler until he bled. He cited she’d taken his favorite fork, which was really what she was on the list for. It helped that I’d seen her going into Sully’s office countless times for a meeting with just him. The pair often fucked one another.Some sister.I also knew she was just as wicked as the rest of them, and for that, she needed to pay.

We arrived at the cave concealed in the woods. I opened the door, and we stepped into the dimly lit space. A small lantern flickered on the table, illuminating just enough of the area for us to see.

Asylum immediately tripped over the rug in front of the door and promptly dropped Sister Devon as he tried not to fall.

She landed with a loudthudonto the hard stone ground, her head bouncing as it made contact.

“Fuck, man,” Asylum swore, kicking at the rug tangled around his feet. “Fucking Mirage and his goddamn welcome mat.”

I grabbed the rug, held it up, and chuckled.

“To be fair, it actually saysUnwelcomeso…”

Asylum scowled at me, crawled over to Sister Devon on the floor, and rolled her to the center of the room.

“Bitch still has my good fork,” he muttered, wiping his brow. “I’m glad we’re going to kill her bitch ass.”

“She has my crucifix,” I said. I approached and kneeled beside him. Carefully, I reached out and tugged my large crucifix from her robe pocket and twirled it in my hand. It had some weight to it. I’d missed it. She’d taken it on me last year because I kept twirling it like a fidget spinner in my hand during one of her classes. It helped to keep me calm.

She groaned, opened her brown eyes, and stared up at us.

“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt,”I whispered, twirling the crucifix once more in my hands before driving it deep into her skull with a powerful blow. Her blood ran red as her body convulsed.

“Nice,” Asylum murmured as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a fork. “Daniel 12:2. I fucking approve.” And with those words, he drove his fork deep into her eye socket, her screams echoing through the chamber.

SIRENA

Iwasn’t going to put up with Sin’s withdrawing. I’d gone silent again after everything in the living room, but it had been almost two weeks since it happened, and Sin was never around. He avoided me and the guys. He left early. He came home late. In fact, I was sure he was doing it through his bedroom window, which was why I was creeping around outside his window at midnight on a Friday night while Cady and the guys were burning. I was supposed to be with Asylum, but he’d given me a knowing look without me saying a word and had walked me back an hour ago to wait for Sin.

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