Page 154 of Coerced

Me and Mira cleaned out a few little devils we found lurking in the underbrush as we made our way up the drive. It was fun, but where were the rest?

And where was my girl?

We met up with the others in the middle of the park, and Rome said they’d taken out two sentries, but hadn’t come across anything else. The place seemed deserted, but the heavy stench of the Diabolical was all the evidence we needed we were in the right place.

“Worse than cat pee,” Mira said, coughing.

“Or skunk.” Gigi waved one hand in front of her face. “That’s pretty concentrated.”

“Musta been a lot of ’em,” I growled. “And not long ago.”

“Maybe we just missed them.” Travis started to wander around, eyes fixed on the ground. “Maybe there’s tracks. I’m not a guide, but I’ll look.”

I was pissed, and got even more pissed when Rome scented something Divine before I did.

“Hey! Over here.” He pointed to the north. “Kerry, come see if you smell this, too.”

I picked up on it when I joined him. My control slipped a bit as my adrenaline pumped up, even though I knewshewasn’t gonna be wherever this trail led. It was Maddy’s scent, not my angel’s.

I glanced back at Travis. He was with the girls, gawking at the weird buildings as they tramped behind us, and I almost told him to hurry up, but Rome was herding me on and I let it go.

In the end, considering what we found, I was glad I’d kept my big mouth shut.

42. Die By the Sword

Gemma

Spin led us to a derelict church on a slight rise of land. It was a simple structure built on a stone foundation with a narrow set of double doors, a brick chimney, three boarded-up windows on each side, and an open steeple that was missing its bell. The clapboard siding had been painted white once upon a time, but weather and age had scoured most of it away.

However long it had been abandoned, its solidity was a testament to the craftsmanship of another era. True, the roof was missing a few shingles and the steeple’s iron cross had rusted and sent orange streaks down the side of the building, but otherwise it was reassuringly solid. With the added bonus of being Holy ground, it was more than good enough for me.

The interior, while dark and dusty, seemed just as remarkably preserved. The sun hadn’t come up yet, but there was enough light to see that the long pews still held hymnals in their racks and the pulpit stood upright on a small dais. It was as if the church itself awaited the return of its congregation, which had risen from prayers one Sunday and never returned.

Slightly to the left of the pulpit, the steeple’s missing bell sat atop four wooden supports. Green-stained bronze, it was maybe fifty inches in diameter and probably several thousand pounds.

“Man, that’s a big, ole bell.” Jax let out a low whistle.

“Yeah.” My head bobbed in a weary nod. “Guess they moved it down here to protect it or something.”

“Maybe. Hey, let’s sit down for a bit. You look pale and tired.”

I swiveled my eyes to look up at him. Tired didn’t begin to cover it, but I plopped on the floor and leaned up against the wall, and he joined me. Drawing my knees to my chest, I tilted my head back and closed my eyes.

“Did he—” Jax took a deep breath. “Did hehurtyou? Castle, I mean.”

I shook my head.

“Are you lying?”

“No. I, um, knocked him out, ransacked his office, and got out of there. I only wish I could have found a phone.”

Not theentiretruth, but it wasn’t what had happened with Castle that had wrecked me. Oh, no. It was the guilt.

“Maddy’s death has hurt us all.” Jax was reading my mind, apparently. “But is there something more? You’re not … acting right.”

“I used a friend’s death to save my own skin.” I let the tears skate down my face. “What kind of person does that make me?”

“A live one.”

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