Page 53 of Her Wicked Knights
27
Colton
Thingshavebeenmorestrained than ever around here. Our friend group has drifted apart, splintered by what happened the last time we were in this church.
Tripp's been even moodier than normal, which I could handle— we did kill a girl, after all— if he hadn't taken Rev down in the spiral with him.
Rev's always lighthearted. Everything is a joke to him, but ever since that night, it's like something in him is broken and I don't know how to fix it. I don't know how to fix any of it.
We never meant to be players in whatever weird ass game this is. We were only here, watching for information, for resources so that we could make them pay for what they did to the Lavignes, to Marley. I knew we needed something concrete, given that Jake's father is the fucking mayor, and I knew that if we pretended to be one of them, they'd eventually reveal their secrets. It would turn into a battle over who to believe, sure, but I thought we could convince the others to turn on Audrey and Jake. Now, I realize that's not an option. I'm a fucking murderer... I helped kill a girl, because Whit held the blade toTripp's throat and told me he'd kill us all if we didn't do it. I didn't even hesitate after that. How could I? I couldn't let him kill my best friend, and Rev was in the middle of a breakdown. There was no one to help, so I did the only thing I could.
I became a killer and then I helped convince Rev to do the same thing. Tripp was still in shock from having the bloody blade pressed into his neck, so he hadn't taken much convincing. I just put my hand on his and helped him out. But Rev? I don't know what came over him. He acted like he was possessed, like he was out of control.
I still don't understand what happened the last time we were here... why the doors spontaneously caught fire or why we killed an innocent girl or why Rev marked her flesh with an interlocking triangle pattern. And in three fucking months, I still haven't figured out how to get us out of this mess. It's why we're here, why Tripp drags Rev into the church by the collar of his jacket and tosses him into one of the pews.
Audrey's eyes are on me as I turn to my friends, checking them over. We haven't talked much the last few months either. I think she's afraid I'll tell Marley the truth that I know. I want to. But I could never tell her that when I have no proof, no way of taking them down and making them pay.
Rev is clearly wasted, unable to sit up straight. He's slouched against Tripp, who stares at me with his jaw clenched.
"Where'd you find him?"
It's been over two weeks since Rev has bothered to answer any of my messages. Considering I've resorted to just texting him asking for proof of life, it's not like I'm asking for much.
"Bar in Boston. Fake I.D."
He smells like a damn bar. Actually, he smells like the whole damn distillery. I wonder if he's showered in the last two weeks or just slept in his car and gone back to the bar every day to continue drowning his sorrows. Tripp's acted like I have adrinking problem, but this? Rev's out of control. But there's nothing I can do to get through to him. I don't know how to even try.
I don't know how to explain it, but when Whit walks in, he looks... different. Darker.
Maybe murder stains your soul and that's just starting to bleed into the air around him. I never understood anything about the auras Marley's mother used to talk about, but I know well enough that his is dark. Sinister.
"Disciples." He smirks, standing before us all as usual. "Completion is upon us."
"Is it?" Nick snorts. "Cause I haven't noticed any new powers? I thought I'd be able to walk through walls by now."
"Yeah," Carson agrees. "It seems you've gotten powers, so why haven't the rest of us?"
Whit stares at the two of them for a moment, like he's debating whether or not he really wants to answer that. "It's magic, not superpowers. If you want to walk through walls, perhaps go find a radioactive spider?"
Mark snorts, clearly over the distress of becoming a murderer.
"Magic takestime." Whit's voice is thin, like he's tired of having to defend himself. "It takes intention. It takes diligence and sacrifice. Would you like to be the next?"
Nick and Carson both go silent at that, and Mark gets his chuckling under control, sitting straighter as he sobers.
When it's clear Whit is waiting on an answer, Carson shakes his head. "No."
"I thought not. So then, am I safe to presume we don't have any volunteers for the final sacrifice?"
At the silence, Whit chuckles.
"When will the final sacrifice take place?" Audrey asks.
"October 31st." He says easily. "That's when the veil between life and death is thinnest. Our first sacrifice honored the light.Our second honored the dark. This one honors the thin line where one ends, and the other begins. Life and death, light and dark. Absolute symmetry in all things. As above, so below."
I blink, trying to make sense of any of what he just said. All I came away with is that the next sacrifice takes place in just over a month.
"Halloween?" Audrey pouts.
