Page 3 of Beyond the Storm
“Um, Galen?”
I set my phone on the counter and looked at Simon. He pointed to a shelf on the other side of the room. Another black box, this one with a red bow on top.
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” I mumbled, charging over to it. “If someone is fucking with us, I’m going to rip off their head. I’m done playing games.”
I opened the box and snarled at the contents. A folded letter sat on top of the silky lining. The parchment matched the other one, same vintage look. A growl rumbled in my chest as I snatched it up and crumbled it in my hand.
“Let me see it.” Simon reached for the paper, and I handed it to him. He smoothed out the wrinkles. “Another message.”
It read:The turning of another year. A toast to sinful delights and wicked whims. Fire will rise beneath the bright moonlight. The path in the forest will lead the way.
Simon cocked his head. “Fire will rise?”
My mind bounced from one theory to the next. Fire could be referring to the underworld. And it rising could mean a demon uprising, perhaps? “Okay. If I wasn’t pissed before, I certainly am now. This is bullshit.”
“The path in the forest.” Simon frowned. “Echo Bay is surrounded by a lot of wooded areas. Where do they mean?”
Spotting the edge of another piece of paper tucked inside the box, I unfolded it. A hand-drawn map. Depicted was the shoreline, trees, and a section of the harbor with detailed illustrations of boats and the warehouse district.
“A map?” Simon’s brow wrinkled as he scrutinized it. “Oh. There’s the lighthouse.” He pointed to it before gliding his finger over to a red mark within the forest. “X marks the spot. I guess that’s where we need to go.”
“Not a chance.” I pulled him into my arms. “It’s obviously some sort of trap. You aren’t going anywhere near the forest. No amount of pouting will change that.”
Simon huffed. “Have you forgotten how lethal I am with a spatula? Just ask Sven… wherever that creepy little demon is. You need me.”
I cupped his cheek. “Of course I need you. I always will. That’s why I’m dropping you off at Clara’s and going alone.”
“Dropping me off? I’m not a child. I’m a grown-ass adult and can make my own decisions.”
“Simon…”
“Galen,” he shot back. “I’m going with you. Deal with it.”
My lips twitched. “Careful, baby. Keep acting like a brat and I’ll treat you like one.”
“Is that a promise or a threat?”
Damn him. I laughed. Only Simon could smooth my rough edges.
“What if it’s a treasure map?” he then asked, face brightening.
“My only treasure in this life is right here in my hands.”
“You sap.” But Simon’s cheeks darkened with a blush as he said it.
“Keep him safe,”Wrath grumbled at me.
“As if I need the reminder. He’s my everything.”
“Mine too,”my sin replied.
My relationship with Wrath had shifted since Lucifer’s defeat. Did he still scratch at my insides and try to break free? Yes. But where we used to rarely communicate and butted heads when we did, Wrath spoke to me more now. The intense anger I’d always carried deep in my core had eased some as well. Maybe it had happened when we’d been transferred into Night Fall. Or maybe as Lucifer drew his final breath, the darkness in each of us had faded a bit. Like a ray of sunlight breaking through storm clouds.
Mephistopheles theorized that our sins weren’t curses at all but rather soul weapons. If that was true, maybe Lucifer’s death gave us more control over them.
I called Alastair and updated him on the second message.
“I’ll meet you at the forest entrance,” he said. “However, this could be nothing.”
