Page 106 of How To Take Down A Cult At The End Of The World
“Where is she?” I ask him. Eri is nowhere in the pews. Somehow she got away but she’s here. I can feel her. She’s like the soot from a fire you can’t get off your hands, the bullshit smear of lipstick you accidentally get on your fingers because you’re in a rush. She’s here. Trash like her doesn’t just vanish.
“Where’s who?”
“The Bitch God. I’ve got unfinished business.”
Dina kicks a mage in the ass and sends them sprawling at my feet. “She went through there,” she says, pointing her staff at the back of the room to the door near the podium. It’s the door the first mage came through when this all began. I’d forgotten all about it. Of course she ran through there.
I move to go after Eri but the mage at my feet grabs my leg.
“Spare me, spare me, please-”
I don’t let him finish. I don’t care. I’m bored of his pleas. No one listened to my husband. No one gave him mercy. I bring my hands together and pull them apart. The mage splits in two, his plea dying with him.
“Holy shit!” Charlie leaps back and jumps on Dina.
She catches him and stares at me in shock. “Meadow…”
“I’m going after her. Get out of here. I’m going to bring this whole place down on us.”
Dina drops Charlie. “Meadow, no. It doesn’t have to be like this.”
“Doesn’t have to be like what?”
“If you do that you’re not getting out of here,” Charlie says.
I look at my friend and smile. “I know. I don’t want to. I’m ending this and I’m taking her with me.”
He shakes his head and moves to get in front of me. “What do you mean you don’t want to? Jaak will-”
Dina grabs his arm. “Charlie.”
“What? I-”
“Jaak’s gone,” Dina whispers and then looks at me. “I’m so sorry, Meadow.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. I’m going to save the world. I’m going to kill her.” It feels like I’m speaking on autopilot. I’m going to save the world for who? I look to my right where I know Jaak still lays. Mort’s there now, he’s kneeling beside Jaak. No doubt trying to see if he can help him. I almost tell Mort there’s no point but I don’t. If I do, I’ll break down, lay myself down beside him and give up. I want to let Eri do whatever evil plan she has because then it would all be over, but I can’t do that.
“I can’t let her win. Get out, grab Mort. There’s nothing he can do for Jaak now.” I put my hands on Charlie’s shoulders when he tries to follow me. “Don’t follow me, Charlie. Don’t do it. I already lost my husband, I can’t lose one of my best friends, too.”
He shakes his head. “No, fuck this. I don’t-we can fix this. I'll use the book we found here. It’s a copy of mine, so I’ll bring him back.” Charlie starts to go for the book, it fell in all the fighting, it’s probably somewhere nearby but I don’t let him.
“He wouldn’t be the same. You can’t use that book. It’s evil.”
“There has to be a way. I’ll find it! You don’t have to do this.”
“I do have to. I’m sorry. Now go. I don’t know how much longer this place is going to be in one piece.” I nudge him back towards Dina. “If I find Clyde, I’ll make sure he gets out,” I tell her. I have a feeling wherever Eri ran, Clyde will be there too.
“The men here are so weak. One-by-one I tested them just to get bored. The last one my mages brought to me has promise—maybe I’ll get Jaakobah to show him a thing or two.”
I’m almost certain Clyde is the man Eri mentioned. I’ll save him. I’m not going to let Dina feel this dead. Not like me.
Dina nods. “Thank you. I-I’m going to tell everyone about you. About him.”
I smile, my eyes sting but I don’t let the tears come. “Thank you.”
“Meadow, no! You can’t do this!” Charlie yells and grabs for me but I stop him with a spell. He runs forward and bounces off the invisible wall I just shielded myself with. It hurts to leave him behind but he can't go where I have to because it’s the only place left for me and me alone.
I take off running for the door. I’ve wasted enough time. I have a god to see. I rip the door off its hinges. Ahead of me the tunnel vanishes into the dark. There’s no light here, not even torches. That’s fine. I don’t need light to see anymore. The darkness suits me just fine.
