Page 92 of Anathema Codex

"I really don't care," Lakyn says, cutting the asshole off as he lights a cigarette and blows the smoke toward the man's face. "I'm here for Trixie."

"Trixie?" Sun Wolf the light-whatever repeats, glancing back at the others near him as he brings his hands together. "I'm afraid I don't recognize that name, but I'll be glad to spread the word. We've had so many Children of the Light join us over the years, and it's hard to remember everyone's old names from out in the world."

"Right." Lakyn sucks his teeth again, looking over the gathered people, and the Sunny Wolf idiot finally starts to look a little anxious when we stay silent.

"I apologize, it's been a few months since anyone found us. Who sent you to us?" Wolf dude asks, and Lakyn shoves a hand back through his hair, taking another drag before he looks at him again.

"Chick named Alexandra. A high priestess back in New Mexico."

"Allisandra," Daphne whispers, stepping closer to Lakyn, but it only takes a glance from him to stop her in her tracks, and I chuckle to myself at how fucking pathetic she is.

"Yeah, Allisandra. She said Trixie was out here," Lakyn adds, ashing his cigarette.

"Ah, well, I'm not familiar with her, but our family here is broad, and all that matters is you've found your way to us." Wolf guy puts his palms together and bows slightly. "How about we give you a tour of our community, and Akasha here will go speak to The Daughter. She knows all within the bounds of her kingdom here on our earthly plane. If anyone will know if your Trixie is one of us, it will be her."

"What the hell, sure. Lead the way, Wolfy," Lakyn says, chuckling as he flashes his grin at one of the women standing behind the weirdo. The bitch actually blushes and smiles back at Lakyn, and all I want to do is open the back of the SUV and let Allisandra roll out so the cunt could see exactly whose attention she's seeking.

"Wonderful! Follow me," Wolf replies cheerfully, waving an arm back toward the more densely populated area of the commune. More smiling, happy people wave at us as we walk along, listening to the imbecile talk about all of the shit their community is so proud of. I'm barely paying attention to any of it as I light up a cigarette and follow a little ways behind Lakyn and Daphne.

I was right about the shiny building being a greenhouse, and he goes on and on about it and how 'overjoyed' they are to have two wells on the property, which apparently provide water for everyone there.

"We have almost two hundred members following the light of The Daughter," some chick adds, and Wolf turns his zombie-happy smile on her.

"That's right, Raindrop. Some have come to the light on their own, but we have families like yours as well."

"Like mine?" Lakyn almost chokes on his inhale of smoke, laughing as he jerks a thumb over his shoulder. "That little shit is supposedly my kid, but the apple fell pretty far from the badass tree—if you know what I mean." He laughs a little more as he tilts his head toward Daphne. "And Red here is just a fan."

"Oh, well, you're all welcome," Wolf replies, still smiling, and the overall vibe of this place is starting to make my skin crawl. It's like everybody volunteered for a lobotomy, and I'm just waiting for whatever crazy fuck is in charge of this shitshow to show themselves. "Raindrop, why don't you explain how we earn for the community? I'm going to help Akasha look for The Daughter so she can welcome them properly."

"Of course, Sun Wolf." The peppy little brunette that's been eye-fucking Lakyn the entire walk steps closer as we stop in front of the rough, adobe buildings. Smiling, she points off to the side where a series of tables are set up. "It's not much, but we do make our own beads here, decorating them with the colors that the Earth provides, and then we make jewelry. We also have a few carpenters who create other pieces that several of our members travel and sell to—"

"Listen, I'm not going to be here very long. I'm just here to let the kid meet his Aunt Trixie, and then I'm gone." Lakyn draws on the cigarette, and let's smoke drift from his mouth as he looks the chick up and down and adds, “You're wasting your fucking breath."

"No one is required to stay here. This is a place of love and The Daughter helps us all to live in the light." Raindrop shrugs a shoulder, and I can't help but wonder what she looks like under the flower skirt and loose-fitting shirt. "Once you meet her, you'll understand."

"Not fucking likely," Lakyn replies. He drops his cigarette and crushes it into the ground while he lights another one. Most of the crowd around us has wandered off, and I can see campfires getting lit around the sprawling commune, the scent of burning wood blending with the cigarette smoke on the breeze. Everyone looks vaguely dirty, like the sand and dust of the desert has coated everyone and everything with a layer of it, and it makes my skin itch.

I don't even know why I'm fucking here, other than it's the place Lakyn wanted to go and I'm still waiting for my chance to kill the fucker. Sitting in the corner of that damn hotel room last night, in the dark, listening to Lakyn breathing, I'd fantasized about killing him. I'd even thought about how perfect it would be for his blood to join Allisandra's in the mattress… but something held me back. Every time I pictured stabbing Lakyn, I saw Allisandra instead. The way her eyes had gone wide the first time the knife went in, the way her cunt had squeezed my dick like a fist, and the gurgling sound of her breaths as she died.

Killing her hadn't made me feel better. It's why I'd gone after Daphne, because I knew killingherwould ease some of the emptiness inside me… but I'd fucked that up.

I don't know if it was all the adrenaline, or the fact that I'd just come, but my reaction time wasn't fast enough and by the time I'd got off the bed and had my feet under me again, ready to kill her, she had a fucking knife in her hand. That goddamn backpack of hers is apparently filled with blades, which is just one more reason why I have to catch her off guard. I want her unarmed and vulnerable, just like Willa was.

I didn't give a shit about killing Allisandra. Hell, I don't know what I'd expected to feel after it. Maybe I thought I'd at least feel a little victorious… but no. I just felt emptier. Angrier.

The only deaths that will make me feel any better are Lakyn and Daphne's, and the next opportunity I get to kill them, I won't hesitate. Even if it means I go down in the process.

I'm so focused on the back of Lakyn's head that at first I don't realize the people cheering around me, but it sinks in slowly and I follow their gazes to something… something incredible. The sun is setting behind the woman walking toward us, and I swear it looks like she's glowing. Golden fire radiates around her head, her blonde hair shining where it flows over her shoulders, and as she spreads her arms wide, acknowledging the people bowing toward her, I can't tear my eyes away from the way her hips sway.

She's beyond beautiful, and while the smile on everyone else's faces have made them look like idiots, the smile on her face looks like peace. Real peace.

And she's looking right at me.

I walk toward her, ending up a little ahead of Lakyn when I stop because I'm worried if I walk too close she'll step away, and I don't want that. Her dress is tight to her body, the round of her breasts revealed by the deep plunge of the neckline that stops somewhere around her waist, and the golden bracelets around her wrists tinkle and chime as she lets her arms rest at her side.

"It's been so long," she says to me, and her voice is dream-like. Soft and warm. Ifthisis The Daughter, I can see why so many people have decided to follow her, because the way she's looking at me makes me believe I might be okay as long as I'm near her.

Then Lakyn shatters the connection between us as he lets out a sharp laugh. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

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