Page 73 of Anathema Codex

"Shoo." Lakyn flicks his fingers at the man, grinning when the idiot balls his hands into fists and storms off.

"Sorry about that, he's still so eager to prove himself." The head priestess shrugs gently and leads us through a door and down a short hall into an office, which looks remarkably… average.

No giant devil statue, no big pentagram drawn in blood on the wall. It's pretty disappointing, especially since I think Lakyn originally planned to offer these idiots the heart she'd carved out of Gladys' chest.

At least the Tupperware will keep it relatively fresh for now. Until they can think of something fun to do with it.

Allisandra takes the chair behind the desk, scooting it in before she opens the lid of the laptop and starts typing something. Her gaze flicks up toward Lakyn. "So… you really know Beatrix St. Germain?"

I lean against the wall just inside the door, watching Lakyn as he stares at the priestess, a strange expression passing over his face for a moment before his smirk returns.

"Yeah, we used to be really close." Lakyn rests the hatchet on the back of one of the chairs meant for guests. "She's just always had… different priorities."

"Lucifer's path isn't the right journey for everyone, but I've always believed Beatrix St. Germain saw things far beyond what others at the Light of Lucifer could comprehend." Allisandra licks her lips, basically eye-fucking Lakyn in front of us. "She's been an inspiration to many women seeking to gain the rank of High Priestess."

"Chicks like you?" Aftyn asks, rolling his eyes as he leans his shoulder against the door frame.

"Ignore the kid, he's still in that 'angry at the world' phase," Lakyn says, tilting his chin toward the computer. "You mentioned you had some people you could call?"

"Of course." Allisandra smiles, and it takes actual effort not to roll my eyes too at the woman's blatant flirting.

* * *

Over thirty minutes later, I'm sitting on the floor, bored to fucking tears, and so sick of listening to the priestess talk to people on the phone. Lakyn is in one of the guest chairs, his feet kicked up on the corner of her desk, the hatchet in his lap and a cigarette between his lips.

The only bit of fun was when Aftyn had tried to light up and Lakyn threw a pen at him and told him there was no smoking inside. I'd smiled at that, but Lakyn hadn't spared me a glance, and my smile had disappeared just as fast.

"You're sure?" Allisandra asks, flashing a bright smile at Lakyn from across the desk. "Got it. West on I-40? And then 66? Wonderful. Thank you so much, Carlos."

"Finally got an answer?" Lakyn drops his feet to the floor, leaning forward to brace an elbow on the desk.

"Apparently she's in the western part of Arizona in the Mojave Desert off Route 66. I guess there's an old community out there that she's joined." Setting her cell phone down, Allisandra folds her hands in front of her. "I understand that you want to go see Beatrix… but I was wondering if you'd be interested in coming back here?"

"Why would I do that?" Jabbing out his cigarette on a coaster, Lakyn stands up, swinging the hatchet at his side.

Yes. Please kill her.

"There aren't enough truly committed members here. Not like Beatrix used to be… and not like you."

"I've never been a member here." Lakyn chuckles, shoving the guest chair out of his way so he can step away from her desk. "Never been much of a joiner. People tend to followme, not the other way around."

"That's exactly what I mean!" Pushing up from her seat, Allisandra suddenly sounds a lot more desperate. "You could be a leader here. Perhaps you could even bring back ideas from Beatrix's journeys on the path of Lucifer?"

Lakyn sucks his teeth, looking the woman over. "Yeah… that's not going to happen."

"But you could—"

"Like I said before, I'm not a follower, and I sure as fuck don't run errands for Trixie, or Lucifer." He shrugs, swinging the hatchet onto his shoulder again. "And I'd stay, but a crown doesn't do anything for my hair."

"I just see so much potential in what you could do here at the Light of Lucifer. With you leading us, we could be truly great." Moving around the desk, the priestess stops short of actually touching him again, and I'm curious about what's going through Lakyn's mind when he suddenly grins.

"You know, Beatrix is one of my best friends, and we're on our way to go see her. Why don't you just come with me? That way you could hear whatever you want to hear from the mouth of Satan's number one bitch herself."

He leans in, so close that for a second I'm convinced he's going to kiss her, but he stops short.

"I know how much you want to meet her."

"I… I don't know if I can just—"

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