Page 26 of Ambition

I keep going, straining my ears for any sound, any indication Mads Bentzen is truly down here like Lora said he was. There was a mass of people upstairs, Lora and her staff, but none of the men of Writhe.

Are they all down here?

Will I be confronting Mads with his posse flanking him?

When I called him, he told me he would have a few minutes during the day he could talk to me. That was it. A clipped conversation; he is colder and brisker than Von, all the time. Sometimes I wonder if Lora likes fucking a statue, but then again, I know how good Von is in bed so…

I shake my head, clearing the thought as I reach the last step.

I face a wall, the only way to go is right, and I know there’s a short corridor that then leads to an open space, about the size of my entire kitchen and living room combined at the condo.

But it takes me a minute to want to slip deeper into the dark. There are light switches; I’ve seen this place illuminated. It’s surprisingly not entirely finished; just gray brick, panel lighting in an exposed ceiling overhead, and cement floors. Yet I don’t reach for the switches because I think for Solemn it’s supposed to stay dark; no electricity and only candlelight. I’ve heard the superstition but I’m not entirely sure of it.

Who knows the truth?

I’ve never been invited to a Writhe ceremony; Von has gone to one and he said it was mostly boring. Despite the advancements Writhe has made in terms of equality, they are still archaic and sexist in many ways.

Case in point, the fact Lora isn’t down here.

Fuck that.When I’ve earned my way to the top, the women’s attendance will be required and the men can prepare the offerings, including the food.

I take another breath, catching that cemetery scent, then step off into the gloom, turning right and slowly walking down the hallway. It feels more narrow than usual, like it might close in on me, and I reach my hands out a little ways in front of me so nothing can freak me out by surprise.

The further I walk, though, the more I notice a flickering light ahead, in the main space of the basement. Candlelight, pale orange and yellow, illuminating the drywall and the stone cement floor.

Some of the tension leaves my muscles and I lower my arms by my side, but my pulse still beats out a wary rhythm.

And as I come to the archway leading into the candlelit room, I see shadows flickering along the wall. Skeletal, long and lean and lacking…substance. The head isn’t quite right. Something is bulbous about it; inhuman.

I pause, chewing the inside of my cheek. Shit. Maybe I should just let this go. Von told me what they discussed, and Karia doesn’t seem to think he swayed his father in any way and he never has before so… Maybe I should leave.

The shadow moves, like it's twisting around. Turning to face the entranceway.

Me.

I have about three seconds to decide if this is worth some kind of freak show that I don’t want a ticket to but before I can bolt, someone else steps through the doorway.

Not the shadow.

Someone I know of though.

Tall, lean, dressed in all black, his dark brows pulled together, a scowl on his asymmetrical mouth.

He stops where he is, gazing at me in a way that feels dangerous, his eyes flicking from my shoes up to my hair, but it doesn’t seem as if he’s checking me out. More like he’s plotting my death.

Cold, devilish blue eyes focus on mine.

His hands are by his sides, and I see a black ring on his finger.

Lace-up, blacked out shoes that look like Chucks but I think they’re something else andshit.

I don’t know why I’m taking in his clothes, but his presence is fucking eerie.

You don’t want to stare down Lucifer Malikov for long.

I have no idea why he’s here but perhaps he had a message for Mads or a blessing to give over the ceremony or… I don’t know. The leader of the Unsaints does whatever he wants I guess.

After a moment, he looks past me, dismissing me. Then he continues toward me, and I shuffle over, not wanting any part of his demonic presence to brush against me.

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