Page 71 of Lust

Classroom one is already full as I enter. Some of the contestants are still gray with dust and some, like me, have managed a shower. I scan the room for a seat. My stomach twists as my eyes catch Remy. Ignoring him, I sit next to Juliette. She’s managed a better job of showering than I have, though her eyes are swollen and bloodshot from crying.

“We are just waiting for one more… ah. ‘ere ‘e ees.”

I don’t need to turn to know it’s Dade who’s just walked through the door. I’m feeling him more and more intensely with each passing day and at this moment, he’s full of intensity. Noémi gives him a smile and gestures to a seat somewhere behind me.

“I ‘ad to call you all ‘ere to make sure we ‘ave accounted for everybody and to let you know what we know. What ‘appened down in ze Earthery wasn’t an ‘ellquake, and it wasn’t part of ze games. I’m afraid to say eet, but we’re being attacked.”

An audible gasp followed by a cry makes me turn my head. It’s not just Felix and Rowena that are missing; a few others are too. In the corner, Maggie is sitting sobbing, her eyes fixed on Noémi. A thick layer of dust covers her skin everywhere except her hands, which she’s wringing together. Her body is trembling, and she looks utterly miserable. I pat Juliette’s hand, then slip back to join Maggie.

“I saw Colin in the hospital as we were dropping off Rowena and Felix,” I whisper to her.

“Thank you,” she says, smiling weakly at me and gripping my hand tighter. “I know. I was just with him. He’s smashed most of the bones in his body.”

“We are under attack,” Noémi states. “We don’t know why or ‘oo by. Zis ‘as never ‘appened before in the deux cent…” she pauses. “Two ‘undred years I’ve been ‘ere. We zink it was an attack on ze games zemselves because no one else in zis Tower was affected.”

“I heard someone was unable to get out,” Moloch says somberly.

I peer over at him. I forgot he was in there with us. Next to him, Anthura sits glumly, her arms folded. Unlike everyone else in the room, she looks immaculate. There’s not a speck of dust on her.

“Most people got out okay, but we did ‘ave some casualties. I’m afraid to say zat Adam and ‘annah deed not make eet. Zeir bodies were beyond repair, even in death.”

I didn’t know Adam well, but I know he was loved. I scan the room for Jake. He’s not here, which means he’s one of the people still in the hospital wing. I don’t even know who Hannah’s partner is. I do know that neither deserved this.

“We ‘ad a number of people weeth broken bones and small injuries and Colin, Felix and Ro are in serious condition een the ‘ospital. ‘Owever, as their bodies are intact, they weel get through zis. It weel be painful while zey get better, but zey weel survive. Whoever did zis weel not defeat us.”

I feel numb, as though this isn’t real. Isn’t it bad enough that we are being forced to put ourselves in incredibly hard situations for the apparent entertainment of the people of Hell just so we have a chance to get out, but we are now being attacked too? I feel sickened, and yet this is just another day in Hell. Another test to get through. I raise my hand. “Do you have any idea who would do something like this?” It wasn’t long ago that I was receiving threatening letters, and now I know that Dade didn’t send them. It means we all have an enemy. “Could it have been the same person that killed Michael and Lucia in Purgatory?”

Beside me, Maggie gasps. “There’s a murderer among us?”

Noémi holds her hands up. “Please, let’s not turn zis into a panic. As I said, I do not know ‘oo would want to ‘urt anyone in ‘ere. I weel not let zis go. I weel find ze perpetrator and bring eem or ‘er to justice. I weel not stop ze games. When everyone ees out of ze ‘ospital, ze games weel resume. In ze mean time, I weel ask Asmodée and Arch to keep an eye on all of you. Eef any of you see anything suspicious, let me know as soon as possible. Ze ‘ospital ees now accepting visitors for zose of you weeth loved ones zere and eef anyone would like to elp clean up ze debris in ze Earthery, eet would be very much appreciated. Zank you all for coming.”

Juliette grabs my hand and pulls me to one side as we all leave. “I didn’t think about the murders until you mentioned it. Do you think they are connected?”

I shrug. “I don’t know, but we never did find out who killed Michael and Lucia.”

She gives me a long, hard stare. “Are you definitely sure it wasn’t Dade? I know I said it probably wasn’t him, but then this happened.”

“It wasn’t him!” I say defiantly. A swish of black catches my eye and Juliette’s cheeks redden as Dade strides off behind us.

“Shit. Do you think he heard me?”

“I’m not sure it matters if he did.” I say sourly. I link my arm in hers. “Come on. Let’s go and see Rowena.”

Rowena is still unconscious when we get to the hospital wing. “Hey Babe,” Juliette says, perching herself on Rowena’s bed.

She looks awful. Her blonde hair is matted with blood and she has scratches all up her arms. And that’s just the part of her that I can see.

“I barely had any of me left when I went to the hospital wing in Purgatory,” I reassure Juliette. “It’s not the same as when we were alive. Our bodies are much more robust.”

A doctor that had been looking over Felix turns to us. “That’s correct! If she wakes up in the next twenty-four hours, I expect her to make a full recovery.”

“And if she doesn’t?” Juliette asks.

The doctor offers us a small smile. “Let’s not worry about that right now. Her pulse is strong. Her body will recover. It is only her mind we have to worry about.

“Oh, is that all?” I cast my eyes over to Felix, who looks much worse than Rowena. Now that the dust and blood have been cleaned away, the massiveness of his injuries is apparent and they are truly gruesome. I nod toward him. “What about him?”

“Who gives a fuck about that asshole?” Juliette mutters.

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