Atop the Bell Tower (Spire #1)
Prologue
Ezekiel Asmodiaus adjusted his fedora and pulled the collar of his wool trench coat snugly around his neck. While the October chill might not bite at him like it would others, he felt the effect suited him. In his years—more than he cared to count—he had grown impervious to the chill. Glancing at his antique timepiece, a reluctant tight-lipped grin crossed his lips.
Almost showtime.
Taking a position just beneath the shadow of the thicket, the bell tower loomed over the courtyard, its lone brass lion watching from the center of the fountain over the empty benches and trimmed hedges. Tonight, he and the lion were watchers, morbid spectators in the unfurling of centuries of planning. Someone in his position might have given up decades ago, but he was patient.
He knew the chess pieces were set and now he simply needed to watch.
While the lively noises of the Halloween carnival echoed in the distance across campus, he heard the muted brittle crunch of a tree branch nearby. Someone’s footsteps were approaching. These steps were tentative. He pushed himself further into the darkness as a young woman stumbled into the light of the courtyard. As the girl emerged further into the light, her blonde hair gleamed silvery under the lamps, her torn white T-shirt hung just above her knees. Fresh dirt clung to her nails, as though she had just clawed her way out of a grave.
“No one. No one here,” she said, speaking rapidly with a hoarse voice .
Usually, this courtyard buzzed with frenetic university students bustling from class to class. Yet tonight, the courtyard was empty save for this young woman and Ezekiel. She lumbered about, trying to gain her bearings. He watched as she meandered the courtyard, rubbing her eyes. She was clearly dazed, unsure of her current location.
He grimaced inwardly as he watched her wipe her hands against the stained garment. He felt for her, wished to intervene but knew he could not. Instead, he watched as she continued to wander, rubbing her eyes. She looked up and seemed to notice the time on the bell tower clock. Her head tilted as if calculating the time when she spotted water in the large fountain and ran toward it.
She cupped her dirty hands, taking in greedy gulps of water. Desperately, she plunged her hands under the water, splashing it onto her face. This seemed to clear her mind, but just as she came to, her face contorted. She gripped the sides of her head, her mouth gaping, taking on the frightening appearance of a Dali painting. A piercing sound drilled into her skull. She clawed at her head, a silent scream wrenched from her throat.
“No one here. No one here,” she babbled.
Ezekiel held his breath. If only he could change what was coming. But he did not control her fate.
She glanced around the empty courtyard when the bell overhead gonged a loud and sonorous sound. Her eyes darted to the top of the bell tower, and her plan became clear. Quickly, she ran from the fountain and toward the tower.
Now it begins.
He looked at his watch, a timepiece that did far more than simply tell the hour. Ezekiel swallowed hard as he watched the hour hand tick closer to zero, a silent reminder that her time was running out.
The girl disappeared from sight only momentarily. He looked up to see her emerge onto the ledge. Each clang of the bell pushed her closer and closer to the edge. It roared through the courtyard. She cradled her head in her hands, crying out in terror. His chest ached, and a fleeting wish of reprieve for the girl swelled inside of him.
But he knew what was next.
As the bell gave its final clang, the girl’s hand fell from her face as she looked into the distance, mesmerized by the view, and leapt from the ledge.
Ezekiel watched as the girl fell succumbing to the impending ground below. Her eyes closed, and her hair gently fell behind her. He glanced at his watch as the time struck zero when a single lifeless thud echoed across the courtyard at the base of the bell tower.
Suddenly, a shockwave blew through the campus, as he vanished into the night.