TWENTY-EIGHT THE CHURCH #2
‘How touching,’ Draven says. ‘Why do I suspect this is something more than the camaraderie of Keepers?’
Tariq says nothing but stays in front of me.
Draven’s eyes gleam. ‘Mr Ashar, have we grown feelings for the new Auctus?’ He gasps. ‘That will just make his death even sweeter.’
Tariq’s grip on me tightens. ‘I’ll never let that happen.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ Draven says. He puts his hand to his ear. ‘Do you hear that?’
Faint whispers start to echo through the church. Draven’s grin widens; he knows what’s approaching, just like we do. Wretches.
‘The poor beasts took their time, didn’t they?’
The shadows stir. Suddenly there is movement all around us.
‘I think that’s my cue to leave,’ Draven says. ‘Demons to witness rising and all that.’
He swiftly slips through the doors, closing them behind him.
Tariq and I rush forward, but stop at the sound of metal locking.
I try the door but with no luck. ‘I can try and break it down?’
No response. Tariq is gone, already at Opel’s side. I quickly join him.
‘We can’t stay here,’ says Tariq.
The eerie, guttural growl of the Wretches fills the church.
‘They’re here,’ says Tariq, looking around the dark corners of the nave.
The noises escalate, sending a shiver down my back. The shadows advance, closing off potential escape routes.
Tariq removes his pendant.
‘What are you doing?’ I say.
Tariq places his pendant around Opel’s neck. I get why, it’s her power leading the Wretches here, but if Tariq is without his, they’ll just be drawn to him instead.
‘Get Opel out, take her the way we entered. If I can divert the Wretches’ attention, you’ll have a chance to escape.’
I shake my head. ‘No, Tariq. I’m not leaving—’
‘Go. I mean it, Liam.’
I want to stand and fight alongside Tariq, but Opel is vulnerable. He’s right. Reluctantly, I pick Opel up in my arms, using all my strength and trying not to tense my core. Now is not the time to pull any stitches. I slowly begin moving toward the back of the church.
My heart races as the first Wretches emerge from the darkness at the far end of the church. Their twisted forms creeping forward.
Tariq stands his ground, flames materialising in his hands. The Wretches pause, momentarily taken aback by the fire, but they quickly continue their advance.
I force myself to shift my focus from Tariq’s fiery confrontation and keep moving with Opel.
I kick open the first door and stagger into the corridor.
I freeze. There’s movement in the shadows up ahead. Shit. They’re not confined to the main hall, they’re everywhere.
I turn, retracing my steps back into the nave. Tariq hurls a fireball that connects with a charging Wretch, sending it crashing into the organ. The large instrument tumbles down on top of it.
I gently lay Opel back down on the altar and try to rouse her from her unconsciousness.
Tariq catches my eye, puzzled as to why I have returned.
His attention is swiftly diverted as more Wretches surge in his direction.
With a swift motion, Tariq conjures a flaming whip that slashes through half a dozen of them, leaving a trail of fire in its wake.
A Wretch breaks through Tariq’s defence, closing in on me. My heart races, but before the creature reaches me, it’s yanked backward by a fiery lasso that encircles its neck. With a tug, Tariq hurls it away, severing its head in the process.
‘Why aren’t you gone?’ Tariq says, gasping for breath.
‘Our path was blocked,’ I shout over the chaos of screeching Wretches and crackling flames.
Tariq quickly regains his focus, engaging another group of Wretches that are crawling down a church pillar. The unnerving glare of their eyes reflects the flames he wields.
‘Opel!’ I shout, trying not to shake her too vigorously, remembering Mum’s brief first aid run-through with me.
Something approaches from my side. A Wretch lunges, and we crash across the stone floor. Pain explodes through me. Tariq calls out. The Wretch snaps its jaws dangerously close, its breath foul with death. Heart pounding, I fight back, arms straining against its weight.
Determination surges. With a burst of strength, I free one arm, muscles protesting. My fingers find its throat, gripping its flesh. Black ooze splatters from its mouth and onto my face. I summon all my might, flinging the Wretch off me with a fierce roar.
It collides with a pillar, collapsing into shadows.
I scramble to my feet. The group around Tariq is closing in on him. I rush forward, but Tariq shakes his head vigorously, his eyes fierce. ‘Help Opel!’
I do as he says and change course, dashing to Opel’s side. I’m just in time to deliver a kick that repels an incoming Wretch.
I throw myself over Opel, shielding her from another approaching Wretch. Its jaws snap in our direction.
Underneath me, Opel stirs. Her eyes flicker open, widening in surprise with me on top of her. She scans around, taking in our situation. There’s a glimmer of gratitude in her eyes.
With a swift hand motion, Opel sends the Wretch through the air; it lands amid the blazing pews.
‘Are you alright?’ I say.
‘What do you think, kid?’ Her voice is raspy. ‘Killer headache. Smoke in my lungs. Surrounded by fire and Wretches. Not exactly the alarm clock I ordered.’
I can’t help but smile at her sarcasm. Somehow, it’s oddly comforting.
‘We’re trapped in here,’ I tell her, my eyes glued to the intense battle Tariq is embroiled in. ‘Tariq doesn’t have his pendant.’
Opel frowns.
‘I can’t explain right now,’ I say.
Our focus remains on Tariq, encircled by a wall of fire, holding back a relentless onslaught of over twenty Wretches.
Opel stands up, ready to join the fight. ‘Get to the bell tower.’
‘Wait, what? Why?’
‘Think, Liam. Wretches have weaknesses,’ she says.
My mind races. Light. Decapitation. Fire. ‘Loud noise! The bells!’
‘And there it is,’ she says, rolling her eyes. ‘Now go, I’ll help Tariq.’
I sprint toward the door on the opposite side of the church. Opel stumbles to join Tariq’s battle as I slip through the door, catching only a fleeting glimpse of them as the commotion in the nave fades behind me.
I rush down a long corridor, my breaths coming in short, rapid bursts. I burst into a room labelled Ringing Chamber . My gaze darts around, searching for the ropes to ring the bells, but if they’re here, it’s too dark to spot them. I press forward, stretching out my arms.
My hands brush against metal chains. I crouch to find broken shackles. Is this where the Dark Friars had Katie imprisoned? I can’t dwell on it. Moonlight is hitting something high above me. There’s another door, and I race through it. Stairs. I take them, two steps at a time.
I reach the top of the tower. Two bells hang still in front of me. A breeze hits me. I take in the view of Craythorn Forest sprawled out below. The distant echoes of shouts and screams from inside jolt me back to the present. I need to ring these bells somehow.
I edge over carefully and press my palms against the cool surface of the bells. They don’t move. Fuck’s sake.
I sit, trying my best not to look down to the dark pit below.
Drawing a deep breath, I find every ounce of strength, channelling the heat within me. I place my feet onto the bells, and with a surge of energy, push against them.
They shift so quickly I almost fall, but I steady myself. The deafening chime reverberates through me. I push again and again until a thunderous symphony fills the air.
After one final push, I pull myself back over the edge. I race down the stairs, my footsteps echoing against the stone.
Rushing back into the nave, I scan the chaos. Tariq and Opel are surrounded by Wretches and burning debris. The bells ring out.
Wretches cry in agony as the ominous horde recoils from the chimes.
I join Tariq and Opel, our backs united as the Wretches falter and retreat, dissolving into the shadows one by one.
The shadows shrink away as the ringing continues, echoing throughout the church.
A colossal alarm clock. The screeches fade, leaving behind only the hum of the bells and the crackling of spreading flames.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ Tariq says.
Opel rushes for the doors, and with a jerk of both her hands, they crash open.
We dash outside, fire extending in our wake.