Chapter 36
We cannot kill her. For Josi to live, we must keep Sena alive.
Layla was amazed by everyone’s quickness to adapt. She stood over the massive grave in Washington Square Park across from Celie and some rogue reapers. A few Diamantes stood along the perimeter of the area, watching and waiting.
She twisted the ring on her finger and tried not to worry about Elise heading things on her own by the old reaper lair. It was bad enough the Saint had nearly died trying to help keep Sena away, but now she was intent on drawing her out of her lair and directly to her.
Everyone, rogues and gangsters alike, watched the sun disappear behind the horizon and bring with it the dark cloak of night.
The moment stars blinked into the sky, Layla sensed the sour necrotized scent and heat of Sena’s presence.
As the ground rumbled beneath her feet, Layla crouched by the edge of the large grave they had dug for the beast. One shot.
That was all they had to take her down. In another life, Elise might have been a true gun-wielding, reaper-hunting Saint.
In this one, she was Layla’s greatest love and someone willing to do the worst for her.
The littlest Saint came sprinting up the nearby hill by the entrance to the park.
Her white hair bows flapped in the wind, her speed impressive to even the older reapers standing watch around the grave.
Behind her, Sena emerged, massive and haunting in her relentless pursuit of the little girl.
Dirt pounded beneath her talons as she hauled herself forward on all fours.
Josi jumped over the grave right as Elise approached from several yards away.
She aimed her gun as Sena prepared to follow the smaller Saint over the burial plot.
Layla’s lips parted, feeling the tremble of the earth again.
Adrenaline buzzed through her at the sight of clawed hands reaching out around Elise.
She tore herself away from her position and ran right for the Saint.
Several other gangsters surrounded the undead, their guns pointed and their faces pinched with confusion.
Distantly, Layla heard the younger Saint shouting something.
“Don’t touch them!” Her voice, breathless and exhausted, was tinged with panic.
By the time Layla made it to Elise, the undead had already surfaced.
Gangsters fired into them, managing to down the ones closest to the Saint.
But as Sena continued to move and Elise struggled to get a clear shot at her, the undead only continued their rise.
Layla shoved a human gangster—one of Jamie’s men—out of the way of one’s swiping hand.
Its head popped out of the earth and sank its fangs into her calf instead.
Layla cried out and stomped her foot into its face hard enough to cave its bones in.
She limped away, her blood bubbling and thick from where it poured out of the fresh wound.
The gangster she had shoved away struggled back to his feet, and as he looked to give her a nod of thanks, another undead emerged behind him.
Layla opened her mouth to warn him, but the beast was already lunging.
It yanked him back to the ground with impressive speed and tore into his throat until blood sprayed.
Within seconds, black veins spread across this man’s face and neck.
His skin grayed and withered away, necrotizing with the undead’s venom.
Layla’s own leg tingled as she watched the brutal death. She limped closer to Elise, who was gesturing for Josi to come back. “We have to go. It’s too dangerous.” Layla winced.
Elise didn’t even spare her a look. She was too focused on her sister’s retreat, which led Sena back toward the grave. “I’ve almost got her.”
All Layla could do was wait. Even as the dead closed in around them and the smaller Saint faltered in her run, Layla waited.
She chose to have faith in Elise because there was nothing else she wanted to devote her beliefs to.
So, when Josi stumbled by the grave and lost momentum, sending her careening toward the edge, Layla was there when Elise hesitated.
She was there when Elise ran for her sister as Sena gained on her at the opposite edge of the grave.
When Elise dropped her gun to help her sister back to her feet and when Layla was the only one closest to it, she picked it up and screamed Elise’s name.
Elise held her hand out, and Layla tossed the gun to her. She watched with bated breath as Elise slid to one knee and caught the gun, then fired a single round into Sena right when she launched herself over the grave. The beast jerked in midair and slammed into the earth. “Now!” Elise called.
Jamie and Sterling jumped into the grave and pulled a Saint chain around her throat.
Once secured, they climbed out and began replacing the dirt in the hole.
The remaining gangsters and rogues helped shovel.
They did not stop until Sena’s heaving, bleeding body was completely covered.
And when they leaned back, breathing hard, dirt caking their nails and smudging their faces, they realized the dead had fallen back to their graves.
***
In the quiet of the dawn, she rose. Layla sensed it between Josephine’s tearful wails, which penetrated the walls of the cathedral, and Elise’s hushed whispers intended to calm her.
It was a miracle the girl had not descended into something worse, given Sena’s lengthy comatose state.
Layla sat on the cathedral steps, waiting.
Just before sunrise, a shadow emerged across the courtyard, taking with it the final darkness of the night.
A woman covered in dirt and mud crept toward the stairs.
The gangsters who had been guarding her grave walked behind her, weapons out and ready in case she tried to flee. But the woman was weak in her new state—Layla could tell just by the sound of her slow, labored breathing that increased as she neared.
Layla stood to greet her and almost smiled when she saw her familiar face.
Albeit battered and decrepit, Sena’s human form stepped up to Layla.
The Saint chain dragged behind her, filling the air with the eerie sound of metal grating over stone.
Blood dripped from the burns in her throat, where the chain had dug into her flesh, soaking her black hair.
She gave Layla a cruel smile as she stopped just inches from her.
“It worked. Reversing my monstrous state only to bring me back to suffering. Tell me, was it your idea to make me walk the streets barefoot and choking half to death to get to you?” she gritted out.
“It was hers,” Elise said. She moved into the cathedral entryway, leaving space for Josi to fill in beside her. Together, they stood by Layla, expressions stern and determined. “I’ve heard you did worse to my sister. It seemed only right to give her retribution for your abuse of her.”
Sena smiled at Josi, but instead of malice, there was only sadness in her eyes.
“The bond between us is fraying; otherwise I would have taken you down with me. If you do not learn to bear suffering early on, it will only crush you when you’re least expecting it.
” She raised her gaze to Elise. “I suppose I can expect my death again. This time final. Since come next sundown, I will return to my worst form and you will be no match against me. I will make sure of it this time.”
Elise narrowed her eyes. “No. We have something much worse in store for you.”