Page 77 of Drag You Down
Her eyes widen, and she tries to slam the door shut but I get my foot between the door and the frame.
“Tell me where your brother is right now, or so help me, the entire building is going down,” I threaten. “I’ll send you all to the depths of Hell, and the only company you’ll have is the screams of the fallen souls you condemn.”
The sister’s lip wibbles, and she shakes her head. “I don’t… He’s probably still taking penance.”
Penance.
My lip curls in disgust. “With Zachariah?” I look over my shoulder toward Apartment 302.
“No. In the… in the dark room,” she says softly. “But God’s light will keep him safe from all demons. Includingyou.”
That small hint of defiance makes me laugh. “I’m the one who’s going to save him from all of you.”
The dark room, though.
I remember Levi’s panic attack, the one that led me to taking him home with me.
I go back to the stairs and rush down, not caring that the sister will go tattle on Zachariah about all of this. Let him try to stop me. I’ll claim it was self-defense.
I stop short at the basement door.
It’s locked with a heavy padlock to prevent anyone from opening it.
Rage has me pounding on the door, despite how useless the action is.
Fuck.
“I’m coming, Levi,” I shout, pulling out my wallet so I can get the lockpicks I have hidden inside.
Everybody thinks padlocks are near impassible, but the truth is, there is no unpickable lock. This one takes me less than five minutes to undo. I hear footsteps upstairs, but nobody comes down to confront me.
I toss the unlocked padlock to the side and open the door, hitting the light switch for the flimsy bulb.
“Levi!” I shout as I barrel down the stairs.
The dank stench is still heavy in the air, and as I get to the base of the stairs, I recognize another acrid smell.
My boy has pissed himself.
He lifts his head, and I see the tracks of tears on his only half-present expression.
He looks like he’s been through hell.
I approach him, bending down to scoop him into my arms, only to notice that he’s cuffed to the chair.
I let out a frustrated growl and grip the top of the chair. “Keep still,” I say.
Levi says nothing.
I kick the bar holding the cuffs as hard as I can. Two kicks, and it snaps. The handcuffs slide free.
“My boy,” I whisper, taking Levi’s hands and kissing them both gently. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
Levi blinks blearily up at me, and the usual fire in his eyes is missing. He looks lost, distant, but he whispers, “You came.To my God, I called; my cry came to his ears.” He lets out a choked laugh. “Maybe you really are an angel in disguise.”
“Oh, my lamb,” I say, and the rage I feel for Zachariah boils over. It’s raging hot, a hatred in my veins that I haven’t felt this strongly in a long time.
Not since I left the people who called themselves my family.
