Page 89 of Claim the Twilight
Dee nodded, smiling.
Morty looked up, his brow furrowing. “I’ll be right back.” He vanished.
Dee turned to me, her eyes bright. “You’re with the Order, aren’t you?”
“Yes, how do you?—”
“I’ve seen you around. Look, I don’t have much time. Something is happening with the ghosts. Morty has been invited to an event tomorrow. I have the address somewhere…” She rummaged in her bag. “He was told it was a chance for him to live again.” She handed me a slip of paper. “I think it might be something to do with Loviator. I can’t be sure but…it’s not real. It can’t be real. The dead can’t live again, not unless they come back as something unnatural, and I don’t want that for him. Or us.”
I pocketed the paper and quickly stood. “Get to Branwood Castle. You’ll be safe there.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
I hurried back to my table. “Let’s go.”
The others didn’t question, following me out of the restaurant and down the street, where I finally unfolded the paper to read the address.
It wasn’t familiar to me. “You know where this is?” I held it out to Ordell.
He read it, a frown deepening his forehead. “Yeah, I know exactly where this is. It’s the Church of Blood Saints.”
Chapter 36
ORINA
The Church of Blood Saints was an unassuming three-story building with a neat lawn, picket fence, and wraparound porch. It had a wholesome, inviting look. Nothing that screamed church, aside from the sign bolted to the wall by the door which said in bold blue letteringChurch of Blood Saints.
“Vampires and churches,” Nyx drawled. “Who would have thought?”
“Not just vampires,” Ordell said. “Humans worship here too. Humans adopted into vampire houses awaiting transition.”
“Why would a ghost be given this address?” Sin said. “Why would ghosts be recruited?”
“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.” I pushed open the gate and strode up the path and the two steps to the porch. The door was open, like any house of worship would be.
I entered to the scent of jasmine, blinking as my eyes adjusted to the gloom. The inside was like a human church with pews and an altar, but instead of stained-glass windows, there were crimson and gold tapestries hanging on the walls withwall sconces set between each of them. The ceiling sported an opulent chandelier housing candles. I didn’t want to imagine how long it would take to light each one, never mind the effort. The ceiling wasn’t exactly low. Several people sat in the pews, heads bowed in prayer to whatever vampires of the past Christian had elevated to saints.
I studied each one as I passed, looking for signs that they saw us, but they each either kept their heads bowed or looked straight ahead.
A door to the left of the altar opened, and a man wearing crimson robes walked in. He faltered at the sight of us, his gaze raking us over before he fixed a smile on his face and approached. He didn’t smell human, and his heartbeat was much too slow. He had to be a vampire.
His gaze flicked to the pews and then back to us. He waved us closer, backing up toward the door he’d just come through. He clearly didn’t want to look deranged standing here speaking to us if the people in the pews couldn’t see us.
I took a step toward him when a woman bustled out of the door behind him carrying a clipboard and a pen. “Everything is ready for…” She trailed off at the sight of us, then quickly averted her gaze back to the vampire. “For tonight.”
“Ah, yes. Good work, Willa.” The vampire turned his back on us to speak to the woman.
Ordell’s nostrils flared. “She’s human.”
The woman’s cheeks grew pink. “Is there anything else you need me to do?” she asked the vampire.
“No, that will be all.”
Willa made to turn away, but I rushed forward to intercept her. She flinched, her gaze flying up to meet mine.
“She can fucking see us,” Nyx said.
Willa lifted her chin with a thin smile. “Whatever. It hardly matters now. Your time is almost up. You can’t stop the divine goddess from bringing justice and peace to this world.”
